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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.
Clannad is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and released on April 28, 2004, for Windows. While both of Key's first two previous works, Kanon and Air, had been released first as adult games and then censored for the younger market, Clannad was specifically made for all ages. It was later ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch consoles. An English version for Windows was released on Steam by Sekai Project in 2015.
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.
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.
Riya is a female Japanese singer from Fukuoka, Japan. In her early career, she admired Akino Arai. Riya eventually became the lead singer and lyricist to the J-pop band Eufonius, which debuted in 2003.
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.
"Birthday Song, Requiem" is a collaboration maxi single containing songs sung by former I've Sound singer Lia. It was first released on December 28, 2002 at Comiket 63 in Japan by Key Sounds Label bearing the catalog number KSLA-0007. The single contains one disc with three tracks composed, arranged, and produced by Jun Maeda, Magome Togoshi, Ryō Okabe, and Fishtone. The cover art features a passage from Mark 16:6-7 from the American Standard Version of the Bible.
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.
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 visual novel developed by Key and published by VisualArt's in 2010. The story follows the lives of Riki Naoe and his close friend Kudryavka as they start to see more of each other in a romantic relationship. The discography of Kud Wafter consists of one single, one soundtrack, and three remix album. The core of the discography is the original soundtrack album produced by Key Sounds Label in 2010. The music on the soundtrack was composed and arranged by Jun'ichi Shimizu, Manack, and Donmaru. Four remix albums were released between 2010 and 2020.
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
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Key Sounds Label's discography" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved March 15, 2007.
- ↑ "Clannad arrange album Mabinogi" (in Japanese). Key Sounds Label . Retrieved January 25, 2011.
- ↑ "Clannad Official English Release – Campaign". Kickstarter . Retrieved March 4, 2016.
- ↑ "Clannad Original Soundtrack listing". Chudah's Corner. Retrieved March 15, 2007.
- ↑ "Sorarado Append listing". Chudah's Corner. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- ↑ "-Memento- listing". Chudah's Corner. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- ↑ "Piano no Mori listing". Chudah's Corner. Archived from the original on October 27, 2006. Retrieved March 17, 2007.
- 1 2 ""Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" Piano Arrange Disc album listing". VGMdb. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Clannad film official website" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 22, 2007.
- ↑ ""Mag Mell / Dango Daikazoku" single information" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved September 30, 2007.
- ↑ ""Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" single information" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
- ↑ "From Key Sounds Label, Lia's "Toki o Kizamu Uta / Torch" is on the Charts" (in Japanese). Lia's Cafe. November 19, 2008. Retrieved November 19, 2008.
- 1 2 "Dreams Come True CD with Umino Manga Debuts at #1". Anime News Network. November 20, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- 1 2 "November 2008, week 5, single weekly rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved November 26, 2008.
- ↑ "November 2008, week 4, single weekly rankings" (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved November 20, 2008.
- ↑ "CLANNAD ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK/ゲーム・ミュージック" [Clannad Original Soundtrack/Game Music] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ↑ "メグメル/だんご大家族/ｅｕｆｏｎｉｕｓ，茶太" [Mag Mell/Dango Daikazoku/Eufonius, Chata] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ↑ "劇場版『CLANNAD －クラナド－』 SOUNDTRACK/サントラ" [Film Version Clannad Soundtrack] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved August 10, 2009.
- ↑ "時を刻む唄/TORCH/Lia" [Toki o Kizamu Uta/Torch/Lia] (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved August 10, 2009.
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