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Release any anime from Key or Jun Maeda (Angel Beats, Charlotte, Clannad, etc) and I will be there. So once I found that the popular visual novel Summer Pockets was getting an anime adaptation during this Spring 2025 season, I had to give it a go. Early on, Summer Pockets is endearing in how relaxing and peaceful its setting is.

The story is quite simple in Summer Pockets: Takahara Hairi is a young man that travels to the island Torishirojima to stay with an aunt and help with the aftermath of his late grandmother’s ing. At the same time, the story quickly hints that Hairi is running away from some sort of recent unfortunate event, possibly related to the swim team he was part of.

The first episode of Summer Pockets is pretty darn slow, and not a lot happens at all. Normally, this would be a detriment to a series. However, Key and animation studio Feel happen to make this work in the series’ favor, at least to start. This is because few other anime series handle immersion and atmosphere as well as this one.

The island of Torishirojima is absolutely gorgeous to look at. Every inch of the island is so bright, cheerful, and full of vibrant colors. The stunningly blue ocean is frequently in the background of scenes, with the warm aesthetic giving off such a strong summery vibe. It also helps that the soundtrack is noticeably great as well.

Unlike a lot of anime series that feature forgettable soundtracks or far too many moments without songs, it feels like Summer Pockets constantly has music going in the background. Even an early montage of Hairi exploring the island felt so alive and grabbed my attention because of the high-quality music that accompanied it.

At the core of the series, though, is Hairi’s relationship with the girls that he meets on the island. You only get a tiny glimpse of this in the first episode, so it is hard to say how the romance will go here. This is especially interesting to see since the original visual novel has multiple routes focusing on each girl.

That said, Hairi’s few interactions with the main characters are adorable and fun. I even enjoyed his little moments meeting and getting to know his aunt. She also happens to be up there already for an early pick for one of my favorite female anime characters in 2025.

Few anime this season have the setting like Summer Pockets. This is even seen in a scene where Hairi’s aunt sends him to eat dinner at a local restaurant. This goofy moment has only him and the cook in the restaurant, which throws off the urban boy. These scenes do such a great job at building out the world and reminding me of my own time living in Japan in the past.

At the same time, the heavy summer vibe also has me wanting to lay at the beach all day. It is for this reason that I actually really wanted to take a nap after watching the first episode of Summer Pockets. This may sound bad at first, but it actually isn’t. Instead of boring me, this series managed to relax me with nostalgic summer vibes to the point where I wanted to just take a peaceful nap.

If the first episode is anything to go by, Key is back once more with its anime adaptation of Summer Pockets. If you like series like Kanon and Air, you will find yourself right at home here. The detailed atmosphere of Torishirojima is one of the most relaxing you will ever find in anime and it has me hooked enough to see how the romance there plays out between the main character and his love interests.

Summer Pockets is streaming right now on Crunchyroll. You can also purchase the visual novel on PC via Steam.

The post Summer Pockets Is Delightfully Peaceful and Relaxing appeared first on Siliconera.

Visual Arts and Key have launched the Key General Election 2025, which features polls from their visual novels. People have until April 20, 2025, to cast their daily votes for their favorite title, character, and song.

The poll consists of four categories: Character, Vocal Song, BGM, and Scene. A person may cast a vote on each category once per day, which resets at midnight in the Japanese time zone. The first three categories let people choose any specific character or song. As for the Scene category, people must first select the title and then write about the specific event in the text box.

Here is the complete list of titles featured in this poll:

• Kanon
• Air
• Clannad
• Tomoyo After ~It's a wonderful life~
• Planetarian
• Little Busters
• Kud Wafter
• Rewrite
• Harmonia
• Angel Beats
• Charlotte
• Summer Pockets
• The Day I Became a God
• Loopers
• Lunaria: Virtualized Moonchild
• Stella of the End
• Prima Doll

This is the second time Visual Arts and Key are holding a general poll encoming all of their visual novels released to date. The first polls were held in 2019 to mark Key's 20th anniversary. The top three winners of the first character poll were Kyousuke from Little Busters, Kanade from Angel Beats, and Nagisa from Clannad.

Visual Arts and Key will close the voting period for the Key General Election 2025 on April 20, 2025. The studios will announce the results via a YouTube stream in May 2025.

The post Key General Election 2025 Polls Favorite Visual Novels appeared first on Siliconera.

Key and Visual Arts have opened a Steam page for their visual novel AIR. The companies will release the classic visual novel with remastered visuals on the platform on March 5, 2025.

AIR has been regarded by the Japanese visual novel community as one of the classics that defined the genre the most. Its theme song "Tori no Uta," which had appeared since the title's initial release as a PC R-18 game in 2000, has also become a popular song.

Visual Arts and Prototype have since brought the all-ages version of the visual novel to the Dreamcast, PS2, PSP, PS Vita, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch. The latter was the most recent platform to get the visual novel in September 2021.

The new Steam version will have the addition of full Japanese voiceovers, which Key did not add to its prior PC releases. It will also have additional subtitle in English and Simplified Chinese. The side story "Hatsuzora no Sho," which is now officially known in English as "First Sky Chapter," will also be available in visual novel format. In addition, Key and Visual Arts revealed that the Steam version will also touchscreen gestures when installed on a Steam Deck or tablet PC.

The visual novel AIR will be available on PC via Steam on March 5, 2025.

The post Classic Visual Novel AIR Will Appear on Steam This March appeared first on Siliconera.

Key Visual Arts posted a statement on its website, stating that it will donate 10 million JPY to help victims and restoration efforts after the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024. That would equate to around $68,265.

The statement starts with Key expressing its sympathies for those affected by the earthquake. It then states that it will donate 10 million JPY but is also holding a sale on specific games. It will add all of the proceeds from the sale games to its donation.

The sale will run from February 1 to 29, 2024. Summer Pocket Reflection Blue, Loopers, Lunaria, and Stella of the End will be the games that are part of this sale. Key will make an announcement when it donates the money. This will likely take place at the end of February 2024 or the beginning of March since that is when the sale will end.

The 2024 Noto earthquake struck Japan on January 1, 2024. It, along with the following tsunami, devastated the region, causing 240 fatalities and 1300 injuries. It’s currently the deadliest earthquake in Japanese history. Other companies within Japan that donated to its Red Cross Society include Cover, The Pokemon Company, and Square Enix.

Key will donate over 10 million JPY to Japan’s Red Cross Society to help those affected by the 2024 Noto earthquake. Those who purchase games during the Noto Earthquake Relief Sale can help out as well.

The post Key Will Donate Over 10 Million JPY to Earthquake Victims appeared first on Siliconera.

Visual Arts announced Tencent bought the company. It stated that the acquisition will allow it greater global reach due to Tencent’s size and presence in many countries around the world. The Japanese publisher is best known for their work with Key, the developers of visual novels such as Air and Clannad. One of its more recent releases is the Switch port of Kanon, which released in April 2023 in Japan. Loopers, also from Key, appeared worldwide as well.

Tencent’s acquisition comes at the same time as a management shake-up at the top of Visual Arts. CEO Takahiro Baba is stepping down from his position. Baba’s departure saw him transferring his shares in the company to Tencent, giving them a controlling stake. He is set to be replaced by Genki Tenkumo, who worked as writer, producer and director on several of the company’s projects.

Visual Arts is the latest of Tencent’s many acquisitions and share purchases in the last few years. Most recently, Tencent purchased a controlling stake in Dying Light developer Techland. It previously acquired Riot Games (League of Legends), Sumo Group (Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing), and Turtle Rock Studios (Back 4 Blood). Tencent also holds minor stakes in Ubisoft, Epic Games, Marvelous and FromSoftware.

The post Visual Arts Acquired by Tencent appeared first on Siliconera.

Key and Wright Flyer Studios, developers of Heaven Burns Red, unveiled a special event for the game's first anniversary: A crossover with classic 2010 anime series Angel Beats!. The Heaven Burns Red x Angel Beats! crossover begins on Friday, February 10, 2023 in Japan [Thanks, Ryokutya2089!]

The official for Heaven Burns Red also posted promotional art to accompany the announcement. The art shows Heaven Burns Red protagonist Ruka Kayamori standing alongside three Angel Beats! characters: Yuri "Yurippe" Nakamura, Kanade "Angel" Tachibana, and Miyuki Irie. The event is titled "The Place Where The Cosmos Continue to Bloom" in Japanese.

https://twitter.com/heavenburnsred/status/1622206196978700290

According to the announcement, the Heaven Burns Red x Angel Beats! crossover event will be written by Jun Maeda, who created Angel Beats!, as well as serving as creative lead for Heaven Burns Red. Released in February 2022, Heaven Burns Red was developed as a collaborative project between Wright Flyer Studios and Key for Key's 21st anniversary. It stars young women who can wield weapons called "Seraphs" against an alien enemy called "Cancer", and blends visual novel storytelling elements with 3D battles.

Angel Beats! was first released in 2010, as an anime series produced by ASCII Media Works. It featured writing from Jun Maeda, and involvement from of Key in prominent positions such as character design and music composition. It's set in the afterlife, which takes the form of a Japanese high school. Yuzuru Otonashi, an amnesiac boy, wakes up in this afterlife, only to be recruited by Yuri Nakamura into the "SSS" (the "Shinda Sekai Sensen", or "Afterlife Battlefront"), a guerilla organization dedicated to rebelling against the unseen "God" that runs the afterlife. Representing God is the "Angel", another student who has supernatural powers, and who the SSS attack regularly with hand-crafted weapons. The anime was adapted into a manga, and received its own visual novel version developed by Key in 2015.

Heaven Burns Red is available on iOS and Android devices in Japan. The Angel Beats! crossover event kicks off on February 10, 2023.

The post Heaven Burns Red x Angel Beats! Crossover Announced appeared first on Siliconera.

Classic romantic adventure game Kanon is being remastered for the Switch and now has a release date in Japan, according to tipster Ryokutya2089. Based on a reveal in the issue of Weekly Famitsu, Kanon on Switch will land on April 20, 2023. [Thanks, Gematsu!]

As detailed in previous reveals, Kanon on Switch will receive a few minor graphical updates, as more than twenty years have ed since its 1999 release. It'll run at an HD resolution of 720p and the in-game art will have adjustments to coloring to suit modern screens.

However, the aspect ratio of the in-game art will not be changed from its original 4:3 dimensions. Games in 4:3 were more common back then, as it was the dominant aspect ratio for TVs. Over time trends shifted, and today 16:9 "widescreen" is the default on most TVs, PC monitors, and the Switch. To compensate, players will be able to scroll the screen up and down with the analog stick or touch screen. The game will also have full voice acting for almost the entire main cast. The one exception is protagonist Yuichi Aizawa, who will have partial voice acting.

Kanon on Switch will be the 7th time the game has been released to a new platform. Since the PC release in 1999, Kanon has appeared on the Sega Dreamcast, Sony PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, pre-smartphone "feature phone" operating systems, Android, and on Apple's iOS. It has never received an official English-language release. That said, other games by developer Key have seen global releases, including Clannad, Planetarian, and Little Busters!.

Kanon launches on the Nintendo Switch in Japan on April 20, 2023. No overseas versions have been announced as of yet.

The post Kanon Switch Port Release Date Set for April 2023 appeared first on Siliconera.

Legendary romance game Kanon could soon enter the Nintendo Switch canon. A report from tipster Ryokutya2089 suggests that the Key-developed adventure title will come to Switch in early 2023, according to alleged details from Famitsu. Kanon could also be in line to get a few upgrades to suit the many years that have ed since it released in 1999.

According to the report, the Switch edition of Kanon will run at HD resolution (720p). It'll also have enhanced coloring on the art to take advantage of the Switch's better screen. One compromise is the fact that the game's art is all rendered in 4:3 aspect ratio. This is because 16:9 screens (like the Switch's) were much less common in 1999. To compensate, players will be able scroll the screen using touch controls or the analog stick. Additionally, the game will have full voice acting for the main cast (with the exception of the protagonist, who is partially voiced).

Kanon stars Yuichi Aizawa, a high school student who comes to live in a town that he barely re, seeing as he last visited seven years prior. In fact, he's forgotten seemingly everything about the place, despite the best efforts of his cousin Nayuki. One day he collides with Ayu Tsukimiya, a curious girl that loves Taiyaki pastries and makes strange noises. Before long, he begins to recover his memories of seven years ago, as well as find out more about the city, its supernatural phenomena, and his connection to five young women he left behind.

Kanon was first released on PC in 1999 as an adult game, but received an all-ages version on consoles and PC in 2000. The all-ages edition became the basis for most subsequent Kanon rereleases, which included ports to Dreamcast, PS2, PSP, mobile phones, Android, and iOS.

To date Kanon has never received an officially sanctioned overseas release, with foreign fans reliant on unofficial translations into various languages. It was, however, adapted into manga and anime twice. The 2006 series by Kyoto Animation made it overseas, and is available to view on Crunchyroll in some regions.

Kanon arrives on Nintendo Switch in Japan in Spring 2023.

The post Key’s Romance Adventure Kanon Switch Edition on the Way appeared first on Siliconera.

Key has released a demo version of Stella of the End on its website. The demo lets players read the early parts of the kinetic novel's storyline.

The minimum requirements needed to boot the kinetic novel will be a graphics card that s DirectX 9.0, a Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of RAM, and 512MB of VRAM. For the best performances, Key recommends an Intel Core i5 processor with the RAM and VRAM upgraded to 4GB and 1GB, respectively.

While Key's famous works like Air and Clannad tell stories about the daily lives of modern youth, Stella of the End takes place in the future and has a more serious tone. It will tell the story of Jude Grey, a transporter moving between human settlements on an Earth where hive-minded machines have dominated the world and forced humankind to survive in the corners. Jude will receive a special task to escort Filia, a girl-like android who is not affected by other machines. The two will have deep interactions with each other, with a rumor circulating about a space elevator that can turn androids into humans.

Key published the opening movie for the kinetic novel at the end of July 2022. It will have "breath of stella" by Zero Aimiya as its theme song. While Key has released another visual novel titled Loopers with a global English version, it has yet to confirm a localization for Stella of the End. This new demo is only available with Japanese subtitles.

The full release of Stella of the End will be available for PCs in Japan on September 30, 2022.

The post Stella of the End Japanese Demo Version Is Now Available appeared first on Siliconera.

Key is working on its next visual novel, Stella of the End (a.k.a. Tsui no Stella). First announced back in 2020, the game is due out on September 30, 2022. With the game coming soon, Key released the Stella of the End opening to get fans excited.

Check it out below. The OP is set to the song "breath of stella" by Zero Aimiya.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CozHHU_yhwo

Stella of the End is a "kinetic novel", a subtype of visual novel that eschews gameplay conventions like multiple endings. Some of Key's other works, like Planetarian and Harmonia, are also classified as kinetic novels.

The game's set in the future, in a time when humanity is forced to live in the shadows of the machines it created. Earth is now under the control of a group of machines that gained sentience and created the long-theorized "singularity".  "Transporters" shuttle goods between human settlements, braving the elements, hostile machines, and human bandits. One day, a transporter named Jude Grey receives an odd request: To transport Filia, an android in the form of a young girl. Developed as a substitute family member, the android is somehow unaffected by the Singularity Machines. The transporter and the girl set out on their journey, trying to make their way to a space elevator. Rumor has it that androids who make it to the space elevator's summit can be made human. Is it true?

Stella of the End will release for PCs in Japan on September 30, 2022. No international release plans have been announced as of yet. Loopers, a Key kinetic novel announced alongside Stella of the End, was released in English on June 2, 2022.

The post Key Releases Stella of the End Opening Movie appeared first on Siliconera.

People won’t need to head to a foreign Nintendo Switch eShop to get Key’s visual novel Loopers. Now that the shop update is live, it is available both inside and outside Japan. People could pick it up, with English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese localizations, immediately. It costs $24.99.

As the name suggests, Loopers is Key’s visual novel about a Groundhog Day-like time loop. Written by 07th Expansion’s Ryukishi07, who is behind the When They Cry series, it features a group of geohunting individuals who get stuck in a Temporal Spiral. Once inside, all the people reliving August 1st are Loopers attempting to break the cycle. As you go through it, you'll watch and see if people can solve the mystery and break free.

This is one of Key’s kinetic visual novels. This means you don’t make any choices as you go through it. You just read along with the story. Similar games from the company include Harmonia and Planetarian. (The latter is also available on the Switch worldwide.)

For a better idea of what to expect from the game and its art, here’s an official Loopers Switch opening movie. It shows off some of the main characters and its theme song.

Loopers is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

The post Key’s Loopers Visual Novel Debuts on Switch eShop Worldwide appeared first on Siliconera.

Heaven Burns Red, a new RPG from Clannad and Angel Beats! developer Key, will launch on February 10, 2022. The information comes courtesy of the game's final pre-release trailer, which Key ed to its official YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUuv6OErMUc
 
The trailer sets up the premise of Heaven Burns Red. A mysterious alien life form called "Cancer" is attacking humanity, and conquered most of the Earth's surface. With mankind on the brink of calamity, it develops a new weapon called Seraph. Only young women with certain talents are able to wield Seraphs, and those capable are assembled into Seraph Units to go to war against the Cancers.

One such Seraph-wielder is Ruka Kayamori. She's the captain of Seraph Squad 31A, and former guitarist/vocalist for the famous rock band She Is Legend. She needs to balance her duties as a Seraph-wielder with her desire to return to her band alongside her squaddies. The game itself will feature visual novel-style storytelling segments. These will include character dialogue, bespoke event art, and choices. Field exploration segments will allow characters to explore the areas of humanity's last refuge, and 3D battles will show off the characters' abilities against the Cancers.

Check out another trailer from November 2021 showing off character abilities and art from Seraph Squad 31X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVAVPq_IKbc
 
Heaven Burns Red was first announced in 2019 as Key celebrated its 21st anniversary. As the game is a mobile RPG, development was a collaboration between Key itself and Wright Flyer Studios, which developed Afterlost - Shoumetsu Toshi. The announcement also touted the return of Jun Maeda as creative head for the first time in 13 years. Maeda's previous work was Little Busters! Maeda wrote the main scenario and produced music for the game. After several delays out of its initial 2020 launch window, Key confirmed a final February 2022 window, then narrowed to next week as of this trailer.

Heaven Burns Red launches in Japan for iOS and Android on February 10, 2022. Localization plans have not yet been detailed.

The post Heaven Burns Red Final Trailer Reveals February Release appeared first on Siliconera.

Wright Flyer Studios has revealed that an livestream will reveal more information about Heaven Burns Red. This livestream will provide new information about the mobile title. The broadcast will take place on September 11, 2021 at 8pm JST/7am ET/4am PT. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

The information that will appear through the livestream includes the scenario of Heaven Burns Red, the game systems, and its characters. Additionally, leading up to the livestream, an official trailer has been released. This new trailer showcases several characters, along with a brief look at gameplay.

You can watch the Heaven Burns Red trailer below.

[embed]https://youtu.be/uE7ySDR38Bs[/embed]

Announced in 2019, it was revealed that Heaven Burns Red would be an RPG that would arrive on Android and iOS devices. However, details regarding the development of the title have remained scarce until now. Jun Maeda will lead the project as its creative head, as revealed during the original announcement of the title.

However, information regarding the livestream indicates that Heaven Burns Red will reappear as an entirely new title, as development as effectively restarted on the project.

First announced in 2019, Heaven Burns Red is currently in development for Android and iOS. It does not currently have a potential window of release.

The post Heaven Burns Red Livestream to Reveal New Information appeared first on Siliconera.

SuperGroupies has opened pre-orders for new merchandise items based on Key's Planetarian. The brand will produce watches, bags, wallets, and necklaces inspired by Yumemi Hoshino and the Junker, the main characters of the visual novel and anime title. [Thanks, Game Watch!]

All of the items will have designs inspired by stars and the night sky to go along with the title's planetarium theme. The bag and the wallet will have star and constellation motifs on their insides. The watch's hour and minute hands can also illuminate in darkness.

Pre-orders for the items are immediately available until July 19, 2021. SuperGroupies will deliver the Planetarian bag, wallet, and necklace around early November 2021. The watch will take more time to produce and thus is expected to come later in January 2022.

[gallery columns="4" ids="889005,889007,889006,889008" link="file"]

Planetarian originated as an all-ages visual novel that first appeared on PC in 2004. Prototype has since ported the title to consoles and mobile devices, including the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. The visual novel is also currently available on Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android devices.

SuperGroupies noted that this merchandise collection is particularly based on the Planetarian anime adaptation, which was first aired in 2016. The title has ed the ever-growing list of game and anime franchises with merchandise made by the brand. In recent days, it also revealed items based on Resident Evil, Yakuza, and Azur Lane.

The post SuperGroupies Will Release New Merchandise From Key’s Planetarian appeared first on Siliconera.

The visual novel AIR will release on the Nintendo Switch in September. The Nintendo Switch port of the visual novel was first announced in early June. Originally, it was revealed that AIR would arrive on the Switch in the Summer of 2021. However, developer Prototype has revealed that AIR will release on the Switch on September 9, 2021. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

This version of AIR will touchscreen and one handed controls, as well a scroll feature for players to view parts of cutscenes that the Nintendo Switch screen may cut off. Additionally, this version of AIR will feature voice acting from a large cast of voice actors. The Nintendo Switch port will also feature a fully voiced version of the side-story, “Hatsuzora no Sho."

Prototype has released an official website alongside the announcement of an official release date. The website itself is fairly sparse, with only a single image available. More information will be available through the website in the future.

AIR originally released for PC in 2000. In 2001, it then released on the Sega Dreamcast, with a PlayStation 2 version releasing in 2002. In 2007 AIR released for the PlayStation Portable, with a able version appearing in 2010.

AIR will release for the Nintendo Switch on September 9, 2021 in Japan.

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