Key no Lullaby

KEY NO LULLABY

— by C. Scott Rider

1. Key no Lullaby 5:34

Iwao Junko

2. Key's Soliloquy 13:03

Iwao Junko

As comprehensive as the the soundtrack CD releases for the Pony Canyon OVA series KEY THE METAL IDOL are, they curiously omit what is possibly the most important piece of music in the show. One might begin to wonder what could cause such oversight on the part the production staff. As it turns out, it was not a mistake at all: the production staff had something special in mind for the series' musical finale, and decided to carry that over into a special CD-single: KEY NO LULLABY (Key's Lullaby).
The CD itself contains only two tracks, but they are unique. Nowhere else in the entire release of the soundtrack can be found the powerful and haunting (and very oddly worded, if you understand Japanese) Lullaby sung by Key, herself (voice actress Iwao Junko). There is the "Miho" version of Lullaby on the Vocal Data Disc for First and Second Program sung by Miho voice actress Shibahara Chiyako (which was, until receiving this CD, the author's favorite piece of music from the show), but this version surpasses it. The second track is a mini-drama of sorts, though it only features one character: Key. Key reflects on her life, and thanks those (viewers) who supported her.
There is only one big drawback to this CD: if one did not follow the mail-in procedure outlined on the cardboard insert included with the original Pony Canyon LD and VHS releases of the final KEY installment ("Version 15"), then getting the CD is going to be extremely difficult. The CD was billed as the "Complete Volume Present" for buying all the volumes in the KEY series. One had to cut out the small "proof-of-purchase" seals on each LD/VHS jacket and submit them along with a self-addressed, stamped, padded mailer to Pony Canyon in Tokyo before 1 September 1997. Even so, undoubtedly some of them will surface at used goods shops like Mandarake despite the "NOT FOR SALE" notice printed on the cover.
Keep an eye out for this one; it is worth it.