Discussion topic for the “Hoshi no Hito” or “Man of the Stars” light novel & drama CD of planetarian. Feel free to refer to the entirety of the original planetarian and this story without spoiler tags, but please tag references to any other content with [spoiler], providing adequate context in parenthesis.
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I decided to give this a listen again to compare it a to the light novel a bit. It may be because of my extreme bias towards voices, especially when you people like Suzuki Keiko and Ono Daisuke, but the audio drama is just so much better. The book tells the story with an omnipotent narrator, and that severely dampened my experience of the projection scene. It’s so much better to hear the kids be amazed by the show then to read like “They had never seen anything like it.” Because I’m coming in from the wrong angle of having listened to the CD before reading the book, the weirdest thing was discovering that the scene in heaven isn’t in the book, at all. The Junker/Stargazer just collapses when he’s brought before the goddess, and he never wakes up. There’s a passage about the kids worrying he’ll be thrown out. After that we just get the aftermath; we’re told he’s dead, and the chief of the village sees the goddess by his bed and thinks that she took him to heaven. So other than Suzumoto describing the world in the most beautiful words possible, you don’t miss out on much by not reading the novel.
For some general thoughts on Hoshi no Hito, it’s an amazing follow up to the kinetic novel. This is the only one of the four CDs that I think anyone who’s read planetarian must listen to.
(Jerusalem)
After listening to this again, I too believe that the village in Hoshi no Hito is the shelter from Jerusalem. It was really when they brought up how a part of the village has marks from a big fire that convinced me. That also means that the world is completely turned upside down because they have snow storms and stuff in South America.
I definitely agree in that it is a must listen to anybody who has finished planetarian; it really gives a nice insight on what has happened to the world, and more importantly, the junker. Naturally, it does feel bad to see him never achieving what he sought out to do, but I think the fact that he had been able to make Yumemi into this symbol of hope for those children matters so much more.
Of course, I can only imagine how those children would react, should they ever figure out how to use the memory card.
I sobbed a bit too much when he “met” Yumemi again.
Dammit Key, why do you do this to me.
Let’s just throw out some fun facts and then maybe some other time I’ll actually do some analysis.
First, the Hoshi no Hito movie confirms what Helios said above which leads me to ask, (Jerusalem) how the hell did the Junker get all the way over to Patagonia?
The characters who live at the shelter all have biblical names. You could even say they are names of the some of the Old Testament books. Well, except Levi… poor kid. Ruth is the 8th book of the Bible in the History portion of the Bible, Job is the 18th book in the Wisdom potion, Ezra is the 15th book which is also History, and finally, Isaiah and Jeremiah are the 23rd and 24th books from the Major Prophets. You could say that Levi has her book in the form of Leviticus which is the 3rd book and in the Pentateuch. I was eventually thinking about exploring what implications these names might have but so far I have nothing. It’s a bit odd because Levi himself isn’t exactly super significant, but it’s his descendants in the form of Moses, Aaron and the Levites are significant throughout the Bible.
Maybe if all that rain’s become snow by the end of Planetarian itself, by the time the Junker/Starteller is an old dude it’s become a full on ice age and created land bridges of ice?
I didn’t think I was going to be able to experience the side stories, and then when I found I could wasn’t sure I wanted to. However, having now listened to Hoshi no Hito I have to agree this is the one that all fans of planetarian should make the time for. It’s a great epilogue to the Junker’s story and the main thing I took from it is how even in this grim world that children can still be inspired to a sense of wonder, curiosity and optimism.
I have a question about the end of Hoshi no hito. I have only watched the movie so it may be why I didn’t understand it but could someone explain me the scene where the fair-haired robot prays for the Junker and then he meets Yumemi in the planetarium after his death ?
If I remember correctly (and I often don’t remember things correctly), that scene was not in the original Drama CD/Light novel of Hoshi no Hito. But regardless, to me it seems like a callout to Yumemi’s wish to “not split heaven in two”. In a way, it’s a representation of, after the Junker’s death, him and Yumemi meeting once again in the afterlife.
There should be no proof of this actually happening nor is it something implied by the story beforehand. So, to me, it all seems like fanservice to have them meet again.
But it sure as hell is damn good fanservice 
C-
There are differing versions of Hoshi no Hito, but the drama CD always had all the content. The difference is in the written versions. First, we have the official light novel which is a third-person narrative showing the perspective of the kids. Second, there was a thing posted on Suzumoto’s blog (Shirane has a post on it). This tells of the scene when the Junker met some other junkers after the VN and also of the scene with Yumemi. Even in the original light novel though, the “Goddess” still went to his room to pray, so it was all kinda implied.
Thanks for your answers I think I understand this scene better now ! 
Okay so I finally got round to listening to this - time for my analysis. I have two things I want to comment on, and a third that is being written up.
Firstly, general Impressions: This made me cry. A lot. Like dang, that ending really took me for a ride. This is a really beautiful follow up to the main story of planetarian. It brings a lovely sense of closure to the Junker’s story, and allows us to see the extent of which Yumemi’s beliefs had on him. I had seen the anime before, but this is my first time looking at the audio drama. There is clearly a lot of religious symbolism in this, which is no different from all of the other pieces of media that take place in the world of planetarian, but similarly to the original VN, it is not the focus of the story, and it wasn’t the thing that initially stuck out to me, so I’m only going to briefly mention several concepts that allow the religious significance of this novel to become more apparent. First of all, one should consider the stargazer as someone akin to a priest – someone who represents a religion and aims to pass on their beliefs to others. It naturally follows how the Junker acts in relation to everyone, and why he acts very similar to Yumemi. I’ll go into the specifics about this later. Second is the use of the stars. It is clear how near the end of the novel, they are used to represent heaven, with one of the adults mentioning how the Junker has gone to a place above the sky, where one cannot reach, which is exactly how the Junker describes the stars to the children when they ask what a star is. Third is the use of the goddess. Despite the adults not wanting the Junker to stay around for long, it is not because they do not have belief, in fact they do, just not in him – in the goddess, who could be perceived as the god figure of their religion. This is potentially one of the reasons why they don’t want to be affected by the Junkers beliefs, because they might have a potential change in religion. The adults only have a change in heart when they see the goddess pray to the Junker when he dies – to them, this is symbolic of him being a holy figure of their religion, and that makes them more accepting of their beliefs, which means they’re willing for the children to follow the ways of the Junker since the goddess approved of him. Generally, the term religion and belief are interchangeable, since they both represent the concept of having faith in something, which generally follows through all the content in the world of planetarian.
Secondly, I want to discuss the parallels between this story and the original VN: There are many times where the events of Hoshi No Hito directly correspond to the events of the VN, and there are quite a few parallels between Yumemi in the VN and the Junker in Hoshi No Hito. One obvious case is during the projection scene, where at the end, the Junker almost directly quotes Yumemi’s final line about how if one finds themselves in darkness and unable to see the stars, then they should remember the stars they just saw. One really nice touch is how the Junker says ‘That is a little reverie of ours’ – ‘ours’ referring to him and Yumemi. The Junker also never shows any negativity towards any character in the audio drama, similarly to how Yumemi shows no negativity towards anything in the VN – they are both very accepting people. Another example is how the Junker dies at the very end, similarly to how Yumemi dies at the end of the VN.
Next I want to look at the comparisons between the three children, and the Junker during the VN. First thing I should mention is how the children are not like the Junker. In the VN, the Junker shows very little interest in what Yumemi has to say when they first meet, however, the children are instantly curious because they had never seen an outsider before. In my opinion, this is the biggest difference between the characters, and is representative of how adults are more likely going to reject new ideas, while children are more accepting of them. This concept of adults rejecting ideas is also shown when they refuse to let the Junker stay – many of the adults complain about how he is of no use to them because they believe that nothing will come of him showing them the stars, and how he’d be of more use if he had goods to sell, or could help to produce children. This shows that similarly to the Junker in the beginning of the VN, the adults are incredibly cold, logical and unaccepting of ideas that don’t show an immediate benefit to them, so there are still elements of that within the story, just not presented by the children. It is for this very reason why I think the Junker chose to have the children help him – because he knew they’d be the most likely to believe in his and Yumemi’s views. Now onto how the children and the Junker are similar. In the VN, the Junker helps Yumemi set up the projector, and in Hoshi No Hito, the children help the Junker to set up the projector. Another example is that in the VN, the Junker expresses the idea of carrying on Yumemi’s dream, and helping to tell people about the stars (e.g. becoming a stargazer), and similarly, the children also want to become stars gazers as well. There’s also the fact that both the Junker and the children replace their most treasured item with something that is proof that they are stargazers. After Yumemi’s death, the Junker replaces his cigars with Yumemi’s memory card, and similarly, the three children replace their cross with Yumemi’s memory card.
To me, all these comparisons are used to represent the idea of passing knowledge and faith from one generation to another, in hope for a brighter future. Given the post-apocalyptic world of planetarian, it is very easy for pervious knowledge to get lost – the children even question the Junker a lot about aspects of the world, so given the Junker knows he’s dying, he tries to pass on his knowledge and beliefs so that they aren’t lost. In the VN, Yumemi does a similar thing by acting as if the world hadn’t been destroyed, essentially making her a survived relic, but if she didn’t survive, the Junker would have never have become the Stargazer, and that knowledge and belief would have never been passed on. I also think the scene before the Junker dies is very symbolic of this. The goddess comes to see him and he tries to find his memory card (most likely to see if he could put it in the goddess and bring back Yumemi), but he realises he gave it to the three children, and soon after, he falls into an eternal sleep with some of his last words being ‘But… Those three will be fine’. This is him realising that he has passed on all that is needed, and there’s nothing else he can really do in this world, so he decides to rest. While quite sad, it shows that he can entrust the world to a new generation, and he believes that they will do his work justice. There’s also something from the Junker that emphasises this idea of passing knowledge from one generation to another. During the flashback where the Junker breaks his leg, he asks himself ‘What number am I? How many have come before me, ever since the first idiot who gazed at stars from his cave?’ The Junker is fully aware that there have been many people like him before. This also returns during the scene in heaven with Yumemi. The Junker implies that everyone (or at least many people) in the audience are stargazers – more specifically, during the presentation, the Junker says that he is one of many generations of stargazers, and he will now join them in the front seats. So the idea of multiple generations of humanity sharing their beliefs and knowledge is very prominent throughout this story, and it encourages the listener to do that as well.
Overall, I loved this story. I still think in terms of a pure plot point of view that I prefer Jerusalem as it covers very different topics to the VN, but this this a very close second, and works as a beautiful contrast to Jerusalem, and it emphasises all the beliefs presented in planetarian.
Just gonna write a quick few things down as I now have fan art to do, this was amazing it was very interesting just seeing the change in character from before the Junker was the stargazer and after became the stargazer. The bible says “By Beholding you become changed” which the change in the Junker really shows. I wont bother writing anymore despite how I want to because i need to draw and whatever I end up writing Idiology has probably already written to a much greater extent than I would do. I may write stuff later after I get a day of thinking through this.
Jerusalem Spoiler, Its possible that were the kids dwell is the underground chapel due to how its mentioned that its a library and that they found a Christian Cross. I believe somewhere in the story they mentioned the remains of a fire.
Please leave some suggestions for what scene to draw as soon as possible.
I mentioned this in Discord chat but I’ll bring it up here as food for thought WRT planetarian and this story in particular.
This is a bit different in Hoshi no Hito really as it’s the projector which has the holes and the light shines outwards rather than in. Could this be a metaphor?
Also an Inuit saying: “Perhaps they are not stars in the sky, but rather openings where our loved ones shine down to let us know they are happy.”. The real stars of course are obscured, another metaphor?
The final thing I want to discuss is the use of music: For those of you that aren’t aware, I did an analysis of every track in the planetarian soundtrack in the Planetarian - General Discussion page, and how each track is used to represent certain themes and concepts throughout the novel. Now, I did this before I actually listened to the Hoshi No Hito audio drama (I had seen the anime adaptation before though), and I’m actually really surprised how many things actually followed through to this (and other things that didn’t). I’m going to go through each of the main things that stuck out to me, in the order they’re presented in the audio drama:
The general ‘Hoshi Meguri no Uta’ motif: In planetarian, the melody line within this piece is used within multiple tracks under a similar name (e.g. Hoshi Meguri no Uta (metronome)). It is easy to associate this motif with Yumemi due to how it’s generally used within the original novel, but I also put across the idea that this is also potentially the Junker’s theme. This held up really well when listening to this drama, because this motif is generally only used when the Junker is around. One could argue that most of the tracks in planetarian use this motif, and the Junker is shown in most of the story, so it could just be coincidence, in which I say yes you are completely correct, because there are very specific cases where the tracks are and aren’t used which stood out to me. The exception of this idea of the motif being related to the Junker is during the beginning of ‘Visitor’, after the Junker is rescued from the snow. The ‘Honky Tonk’ track plays and the only reason I can think of why this theme is used there is because it’s the only track that conveys any sense of quirkiness, which makes sense given the situation. However, in track 5 (Treasure), ‘Ame to Robot’ is playing when the children are going to get their treasure. This is one of the only times when the Junker doesn’t appear in the drama – and this track plays instead of any of the ‘Hoshi Meguri no Uta’ pieces, which is significant of the Junkers lack of presence. So basically, that argument can go either way, but I personally think this concept still holds.
Hoshi Meguri no Uta (Metronome): This is the track that is used for the most part of the drama. In my original post I stated how it represents the Junker’s awareness of the passing of time, and how he doesn’t much time left to do what he wants. The same concept applies here - he knows he’s dying, it’s one of the reasons he’s so happy to have found some disciples to carry on Yumemi’s message, so in many ways, this track is used almost identically to how it’s used in the original VN.
Hoshi Meguri no Uta (Winter’s tale): Contrary to what many might expect, this piece is used during the projection scene, where the Junker shows the three children the stars. Given the original novel, you would probably expect Gentle Jena to be playing at this moment, and while yes it would have been perfectly appropriate, this piece works better in my opinion. In my original analysis I suggested that this piece is used to represent the moment when the Junker starts to become the stargazer, and it has a similar use in this. As soon as the Junker shows the three children the stars, they want to become stargazers as well, so similarly to how this piece is used in the VN to show Yumemi making the Junker believe in the stars, and making him want to dedicate his life to showing people the stars, Hoshi No Hito uses it to show the Junker making the children believe in the stars, and making them want to dedicate their lives to showing people the stars.
Mattaki Hito/Perfect Human: In my original analysis I proposed the idea that the small flourishes in sound represented sparks of electricity leaving Yumemi’s body. Since this is used during the Junker’s death, that doesn’t exactly follow. However, I did say this piece acts as a requiem mass, which still holds given the context it’s used in. It gives the listener a reason to mourn over the loss of the Junker. Also the title still has some significance. If we consider the Junker through his life after the events of planetarian, he tried to spend his life bringing hope to others – he acts as an ideal figure. Even when he’s dying, he never once shows an ounce of negativity to anyone at the village – similarly to Yumemi, so even though he may not be a perfect human, because that’s impossible, he is trying to live up the Yumemi, who can be perceived as a perfect human due to her nature throughout her life.
Hoshi No Sekai: I already discussed how this piece is used to represent concepts of hope through instrumentation among other things, and that part does still hold. This piece plays when the children close their eyes and realise that they can still see the stars. To me, this piece is now Yumemi’s theme, as it represents when someone has fully encompassed Yumemi’s belief in the stars - the children do not need a projector to see the stars since the stars are engraved into their hearts. In many ways this can also be considered Yumemi’s theme in the original VN as well, especially if you consider planetarians religious connotations and the origins of the melody of this piece, but that’s something I forgot to mention during my original analysis. So since this is now considered Yumemi’s theme, this piece gives a suggestion that Yumemi is now a part of the three children, which is because they now truly believe in what Yumemi believed in – she has offered them faith and they have accepted it. I also want to mention how this is the one time that this piece is used, and the ‘Why don’t you come to the planetarium speech’ isn’t said – well except it kind of is, just not in a conventional way. During this scene the Junker states ‘The stars will always be shining in the path in front of you. Because the stars you see at the planetarium is something you can never forget’. This is similar to Yumemi’s line ‘The beautiful twinkling of eternity, that will never fade, no matter when.’ – the concept presented by both lines is incredibly similar, so even though it may not be the exact same line, what’s trying to be conveyed is pretty much the same – the idea that the stars will always be there, and will always be beautiful.
Gentle Jena: This is played when the Junker goes and see’s Yumemi in heaven, which causes the average human being to start crying. I mentioned how in the VN, this piece essentially acts like planetarian’s hymn, and this once again extends into this story. This piece first starts playing when the Junker is asking Yumemi if there is only one heaven, and whether he can be forgiven. This is essentially the Junker praying to Yumemi, so the use of planetarian’s hymn makes sense, as it’s trying to convey is strong belief and faith in Yumemi during this. While in heaven, there are many people in the planetarium. The Junker describes them all as stargazers, and they’re about to witness Yumemi’s projection. I mentioned in one of my other posts how Yumemi’s projections act very similarly to a religious ceremony, and it only naturally follows that in many religious ceremonies, people sing hymns to express belief and worship. So if everyone in the planetarium is a stargazer (which can be considered as someone who follows Yumemi’s ‘religion’) and are there to watch Yumemi’s projection, that it’s natural that a hymn would be played, so that’s why Gentle Jena is used.
Itsukushimi Fukaki/Deep Affection: This is used at the very end of the drama, when the children are discussing the Junker’s treasure, Yumemi’s memory card, and then you hear Yumemi giving her ‘Why don’t you come to the planetarium’ speech. Once again, this piece represents how in death there is hope – even with the stargazer gone, the children still retain all his beliefs despite his death, and this memory card is proof of that. The ‘Why don’t you come to the planetarium’ speech is once again said, and it is proof that despite how there is no-one left in the world who knows about Yumemi, she still lives in the thoughts of others.
Gentle Jena Extended: I was proud of this. I had no clue that it was used at the very end of the audio drama, but the concepts I presented in my original analysis were on point and extremely accurate in my opinion, despite its lack of use in the VN. This piece is used at the end of the CD – there’s nothing happening except this music. In my original analysis I talked about how this piece acts as an epilogue to the original VN, and how it expresses the idea of the Junker telling people about the stars and how the multiple parts of this piece represent more people believing in the stars. This view held up really well as it still holds for Hoshi No Hito, except instead of the Junker making more people become stargazers, it’s the children. One thing I found really interesting when comparing this to other things in the world of planetarian was that in the VN, only one person was made into a stargazer (the Junker), while in this it was three (the children). To me, this symbolises growth in belief, and how with more and more generations, more people will become to believe about the stars and become stargazers. Using this song at the end represents this, and only emphasises the points that I made in my original post. Plus, if you consider how the theme of passing knowledge and faith from one generation to another is really prominent in this, it only makes sense that this track would help to convey that. I also made a point about how if you actually listen to this track, you become a part of what it represents, and that still holds here, just in a slightly different context. In my original post I argued about how if you looked up the soundtrack, you are part of a collective group of people who believe in the themes of planetarian – and the same argument holds here. If you liked planetarian enough to look up the side stories, you must have liked it a lot, in which the same argument holds, especially when you consider how you have to wait until the very end, after ‘Hoshi Meguri no Uta’ to here this. It’s kind of like waiting for an after credits scene in a film – you’ve got to like it enough to wait until the very end, even if you think it’s over. To me, this is an incredibly fitting way to end the Junker’s story as it shows how had an effect on the world, and how their beliefs will be forever passed on, both in the world of planetarian and in our world.
So that covers many of the significant tracks, but I should also note that there is a piece used in Hoshi No Hito which isn’t in the official soundtrack. During track 6 (Goddess) there’s a piece that plays when Ezula tells the children that the stargazer is no longer needed in this world, and they reject that concept. This is the only time this piece is used in the audio drama. This could have just been used as filler as since there isn’t a piece with a similar feel in the rest of the soundtrack, but part of me wonders if this is supposed to be the theme of the children. It’s impossible to tell since this piece comes up only once, but it could represent how each generation has something new to bring to the world, as represented by an all new piece of music.
So the soundtrack emphasises this idea of passing knowledge and faith from one generation to another, because most of the tracks are used in a similar context as the original VN, so it shows how events are repeating, but at the same time, it also shows how the world is slowly changing, and becoming something better.
As I mentioned in my planetarian post that the Junker needed to put effort into being able to learn the truth about the stars by fixing the projector Gena. This is also true for the three kids as they needed to put effort into creating the umbrella so they could see the stars. Just an interesting parallel that I noticed and thought i’d mention.
Also with Idiology’s earlier post about how the children where accepting and the adults were not. Just a little bible parallel when Jesus talks about the need to be willing to accept things like a little child in order accept the kingdom of heaven (the stars) he does say “Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.” It is noted that the change in the Junkers character from the beginning of his meeting with Yumemi planetarian to the projection scene his character slowly starts becoming more childlike with a more open mind with willingness to accept the stars. By the time he meets the kids his character was completely changed into a more humble, kind and patient character. The kids already had an open mind with their want to see the outside world which is closer to the stars than underground where all the adults did their best to keep them shelter underground to keep them as far as possible away from the stars.
Quite a wonderful thing, to experience the world of hoshi no hito once again. The world where the eternal rain had turned into eternal snow, but the light of the stars, in the form of the stargazer, still shone on the world, granting the future generation hope that they can still carry on towards the eternal goal for the stars.
There is one mystery, though. Exactly why did their goddess suddenly rise up, and kneel at the stargazer’s deathbead? For that, we’re going to have to go into Jerusalem spoilers:
I think that there is absolutely no doubt that this village was built on the remains of the underground sanctuary of patagonia. And the goddess is the sole remaining robot in the army of killer robot nuns made to protect the religious group. For that, it follows that the robot would recognize the cross given by Levi, Job, and Ruth. I also have no doubt that this is what activated the robot once again, and find the cross-bearing stargazer.
But what does this mean to the robot? Why kneel? Allow me to try and understand this robot, the same way we came to understand yumemi. Yumemi had proven that there is no greater satisfaction for a robot than to be allowed to serve their original purpose. What, now, was the original purpose of these nun robots? To serve and protect the religious group. As wicked as their intents may have been, the robots themselves were innocent. They merely desired to protect and serve any being they deemed human. Once the robot recognized the stargazer as human (due to the cross he was wearing), her duty was once again reinstated. After many decades of waiting, the robot once again found her purpose in life, thanks to the stargazer.
And the junker, now the stargazer, was able to provide salvation to two innocent robots in his lifetime. If that ain’t an achievement worth dying for, I don’t know what is
Thanks you have answered my old question with further details so It’s very more clear for me now !
