Anime Review: Planetarian
- Very Average Joe
- May 8
- 4 min read
English Title: Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
Japanese Title: planetarian:ちいさなほしのゆめ [lit. planetarian ~ small star’s dream]
Director(s): Tsuda Naokatsu
Screenwriter(s): Tsuda Naokatsu & Yasukawa Shogo
Studio: David Production
Released: 2016
Runtime: 5 episodes, 13m–24m each.
Starring: Ono Daisuke, Suzuki Keiko
Based on the 2004 visual novel written by Suzumoto Yuichi, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which humans are nearly extinct. I have not read the visual novel so this review is of the series and film only.
An unnamed man who is a “Junker”, something like a soldier garbage collector, is in the “sarcophagus city”. It is abandoned and patrolled by armed robots. He takes refuge in one of the department stores which has a planetarium run by a female robot named Hoshino Yumemi.
Yumemi was created as a host for the planetarium. It has been over 29 years since the last customer. She does not know or cannot quite process what has happened. According to the Junker, biological and nuclear warfare, amongst other issues, led to the near extinction of humanity.
The 5 episodes are basically the Junker playing along with Yumemi when she insists on going ahead with the show. The projector doesn’t work so he fixes it.
Of course, without sufficient background, it is a stretch that the city has power. Even Yumemi having a power-saving mode and not being activated all the time, almost thirty years is pushing it.
Accepting the premise, and it is not a bad idea, the problem is that these 5 episodes are mostly uneventful even though that is mostly the intention. It is dialogue-heavy as Yumemi is very talkative.
The themes of life’s purpose, the afterlife and a higher power, although apparent early on, are not developed until later. This plot may work as a visual novel or a short story but it needs to be tightened for anime.
The performances are solid and visually it is very nicely done. The abandoned city (manmade) contrasted with the stars (nature) works well. The montage overlayed on top of Yumemi’s narration gives some relief to all the talking.
Visually, it is nicely and consistently executed, taking full advantage of 3D but staying true to anime as good anime should.
The music is what one expects with melancholic strings, block chords on the piano/keyboard, and spaced-out effects and arrangements. It is noticeable but tastefully not overdone. Perhaps a surprise is the use of the hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” composed by Charles Crozat Converse.
Thankfully, despite the premise, it mostly avoids trying (and failing) to be emotion porn. Rather than outright trying to shove it down one’s throat, it merely relies on saturation. After all, the narrative focuses almost entirely on these two characters and Yumemi is the “lonely innocent” trope.
That said, the ending is a bit crude but it arguably has earned that by the end. Although the lack of plot and background are the weaknesses, it is still a nice short series with a sufficiently satisfying conclusion.
English Title: Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars
Japanese Title: planetarian ~ 星の人 [lit. planetarian ~ star’s man]
Director(s): Tsuda Naokatsu
Screenwriter(s): Tsuda Naokatsu & Yasukawa Shogo
Studio: David Production
Released: 2016
Runtime: 2h
Starring: Ono Daisuke, Suzuki Keiko, Ooki Tamio, Fuku Sanae, Hikasa Youko, Tsuda Minami, Takeguchi Akiko, Kuwahara Yuuki
The film begins with three children finding an old man collapsed in the snow just outside their village. The old man is the Junker who has been travelling around telling people about the stars (which one cannot see due to what is in effect a permanent nuclear winter).
The film retells the series as the past in a slightly abbreviated manner. As expected, this is framed by the present in which the old man teaches the three children about the stars.
Whilst the story works way better as a feature-length film, the arc of the old man in the present is in merely a few scenes. These are not bad in themselves and there is substance and movement, but it would be better to have a few more scenes breaking up the past. The film could also take the opportunity to provide more historical background but doesn’t.
The themes are the same but it obviously takes one’s purpose in life further since the Junker has made it his life mission to tell people about the stars. [Spoiler] It also, albeit very crudely, expands on the theme of a higher power by vaguely applying it to AI. Using robots to talk about the afterlife can be suspect, as it can reduce the value of human life, but that is understandable in the context of life’s purpose in this anime. However, treating AI as divine is too much.
Overall, it is arguably better to watch this film and skip the series. But if one wants to watch both, then it is recommended to watch the series first as the film contains a little more material and the series has one short scene at the end that sets up the film.
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