Key: The Metal Idol DVD

Tokiko Mima — known to everyone as Key — is a girl who does not smile, does not understand human emotion, and believes herself to be a robot. Her grandfather, the eccentric robotics scientist Dr. Mima, raised her in a rural mountain town and died leaving her a single instruction encoded in a device implanted in her chest: go to Tokyo, and if she can win the genuine love and friendship of 30,000 people, she will become a real human being. Key arrives in Tokyo with no money, no plan, and no apparent emotional capacity — and finds her childhood friend Sakura, who takes her in despite finding her more unsettling than she remembers. As Key navigates the city and its music industry, the corporate empire of the ruthless industrialist Jinsaku Ajo begins taking interest in her. Ajo's company has been developing robotics weaponry using a technology that harvests something from human emotion — and the strange power Key demonstrates in moments of stress suggests she may be the key to everything Ajo has been building toward. The closer she gets to 30,000 friends, the more dangerous the conspiracy around her becomes.

Key the Metal Idol is a 15-episode OVA series created, written, and directed entirely by Hiroaki Sato, produced by Studio Pierrot and Pony Canyon, and released in Japan between December 1994 and June 1997. The first thirteen episodes run at standard OVA length; the final two episodes — released as theatrical films in 1997 — each run approximately 90 minutes, bringing the series' complete runtime to nearly ten hours. The series draws comparisons to Ghost in the Shell and Serial Experiments Lain for its exploration of consciousness, identity, and what separates the human from the mechanical, filtered through a sharp critique of the Japanese idol industry. Originally released in North America on eight VHS volumes by Viz Media beginning 1997; the three individual DVD volumes — Awakening, Dreaming, and Rising — were released by Viz Media in a joint production with Pioneer between July 2000 and 2001, each containing five episodes on a dual-layered disc. A complete 3-disc box set followed on May 18, 2004. All Viz editions are now out of print. Discotek Media re-licensed the series and released a remastered complete collection DVD on February 28, 2017.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director / Creator / Writer: Hiroaki Sato
Character Design: Keiichi Ishikura
Studio: Studio Pierrot (Sailor Moon, Naruto, Fushigi Yugi, Haunted Junction)
Music: Tamiya Terashima
Idol Songs: "Into the Night" / "Lullaby" / "Megalomaniac"

Japanese Cast:
- Junko Iwao as Key / Tokiko Mima (Cardcaptor Sakura, Ceres: Celestial Legend, Rurouni Kenshin Trust & Betrayal, DNA², Hyper Speed GranDoll)
- Yuri Amano as Sakura Kuriyagawa (El-Hazard, Burn Up W, Magic User's Club, Moldiver, Sorcerer Hunters, Noir)
- Tomokazu Seki as Shuichi Tataki (Chobits, Arjuna, Vandread, Gate Keepers, Sorcerer Hunters, Fushigi Yugi)
- Akira Ishida as Tomoyo Wakagi (Gokudo, Slayers, Now and Then Here and There, Fruits Basket, Noir)

English Dub Cast (Ocean Productions — Vancouver / Viz Media):
- Nicole Oliver as Key / Tokiko Mima (Project ARMS — Kei Kuruma)
- Megan Leitch as Sakura Kuriyagawa (Green Legend Ran — Aira)
- David Kaye as Tomoyo Wakagi (Project ARMS, Dragon Ball Z, Kishin Corps)
- Brian Drummond as Hikaru Tsurugi (Dragon Ball Z, Project ARMS)
- John Novak as Jinsaku Ajo
- David Sobolov as D (eps 1–11) / Mark Gibbon as D (eps 12–15)

DVD Volume Breakdown (Viz Media / Pioneer)

- Vol. 1 — Awakening (Episodes 1–5): Released July 25, 2000
- Vol. 2 — Dreaming (Episodes 6–10): Released 2000–2001
- Vol. 3 — Rising (Episodes 11–15, includes two ~90-min finale films): Released 2001

DVD Features (Individual Volumes)

- Dual-Layered Discs
- Viz Media / Pioneer Previews
- Note: All Viz Media editions are now out of print. Discotek Media remastered reissue available (2017).

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: キィ・ザ・メタル・アイドル (Kii Za Metaru Aidoru)
Runtime: ~570 Minutes (Complete OVA, 15 Episodes — eps 1–13 standard length; eps 14–15 ~90 min each)
Director: Hiroaki Sato
DVD Release Year: 2000–2001 (U.S. Individual Volume Release, Viz Media / Pioneer); Complete Box Set May 18, 2004; all Viz editions now out of print
Original Release Date (Japan): December 16, 1994 – June 18, 1997 (Pony Canyon)
Publisher: Viz Media (co-produced with Pioneer Entertainment)
Rating: Unrated
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: Out of print. All Viz Media editions discontinued. Discotek Media remastered DVD (February 28, 2017) is the current available edition — subtitle only.
Genre: Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama, Idol
Themes: Robot Seeking Humanity, Japanese Idol Industry Critique, Corporate Conspiracy, 30,000 Friends, Serial Experiments Lain Spiritual Kin

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.