Tircis and Aminte is included in the Hoshi no Hito disc. It was never sold individually.
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I believe that’s just an original character design by the artist of that fanart (Remotaro). In their fan-story she was one of the other robots working with Yumemi in the department store, so she isn’t really a canonical character, I believe 
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I’ve Pre-ordered it, hoping that there will be some way of adding SP’s translation to it. If there isn’t, well, shit.
Worse comes to worse, you can try and apply the original fan-patch to it? Though because of the way the game’s engine works, iit might cause a lot of bugs when you start playing it >_<
For the K.E.Y.:
In the world of planetarian, hope is nowhere to be found. Worn down by war, the few people left on Earth live only for the sake of living, doing whatever it takes to survive. The Junker is no different, until his enormously improbable meeting with Yumemi. Her good cheer, serenity, and gentleness—artificial though they may be—shine even brighter than the stars she loves. Almost against his will, the Junker finds himself being changed by her. After Yumemi sacrifices herself for him, he is an entirely new man.
My heart will always be warmed by Yumemi’s concern and care for others. As the story shows, such pure selflessness can touch even those whose hearts have grown cold, and I am grateful to Visual Art’s for giving people like me the chance to experience it.
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Really nice! It’s kinda spoilery though, isn’t it?
This is the main topic for the planetarian kinetic novel: no problem with talking about it. Drama CDs are off limit though. People seem to make that mistake a lot but it’s in the first post.
Reading this now. I started it a bit ago but got distracted. Got much further this time. Seems like it’ll be pretty short, though.
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Planetarian is so short I usually recommend setting aside a Saturday evening or something and taking care of it in one session. It’s only like 4 hours so this is very do able unless you’re reeeally busy.
I actually just finished it today! It was a sweet story and I really enjoyed it.
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Or be like me and read it while chilling at Biz’s granny’s place for the weekend. 
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I wrote a thing about Planetarian and stuff. You’re welcome.
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Thanks for sharing that with us! Very nice writeup.
To be honest, I don’t really know where to post this, so I thought Planetaria - General Discussion might be a good place to leave it, but feel free to move it if you think it doesn’t belong here.
Warning, long post
Once I finish a VN and find myself having to write something in the forum, I end up many times doing critics in a far colder way that I want. I’d like to share how much I loved a VN, how it was an important experience for me, how it wasn’t just another book, another series or another movie. I want to demonstrate how it was something more.
However, plainly saying that you loved a VN, that it was the best thing in your life or that it changed the way you thought about something, is something that I think that doesn’t represent my real thoughts. Because in my mind, I think that what my experience is far more than one or two paragraphs. That’s partly why I don’t like the fact that The K.E.Y. written entries have to be one or two paragraphs at most (don’t worry @Aspirety there’s nothing wrong with that, I’ll end up submitting an entry anyway).
Anyway, to fulfill my wish of sharing how much I loved a VN, Planetarian in this case, I wanted to write a story that showed in some sense the way Planetarian became an important part of my life. I’m sorry if you don’t like excessively long posts, but for those of you:
tl;dr: I loved Planetarian.
I now hereby present you this little part of my life that I tried to describe in a rather poetic way. This is my first attempt at English prose, so, apart from the message that I try to get across, I would appreciate it if those of you with even just a little bit of experience at writing stories would leave your thoughts about my writing skills. It would be best if you could point out any phrasing issues I might have, though I understand that this won’t be of the liking of many, so I don’t expect many responses including advise. 
The day in which I read Planetarian
The day in which I read Planetarian was a cloudy, windy, summer day. It was the 9th of August, and, like any summer day in Madrid, Spain’s capital, it was hot. However, the wind and sunlight-blocking clouds helped make it a day in which one could withstand the heat. Cars could be heard since the windows were open, and my mother and grandmother were chatting in the living room of the small apartment my grandmother owned.
I had gone to Madrid in order to visit my mother’s family, whom I couldn’t see except during the summer vacations and the Christmas holidays. Therefore, I didn’t have much to do while staying there, so I brought a couple VNs and an anime or two to keep me entertained during the siesta sessions my grandmother did.
I had gotten up at 10:00, since there wasn’t much for me to do during the long and boring mornings in Madrid. Once I was up and had had breakfast, I proceeded to start up my laptop and start reading Planetarian. As soon as the main menu appeared and Gentle Jena started playing, I couldn’t but allow myself an extra 5 minutes to enjoy that peaceful, yet somehow gloomy song.
Once determined to start reading, I made sure to have my notebook and a pen nearby, so that I could take notes on the go. I knew this was going to be a brief and intense experience. @Natsume had warned me that I was crazy thinking that I would be able to deal with the emotional impact of Side Stories, Planetarian, Rewrite and Tomoyo After in such a short time… I still thought that this was what I wanted. A powerful message that could pierce through my skin and reach the deepest part of my soul, only to leave a mark there that would forge me into a person a bit different that I was before.
I started reading. The initial setting was more or less the one I would expect from a generic post apocalyptic book or movie. However, I was captivated about how it is emphasized that even after humanity had shrunk to dangerously low numbers, governments still thrived for even a bigger human annihilation. I went on submerging myself into this generic, yet peculiar scene that Planetarian offered. Then, an stranger appeared. Well, to be honest, she was no stranger. I already knew that Yumemi was a robot that guarded that doomed city’s planetarium. Even knowing a bit about her, her uplifting dialogues caught me off guard and I couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated by seeing how her existence was a pure discordance in such a messed up world.
However, I didn’t let this put me off, and kept on reading. As soon as the Junker finished repairing Miss Jena and the projection began, I had no choice but to ramp up my note-taking pace. Beautiful images kept flashing and vanishing before my eyes. Yumemi’s sweet and jubilant voice shared her knowledge of the stars, and I couldn’t help but see a whole universe of possibilities in form of metaphors, hidden messages and unique quotes to explore. Then, the special Mankind spreading its Wings projection was set to begin, and I was ready to experience something incredible, something unique, but the music stopped and I felt at a loss for a second without knowing what to do. I even jumped a bit from the sofa I was sitting in. Silence engulfed the atmosphere. I instantly realized that Yumemi would have nowhere to recharge. It was the prelude of something horrible, or so I thought.
After a while, I realized that this wasn’t anything but a simple issue that could only postpone the inevitable glory that the special projection would bring. The special projection shone like the uttermost radiant star in the pitch dark universe that the world represented. I can’t describe the projections any better. They were just beautiful, to the point that they almost brought me to tears. Even then, the thought that Yumemi would stop moving forever at some point still loitered around in my mind.
It was 14:00, the normal time for us Spanish people to have lunch. I put Planetarian aside, but just physically. I was still thinking about the projections and about what many quotes could mean. I had cocido, a typical dish cooked in Madrid. It resembles a stew, but it is not as dense and it can be accompanied by as many ingredients as the cook wishes to include. As a dessert, I had a fresh slice of melon, something I am really grateful to be able to eat in hot summer days. However, this one was different. The clouds that covered the sky had acquired a darker tone and now menaced to rain at any moment. The wind strengthened and fought the trees as if it was angry that so many obstacles got in the way of its natural flow.
It was at this moment that I spontaneously grabbed a raincoat I brought from Barcelona with me and headed towards the door that separated the safety of the apartment from the dangers of the anger that Nature itself was showing. The obvious happened. My family went straight after me asking what was wrong. They inquired about why I would leave with such weather just after having eaten. Indeed, it was not a normal time for anyone to leave. It was, after all, the holy siesta time any advanced-age Spanish person would adore even more than God himself. I shrugged them off and told them that while they loved sleeping, I’d rather go out. Despite the weather, this simple explanation somehow convinced them and they let me be.
I headed out with my raincoat and a small backpack I always like to wear. I didn’t carry much. My mobile phone, some money, my notebook and, of course, my soulmate: my iPod. Once in the street, I had many possibilities to enjoy the day, but from all of them, I chose the one I thought that would be the most convenient for this day. I went to the nearest subway station and, thanks to Google Maps and the local subway map, I carefully planned the shortest and cheapest trip to my destination.
Compared to other European cities’ subways, Madrid’s is not as clean as others, however, I must say that it is the less crowded and fastest of the ones I’ve been able to use. After no more than 30 minutes, I exited the subway. It was now raining. I found myself facing an uphill climb that made me remember of CLANNAD’s one. At the top of this one, however, there was not a school. Instead, my destination stayed there, majestically, as if it had been waiting for me ever since the last time I visited it, which was when I was 8, more than 10 years ago. My destination had an special value to me, since it lightened up my curiosity for one of my biggest interests I’ve always had. In fact, I would even dare saying that I’m studying the degree I’m studying because of that building.
That building was, and still is, Madrid’s planetarium. I had decided that this day was the ideal one for me to re-discover such an important building for me. Unlike other’s, Madrid’s planetarium is quite small, and it’s mostly a place for children to discover and learn about the stars. They have two projection rooms. One would be used for the audience, while the other was somehow used for research, although I don’t really know how. I seized the opportunity and tried to imagine what Planetarian had shown me in there. I tried to picture Yumemi attending the few people interested in going to an slightly isolated place in a rainy day, just to see some false stars projected in an unconventional screen. I imagined too, how Yumemi would be alone at the building’s entrance, contemplating a neverending rain, hoping for everything to change and go back to how it used to be.
After this emotional and strange reunion between a human and a building, I proceeded to the counter to ask if there was any projection planned for today, to which the receptionist answered positively. For just 3.50€, I could enjoy a 45 minute projection. This was the first time I paid for a planetarium projection pass, and it surprised me how cheap it actually was. That, if we compare it to the cinema, which costs from 8 to 10€ depending on to which cinema and when you go.
Before the projection began, I spent my time walking around the installations. I found that there were two exposition halls: one with an explanation of black holes and how they were formed, and another one explaining how the reaction wheels in rockets worked. Along the round, kilometric corridors one could find himself swallowed by a huge display of meteor fragments and comet shards, as well as a bit of dust recovered by one of the explorations which had taken place in the Moon. These were all fragments of the vast world we live in, something that once again made me remember of a Planetarian quote that mentions humanity’s efforts to reach the stars.
It was then time to head to the projection room. And I almost ran late, since the usual projection room was out of service. I later learned that it was undergoing “technologic upgrades”, and once more, I couldn’t help but imagine the Junker trying to repair Miss Jena with the little resources he had. With this slight setback, I rushed to the alternative projection room, the one that apparently was used for serious research. To be honest, I found it to be a normal planetarium projection room, perhaps a bit smaller than others, but identical in design to the ones I had visited.
The projection began. Of course, it wasn’t as cinematographic as the one in Planetarian. It was rather oriented towards a girl explaining star and constellation facts and interacting with the audience, taking on questions and proposing easy quizzes for us to solve. That said, what really felt like Planetarian was the fact that there were just two three-member families sitting there with me. There was a certain sensation of tranquility. The same sensation I would have if I had been transported to another dimension, to a place where only I would be the only living being. A sense of alienation and ease filled the entirety of my body.
The projection ended as it developed: smoothly. I left the projection room and found myself facing the planetarium’s exit. Before me, a polluted city and torrential rain. Behind me, an oasis of peace and knowledge. To my disliking, I stepped out and dashed to the subway station. That rain was too much for a raincoat to handle. My socks were getting drenched and I started doubting the security the backpack could offer to my belongings. Thankfully, while in the subway and heading home, I felt relieved to find that my notebook hadn’t gotten wet. The last part of the way home implied a longer than desirable walk that put my notebook at a risk again, so I instead opted to wait for the rain to ease up in a nearby café.
Given the time I had, I ordered a hot coffee and sipped it while checking my Planetarian notes. “I reckon I have a long way before being a good note-taker…”, I thought. My notes were pure key words for me to remember about what to write and a bunch of quotes that appeared to be cool to me or from which I expected to extract some slightly far-fetched messages. Nothing extraordinary. Everything was scattered across two pages without any evident order. It still somehow made some sense to me, so I guess it wasn’t all that bad.
The rain eased up. Noticing this fact, I resumed my way home and, finally, arrived. My grandmother was waiting for me “grandmotherly” angry. You know, grandmothers never really get angry at their grandchildren, it is just that they worry way too much about them. I told her that I had gone to the planetarium, that there was nothing to worry about. The already darkened sky started loosing the little light it held and the streets started shifting from a dull grey light to a yellowish artificial one. It was now 20:30. 30 minutes remained until dinner time. Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to read much in 30 minutes, I resigned myself to my own thoughts, with my family chattering and the TV as a background noise.
We had dinner. This time we had some boiled vegetables and a generously seasoned salad. It wasn’t a great dinner, but I prefer these light ones to those full of meat and many side dishes. It was more or less 22:00. It was time for me to resume and end my starry journey in that obscure world. I grabbed the laptop again, booted it and opened Planetarian. This time I got to see the load menu. Despite it’s obvious lack of slots when compared to the other VN’s I had read, I found Planetarian’s to be the best designed load menu among the ones I had seen. It’s functions were crystal clear and included explanations for every possible action that could be executed.
I resumed the story. The Junker exited the planetarium with Yumemi and headed towards the outer quarantine wall. The atmosphere was tense. Danger could be perceived from the sole pale background that the visual novel showed. Yet, Yumemi managed to break that invisible barrier and ended with all the uneasiness thanks to her innocent attitude. By this time, I started thinking again about Yumemi’s battery life. I knew that her final moments were approaching. Then, the fiddler crab made his appearance. At first, I thought that the Junker wouldn’t have any issues against him, he seemed to have his ideas very clear in his mind. However, after a misfire and some Tom Clancy action, the climax arrived.
An image flashed for more or less a second. I saw that coming. I knew this was a KEY story after all… I did not cry, nor did I scream, nor did I get startled. I just continued reading in silence. A silence that felt heavier than my drenched backpack under the torrential rain. Against my will, I kept on taking notes of Yumemi’s last words. Loving Depths started playing as I began shredding tears.
The story ended. The credits rolled. I closed the laptop and headed towards the toilet to wash my face. I laid in the sofa for a bit, thinking about things… Even now I don’t know what I thought about. At just past midnight, I headed towards my bed. I grabbed the iPod and selected a Planetarian playlist I had prepared for this exact moment. I laid down and heard the beautiful OST. And while Gentle Jena was playing, I shed one more tear. And as that tear fell down, caressing my cheek, the day in which I read Planetarian, came to an end.
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I don’t think I have seen a post on Kazamatsuri that I have liked more than this. Say what you will about your English storytelling skill, this post got me absorbed in it. I was imagining myself reading alongside you, feeling exactly what you felt upon meeting yumemi.
The moment you said you were stepping out, I immediately thought to myself “no, no, you are not just doing that” but you did. And I am proud of you. And when you said:
I cracked up, being a Filipino and knowing the spanish importance of siesta.
All that said, I think that’s all you need to say. I’ve never said much about planetarian because I think there’s nothing else that needs to be said. It is flawless in its approach, and leaves you with a message worth internalizing. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it, and welcome you as a fellow starteller.
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And thus began the road to even more tears, as what the future holds in store for you is just as heartbreaking, if not more, than what you have just experienced.
(tl;dr Read Hoshi no Hito!)
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Thanks for your replies and thanks to all of you who read it!
Thanks, @pepe, that boosted my confidence up and I’ll try to write some story from time to time.
Too bad that my unstable Internet connections this week isn’t allowing for more posting, but I’m preparing a Planetarian analysis that I’ll post once I return to Barcelona.
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Is Planetarian HD Edition available or coming to Steam?
