Video Backlog: "Key the Metal Idol"

Publisher: Viz Video (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Dub and English Subtitles
Length: 13 episodes x 25 mins (OVA 1 - 13), 98 mins (OVA 14), 100 mins (OVA 15)
Production Date: 1994 - 1997
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

Story Outline: Teenage high schooler Mima Tokiko, known as Key, believes she is a robot. Her somewhat idyllic life in the rural Mamio Valley comes to an abrupt end when her grandfather Dr Murao Mima, Key’s sole carer, dies. Dr Mima’s assistant, Tomoyo Wakagi, plays Key a message recorded by Dr Mima on his deathbed. In it he explains to her that she must obtain 30,000 friends in order to become human. Key takes this message literally and decides to head to Tokyo due to the greater population than her small hometown. Once there, she is hustled into the offices of V&A Productions, a seedy video company that produces softcore porn. However the pizza girl, Sakura Kuriyagawa, who comes to deliver dinner to the company, is in fact Key’s childhood friend. Upon realising that her childhood friend is about to make the biggest mistake in her life, she high tails it out of there with Key. Sakura decides to let Key stay with her, however at Sakura’s second job, a clerk at a video store, she is harassed by couple of men from V&A. However she is saved by Shuichi Tataki, a regular customer of the video store. Shuichi is also the president of the fan club of the mysterious idol Miho Utase.

Key becomes intrigued with Miho and decides to become an idol. After some trials and tribulations which test their relationship, Sakura decides to help her. However mysterious events swirl around Key, mostly having to do with the idol Miho and the company who back her, run by an elderly man named Jinsaku Ajo. Humanoid robots attack the employees of V&A and latter a leader of a religious cult, Prince Snake-Eye, takes an interest in Key and proclaims her as some sort of saviour. Meanwhile Wakagi strangely always comes to Key’s aid whenever she’s in trouble, as if he is continually tailing her.

Mini Review: I remember collecting this series as it originally came out in the late 1990’s on VHS. In fact we began playing it at the club I was running. Well we played the first 13 episodes. While quite low budget, in terms of film stock at least, this OVA was one of the surprises of the 1990’s. Predating “Evangelion” by almost a year, I would say this series is almost as obtuse and mystery filled as Eva. However the mysteries are revealed in this series. Though that makes the show come to crashing halt for a while. The 14th episode is probably a bit too long, as is the final 15th. Though both are a lot better than I remembered them. After watching the show more than a decade after I first saw it, one thing stands out the most on this show; the madness and insanity. Mostly Jinsaku Ajo’s. It’s really quite creepy. But that’s the fun of the show. You have Key’s innocence intercut with the cruelty, hardness, perverseness and lunacy of real life. Add in the robots (the PPORs or Sipes), the cold Sergei (codenamed “D”), an evil corporation, mistreatment of idols (with some well-produced pop music), supernatural elements and a great cast of characters. With the mystery and drama, it’s a fantastic mix.

Occasionally I found some situations to be a bit silly and overdone, especially in the last episode. And it’s a bit of a stretch to believe the handsome, muscly Shuichi to be an idol otaku with no girlfriend. However if you can suspend disbelief over a couple of minor plot points, the show is extremely entertaining. Most of the time I was thinking; “Key is a human”, then in the next moment; “No wait, she is a robot!”. It’s kind of amazing such an OVA exists, as it’s not something which you would think was overly commercial. Apparently the concept came from a dumped video game and was picked up as the 10th anniversary project of Pony Canyon. The OVA release itself in Japan was also pretty unusual with the first VHS retailing for ¥1,000 and subsequent volumes for ¥2,000. Most tapes sold for ¥9,800 or more at the time. I also liked how the “30,000 friends” angle was played up in the marketing of the series in Japan. Very cute. For some reason, this OVA has been forgotten by a lot of today’s anime fans. Bit of a shame because it’s a really good show. It has aged a bit, but it’s still really entertaining. Really glad I decided to rebuy this on DVD. 8 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 19 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).