The original Planetarian visual novel by Key was one of the first I ever read in my 15+ years of being into visual novels. I've gone on record saying that while I like Key in general, their stories can get pretty predictable with their endings and often feel bloated in terms of length. Planetarian, in a way, is the complete opposite—it's a very short story, not even written by Jun Maeda, yet it still feels distinctly like a Key work.

I thought the original visual novel was just okay. There was a bit too much text, and the visuals didn’t really convey the planetarium aspect it was going for. It also didn’t help that there were only two main characters, and we never really got to see the protagonist, Junker. Thankfully, the anime fixes this issue, with great animation that makes up for the visual novel’s dated look.

Planetarian is a short story, and for me, it’s always been difficult to get fully invested in something with very few characters. In this case, there are literally only two speaking characters for most of the series. However, seeing the dystopian world in motion in the anime helps with immersion before Junker eventually hides out in the planetarium.

In both the visual novel and especially the anime, the true star of the show is easily the robot girl, Yumemi Hoshino. I’ve seen my fair share of emotional short stories about tragic robot girls, so they tend to feel predictable—meaning they have to stand out in some way for me to care. Planetarian manages to do that, and even after all these years, I still think Yumemi is one of the most genuinely likable robot heroines, not just in visual novels but even in anime.

She has this innocent yet sincere way of wanting to show as many "customers" as possible the beauty of the stars. The way the anime presents the constellations alongside her bright commentary really enhances the experience, creating a great contrast to the dystopian world outside—one she doesn’t seem fully aware of. These moments, combined with Yumemi’s warm personality contrasting with Junker’s hardened pessimism, make their character development more impactful throughout the story.

I think a roughly two-hour movie was the perfect length to pace out this story. In addition to adapting the already emotional (if a bit predictable) story of the original visual novel, the anime also includes side story sequel content. In my opinion, this addition was absolutely necessary for the kind of emotional catharsis Key is known for.

Unlike many other Key stories, which rely on silly deus ex machina happy endings that tend to sour my opinion of the rest of the work, Planetarian—in any medium—never takes that approach. In fact, the sequel content in the Hoshi no Hito ending improves on the original visual novel’s conclusion, which felt a little too predictable and anti-climactic. The added material in the movie gives proper emotional weight to what happens after the main events, making this, at least for me, the absolute best way to experience the story.

If you want a short, emotional drama set in a dystopian world—one that finds beauty in an otherwise bleak setting—this is a great movie to check out.