Key the Metal Idol

"Key the Metal Idol" (Japanese: キィ・ザ・メタル・アイドル) is a Japanese original video animation (OVA) series produced by Pierrot Co., Ltd., released from December 1994 to June 1997. The series consists of fifteen episodes divided into four parts. First Program consists of episodes 1 through 7, Second Program is 8 through 13, and Third and Final Program are feature-length films (i.e., episodes 14 and 15). Key is a serious and somewhat dark drama with elements of mecha and science fiction. The central character is Tokiko Mima (nicknamed "Key"), who believes herself to be a robot created by her scientist grandfather, Murao Mima. Key believes that every year on her birthday, Dr. Mima builds her a new body, each one larger. Upon his deathbed, Mima records his will on audio tape, revealing that Key can become human with the aid of 30,000 friends. Key believes she must do this quickly before her battery runs out and attempts to gain the number of friends by becoming a Japanese idol. The series details the slow unraveling of Key's identity and a secret conspiracy bent on controlling her unique supernatural abilities she develops over the course of the narrative.