Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito

I read a lot of Japanese manga and watch some anime, but the trouble with most of the anime is that it falls into various familiar formulae designed to appeal to teenagers and young adults. Since I'm an old adult, not much of the anime appeals to me. However this is one very big exception!

If you happen to be interested in astronomy I think you'll find it very moving. Ditto if you often read post-apocalyptic stories in any form, and also if you've been doing any thinking about how life will be when robots routinely move among us.

It's a little jewel, and I still ... am having feelings from it the day after watching it.

This review will be both for newcomers to Planetarian and those who already watched the 5 episode ONA. Please enjoy.

Story
Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito, or Planetarian: Stargazer- is a decent movie for those who have not watched the original Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet, 5 episode ONA. Though this movie is a sequel, it includes many scenes from the original, allowing for newer viewers to catch up. Unfortunately, I think it would be better to watch the original 5 episode ONA than to watch the movie. This is because all as the scenes from the ONA are flashbacks which in my opinion lose their ... effect because they are not being experienced in real time.

One big issue with this movie is that 80% of it is flashbacks from the ONA series, which could've been left out so the movie story could've been further developed. Honestly this didn't even need to be a movie but a 20 min episode if you cut out all the flashbacks from the ONA.

Character
The characters are new and only one (the main character of the ONA) has remained, though you'd see the original robot girl Yumemi (the other main character from the ONA) very often in flashbacks. The new main characters of the three children aren't honestly expanded a lot. No one from the new character was really developed sadly. However, the best character development has definitely been the now old the main character Kuzuya (The Junker/Old man in this movie). I would like to specify further, but that's a big spoiler.

Animation
Animation is good, though not as good as the original ONA series. Why does Ruth have no eyes? (They cover his eyes with hair) This just seems like a little lazy animation- they drew eyes for the other two kids, why can't they do it with him? The main character (the old man) Kuzuya also seems to suffer often from his hair covering his eyes. I would've liked to see his eyes more.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack is practically the same as the original ONA, especially the main theme from the Christian hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus".

Summary:
If you've already watched the ONA series: It's a decent movie and just skip all the flashbacks wherever you see them. I would not describe watching this movie as a big MUST, unless you're interested in what happens to the main character after the ONA series.

If you haven't watched the ONA series: Watch the 5 episode ONA first! You'll absolutely love it.

If this movie was an advertisement for a planetarium. Then I would be sure to drop by at that certain planetarium even if my wallet evaporates into thin air. Aside from the movie being consisted of incalculable numbers of punchable faces. The movie tells a tale that could conceivably become a life lesson for us, humans.

Robots talk too much. And so does kids. This entire movie bears a resemblance to sitting down in the middle of a forest and letting all them mosquitoes suck you. Gah! So annoying! So irritating! Because there were so many interactions in the movie. I thought that I was ... watching an Indian action series and thus couldn't get the full experience from it.

Everything about this movie is splendid except from the characters. Yumemi Hoshino aka The Planetarian Robot Girl, is so fucking annoying that I wish that she would just shut the fuck up. The kids in the movie are also such a nice combination of stupidity that if I were to be the MC of this movie, I'd silence them and put where I think that they should belong: back to where they came from.

Story : 10/10

Art : 9/10

Sound : 1/10

Character : 1/10

Enjoyment : 9/10

Overall : 9/10

This movie is like watching David Production flex about their knowledge of astronomy. In which I don't really mind. But if you're gonna flex then you better make it good. This movie nearly failed in that aspect. But it was luckily saved by the strong pillars formed by the story alone.

Eh. Ok movie I guess. Wouldn't really recommend this to anyone because it staying underrated is already the perfect place of where it should belong.