Ranked #1638

Key the Metal Idol

I don’t normally write reviews, but I watched this series, and for this, I can make an exception.

It is an unusual series, like the above description says, it’s about a robot girl, called Key, trying to become human after her grandfather has died. I didn’t think much of it when I first read that, but there are some great dark moments in it, fused in with some good drama, all good points for me. It starts off light-heartedly, as Key tries to learn how to become human, with help from her friend. This does carry on for a few episodes, where are all entertaining of course. But it’s when the story gets involved with Ajo, that you really start to take notice. Some watchers, who want more heavy action, or dark story plots, might get bored near the beginning of the series, but it is worth watching the whole way through. There is a lot of past surrounding Key, and a good few twists. The story line doesn’t have complexity of ergo proxy or neon genesis, but should keep you entertained. Also the end of each episode leaves on a cliff hanger, making you crave for more.

Character development is well done. Key being the best character there, she’s the innocent, silent type, that you just have to adore. There’s a broad range of characters that Key meets among her journey to become human, none of them are two- dimensional in any way, all of them add rich detail to the plot. That being said, the main enemy isn’t the most original character ever thought up. He’s the generic evil villain, who’s power hungry and possibly mentally disturbed, but nothing wrong with that.

Music is not badly done. I really liked the opening theme, it was well done. A few other songs in the series took my fancy as well. Which is important, as the music, does play a certain role in this series.

Animation wise, well, ‘Key the metal idol’, is a bit old now, in terms of progression in the animation quality, you can tell just by a simple glance. But to be honest, that doesn’t bother me. There’s a lot anime series I’ve seen and thought to be, too brightly coloured and unrealistic. I welcome the old style myself, it feels somewhat refreshing. But others would probably disagree with me.

Overall, a well done series. The last two episodes are quite long, the episodes 14 in particular, which can be a bit dull with a lot of talking, but this makes up for it on the later part of episodes 15, when reaching it’s climax. Also there are several scenes with brief nudity, which I thought was unnecessary. The series is a hidden gem, that needs to be appreciated more, some may be put off by the older animation, but do I recommend the show. If I could give an 8.5, I would.


read more

Story: The story for Key the Metal Idol is relatively simple at first. It's the generic 'go on a quest' type. For Key she has to get all these fans so she can change from a robot into a human, relatively blah right? Yeah, it kind of is.

The story does get really good at the end but getting there takes forever and the pacing of the series isn't good. It's relatively boring for about three or four episodes and then BAM! something just exciting enough happens so you keep watching the series a little longer to see how it ends.

Up until the end practically nothing really makes any sense at all. However, the ending is quite good and it wraps up the series nicely and with no loose ends. And the story, once it gets going, is rather original and ... strange.

Art: About the art there's not much to be said. It was released mid-90s so it has the generic art type from that time. Nothing really spectacular about it, it's above average, little else. There is one saving grace about the art though: the robot designs. They are excellent, the problem is you don't get to see them too much.

Sound: Here comes the one thing that really hurts this series. The sound isn't very good at all. The voices are altogether cheesy and halting, espicially Key's. By the end of the series you just want Key to shut up because her voice is so annoying. It's the generic robot voice that you can listen to on your computer. They didn't even need a voice actor for her part.

Also, there is a lot of singing but only one song is really any good in my opinion and that's the lullabye. (Can't really describe it without spoiling the series.) Besides that the songs just aren't vrey good, espiecially the opening theme which nearly turned me off before I even got two minutes in.

Character: At first all the characters seem rather generic and boring but they start to get better around the halfway point of the series. This goes espiecially for Key as you can probably guess why.

Also, the pasts of the power players in it are really good since the series pretty much remade the history of the world of robotics from the forties on. (It's fun to watch, espiecially if you are into robotics.)

Enjoyment: The series will make you happy ... if you can stick with it. I had to watch about four episodes at a time and then take a few hours break before returning to it. If you do it this way, you won't fall asleep ... most likely, and you'll get the most out of it. The ending really makes it worth struggling through the first thirteen episodes.

Overall: This series is a good series, if you can make it through. It isn't very action oriented but the conversations are pretty deep and the plot twists are excellent ... though some of them are a little obvious. Everything does come together at the end and it's an excellent ending.

Although this isn't the greatest show ever released, it's worth a look espiecially if you like strange anime or if you like your sci-fi with a little twist. It may not be your favorite series ever, but you won't be disappointed. read more