A Look Into Studio Key

If you haven’t heard of Air, Kanon or Clannad by now… I’ll kindly ask what rock you’ve been hiding under. They started out as visual novels from the studio Key/Visual Arts. Jun Maeda writing some of the most dramatic storyline known in all of anime, as well as working on the soundtracks. Itaru Hinoue the main artiest for the first 3 games, created some of the most popular characters in history, and might I add has improved greatly over her career. Shinji Orito is the main composer, coming up with some very beautiful songs.

What is a visual novel? Visual novels are sort of games, they like to call them that anyway. They are books in a sense, with pictures and words, as well as music and often voice overs. Some let you make choices in your story about which direction you’d like to take, others are just 1 story, 1 ending.

So what does it take to make a popular visual novel? Apparently just talent and dedication! Recently a video has been released where we get to see a tour of the Key Studio. What caught my attention, aside from being a Key fangirl, is that their office is actually… quite… small. As someone who draws it sparks hope that if you are dedicated enough with what you do, you can achieve a lot.

What’s on the horizon for Key? While Jun Maeda made a statement in the past that he will no longer be working on Key titles, he has returned to work on Rewrite. The game will have a 16:9 aspect ratio which is a first for the company. Probably one of the highest points of interest, besides Jun returning, is that he will be pairing up with Ryukishi07 who is most famous for his work on Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, which he produced originally out of his own home.

Also now that Clannad (TV series) has finished airing, the rumor is that Little Busters! will be the next title, and it has been neither confirmed or denied. It is possible that Rewrite could become an anime, but if it does, it’s probably a long time from now. All I can hope for is that they keep working with KyoAni for their animation.

List of Key works: One: Kagayaka Kisetsu e, Moon, Air, Kanon, Clannad, Tomoyo After: It’s a Wonderful Life, Little Busters!, Rewrite, Planetarian.

Original youtube video found on www.sankakucomplex.com