Key the Metal Idol
[Episodes 1-15 Reviewed]
[Reviewed by Bethany]

Key the Metal Idol is not what I suspected it would be. I got it by chance when Ros was doing one of his throw-random-anime-at-people purges, and watched it because it looked Lain-esque. I was more than a bit pleasantly surprised to find out that Key the Metal Idol is an anime of great originality and creativity — and something that amazed me with its depths, its twists, and its strange distortion of reality.

Now watch as I talk out of my ass.

Story
Tokiko Mima — nicknamed Key — wants to become a real girl. Or, rather, she has little choice in the matter — Dr. Mima's dying words were a plea for Key to change from a robot into a real human girl... which she would be able to do if she gained the support of thirty-thousand people. So Key left her small village for Tokyo... in an attempt to fulfill Dr. Mima's final wish.

That's hardly a good synopsis, but I'm not sure what else to say without spoiling something very important — and Key is one anime series that should be watched spoiler-free. I'll attempt to do a better job in the rest of the review.

And So...?
Key the Metal Idol is a story that blurs the lines between fantasy and science fiction and reality. Its Tokyo is dark and daring — a world where robots masquerade as humans and humans masquerade as robots, where the true and false in emotion is sometimes as simple as the sound of a song. Its characters are beautifully disturbed, darkly complex, and pulled along both by what they cannot control and what they themselves unknowingly cause: there is a sense of destiny to the story that isn't as simple as preordained fate, but something woven by the threads that tie people to one another.

Sakura is the perfectly flawed portrait of a girl struggling to survive, struggling with her emotions, her fears and hopes, and not always able to reconcile what she needs for herself and what she wants for others. Tataki wants to be a part of something bigger than himself — he seems to be just realizing how large the world is, and how small humans are in comparison: he longs for a mystery in life, perhaps to give his own existence purpose. He's almost selfishly oblivious to those around him, and doesn't realize even how much he cares. Wakagi is cryptic but interesting. Ajo is... well, Ajo is insane, but he's insane with heaps and heaps of style. Tsurugi has everything but doesn't know what he really wants (not to mention he's really, really weird). And then there's Key, the focus of everything but detached from it as well, both with her bursts of emotion that bring her toward humanity and her awkward but not truly emotionless robot self.

The story builds and keeps right on building — but takes the time to look you in the face and tell you what's really happening. All the mysteries are solved, all [or most] of the loose ends tied, and at the end, everything comes together in a way that knocks the breath from you — despite the excess of bright pink goo. The story is a rollercoaster of wild-ideas and sincere feeling, that simply cannot leave you unaffected. With its blend of the science and spiritual worlds, (but without Angels) Key goes places few other series do.

Its music is gorgeous — both the vocals interspersed throughout and the mood-setting background music are simply wonderful. Artistically, it lacks the smooth beauty of ... say, shoujo characters, but it will blow you away with direction and style. It knows how to be ragged and intense, and it knows how to be quiet and disturbing. It knows how to give you chills.

The Bottom Line
Key is an excellent anime for just about anyone. No simple Pinocchio story is Key: it's dark and magical, but creepily real ... even if it is a sort of charicature of life. And it's definitely a favorite of mine.