Customer Reviews

Key the Metal Idol - Singing (Vol. 3)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best Anime Tv series released in Japan. If you are an Anime fan and you watched and liked SerialExperiments Lain then you'll love this one. Key The Metal Idol looks like a futuristic horror remake of Pinocchio. Buy all the DVDs from this serie, you won't be disappointed unless you really hate the genre. It's one of the best cyber Sci-Fi stories to date.

(SIGH) I first saw this seiries on public televison, but only caught some of the episodes. Due mainly to the unpredictability of the stations air times. Needless to say I was stoked when I could buy the series on DVD.

DISC's 1 and 2 are great. Just like I remebered when I saw them of TV. In disc three however, the whole series takes a turn for the worst. I don't know if it was a lazy animator, or a rushed director, but the whole disc pratically turns into a story of telling instead of showing. In any story, especially a visual one, the story is supposed to be shown instead of told. But for well over and hour, two of the characters talk about Key and her past.

It would have been alot more effective if the they could have used flashbacks or left Keys past as a mystery. Like others have already stated I had a hard time watching the last disc.

I gave the third volume 2 stars just because I felt like it's neccesary to finish off Key's story, if you've seen the first 13 episodes.

Maybe the producer of Key will redo the last episodes and give them justice. (unlikely though)

Disc 1 and 2 of "Key the Metal Idol" are absolutely amazing anime. Up until that point, you're left with a tantalizing wonder about whether or not Key really is a robot, a human, or something more. Images of the "human" Key overtake the "robot" Key at emotional moments, and there are also hints of Akira-like powers Key posesses, but is completely unaware of.

Unfortunately, the last two installments of the series on Disc 3 bog things down and throw too much out the window. Also frustrating is the feeling that both of the last two segments were padded and overwritten. Many moments that made the first two discs a joy are here on Disc 3 as well, but they are far too infrequent. On top of that, the viewer must wade through many dull scenes laced with obtuse exposition, and little or no action.

Part 1 of Disc 3 is the worst offender in that regard, but Part 2 has many long, drawn-out scenes as well. For example, there are several inexplicable pans of the Megalodome concert that fill space again and again on the disc without doing much to advance the story. A story's climax should be climactic, after all, not excitig moments laced together with dull spots.

Fans should be warned, without resorting to a spoiler, that one of the cast members falls prey to a decidedly nasty turn of events the series could have done without. Again, this does not really do all that much to advance the story in a positive way, and the finality was unnecessary given Key's powers.

On the plus side, there are some great moments worth waiting for, (mostly in Part 2), and the series comes to a somewhat satisfying, if not totally comprehensible, end.

While Disc 3 is the worst of the lot, it's still better than the average anime. As such, you won't feel cheated, and the price is good value for your anime dollar.

The much disliked 3rd DVD....I was really split on this, and would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. As mentioned elsewhere, the first episode (near 90 minutes long) is a ton of exposition and is a serious shift in story-telling from the first 13 episodes. When Wakagi and Surichi aren't sitting in a park talking about Key, her grandfather, and her grandfather's past; there's an old friend of Dr. Mima's (Key's grandfather) muttering about 15 minutes of backstory on the doctor to himself. Sakura and Key are largely moved to the back, but their scenes are wonderful...and the scene of Key clinging onto Sakura, calling her "mother" while Sakura is realizing her relationship to her is one of the sweetest moments in the story. I couldn't really stand Sakura until this moment in the series, so that makes up for the lack of scenes with Key in the first episode.

The Second episode is an improvement, since we know most of what is going on by now, but still will have a few curve balls thrown at us. It's still slower and we must sit through the story of the cult leader, but most of the story belongs to Key. The character of Key is so interesting that she lights up any scene she's in. As she moves closer to her wish of becoming human, we see how amazing she is. But, there's a lot of growth she must make to get there. The last 15 or so minutes of the final show more than make up for any slowness before. It shows Key at her best. Some weird scenes, and the song that Key finally sings wasn't that impressive (I kind of wonder if they'd use the Japanese folk song "Sakura") but it was an ending worth waiting for. I just kind of wish it had gone just a few minutes more, so we'd see more of a resolution of Key's life.

I guess I could almost rate the R or a heavy PG-13. There's bloodly scenes, nudity (more than other shows, but here it's mostly the robots), language, and the bizarro scenes of Ajo fawning over his female robots that make one suggest he's got more issues than finding Key. I would recommend renting it before buying it, because it is so different from the first 13 shows that some may be upset at the different style.

I LOVED the first two DVDs of the Key series. It made Key one of my favorite animes ever. But this third DVD made me even forget why I liked Key in the first place. I've never fallen asleep while watching a movie before. Not until watching this DVD anyway. It is SO boring! All they do is talk talk talk and talk some more. I don't see how anybody could hang on to every word and understand what is going on. I skipped right to the end of this DVD because I couldn't take it anymore. I saw how Key became human. I had no clue as to what happened but I needed to see the story come to an end anyway. If you're into animes with all talk and no action get this third DVD of Key. But if you're into great storytelling watch the first two Key DVDs and forget this one.

Wow. I can't say enough about the first two DVD's in the Key series. Good music and video quality, as well as interesting characters, and several wonderfully animated scenes. Many of the sequences are breahtaking, and the developing mystery is involving.

As is typical in so much anime, however, the parts far outweigh the sum. By the time the series wraps up in a muddy climax where, literally, the entire audience falls asleep, I found it hard to even remember how good the early parts of Key were. Do yourself a favor, skip this disc and write your own ending. I assure you it will be better.

Wow. The first 2 DVD's were awsome. It's very powerful to the emotions. The first few words I thought of when getting these discs were 1. Horror 2. Robot stuff 3. PROZAC's. Hmmm. Hey I thought the story line was great so that;s is all that counts. I'm one of thoses guys who can stand talking for 2 hours so the 3rd dvd isn't that bad. (I watch lots of DBZ. Got the experience.) Over all this is a great anime. Not for kiddies though. I waited 3 entire years before I could purchase this because I was under aged. YEESH!!

By the way this applies to the KEY DVD 1&2. Like I said before Key: The Metal Idol is not your average Anime series (and a small series. Only spands 4 DVDs), but its a good one. Its one of those series that you might have to watch a couple of times before you understand it. This especially is true when you've watched one of the DVDs and then about a month later get the next one. You'll HAVE to watch the previous again! But after you get caught in the shows flow, you'll begin to love it. So what I'm saying is "GIVE IT A TRY"!!!!

Key is a robot who wants to be human... for her to be human she needs 3000 friends... (sounds like a more convoluted version of Pay it Forward if you ask me)

The animation is of a high standard that is for sure, but the story is slow moving and sometimes extremely hard to get grips with.

However the highlight of this show is the opening and closing sequences along with the songs that accompany them. The opening theme 'In the Night' is probably one of the best songs I have ever heard in a long time, a good beat and an almost hypnotic melody. It is in fact my second favourite anime theme song, it is that good.

So if you are tired of big robots and hentai, this is a good title to rent. But do yourself a favour and pick up the vocal album to Key the Metal Idol. I swear even if you dont know a word of japanese, its a good buy

the third disc ruins the entire series. the pacing really sucks, it slows to a halt with a bunch of nonsense dialog from chararcters that aren't that important. i thought the title was "key the metal idol" not "the lackeys and that annoying boy that pops in for the last episode to say stupid lines".

the story gets even more hokey with these last two episodes and since they are sooo long, it gets boring as hell. plus the video transfer is complete crap on this dvd. prepare to be disappointed by this ending. i believe they lost sight of making a decent conclusion by trying to be so "out there" or "sci-fi". instead of having characters talk about the main character for over an hour, how about showing her and having some type of meaningful action take place. it's too bad that semi-long anime series can really disappoint in the ending. key, evangelion, lain, the samurai x 2 disc set, etc.