okiko Mima has a very limited lifespan--her robotic body will wear out and "die" unless she finds 30,000 "true friends" to help make her human. So Tokiko--"Key" to her friends--has tried exploring religious leadership and pop superstardom as paths to larger fame. The former worked a little too well, and now a snake-god priest and his cultists are obsessively following her while trying to drive others away from her. The latter path hasn't worked at all, as Key can't sing, dance, act or even smile.
But something about Key fascinates artistic genius Tsurugi, a preternatural prodigy who takes an unsettling delight in trying to shatter her aloofness. Tsurugi is a manic depressive who attacks walls and furniture, then licks up his own blood with vampiric relish. He also has the economic power and social pull to get Key whatever she wants, despite the cult priest's efforts to end her so-called artistic career and bring her back to the fold.
Meanwhile, Key's friend Shuichi takes a trip to her hometown, where he finds hallucinations, flashbacks, a violated grave and a dangerous secret. At the same time, music industry leader Jinsaku Ajo sets out to replace current superstar Miho with a fresh new version, his employee D escapes from a prison cell, and his regular-Joe scientist servants suck the life from a few more homeless people to keep his robot creations going. It's just another day in the pits of evil--at least until Key shows up at the new Miho concert and quite a bit of hell breaks loose.
Slow-motion plot juggling
At this point in this brilliant original video animation series, writer/director Hiroaki Sato is juggling about a dozen plots at once, and not all of them are apparently relevant. Where the last two installments of Key moved the story forward rapidly, Vols. 5 and 6 slow the pace down and fill in only a few of the gaps. Still, they continue to add richness of character and extravagantly beautiful detail that makes the wait for a resolution sweeter instead of more frustrating. Sato's sense for pacing and story development have been exquisite thus far, and they don't disappoint here, as he cleverly snaps between the multiple plotlines to build tension while still maintaining a leisurely, floating stride forward in each individual story.
Similarly, Sato's remarkable flair for haunting visuals continues to be a main focus of the series. These installments are laced with visions that become dreams that fade into memories, hallucinations apparently unseen by the hallucinator, and other vibrantly odd tricks of time and perception that place a veneer of sophistication over the most mundane moments. In particular, Shuichi's trip through Key's home forest, spangled by ghosts from her past, is a breathtaking piece of cinema and storytelling alike.
And if haunting images and astute writing aren't enough, there is the slam-bang ending that sets up the conclusion to the series, which is to come in two full-length movies, on the way soon but not fast enough. In fact, the only flaw to date in the Metal Idol Key series is that Viz can't possibly release it quickly enough to sate the addicts it's inevitably creating.
