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.

I don't know if people are aware of this, but MAL actually supports ratings below a 7. I cannot, in good conscience, give this above a 3 rating.

The 5 episode OVA, I rated a 7, which isn't a bad rating at all. It had a nice, dystopian atmosphere mixed in with a bit of awe and beauty (especially the part with the stars being projected in the planetarium); it had a lot of emotion packed into it (you could feel the loneliness experienced by her over 30 years of isolation); it had nice graphics, music, and a decent ending (which made me shed a few ... manly tears).

THIS, however, was a complete waste of time. More than 50% of the entire movie was dedicated to flashbacks! Are you kidding me? Discounting the flashbacks, there was nothing else memorable. I was expecting a nice, clean, followup and conclusion to the OVA, but instead, I got some random crap and flashbacks.

Do yourself a favor: just watch the OVA and skip this, unless you want to be left with a bad taste in your mouth.