Series synopsis
Key the Metal Idol is a Japanese drama sci-fi & fantasy animation action & adventure television series that premiered on December 16, 1994. It ended on June 18, 1997. It was created by Hiroaki Sato. It stars Junko Iwao, Hiroshi Yanaka, Jurota Kosugi and Miki Nagasawa.
Tokiko Mima, nicknamed "Key," is a 17-year-old girl living in the Japanese countryside who, despite her human-like appearance, is a robot. When Key's grandfather Dr. Murao Mima passes away, he leaves her a dying message, telling her that she can become a real girl if she is able to make thirty thousand friends. Thus, Key moves from the quiet Mamio Valley to the busy streets of Tokyo, where she soon runs into her childhood friend Sakura Kuriyagawa.
Key quickly becomes enamored with idol singer M ...
Premise
Tokiko Mima, nicknamed "Key," is a 17-year-old girl living in the Japanese countryside who, despite her human-like appearance, is a robot. When Key's grandfather Dr. Murao Mima passes away, he leaves her a dying message, telling her that she can become a real girl if she is able to make thirty thousand friends. Thus, Key moves from the quiet Mamio Valley to the busy streets of Tokyo, where she soon runs into her childhood friend Sakura Kuriyagawa.
Key quickly becomes enamored with idol singer Miho Utsuse and wonders if becoming a singer will allow her to make the amount of friends needed for her to become human. But Miho carries a ominous secret: she is connected to Jinsaku Ajou, an old rival of Dr. Mima trying to make new a breakthrough in robotic weaponry. As Key works to become a real girl, Ajou sets a dangerous plan into action, and it turns out there's much more to Key than meets the eye.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Junko Iwao as Tokiko "Key" Mima (voice)
- Hiroshi Yanaka as Tomoyo Wakagi (voice)
- Jurota Kosugi as Sergei / "D" (voice)
- Miki Nagasawa as Sakura Kuriyagawa (voice)
- Show Hayami as Jinsaku Ajo (voice)
- Toshiyuki Morikawa as Shuuichi Tataki (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 1 season with 15 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 15 | December 16, 1994 | June 18, 1997 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Startup As you might imagine, an innocent like Key gets into trouble pretty much the moment she arrives in Tokyo. Aimlessly wandering the streets, she's picked up by a 'photographer' for a 'model agency'... whose main line of business actually seems to be making adult videos. Luckily for her, she's rescued by a chance encounter with a childhood friend of hers, Sakura – who holds down three different part-time jobs but hasn't really decided what she wants to do with her life yet. |
December 16, 1994 |
| 2 |
Cursor I As Key settles in as Sakura's temporary houseguest, we get to see a bit more of the other lead characters in action. There's Sakura's friend Shuichi, fan club president for the famous pop idol Miho Utsuse... who herself seems somehow connected to Jinsaku Ajo, the megalomaniac CEO of Ajo Heavy Industries. Also lurking in the background is Tomoyo, Dr. Mima's old lab assistant, who has followed Key to Tokyo in order to keep an eye on her. |
February 17, 1995 |
| 3 |
Cursor II Key begins to fixate upon the idea of becoming a pop idol herself as the surest way to making 30,000 friends. In the meantime, Ajo's team are trying to determine whether she might be where Dr. Mima cached his last technological secrets before dying. When Key's presence (care of Shuichi) disrupts Miho Utsuse's latest concert, the company sends out two PPORs to hunt Key down, remotely controlled by a dangerous operative known only as 'D'. |
March 1, 1995 |
Production
Release
| First aired | December 16, 1994 |
|---|---|
| Last aired | June 18, 1997 |
| Runtime | 30 minutes |
| Status | ended |