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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.
Little Busters! is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key. It was released on July 27, 2007 for Windows PCs and is rated for all ages. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. An adult version of the game titled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008 for Windows, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. Ecstasy was later ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Switch with the adult content removed under the title Little Busters! Converted Edition. An English version for Windows was released on Steam in 2017. The story follows a group of childhood friends now attending high school called the Little Busters, as they decide to form a baseball team. Riki, who is diagnosed with narcolepsy, is tasked to recruit more girls in preparation for a baseball game, and he bonds with each of them on account of their internal conflicts. Meanwhile, Rin gets mysterious letters from her cat Lennon to complete various tasks to learn the "secret to this world".
Itaru Hinoue is the pseudonym of a Japanese artist from Osaka, Japan, who is one of the founding members of the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Hinoue's choice of her pseudonym stems from the manga C by Shō Kitagawa; the protagonist in the manga was named Itaru Amano. Before forming Key, Hinoue worked for the company Tactics where she had a hand in the creation of the company's three games: Dōsei, Moon, and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. After forming Key, Hinoue has become known for her work on such titles as Kanon, Air and Clannad. Her dōjinshi circle is known as "Soldier Frog". In September 2016, Hinoue resigned from Key and VisualArt's.
Jun Maeda is a Japanese writer and composer. He is a co-founder of the visual novel brand Key under Visual Arts. He is considered a pioneer of nakige visual novels, and has mainly contributed as a scenario writer, lyricist, and musical composer for the games the company produces.
Shinji Orito is a Japanese musical composer originally from Hyōgo, Japan working for the visual novel brand Key under VisualArt's. Before forming Key, Orito worked for another software company named Leaf where he contributed to four games. After leaving Leaf, Orito transferred to another company named Tactics where he had a hand in the creation of three games for that company: Dōsei, Moon, and One: Kagayaku Kisetsu e. After forming Key, Orito has put much work into such famous titles as Kanon, Air and Clannad. Orito has been influenced by the famous Japanese composers Joe Hisaishi and Yuzo Koshiro.
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.
Rewrite is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 24, 2011 for Windows PCs and is rated for all ages. Rewrite is Key's ninth game, following other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. Key released a fan disc expanding on the game's story titled Rewrite Harvest festa! on July 27, 2012 for Windows. Rewrite was ported to the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, while Harvest festa! was ported to the PlayStation Vita. An English version of Rewrite for Windows was released by Sekai Project in 2021; they will also release Harvest festa! in English. The story follows the life of Kotarou Tennouji, a high school student with superhuman abilities who investigates supernatural mysteries with five girls from his school in the fictional city of Kazamatsuri. This ultimately leads him into the middle of a conflict between familiar summoners and superhumans with the fate of the world at stake.
Key Net Radio was a Japanese Internet radio program produced by VisualArt's and the visual novel studio Key in regard to Key and the games the brand produces. Thirty broadcasts were released online from December 13, 2007, to August 30, 2010. The show was hosted by Shinji Orito and Itaru Hinoue of Key, and another woman named Chiro who works for Pekoe, another visual novel studio under VisualArt's. Guests have been known to appear on the show including Jun Maeda and Na-Ga of Key. Each broadcast was recorded and were available via download on Key's official website after being edited by Orito, though Hinoue filled in for Orito on some occasions. The episodes were available for download on the radio show's official blog for the first nine broadcasts, and the first 27 episodes are no longer available for download. The more recent broadcasts could be listened to on VisualArt's' YouTube channel named Visual Channel. Listeners could submit thoughts about the show and any requests they may have for the show, along with submitting questions to the host trio. Key Net Radio's mascot is named Kirara and is drawn by Itaru Hinoue.
Angel Beats! is a 13-episode Japanese 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, who produced such titles as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. The anime aired in Japan between April 3 and June 26, 2010, on CBC. An original video animation (OVA) episode was released in December 2010, and a second OVA was released in June 2015. The story takes place in the afterlife and focuses on Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. He is enrolled into the afterlife school and meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront, an organization she leads which fights against the student council president Kanade Tachibana, a girl also known as Angel with supernatural powers.
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.
Angel Beats! 1st Beat is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 26, 2015 for Windows and is rated for all ages. The game is based on the 2010 anime television series Angel Beats!, originally conceived by Jun Maeda, and also adapts scenes featured in the anime. The story takes place in the afterlife and focuses on Otonashi, a boy who lost his memories of his life after dying. He is enrolled into the afterlife school and meets a girl named Yuri who invites him to join the Afterlife Battlefront—an organization she leads that fights against God. The Battlefront fight against the student council president Angel, a girl with supernatural powers.
Summer Pockets is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on June 29, 2018 for Windows and is rated for all ages. Summer Pockets is Key's 13th game, following its previous games such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. An expanded version of the game titled Summer Pockets Reflection Blue was released on June 26, 2020 in Japan. Both the original game and Reflection Blue have been ported to iOS and Android devices, and the Nintendo Switch. Reflection Blue has also additionally been ported to the PlayStation 4. An English version of the original game for Windows was released by Visual Arts in 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.
Heaven Burns Red is a free-to-play mobile action game co-developed by WFS, inc. and Key. It was released on February 10, 2022, for iOS and Android in Japan. It is Jun Maeda's first completely new game in 15 years as main scenario writer since Little Busters! (2007). A version for Windows is available on Steam.
Loopers is a Japanese science fiction visual novel developed by Key, a brand of Visual Arts. It was released on May 28, 2021 for Windows and is Key's 15th game overall. An English version was released on Steam in June 2023. It was ported to iOS and Android devices, as well as the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The story follows high school student Tyler and his friends who get caught in a time loop, continuously repeating the same day seemingly without end. Before long, they meet others caught in the same predicament who call themselves "loopers", and the two groups join forces to try to break out of the loop.
References
- ↑ "Angel Beats! staff information" (in Japanese). Key/VisualArt's . Retrieved May 30, 2009.
- ↑ "Rewrite visual novel official website" (in Japanese). Key. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
- ↑ "Na-Ga's visual novel contributions" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 10, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2007.
