Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
Cover featuring heroine Yumemi Hoshino
Developer	Key
Publishers	Visual Arts,KineticNovel(Windows, Android, iOS) Prototype(PS2, FOMA, S3G, PSP, Switch) WW:Sekai Project(Windows)
Artist	Eeji Komatsu
Writer	Yūichi Suzumoto
Composers	Magome Togoshi Shinji Orito
Platforms	Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 2,Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access,SoftBank 3G,PlayStation Portable,Android,iOS,Nintendo Switch
Release	The Reverie of a Little Planet November 29, 2004 Windows JP: November 29, 2004 JP: April 30, 2010 WW: September 12, 2014 JP: July 29, 2016[a] JP: September 3, 2021 WW: September 19, 2022[a] PlayStation 2 JP: August 24, 2006 FOMA,SoftBank 3G JP: November 28, 2006 PlayStation Portable JP: August 24, 2009 Android JP: November 30, 2011 iOS JP: November 30, 2011 WW: January 7, 2013 Nintendo Switch WW: January 31, 2019 Snow Globe September 3, 2021 Windows JP: September 3, 2021 WW: April 30, 2024 Nintendo Switch WW: June 27, 2024
Genre	Visual novel
Mode	Single-player

Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ～,Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume) is a Japanesepost-apocalypticvisual novel developed byKey, a brand ofVisual Arts whose previous works includeKanon andAir. It was released over the Internet on November 29, 2004, forWindows, and is rated for all ages. The game was later ported to thePlayStation 2 (PS2),PlayStation Portable andNintendo Switch, as well as mobile devices. The story centers on a man who comes across a malfunctioning robot in a dead city. The man, known simply as "the junker", stays with this robot for a time and attempts to fix the projector of theplanetarium where the story takes place.

Key definesPlanetarian as a "kinetic novel", since itsgameplay offers no choices or alternate endings. Instead, the player proceeds through the story solely by reading. The story is written byYūichi Suzumoto and character design is produced by Eeji Komatsu. The game's soundtrack was composed and arranged by Key's signature composersMagome Togoshi andShinji Orito.

Alight novel of short stories set in the world ofPlanetarian was released in April 2006, and threeaudio dramas have also been produced.David Production produced a five-episodeoriginal net animation series and ananime film in 2016.Planetarian's story, artwork and music have been praised, and the PS2 version ranked first for console games in terms of satisfaction in 2007.

Planetarian is apost-apocalypticvisual novel in which the player assumes the role of the junker. Unlike traditional visual novels, no choices are given to the player inPlanetarian to advance the story, and there is only one possible ending; this is what Key referred to as akinetic novel.^[1] The player can choose when to advance to the nextdialogue screen or put the game on auto play. In this respect, the player does not play the game as if it were avideo game, but plays it rather more like one would play a music track on aCD or play aDVD film. During gameplay, the player can choose to hide the text from view and go back to any previous lines.^[2] The game can be saved at any point in any of the five save slots available, and a load option is available where the player can load any of the automatically saved chapter markers, or choose to load any of the manually saved games.^[2]

By length of story,Planetarian is the shortest of Key's games. Excluding the opening and ending sequences, there are 16 parts to the story; the first half is set within the planetarium while the latter half is set outside in the ruined city where the planetarium resides. The novel takes four hours and forty minutes to complete on auto play.^{[note 1]} After the game has been completed at least once, two new options appear on the title screen. The first is a feature that allows the player to view twenty images ofCG artwork observed in the game. The second option allows the player to listen to eight of the nine music tracks featured in the game.^[2]

The game is set in apost-apocalyptic world.^[2] It is said that due to the depletion of natural resources,overpopulation, and the failure of the Space Exploration Project, humanity has virtually eradicated itself throughbiological andnuclear warfare, turning a once prosperous civilization into complete ruin, cast in darkness and poisoned by constant rain^[3] fromnuclear fallout. One military invasion in the past was atMare Nectaris. The bloodshed continues 30 years after the war in adystopic world via automated war machines, which kill anyone trespassing into their territory. Of the remaining humans, there are those known as "junkers" who go around scavenging for anything in order to survive; the protagonist in the story is one.^[2]

The main location where most of the story takes place is the fictional FlowercrestDepartment Store in a derelict city. It is based on the realMatsubishi Department Store ofHamamatsu, Shizuoka in Japan,^[4] although theplanetarium on the rooftop is fictitious. The onset of the story takes place within the planetarium which is where the protagonist first meets Yumemi. The most prominent feature in the room when a show is not taking place is the large black planetarium projector called "MissJena",^{[note 2]} which is placed on a stage in front of the seats. The planetarium has electricity when the protagonist arrives, but only for a short time. Once a year, for 168 hours, electricity in the planetarium is operational, but the projector is broken. The rest of the floors in the department store are in ruins; mold and rats run rampant.^[2]

The Junker (屑屋,Kuzuya)

Voiced by:Daisuke Ono (Japanese);David Matranga^[5] (English)

The protagonist is a nameless soldier living the life of a "junker"—scavenging useful items among ruined cities to survive. He enters a derelict city searching for undamaged goods and finds an abandoned planetarium on the roof of a building he first thinks is a military facility. There, he meets Yumemi Hoshino, a gynoid designed to look like a young girl who annoys him greatly due to her constant talking.^[2] The protagonist has a tough personality that comes from trying to survive in adystopic world. He carries agrenade launcher with him and covers himself with a waterproof coat to protect his skin from the toxic rain. For drinking water, his canteen has a water purifier that can purify the rain. He is constantly searching for rarer substances such as cigarettes and alcohol which can be sold at high prices.^[2]

Yumemi Hoshino (ほしのゆめみ,Hoshino Yumemi)

Voiced by:Keiko Suzuki (Japanese);Jill Harris^[5] (English)

Yumemi is a kindhearted but extremely talkativegynoid attendant of an abandoned planetarium; she is designed to look like a young girl. Yumemi is slightly damaged and completely unaware of the changes that have occurred in the past 30 years,^[3][6] as none of the facilities and databases that she connects to exist anymore. Therefore, she treats the protagonist like a regular guest by calling him "Mr. Customer" (お客様,Okyaku-sama), speaks of the world as it was before the war, and fails to understand any information he tells her, other than things related to her job at the planetarium.^[2] The name "Hoshino Yumemi" itself is a pun, and can be interpreted as "dreaming of a planet" (星の夢見,hoshi no yume-mi). Yumemi is the only character shown to the audience of the game.^[2]

Yumemi is very adamant about protecting humans and is happiest when she is helping those she serves. When she is unable to help someone, she gets terribly worried that she is incapable of offering assistance and must instead indirectly help a customer by directing him or her to someone who can. Protecting humans is her top priority and will even ignore previous orders to make sure no human is harmed when in her care.^[2]

While dodging detection from war machines in a ruined city, the protagonist enters a building with a dome on the roof to search for usable supplies. Once inside the dome, he meets Yumemi, who offers to show him a special commemorative projection especially reserved for the 2,500,000th customer, although he is in fact the 2,497,290th customer. Despite his aggravation with her, he agrees to attend her show. However, the projector device, "Miss Jena", has broken down and is in need of repair. After he repairs it,^[3] Yumemi starts the show, presenting a projection of the starry sky, something that cannot be seen from the surface because of the polluted skies. The power goes out in the midst of the show, but Yumemi proceeds through the rest of the event with no visuals at the request of the protagonist.

Afterward, both of them leave the planetarium, as Yumemi insists on escorting him back to his vehicle outside the city walls. The protagonist plans to transport Yumemi out of the city after her battery runs out and find a way to reactivate her. A machine the protagonist calls afiddler crab, due to its design, is guarding the entrance to the city in which he came from, and he devises a plan to destroy it armed with only agrenade launcher. After his initial plan fails and he is forced to face the machine front on, Yumemi tries to protect the protagonist, but is blown in half by the war machine'smachine guns.

Yumemi spends her emergency battery life replaying her pre-war memories to the protagonist using a tiny holographic projector on her ear. When the video fades, she reveals that she had known that the planetarium would never have more customers during the 30 years she was alone, despite her apparent infinite optimism up to this point. In her final moment as she "dies" in front of him, Yumemi ejects the memory card from her artificial brain for his safekeeping. Touched and completely shaken by the loss of the beautiful world she left in his mind, he throws away his gun and puts the memory card in his coat, before wandering off with a broken leg as the fallen war machine's automated backup units are closing in on the scene.

Planetarian is Key's fourth visual novel, and had a small staff of three main people that did the majority of the work for the game's first release.^[1] Unlike previous Key titles,Planetarian's art director position was given to Eeji Komatsu instead ofItaru Hinoue who had held the position for the three previous games.^[7] Komatsu was chosen not only because of his specialty in depicting mechanics and robots, but also because he could represent short scenes which touch on a robot's existence to reproduce a person's ideals. Furthermore, Key was not short on staff at the time, and was not forced to outsource the artwork ofPlanetarian.^[8]Jun Maeda, Key's main scenario writer and project planner, was left out of the project, andYūichi Suzumoto was given the position of planning and scenario.^[1] The music, excluding a single piece composed byShinji Orito, was arranged or composed entirely byMagome Togoshi, one of Key's signaturecomposers.^[1]Planetarian was the first game under the brand nameKineticNovel to be described by the term "kinetic novel".^[8]

In the original version, Yumemi is only voiced during the beginning and ending scenes, while other characters are not voiced. WhenPlanetarian was released forWindowsPCs onCD-ROM, Yumemi had full voice acting.^[9] ThePlayStation 2 (PS2) port offers full voice acting for the entire cast.^[10] Other changes to the PS2 version include a higher resolution for thecomputer graphics and an extended soundtrack.^[11] All other later versions contained full voice acting.^{[citation needed]}

The visual novel has one main theme song, the ending theme "Hoshi Meguri no Uta" (星めぐりの歌,Song of Circling Stars) sung byMell ofI've Sound, an arrangement of the folk song byKenji Miyazawa. ThePlanetarian Original Soundtrack was released on August 11, 2006, atComiket 70 byKey Sounds Label; it was later re-released on December 28, 2006.^[12] The soundtrack contains one disc with twelve trackscomposed and produced byMagome Togoshi, andShinji Orito; themes originally composed byCharles Crozat Converse and Miyazawa were remixed on the soundtrack. All of the tracks werearranged by Togoshi, except "Human Warrior" which was arranged by Orito. "Hoshi no Sekai (Opening)" (星の世界,World of Stars (Opening)) and "Itsukushimi Fukaki" (慈しみ深き,Deep Affection) are rearrangements of thehymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" by Converse, and their titles reflect this as well: "Hoshi no Sekai" refers to the Japanese version of the hymn named "Hoshinoyo",^[13] and "Itsukushimi Fukaki" is the Japanese translation of the hymn's original title.^[14]

Planetarian was released on November 29, 2004, via download over the Internet playable on Windows PCs, and was first made available only toYahoo! Japan Broadband users.^[9] The game was opened up for general sale on December 6, 2004.^[1][8] Key released a CD-ROM version for Windows PCs on April 28, 2006, in limited and regular editions.^[15][16] An updated version ofPlanetarian compatible forWindows Vista PCs was released by Key on July 31, 2009, in a box set containing five other Key visual novels called Key 10th Memorial Box.^[17] Another updated version compatible forWindows 7 PCs calledPlanetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet Memorial Edition was released on April 30, 2010.^[18] TheMemorial Edition also came bundled with the three previously releasedPlanetarian drama CDs.^[1] AnHD edition for Windows was released on July 29, 2016.^[19]Planetarian was released onSteam bySekai Project in English for Windows on September 12, 2014,^[20] with later support planned formacOS andLinux devices.^[21] The Steam release was updated on September 17, 2014, to allow the user to switch to the original Japanese version of the game.^[22] An English version of the HD edition was released on September 19, 2022.^[23]

A consumer consoleport of the game was released for the PS2 on August 24, 2006, byPrototype.^[10][24] A version playable onFOMA andSoftBank 3Gmobile phones was released by Prototype throughVisual Arts Motto on November 28, 2006.^[25][26][27] A limited edition version ofPlanetarian developed by Prototype playable on thePlayStation Portable (PSP) was available for purchase between February 28 and March 1, 2009, at Key 10th Memorial Fes, an event held in commemoration of Key's ten-year anniversary.^[28][29] A downloadable version of the PSP release via the PlayStation Store was released by Prototype on August 24, 2009.^[30] Prototype again sold the PSP version at their Prototype Fan Appreciation 2010 event on May 30, 2010.^[31][32] The PSP version was re-released on May 12, 2011, as a fundraising release for the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.^[33] Amobile app version playable onAndroid andiOS devices was released on November 30, 2011.^[34][35][36] An updated iOS version released in January 2013 includes support for English readers.^[37][38][39] Prototype released aNintendo Switch version on January 31, 2019.^[40][41]

Visual Arts launched a crowdfunding campaign on November 29, 2019, to produce anoriginal video animation (OVA) episode titledPlanetarian: Snow Globe.^[42] By the end of the campaign, the final stretch goal had been achieved for Key to produce a kinetic novel version ofPlanetarian: Snow Globe for Windows.^[43] TheSnow Globe kinetic novel was released on September 3, 2021 with thePlanetarian Ultimate Edition that also included a re-release of the 2016 HD edition ofPlanetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet for Windows, the three previously released drama CDs, and anart book. A downloadable edition ofSnow Globe for Windows was also released at the same time.^[44] The staff forSnow Globe was the same forThe Reverie of a Little Planet with the scenario written by Yūichi Suzumoto and the art by Eeji Komatsu.^[45] The music in the game is from theSnow Globe OVA released asPlanetarian: Snow Globe Original Sound Tracks & Voice Drama CD in January 2021 for backers of the crowdfunding campaign who pledged at least¥13,640.^[43] TheSnow Globe soundtrack is composed by Shinji Orito, Donmaru and Ryō Mizutsuki.^[45] It was released on Steam on April 30, 2024, and later on Nintendo Switch on June 27, with English, French and Chinese translations.^[46][47]

Alight novel featuring a collection of four illustrated short stories, including aprologue and anepilogue, and based onPlanetarian's story were written byYūichi Suzumoto and illustrated by Eeji Komatsu. The 243-page novel was originally bundled with the limited edition of the CD version ofPlanetarian, and was also included in the limited edition of thePlayStation 2 version.^[10] The book was re-published as a commercial release byVisual Arts under their VA Bunko light novelimprint on October 31, 2008, and was the second title on the imprint.^[48][49] A downloadable version of the novel titledHoshi no Hito: Planetarian Side Story onAndroid devices was released on November 30, 2011, followed by a version oniOS devices on December 14, 2011.^[50][51][52] The first two stories presented occur before the events of the kinetic novel, and the latter two occur during its aftermath. Thefront matter of the book reads, "Starry sky, words, God, robots. A collection of short stories in the key of these four themes."^[53] A short preview of the book is available online.^[54]

Snow Globe (雪圏球,Sunō Gurōbu)

This story occurs before the events of the war that brought the world to ruin; at this point, Yumemi has been working at the Flowercrest Department Store's rooftop planetarium for about ten years. One day, Yumemi begins to act strangely, culminating in her simply walking out and wandering around the town. The staff of the planetarium are bewildered, and one of the workers—a woman named Satomi Kurahashi—is ordered to go follow Yumemi and bring her back. Before long, Yumemi begins to run out of battery power.

Jerusalem (エルサレム,Erusaremu)

This story occurs as the war reaches its height. The South American Unification Army receives reports of a rogue sniper operating deep in the jungles ofPatagonia, and sends a platoon under the command of Master Sergeant Murdock to neutralize the threat. However, the entire platoon is killed off one by one by the sniper, until only Murdock is left. All alone, Murdock catches a glimpse of this mysterious sniper through his binoculars—and is shocked to find that he gazes upon the figure of a beautifulnun.

Man of the Stars (星の人,Hoshi no Hito)

This story occurs some time after the events of the kinetic novel, as human civilization struggles in a losing battle against the poisonous rain. Three of the last inhabitants of a nearly abandoned undergroundfallout shelter—named Levi, Ruth, and Job—find a quaint old man collapsed in the snow outside the bunker. When they bring him down, they are surprised to hear the adults calling him "Man of the Stars". The children grow quite interested about his strange nickname, as well as the fact that they have never seen a visitor from the outside world. The old man recovers a bit and has the children help him in putting together a portable planetarium projector. This story offers an ultimate conclusion to the story in the kinetic novel.

Tircis and Aminte (チルシスとアマント,Chirushisu to Amanto)

Identical twins Tircis and Aminte study alone in a world of their own. Tircis begins to wonder why he is studying and how long will it go on. This is the story of how the answer reveals itself to Tircis and Aminte.

Threedrama CDs were released byKey Sounds Label based on the short stories in the light novel. The first,Snow Globe, was released on December 29, 2006 at Comiket 71 bearing the catalog numberKSLA-0027; it was later re-released on May 25, 2007 with a different cover.^[55][56][57] The opening track takes place one year before the protagonist arrives at the planetarium and the "Snow Globe" story is told as a flashback. The end of the drama CD is where the kinetic novel begins. The second drama CD,Jerusalem, was released on July 27, 2007 bearing the catalog numberKSLA-0029. The insert song "Brave New World" byfripSide is included at the end of the drama CD.^[58] The final drama CD,Hoshi no Hito, was released on July 27, 2007 bearing the catalog numbersKSLA-0030–0031. This drama CD covers both the Man of the Stars" and "Tircis and Aminte" stories. A cast of voice actors perform the characters in "Man of the Stars", but "Tircis and Aminte" is a recited story byKeiko Suzuki, the voice of Yumemi Hoshino.^[59]

A five-episodeoriginal net animation (ONA) adaptation was produced byDavid Production and directed by Naokatsu Tsuda. The series was streamed onNiconico and other online services from July 7 to August 4, 2016. The screenplay is written by Tsuda and Shogo Yasukawa. Hitomi Takechi based the character design used in the anime on Eeji Komatsu's original designs. Sound and music direction is headed by Tsuda and Takayuki Yamaguchi. Katsuichi Nakayama and Shunsuke Machitani are the series directors. The anime's music is composed by Magome Togoshi, Shinji Orito, Donmaru and Tomohiro Takeshita. The main ending theme of the ONA series is "Twinkle Starlight" by Sayaka Sasaki. A single titled "Twinkle Starlight / Worlds Pain" performed by Sasaki andCeui was released on July 27, 2016.^[60] "Hoshi Meguri no Uta" by Mell from the visual novel was used for the ending theme of episode five. The series was released on a single Blu-ray compilation volume on September 28, 2016.^[61]

The same staff also produced an anime film titledPlanetarian: Storyteller of the Stars that premiered in Japanese theaters on September 3, 2016.^[62]Funimation simulcasted the ONA series on their website,^[63] and later released the ONA series and film on physical media on August 14, 2018.^[64]

Visual Arts launched a crowdfunding campaign on November 29, 2019, to produce anoriginal video animation (OVA) episode titledPlanetarian: Snow Globe.^[43] The OVA was animated byOkuruto Noboru and directed by Jin Tamamura, with Yasukawa returning to write the screenplay and Takechi returning to design the characters.^[42] People who backed the campaign received a copy of the OVA on Blu-ray in January 2021,^[65] and it was released to the general public on August 25, 2021.^[66]

In a review by Marcus Estrada ofHardcore Gamer, he praisedPlanetarian for having a "beautiful story," gorgeousCGs and a soundtrack that "sets a melancholic, but hopeful mood fitting with the story." He also noted that "even as an aging propertyPlanetarian still looks and sounds good."^[68]Planetarian is one of several kinetic novels featured in theLycèe Trading Card Game; Yumemi and the planetarium are playable cards in the second Visual Arts card set.^[69] In the February 2007 issue ofSoftBank Creative'sGemaga magazine, the PS2 version ranked first for console games in terms of satisfaction;^[10] the game had ranked fourth in the previous issue.^[70] In the Japanese video game magazineFamitsu released on September 8, 2006, it was reported that the PS2 version ofPlanetarian sold 8,170 units the week of August 21 to August 27, 2006 (the PS2 version was originally sold on August 24, 2006).^[71] When the PSP version was re-released as a fundraising event for the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, 16,663 units were pre-ordered by the day of its release on May 12, 2011. From these sales, Prototype and Visual Arts donated 22,415,069 yen.^[72]

• Three Laws of Robotics

• Key'sPlanetarian website(in Japanese)
• KineticNovel'sPlanetarian websiteArchived 2011-07-22 at theWayback Machine(in Japanese)
• Prototype'sPlanetarian website(in Japanese)
• Anime official website(in Japanese)
• Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet atThe Visual Novel Database
• Planetarian: Snow Globe atThe Visual Novel Database
• Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (anime) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• Planetarian: Snow Globe (anime) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia

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