Planetarian was an interesting read. My only wish is that it could have been longer, as having more time to become attached to the characters is extremely important for my enjoyment of a tale. It’s an interesting take on a possible future for humanity, one that reminds me a little of Iji (a freeware indie game). There isn’t really much I can say other than that I enjoyed the tale it wove, though the ending didn’t catch me emotionally as much as I could tell it wanted to.
I played Planetarian when the iOS version was released and absolutely loved it. The story may be short, but I think it’s told well. I don’t think there’s really a need for it to be longer — it works great as it is.
2 Likes
Planetarian is lovely, until the end at least, it was my first VN.
Although…
WHERE IS MY ENGLISH ANDROID VERSION KEY? LET ME GIVE YOU MY DAMN MONEY.
6 Likes
I am in the same boat Kanon. I would’ve bought it straight away, but I only have an Android phone. Instead I’ve only been able to recommend it to others, heh.
Same problem here. While I cannot play it because I only have an Android, I recommended the iOS app to a friend. She has yet to give me feedback XD
I really loved it! While annoying at first, you become attached to Yumemi
Let’s get some life in here…
As the story of Planetarian progressed, the protagonist started to treat the robot girl Yumemi more like an actual person, a human.
She behaved like a human, expressed joy, worry and other human emotions. Maybe some of you remember a small flashback of the main character where he mentioned his late colleague who had visited the planetarium before him. And he had warned him to not talk to that robot in there. Possibly because she’s just so human-like, or there was just something about her personality, that he couldn’t get her out of his head or something.
Therefore, let’s discuss the following question:
At what point can someone be considered ‘human’, or say, ‘a person’? Do circumstances exist where a far enough advanced robot, AI, doll or something along those lines, can become a ‘person’ ?
Those are definitely the kinds of questions Planetarian poses. To me, Planetarian was all about how one man was taught what it means to be human by a robot. That premise alone really impacted me and makes me think. What is a human, and can a machine become more human than us? It’s the kind of philosophical question that will become more and more relevant to our culture as our technology approaches that point.
6 Likes
She was a person from the get go, regardless of how she came into being.
She had a personality, she had things she liked, she had things she disliked, seeing her as anything less is rude.
2 Likes
This >
Thing that was so striking about it was how Yumemi was more ‘human’ (positively) than the protag. Genuinely good and caring. The protag portrayed countless flaws that humanity (negative) does, whether it be inherent or not. There are lessons to be learned from both her and him about what it means, or should mean, to be ‘human’.
1 Like
I think just saying ‘human’ doesn’t work. The protag’s behavior was said to be the standard routine for many people out there. Enough people that they were given the title ‘Junkers’
The protagonist is a very Post-apocalypse ‘Human’ while Yumemi is totally oblivious to war and violence, therefore she is more of a Pre-apocalypse ‘Human.’
I wouldn’t say The Junker was taught what it means to be human… because humanity had become a totally different concept. I’d say he was reminded of the civilization they should be aiming to rebuild. Yumemi’s lack of up-to-date knowledge really affects The Junker, and, as seen in Hoshi no Hito, he becomes the last remaining beacon of societ that Yumemi once was.
Really, it’s the story of a Robot reminding Humanity of how much better a life without war was.
4 Likes
I just started re-playing this on iOS, and the last time I touched this game was in 2008 when I first played it. Yumemi, as a character, is just the kind of character that is a perfect counter to the dreary world.
As for regarding her as a human, I feel that there is one thing that Yumemi lacks: regard for social cues. MC is obviously pissed off at her at the beginning of the series, and Yumemi cannot seem to comprehend that for the most part, and is too focused on her duty. While she does make you treat her as a human, I feel that part of that reminds you that she isn’t, and the story allows you to treat her as such
That problem with social cues drives most of the plot of Planetarian 
2 Likes
Planetarian was one of my favorite Key VNs because despite how short and linear it was, it was still depressing as shit. Plus, there was no KEY magic that can sometimes leave a bad taste in my mouth depending on my mood…
1 Like
I just finished reading Planetarian. Overall thoughts: I really liked it. It’s short but it’s a very beautiful and very emotional Visual Novel.
I like how the Visual Novel focuses on the issues of humanity and consequences of war and It teaches the lesson to not forget about the beauty of living and the beauty of space.
The main character is kind of a jerk but as I continued reading, I grew to like him and he does have his moments where he shows his humanity. The best character is definitely Yumemi(Reverie in the fan translation version). What I liked about Yumemi was not only the fact that she is very kind, polite and likable but also because there is a sense of sadness in her. This is probably due to the fact that she waited for 30 years for people to come to the Planetarian not knowing that they were probably all annihilated during the war. Despite that fact though, she is still optimistic that people would come and see the Planetarian and that humanity would overcome their problems. Not to mention the fact it’s very ironic that she considers herself to be a robot because she’s the character with the most humanistic values, and she actually helps remind the main character about his humanity by showing him the Planetarian projection.
The visuals look great. I liked the character designs for Yumemi and the backgrounds look pretty awesome in detail. The music is also done well with a special mention to “Gentle Jena” which is my favorite track in the OST. My only problem with Planetarian is that it can get a bit boring at times and there were some parts where I didn’t really care. Other than that though, Planetarian gets a huge thumbs up from me and it’s good introduction to not only Key’s Visual Novels but Visual Novels in general. I’ll definitely come back to reading Planetarian once in awhile.
7 Likes
I love Planetarian. As someone who enjoys compact and self contained experiences, I think it’s a great example of how even a short story can have a big impact.
Planetarian’s soundtrack was really compact, too. Of the ten songs that appeared in the game, four of them are variations on “Hoshi Meguri no Uta” [Song of Circling Stars] (Yumemi’s theme). I really wish we saw more variations on the heroines themes in the other games, but I think it’s used to great effect here because it makes the short game feel very tight and cohesive. An interesting note that I picked up on was that the first two versions of that song you hear are the “~Honky Tonk~” and “~Metronome~” versions which have a very snappy staccato beat, that creates this clocklike “tick tock” sensation. I think this really reinforces Yumemi’s robotic nature, and sets up a beautiful contrast with the “~Winter’s Tale~” and MELL’s vocal rendition which are much smoother, more lyrical, and really reinforce Yumemi’s inherent humanity.
“Ame to Robot” [Rain and Robot] is, fittingly, the song that plays when Yumemi’s standing out in the rain. I have mixed feelings on this song. The melody and drums are gratingly MIDI, moreso than most of Key’s songs, but the steady accompaniment conjures up such a strong image of rain drops pattering steadily on the roof that I cannot help but feel like that juxtaposition is exactly what the composer was looking for.
“Hoshi no Sekai” [World of Stars] and “Itsukushimi Fukaki” [Deep Affection] are also fantastic. The former song is the music-box opening song, and the latter takes that same melody and layers a few more layers under it. Once again, the Planetarian soundtrack is incredibly compact, and it was great to hear the opening sneak back in later.
I’m not sure why, but I get the sense that “Gentle Jena” was the song from Planetarian that Key decided should be the iconic one. An arrangement of it showed up on Ma-Na, and to date I believe it’s the most widely remixed of the VN’s songs among fans. It’s a nice song, and I think it’s quiet optimism does represent the story well, though I do wish more of this novel’s songs would get some love!
I don’t have much to say about “Human Warrior.” It’s definitely different from the rest of the soundtrack, and it’s definitely appropriate where it’s used. It doesn’t stand out to me, but it does its job well.
That, of course, brings us to “Mattaki Hito” [Perfect Human] A.K.A. the song we all cried to when Yumemi dies. The song has a whole hell of a lot of gravitas, and I think the name really drives home the point that we’re supposed to see Yumemi as a person, not a robot. It reminds me vaguely of church music, with the ethereal chords sounding something like an organ reverberating in a massive hall.
Overall, while there isn’t a lot of music in Planetarian, every piece has a job to do and does it well. I think this is helped along by how focused the story is. For other VN’s, there are a wider range of events that might need to use the same music because the moods are similar. But in Planetarian, we only have one character to interact with, which means we can have more variations on her leitmotif, and the other songs only show up a limited number of times, so they don’t have to be stretched to fill disparate purposes.
On a side note, if you enjoyed Planetarian, check out Digital: A Love Story, which has some similar themes and was partially inspired by Planetarian, according to the author.
8 Likes
I should really re-read Planetarian. The only one of those songs I remember is Honky Tonk and whichever one had the vocals. The soundtrack was very good at making me sleepy~ Ahaha~
Digital: A Love Story has an amazing soundtrack! My favorite track is I have seen the future, and it doesn’t work.
The rest of Christine Love’s stuff is worth reading too. Dtipbijays has interesting themes.
1 Like
First time I’ve seen someone giving a review focused on the music and how it relates to the storyline. Greatly appreciated!
I think the reason why they chose Gentle Jena as the theme is because it really shows the setting perfectly. A somber city, forgotten by the world, and a robot sitting alone, waiting to be of use by the people that she loves
3 Likes
What I like about Planetarian is how simple it is while at the same time deep and complex. It is very unlike any of Key’s other works (maybe because no Maeda? I have to say, as genius as he is, if this is how all Key’s works would be without him, it wouldn’t be so bad).
The world it is set in is HUGE, and I would love to see much more of it. Especially with the inconclusive end, which was actually kind of nice for a change (like @mechgamer123 said, no Key magic). The story was “over”, but there was so much about the world left unknown. Lots of post-apocalyptic settings have been showing up lately, but rarely do they feel so dark and lonely. I think the mystery behind the war, the machines, the junkers, and the rain really just pull you in, which allows the story to be as short as it is.
I’m really glad Sekai Project picked this up. Its short enough, emotional enough, and un-VN-like enough to surely get some new people into it as long as it sells well enough.
4 Likes
Have you read/heard Hoshi no Hito? It expands upon the Planetarian ending very nicely~
I keep meaning to… I guess I’l go do that right now
