{"product_id":"key-the-metal-idol-dvd","title":"Key: The Metal Idol DVD","description":"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.\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nKey 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.\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNotable Staff \u0026amp; Voice Talent\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDirector \/ Creator \/ Writer:\u003c\/b\u003e Hiroaki Sato\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCharacter Design:\u003c\/b\u003e Keiichi Ishikura\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eStudio:\u003c\/b\u003e Studio Pierrot (Sailor Moon, Naruto, Fushigi Yugi, Haunted Junction)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMusic:\u003c\/b\u003e Tamiya Terashima\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eIdol Songs:\u003c\/b\u003e \"Into the Night\" \/ \"Lullaby\" \/ \"Megalomaniac\"\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJapanese Cast:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- Junko Iwao as Key \/ Tokiko Mima (Cardcaptor Sakura, Ceres: Celestial Legend, Rurouni Kenshin Trust \u0026amp; Betrayal, DNA², Hyper Speed GranDoll)\u003cbr\u003e\n- Yuri Amano as Sakura Kuriyagawa (El-Hazard, Burn Up W, Magic User's Club, Moldiver, Sorcerer Hunters, Noir)\u003cbr\u003e\n- Tomokazu Seki as Shuichi Tataki (Chobits, Arjuna, Vandread, Gate Keepers, Sorcerer Hunters, Fushigi Yugi)\u003cbr\u003e\n- Akira Ishida as Tomoyo Wakagi (Gokudo, Slayers, Now and Then Here and There, Fruits Basket, Noir)\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eEnglish Dub Cast (Ocean Productions — Vancouver \/ Viz Media):\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- Nicole Oliver as Key \/ Tokiko Mima (Project ARMS — Kei Kuruma)\u003cbr\u003e\n- Megan Leitch as Sakura Kuriyagawa (Green Legend Ran — Aira)\u003cbr\u003e\n- David Kaye as Tomoyo Wakagi (Project ARMS, Dragon Ball Z, Kishin Corps)\u003cbr\u003e\n- Brian Drummond as Hikaru Tsurugi (Dragon Ball Z, Project ARMS)\u003cbr\u003e\n- John Novak as Jinsaku Ajo\u003cbr\u003e\n- David Sobolov as D (eps 1–11) \/ Mark Gibbon as D (eps 12–15)\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDVD Volume Breakdown (Viz Media \/ Pioneer)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- Vol. 1 — Awakening (Episodes 1–5): Released July 25, 2000\u003cbr\u003e\n- Vol. 2 — Dreaming (Episodes 6–10): Released 2000–2001\u003cbr\u003e\n- Vol. 3 — Rising (Episodes 11–15, includes two ~90-min finale films): Released 2001\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDVD Features (Individual Volumes)\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n- Dual-Layered Discs\u003cbr\u003e\n- Viz Media \/ Pioneer Previews\u003cbr\u003e\n- Note: All Viz Media editions are now out of print. Discotek Media remastered reissue available (2017).\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSpoken Languages:\u003c\/b\u003e English \u0026amp; Japanese Audio, English Subtitles\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eEdition Details\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eJapanese Title:\u003c\/b\u003e キィ・ザ・メタル・アイドル (Kii Za Metaru Aidoru)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRuntime:\u003c\/b\u003e ~570 Minutes (Complete OVA, 15 Episodes — eps 1–13 standard length; eps 14–15 ~90 min each)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDirector:\u003c\/b\u003e Hiroaki Sato\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eDVD Release Year:\u003c\/b\u003e 2000–2001 (U.S. Individual Volume Release, Viz Media \/ Pioneer); Complete Box Set May 18, 2004; all Viz editions now out of print\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOriginal Release Date (Japan):\u003c\/b\u003e December 16, 1994 – June 18, 1997 (Pony Canyon)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Viz Media (co-produced with Pioneer Entertainment)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRating:\u003c\/b\u003e Unrated\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eRegion:\u003c\/b\u003e Region 1 (U.S. \/ Canada)\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Out of print. All Viz Media editions discontinued. Discotek Media remastered DVD (February 28, 2017) is the current available edition — subtitle only.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGenre:\u003c\/b\u003e Sci-Fi, Psychological Drama, Idol\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eThemes:\u003c\/b\u003e Robot Seeking Humanity, Japanese Idol Industry Critique, Corporate Conspiracy, 30,000 Friends, Serial Experiments Lain Spiritual Kin\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nMedia assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.","brand":"Viz Video","offers":[{"title":"V1 - Awakening (EP 1–5)","offer_id":42540138135637,"sku":null,"price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"V2 - Dreaming (EP 6–10","offer_id":42540138168405,"sku":null,"price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"V3 - Rising (Episodes 11–15 + 2 ~90-min finale films)","offer_id":42540138201173,"sku":null,"price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"Complete Series (V1-3)","offer_id":42540144328789,"sku":null,"price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0565\/7673\/7365\/files\/8D45DCC3-8DF9-422E-8AE3-D96D2D80F780.jpg?v=1780515747","url":"https:\/\/hifilofi.shop\/products\/key-the-metal-idol-dvd","provider":"HiFi LoFi","version":"1.0","type":"link"}