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Key is a Japanese visual novel studio known for making dramatic and plot-oriented titles. It was formed on July 21, 1998, as a brand under the publisher Visual Arts, and is located in Kita, Osaka.
Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company Visual Arts. Key Sounds Label was formed to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under Visual Arts, known for developing titles such as Kanon and Air. Excluding two albums and one single that were released by Key and Visual Arts' before the label's formation, the majority of releases on the label all have a basis from one of Key's titles. There are other albums and singles on the label not directly related to the visual novels, such as two singles by Lia and one album by Riya. Unlike typical record labels, Key Sounds Label does not license any of the artists featured on albums and singles released on the label.
Air is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2000. The story follows Yukito Kunisaki, a traveler who arrives in a quiet seaside town during summer who is on a search for the "girl in the sky" that his now-deceased mother told him about and was searching for too. In town, Yukito meets three strange girls and Yukito begins to suspect that one of them may in fact be the girl he has been searching for. It was adapted by Toei Animation into an animated film in 2005 directed by Osamu Dezaki with music direction by Yoshikazu Suo. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into a 13-episode anime television series broadcast in 2005, along with an additional two episodes also broadcast in 2005, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Air and its anime adaptations consists of one EP, one single, two soundtracks, and three remix albums.
Clannad is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2004. The story follows Tomoya Okazaki, a discontented high school student whose life changes when he meets a girl one year older than him named Nagisa Furukawa. It was adapted by Toei Animation into an animated film in 2007 directed by Osamu Dezaki with music direction by Yoshichika Inomata. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into two anime television series consisting of 49 episodes broadcast between 2007 and 2009, including two original video animation episodes released in 2008 and 2009, directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Clannad and its anime adaptations consists of two studio albums, four singles, two soundtracks, and four remix albums.
Kanon is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 1999. The story follows Yuichi Aizawa, who has returned to the town where seven years ago he would spend his school vacations, but has forgotten many of the details regarding his previous visits. Over the course of the series, Yuichi slowly regains these memories as he meets new friends and is reacquainted with others from his past. It was adapted by Toei Animation into a 13-episode anime television series broadcast in 2002 along with an accompanying original video animation episode released in 2003, both directed by Takamichi Itō with music direction by Hiroyuki Kōzu. Kyoto Animation also adapted it into a 24-episode anime television series broadcast between 2006 and 2007 directed by Tatsuya Ishihara with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Kanon and its anime adaptations consists of one compilation album, three singles, three soundtracks, and three remix albums.
Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's and KineticNovel in 2004. The story centers around a middle-aged man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of the planetarium where the story takes place. It was adapted by David Production into an original net animation (OVA) series and an animated film titled Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars in 2016. An OVA titled Planetarian: Snow Globe animated by Okuruto Noboru was produced in 2021, and Key also released a visual novel version of Snow Globe in 2021. The core of the discography is the original soundtrack album produced by Key Sounds Label in 2006 for the visual novel. The music on the soundtrack was mainly composed and arranged by Magome Togoshi. A second soundtrack and two singles for the anime adaptations by David Production were released in 2016. An EP for Planetarian was released in 2017 featuring music from the visual novel and anime adaptations by David Production. A soundtrack for the Snow Globe OVA and visual novel was released in 2021.
Little Busters! and Little Busters! Ecstasy are visual novels developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2007 and 2008. The story follows Riki Naoe, a high school student and member of a close-knit group of friends who call themselves the Little Busters. It was adapted by J.C.Staff into two anime television series broadcast between 2012 and 2013, and an original video animation series to be released in 2014, directed by Yoshiki Yamakawa with music direction by Shinji Orito. The discography of Little Busters!, Ecstasy, and the anime adaptations consists of one compilation album, one EP, eight singles, three soundtracks, and five remix albums.
Love Song is an album containing songs sung by Riya from Eufonius first released on August 31, 2005, in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0019. The album contains one disc with thirteen tracks composed and produced by Jun Maeda of Key. Additional participating musicians include Kendi Sato on electric guitar for tracks two and twelve, AchillesKEN on percussion for track seven, and Weisswurst on violin for tracks seven and thirteen. Cover art for the album was provided by Yoshitoshi Abe who also provided illustrations inside the album's booklet. Love Song is a concept album which tells the narrative of love as it heads toward ruin.
Ma-Na is a compilation album first released on August 12, 2005 at Comiket 68 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0018. The album contains one disc with four tracks remixed from background music from four of Key's visual novels: Kanon, Air, Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet, and Clannad. The tracks on the album were composed, arranged, and produced by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi.
"Spica/Hanabi/Moon" is a collaboration maxi single containing songs sung by I've Sound's Lia first released on August 15, 2003, at Comiket 64 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0008. The single contains one disc with three tracks composed, arranged, and produced by Jun Maeda, Sorma, Yū Hagiwara, and Takumaru. "Hanabi" was later used as the ending theme for episode six of the 2013 anime series Little Busters! Refrain.
Humanity... is an album featuring songs composed by Shinji Orito, Magome Togoshi, Mitsuru Sekiyama, Yasushi Tanno, and Shigeru Kiyokawa. The album was first released on August 10, 2001 at Comiket 60 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0001. The album contains one disc with ten tracks; eight of the ten are sung by Hidetsuna Fujita, and Mina Minomo, and the lyrics for the songs were written by Jun Maeda, Tanno, Fujita, and Kazumi Ōtsuka. Excluding the last track, "Tori no Uta ", which is a remix of a song originally featured in Key's visual novel Air, none of the other tracks are related to visual novels by Key.
"Tori no Uta" is a Japanese trance song sung by Lia, written by Jun Maeda, composed by Shinji Orito, and arranged by Kazuya Takase. The song was recorded at Paramount Studio in Los Angeles by the visual novel studio Key through their record label Key Sounds Label for use as the opening theme of Key's 2000 visual novel Air. A short version of the song was first released on I've Sound's July 2000 compilation album Verge. The full version of "Tori no Uta" first appeared on the limited edition remix album Ornithopter originally bundled with the first printing release of the Air game, though "Tori no Uta" was not remixed on the album. The song was later widely distributed on the Air Original Soundtrack (2002), the soundtrack of the visual novel. The song was later featured as the opening theme to the Air anime series in 2005. The Japanese variety radio show Moteken used "Tori no Uta" as the ending theme to their October 15, 2007 broadcast.
Key Sounds Label is a Japanese independent record label based in Osaka, Japan, that specializes in trance music. The label formed in 2001 as a brand of the publishing company VisualArt's and was established to catalog and release music related to visual novels produced by the brand Key, also under VisualArt's. When Key Sounds Label formed, Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, and Magome Togoshi were Key's signature composers and have continued to produce the majority of the music on the label, though Togoshi resigned in October 2006 and is no longer affiliated with Key or VisualArt's. Key and VisualArt's released one single and two remix albums between 1999 and 2000, leading to the formation of Key Sounds Label the following year. The first official releases on the label were Work-S' debut studio album Humanity... and Lia's debut single "Natsukage / Nostalgia" at the convention Comiket 60 in 2001. The first release to chart on Japan's Oricon charts was the Clannad Original Soundtrack released in 2004. Between 2006 and 2008, eight more releases—five singles and three albums—also charted on Oricon. The six singles and two albums released for the anime series Angel Beats! charted on Oricon in 2010.
Kud Wafter is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by Key, released on June 25, 2010, for Windows. Kud Wafter is Key's eighth game, along with other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. Key released a version of Kud Wafter without the erotic content, and the game was ported to the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation Vita. The story follows the lives of high school students Riki Naoe and his close friend Kudryavka Noumi as they start to see more of each other in a romantic relationship. The gameplay in Kud Wafter follows a branching plot line which offers pre-determined scenarios with courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the title character Kudryavka, also known as "Kud" for short.
Rewrite is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2011. A fan disc for Rewrite titled Rewrite Harvest festa! was released in 2012. The discography of Rewrite and Harvest festa! consists of one studio album, seven singles, three soundtracks and seven remix albums. The core of the discography consists of two original soundtrack albums for the visual novels, one for Rewrite and the other for Harvest festa!. The soundtracks were produced by Key Sounds Label and released in 2011 and 2012. The music on the soundtracks was composed and arranged by Jun Maeda, Shinji Orito, Maiko Iuchi, Sōshi Hosoi, and Ryō Mizutsuki. An image song album was released in 2016. Seven singles were released between 2011 and 2017: two theme song singles for the visual novel, and five singles for the anime adaptation. A third soundtrack for the anime adaptation was released in 2017. The remix albums contains tracks from the games remixed by various artists and were released between 2011 and 2021.
Angel Beats! is a 13-episode 2010 anime television series produced by P.A. Works and Aniplex and directed by Seiji Kishi. The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay and composed the music with the group Anant-Garde Eyes, with original character design by Na-Ga; both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key. The first volume in a six-part episodic visual novel adaptation produced by Key was released in 2015. The discography of Angel Beats! consists of two studio albums, one compilation album, nine singles, one soundtrack and one remix album.
Charlotte is a 13-episode 2015 anime television series produced by P.A. Works and Aniplex and directed by Yoshiyuki Asai. The story was originally conceived by Jun Maeda, who also wrote the screenplay and composed the music with Hikarishuyo and the group Anant-Garde Eyes; Na-Ga provided the original character design. Both Maeda and Na-Ga are from the visual novel brand Key. The discography of Charlotte consists of two studio albums, three singles and one soundtrack.
Harmonia is a visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2016. The story is set in a world where artificially intelligent, emotional androids called Phiroids were developed before a rapid decline in human civilization. An emotionless young man named Rei with a mechanical right hand is cared for by a girl in a small town as he gradually learns how to express emotions. The discography of Harmonia consists of one single, one soundtrack and one remix album. The core of the discography is the original soundtrack album produced by Key Sounds Label in 2017. The music on the soundtrack was composed and arranged by Shinji Orito, Ryō Mizutsuki, Tomohiro Takeshita, Yūichirō Tsukagoshi and Meeon.
Summer Pockets and Summer Pockets Reflection Blue are visual novels developed by Key and published by Visual Arts in 2018 and 2020. The story is set on a fictional island on the Seto Inland Sea and follows the life of Hairi Takahara, a young man who uses the recent death of his grandmother as an excuse to escape to the island after an unpleasant incident. Once there, he gets to know the townsfolk of Torishirojima and multiple girls who are the focus of the story. The discography of Summer Pockets and Reflection Blue consists of two studio albums, three singles, two soundtracks, and six remix albums.
References
- ↑ "クドわふたー Original SoundTrack" [Kud Wafter Original Soundtrack] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ↑ "クドわふたー Original SoundTrack" [Kud Wafter Original Soundtrack] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ "クドわふたーアレンジアルバム Albina ~Assorted kudwaf Songs~" [Kud Wafter Arrange Album Albina: Assorted Kudwaf Songs] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ↑ "クドわふたーアレンジアルバム Albina ~Assorted kudwaf Songs~" [Kud Wafter Arrange Album Albina: Assorted Kudwaf Songs] (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 4, 2012.
- ↑ グッズ情報 [Goods Information] (in Japanese). Key . Retrieved February 17, 2012.
- ↑ "Deejay Busters!" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Little Busters! / Kud Wafter Piano Arrange Album "ripresa"". VGMdb. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Key Concept Arrange Album "Summer Chronicle"" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ↑ "One's Future" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved February 2, 2011.
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