Line #75 Creator/KeyVisualArts


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/key_visual_arts_logo.png]]
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3	'''Key''' is a VisualNovel developer which is an subsidary of the publisher '''Visual Arts''', usually in the {{Romance}} genre, whose works became very popular in the late 90s-2000s. They are especially well-known for creating heartbreaking stories that appear perfectly normal at first but always contain some thread of the supernatural from the beginning, which becomes more obvious as time goes on.
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5	The company began after a lot of workers broke off from Tactics after the creation of the game ''VisualNovel/OneKagayakuKisetsuE'', which has been adapted into a 3-episode {{hentai}} {{OVA}} as well as a 4-episode all-ages OVA. They then created ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', which was incredibly hyped before its release and even today is considered one of the best romance games, as well as the game that made the [[PornWithPlot plot-heavy]] {{eroge}} just as commercially viable as its PornWithoutPlot counterparts. Most of Key's games are of the {{utsuge}} variety, with a lot of emphasis on melodrama and [[TearJerker sad storylines]].
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7	Later games got more popular, more tragic, and more adventurous. ''[[VisualNovel/{{Planetarian}} planetarian: Reverie for a Little Planet]]'' and the last two segments of ''AIR'' venture into KineticNovel territory as well as… well, we won't spoil it. ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', ''Planetarian'', ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', and ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}'' are entirely clean, though ''Little Busters'' got an UpdatedRerelease as "Little Busters: Ecstasy" that included H-content along with its other additions.
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9	Most of its games have been adapted into animation. They seem to have had overlapping deals with Creator/ToeiAnimation and Creator/KyotoAnimation, as both studios have adapted the same works. In 2002, Toei made a [[TwelveEpisodeAnime 13-episode anime]] of ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}''; four years later, [=KyoAni=] made their (much better received) 26-episode series. Toei's theatrical version of ''VisualNovel/{{Air}}'' – which cut out many of the characters and changed the dynamic to a more overtly romantic story, but was directed by anime legend Creator/OsamuDezaki – came out in early 2005 while [=KyoAni's=] TwelveEpisodeAnime was running on TV. In Fall 2007, Toei's ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' movie – again directed by Dezaki, in what would turn out to be his final project – premiered less than three weeks before [=KyoAni's=] highly-praised TV series[[note]] (directed by Tatsuya Ishihara, the same guy who directed ''Air'' and ''Kanon''… and also ''Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya'')[[/note]] hit television. In general, Toei's versions are {{compressed adaptation}}s that aim to [[AdaptationDistillation alter plot elements to focus on a single plot]], while [=KyoAni=] cuts less out and is [[TruerToTheText much more faithful to the games' stories]]. The [[FanNickname KeyAni]] partnership seems to be over for now, as Creator/PAWorks did the animation for ''Anime/AngelBeats'' in 2010, and the ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' adaption was made under the direction of Creator/JCStaff.
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11	Key is also known for its seasonal imagery in the first three games, collectively the "Seasonverse" or "Season Trilogy," which share a universe and common themes. ''Kanon'' makes full use of SnowMeansLove and [[TropeCodifier may have defined]] the modern [[ProneToTears Sad Girl In Snow]]; ''AIR'' does the same for Summer, and ''CLANNAD'' for Spring, though [[SnowMeansDeath snow appears and plays a darker role]]. They're not limited to seasonal settings, though; for instance, ''planetarian'' was set in a {{Dystopia}} where robots had taken over the world and one good RobotGirl without a purpose hid in a planetarium with a refugee, and ''Anime/AngelBeats!'' is set in what appears to be a world where no one can die (affectionately dubbed as Purgatory).
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13	Most of the anime adaptations of the Key Visual Arts works have their OP songs sung by JPop artist Lia (true in ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', ''Anime/AngelBeats'', and ''Anime/{{Charlotte}}'').
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15	Many of their anime titles and anime adaptations traditionally get English dubs at Houston with Creator/SentaiFilmworks and Creator/ADVFilms (''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', ''Anime/AngelBeats'', and ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters''). ''Anime/{{Charlotte}}'' and ''VisualNovel/{{Planetarian}}'' are the only exceptions to this rule. For the former, it is because it's the first title that is dubbed by Creator/BangZoomEntertainment, but that is mainly because it was licensed by Creator/AniplexUSA instead of Creator/SentaiFilmworks. [[note]]It should noted that Key/Visual Arts and Aniplex USA have close business ties together.[[/note]] For the latter, it is licensed and dubbed by Creator/FUNimation. [[note]]Note that due to ADV/Sentai and [=FUNimation=] being both located in Texas, it was easy for Creator/DavidMatranga, who voiced Tomoya in ''Clannad'', to voice the Junker. Furthermore, due to the mess that was the ADV-Sojitz deal, the ''AIR'' and ''Kanon'' licenses went to [=FUNimation=].[[/note]]
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17	Since they've made a strong impression and changed the genres they write for, Key is cited as a major influence on a lot of writers and studios. ''Franchise/WhenTheyCry'' and ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'' are both outright stated by their creators to be strongly inspired by Key's works, even if they go in completely different directions from Key's SignatureStyle.
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19	One key name (mind the pun) in Key's history is Creator/JunMaeda, co-founder of the studio, writer for most of the studio's works, as well as the composer and partial performer for most of the music for the games and their derivative works.
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21	On July 2023, Takahiro Baba, the president of Visual Arts, announced his retirement and subsequent sale of his shares in the company to Creator/TencentGames.
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23	----
24	!! Key's works include:
25	[[index]]
26	* ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' (1999): Adapted into two TV series, light novels, and a manga.
27	* ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' (2000): Adapted into ''AIR'' and ''AIR in Summer'', as well as a movie and a manga; the setting was used for the ''Kanon''/''AIR'' {{crossover}} manga, ''Kanon & AIR Sky''.
28	* ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'' (2004): Adapted into ''CLANNAD'' and ''CLANNAD ~[=after story=]~'', as well as a movie, manga, and 2 AlternateUniverse bonus episodes following Tomoyo and Kyou's routes.
29	** ''Tomoyo after: It's a Wonderful Life'' (2005): Adapted into a manga called ''CLANNAD ~ Tomoyo After: Dear Shining Memories''.
30	* ''[[VisualNovel/{{Planetarian}} Planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~]]'' (2004)
31	* ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' (2007): Adapted into manga and an anime.
32	** ''Kud Wafter'' (2010): Like ''Tomoyo After'', it's a spinoff sequel based on a minor heroine.
33	* ''Anime/AngelBeats'' (2010): An AnimeFirst project, but it was later announced that there would be a VisualNovel adaptation of the anime split into six volumes. The first volume was released on June 26, 2015 as ''Angel Beats! -1st beat-''. The others were not released.
34	* ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}'' (2011): Adapted into a manga with an anime adaptation airing during Summer 2016.
35	** ''Rewrite: Harvest Festa'' (2012): A Fan Disc set after the events of the first game. Similar to ''Tomoyo After'', but each girl has a story instead of the game focusing on just one.
36	* ''Anime/{{Charlotte}}'' (2015): An AnimeFirst project.
37	* ''VisualNovel/{{Harmonia}}'' (2016): [[MilestoneCelebration 15th anniversary project]].
38	* ''VisualNovel/SummerPockets'' (2018)
39	** ''Summer Pockets Reflection Blue'' (2020): [[/index]]An UpdatedReRelease of the original games featuring a new heroine and new scenario.[[index]]
40	* ''Anime/TheDayIBecameAGod'' (2020): An AnimeFirst project.
41	* ''Anime/{{Kaginado}}'' (2021): A GagSeries crossing over most of their previous works.
42	* ''Loopers'' (2021)
43	* ''[=LUNARiA=] -Virtualized Moonchild-'' (2021)
44	* ''VideoGame/HeavenBurnsRed'' (2022): An EasternRPG co-developed with Wright Flyer Studios.
45	* ''Anime/PrimaDoll'' (2022): An anime based off from Key’s multimedia project.
46	* ''VisualNovel/StellaOfTheEnd'' (2022)
47	* ''anemoi'' (TBA)
48	[[/index]]
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50	!! Tactics' works with the original team include:
51	* ''VisualNovel/{{Dousei}}''
52	* ''VisualNovel/{{MOON}}.''
53	* ''[[VisualNovel/OneKagayakuKisetsuE ONE ~Kagayaku Kisetsu e~]]'' – adapted into two [[{{OVA}} OVA series]], one general-audience and one hentai version. Ironically, the shorter hentai OVA has a more coherent plot. Has a remake released in December 2023.
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55	!! Their favoured tropes include:
56	* ArtisticAge: Due to the art styles in most of Key's works, many of the characters tend to look younger than their intended age.
57	* BaseballEpisode: Key seems to have [[AuthorAppeal a thing]] for baseball. ''Little Busters!'' centres around it, a story arc in ''CLANNAD'' shows the main cast playing baseball, in ''Angel Beats!'' one character's backstory heavily features baseball and the characters play it on occasion, ''Anime/{{Charlotte}}'' had a CharacterOfTheDay who was a baseball player, and a ''Kanon'' drama CD references baseball often as well.
58	* BittersweetEnding: Several character routes or game endings aren't that happy, but not too much of a downer.
59	* BromanticFoil: It's usual for protagonists to have just one male friend, almost always a ButtMonkey, whose plot relevance is somewhere between moderate and very low. ''Angel Beats!'' and ''Little Busters!'' both had multiple male friends, many of whom were very plot-relevant, but they often filled this role.
60	* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of their works, but even moreso with ''Anime/AngelBeats'' and ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}''. Also, it's the whole point of the story in ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters.''
61	* ChickMagnet: Ya think?
62	* CloudCuckoolander: It's rare to find a Key girl that isn't at least a little odd.
63	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Key seems to have a colouring scheme to determine what year a character is in. Green is freshman, red is junior, and blue is senior.[[note]] Japanese high schools are always three-year; they therefore lack sophomores (or juniors, if one translates "Year Two" more literally).[[/note]] Appears in ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' and ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' in the form of ties on the uniforms (though Litbus went for pink, not red) and in ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' as a patch on the uniform.
64	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}''. Full-stop. Having Romeo Tanaka and Ryukishi07 on staff (in addition to Yuto Tonokawa) probably contributed to that.
65	** ''MOON.'' is this for their Tactics era. We go from a simple story about high school sweethearts moving in together (''Dousei'') to a story about a girl investigating a murder in a creepy psychic sex cult.
66	* DeadpanSnarker: The male leads are usually this, though a few have branched out.
67	* DeusAngstMachina: Most plots involve this.
68	* DiabolusExMachina: You'd think God has it out for these guys when you see the kind of stuff they're put through. Especially when the downers happen. With all that happening, it was almost inevitable that there'd be RageAgainstTheHeavens [[Anime/AngelBeats in one of their works]].
69	* DisneyDeath: Often happens with minor heroines and occasionally main ones, and in ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' [[spoiler:everyone ''except'' the protagonist and main girl undergoes one in ''Refrain''.]])
70	* DownerEnding: Not at all uncommon.
71	* DulcineaEffect: The lead characters tend to feel compelled to help every pretty girl they lay eyes on, even when it would be easier to leave them alone.
72	* DysfunctionJunction: ''No'' Key character is without a DarkAndTroubledPast, save for maybe the odd comic relief side character. Justified in ''Angel Beats!'', where [[spoiler:a tragic childhood ending in premature death is one of the requirements for living in the particular Purgatory that makes up the setting]].
73	* EarnYourHappyEnding: It will be hard, you'll be put through Hell, but when you get there, it WILL be worth it.
74	* {{Eroge}}: The company in general seems to go back and forth on this, with some games getting H releases and others not, which is quite odd considering practically none of the sex scenes in them impact the plot anyway.
75	* TheGadfly: Half of their work has one of these as the main protagonist. The other half just has at least one as a secondary or minor character.
76	* {{Joshikousei}}: Well, considering most of their work involves a high school in some way…
77	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Most of the protagonists, with the main pairings tending to have the guy trolling the girl fairly often. Strangely enough, in ''Angel Beats!'', Otonashi isn't the jerk, it's Yuri.
78	* KilledOffForReal: Usually reserved for major heroines, although again, this isn't a hard-and-fast rule.
79	* KineticNovel: Key Visual Arts is notable for lending the name to the term for non-interactive novels, but has since then been used to describe novels of a similar nature.
80	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Common in their work. Most often happens to male leads, ''Kanon'' and ''Clannad'' being prime examples.
81	* MagicRealism: Very, ''very'' present in their works, as while the focal points of their stories are character interactions and school life, the framing for the story usually ends up being something supernatural. Depending on how much {{foreshadowing}} leads up to the eventual reveal, the magical element is used to either greatly explain or {{handwave}} many of the story developments. [[AWizardDidIt How the magic itself works is rarely explained]]. Rewrite takes this trope and runs wild with it to the point where it becomes a straight-up UrbanFantasy.
82	* MundaneFantastic: The stories that seem to be set in completely normal worlds are, every single time, actually overrun with magic.
83	* NiceGuy[=/=]NiceGirl: Many of the visual novels usually have kind-hearted characters the audience can sympathize with when tragedy strikes on them.
84	* NoAntagonist: Generally speaking, none of their works contain an antagonist in some retrospect and even their work does, it's usually very minor and doesn't play a big part into the plot. ''Anime/AngelBeats'' ''does'' have an antagonist, but it's a [[HeroAntagonist different kind]] of antagonist. ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}'' comes the closest to featuring true bad guys, but even that turns out to be a severe case of GreyAndGrayMorality.
85	* OfficialCouple: Even though they are visual novels where you can end up with any of the heroines, there is always a girl the protagonist is "destined" to be with in a True End.
86	** Though ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'' is something of an exception – Riki and Rin are only shown to be together in a bonus epilogue scene that only plays after finishing Refrain for the second time. The first time, [[NoRomanticResolution the game goes out of its way to make it clear that he likes someone, but that 'someone' could be anyone]].
87	* OnlySixFaces: Or less of the characters in the same game, especially girls. The art changes each game, but this trope does not.
88	* PrettyFreeloaders: Used straight in ''Kanon'', inverted in ''AIR'' where the male protagonist is freeloading off of the heroine, and twisted in ''CLANNAD'' where the male protagonist freeloads off his male friend when he can't stand to be at home and one of the minor heroines freeloads off the major heroine.
89	* QuestionableConsent: A lot of the sex scenes have a bad habit of employing this, [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization and then acting like nothing]] [[RomanticizedAbuse went wrong]]. Particularly infamous examples include Makoto's sex scene in ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'' where [[spoiler:Yuuichi elects to have sex with her when she's already ''well'' deep into her mental regression back to the fox she once was ([[BestialityIsDepraved they even use the doggy style position!]])]], and Komari's sex scene in ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters [[UpdatedRerelease Ecstasy]]'' where [[spoiler:Riki coerces her to have sex with him while she's still in the middle of [[FreakOut her mental regression and breakdown]] after remembering the death of her older brother]]. The scenes are often OutOfCharacter on the part of both participants at least a little, too, and much of the fanbase [[FanonDiscontinuity ignores them]]. It's gotten better over time, though, or at least the studio seems to be recognizing it; the unhealthiest sex scenes in ''Little Busters! Ecstasy'', including the one mentioned above, are relegated to the bad endings, and despite a spike in {{fanservice}}, the company announced that ''Rewrite'' will never get an 18+ release.
90	* {{Reincarnation}}: ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' might be the most prominent example since it focuses heavily on this trope as well as ''Anime/AngelBeats'', but the other works of ''Key'' have shown this in some way. It should also be noted that all of them do not view death as something that would fit in a linear timeline and there have been several cases and implications of certain characters being reincarnated into the past.
91	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: If the work has a mascot, it's one of these, usually belonging to (or a stray that attaches itself to) one of the minor heroines.
92	* SexStartsStoryStops: Don't expect a Key game sex scene to impact the plot in any way, with the notable exception of the sex scene in the Summer route of ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'', [[spoiler:in which Yukito's ancestor is conceived]].
93	* SnowMeansDeath[=/=][[SnowMeansLove Love]]: Whenever snow is used, expect either a corpse or a kissing couple soon after. Mostly the former. Note that [[VisualNovel/{{AIR}} Summer will not save you]].
94	* StrawNihilist: ''VisualNovel/{{AIR}}'' and ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'' have drawn criticism for their endings being overly nihilistic and cynical, even if you factor in the latter's ResetButtonEnding.
95	* {{Tearjerker}}: Key specializes in {{Utsuge}}, so all of its works are well known for their tearjerkers.
96	* ThemeTwinNaming: Lots of pairs of siblings, usually twins, have names that rhyme, swap out one character, or have the same meaning. About half the time, this is used for foreshadowing as the characters' relation is a spoiler.
97	* ThereAreNoPsychologists: A number of characters – male leads ''and'' the girls – have significant mental issues and should probably be in therapy at least, or on meds. Note that this is par for the course in real-life Japan, where a longstanding culture of stoicism and not involving outsiders in "family problems" prevails. Psychology is not looked kindly upon there, is what we're saying.
98	* {{Utsuge}}: All of their visual novels. For the most part they're [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism very optimistic]], [[{{Moe}} cute]], ([[DownerEnding usu]][[BittersweetEnding ally]]) have happy endings [[EarnYourHappyEnding in spite of the struggles faced to get there]], have plenty of comic relief scattered about, and are especially lighthearted towards the beginning of the game. But once you start a girl's route, expect the tone to darken quickly [[DarkandTroubledPast as you learn more about her life]] and/or [[CerebusSyndrome as bad things begin to happen in the present]].
99	* VerbalTic: Abused to no end in ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}''[[note]] Uguu…[[/note]], and there's usually at least one per game, [[VisualNovel/LittleBusters wafuu~]].
100	* WhiteAndGreyMorality[=/=]GoodVersusGood: Many of the Key works rarely feature villains. If any of the works have any antagonists, they are usually JerkWithAHeartOfGold or WellIntentionedExtremist at worst. And even if there are villains in some of their works, the only role they play is establishing tragic backstories for the protagonists. Many of the novels highlight the positives qualities of some of their less sympathetic characters while highlighting the character flaws of some of their "good" characters. The exception is ''VisualNovel/{{Rewrite}}'', where [[GreyAndGrayMorality both sides of the conflict]] have [[WellIntentionedExtremist good intentions]] and [[TokenGoodTeammate a few good people]] but the war works out largely to EvilVersusOblivion [[spoiler:and the true end means Kotarou has to play both sides and win with the neutral path]].
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Context Creator / KeyVisualArts