[urdailywater]

Any anime you guys looking forward to this Fall?

I'm super looking forward to the Madoka Magica movies if I'm right in that they're airing this Fall (it might just be in theaters, though).

Hopefully Little Busters will be good too. J.C. Staff, at least lately, has only been making somewhat decent to just plain horrible stuff, and I don't expect that to really change just because they're animating a notable Key novel.

Robotic;Notes is probably the coolest thing on the list in terms of series, though. I love Steins;Gate so far.


Here's a chart for those curious, though I'm not sure of how good this one is seeing as I don't use Crunchyroll for anything at all.

http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-new...12-anime-chart

[HalcyonSpirit]

I hardly ever watch anime as they come out*, so I'm always at least a season behind. So for me, the question is more like "any anime you're looking forward to this past summer season?" Of course, I've got such a backlog that regardless of my answer, it's gonna be a while until I actually get to any of them.

That said, while I won't be watching it until I get around to reading the VN, I swear to all that you consider holy, if they fuck up Little Busters!... Death. Just death. For all involved.

* Only exception so far being FMA:B

[urdailywater]

This summer was pretty meh in terms of shows anyways, so don't fret if you don't get to them. Kokoro Connect and Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita were the most notable things IMO. I heard Tari Tari was pretty good too.

Sword Art Online is the most popular thing right now, but I kind of feel like it's a sort of so bad it's good thing. I don't believe people actually like that show. Unless they're just watching it for the MMO nostalgia or whatever. It's still bad.

And if you ever got around to Yuru Yuri season 1, don't don't watch S2 for your own sake because you will probably risk having a heart attack on about 20 different occasions.
But if you're willing to take the risk, the show is actually really good. Super funny too. S2 beats S1 by a long shot. I'll go as far to say it's a better show than K-ON! in terms of slice of life (But I'm a big fan of yuri humor, too..)

Oh yeah, and don't expect too much from the Little Busters anime lol. I mean, there's a chance for it too be super good just because the source, but knowing J.C. Staff it'll end up being "decent" and no more. I don't trust them.

[Bleck]

Evangelion! Finally!

[Emperor Charlemagne]

Looked at the upcoming chart, and saw the redesigns for the Cyborg 009 characters.

Ugggggh...

[Flash Strife]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrmbrbQ6c40&hd=1
Trailer for that movie.

[K.B.]

Originally Posted by Emperor Charlemagne

A world of shit.

I hate it when you're right.

At least the Haruhi movie was decent. Although I could have done without the entirely self-centered, melodramatic decision-making scene. Puke.

[relyanCe]

Originally Posted by Emperor Charlemagne

Looked at the upcoming chart, and saw the redesigns for the Cyborg 009 characters.

Ugggggh...

it looks great what are you talking about

[Emperor Charlemagne]

Originally Posted by relyanCe

it looks great what are you talking about

I don't know if you're joking or not, but it's a bad thing when a series with such an iconic, Tezuka-inspired look:


And turn the designs into generic, 2000s uninspired barbie dolls:


One of these groups has personality. Can you tell which one?
I mean fucking lol, I didn't even know the blond guy was jet until 3/4 through the trailer.

It doesn't help that the animation in the trailer is ugly CG non-animation, making everything look like some cutscene from a Persona game.

[HalcyonSpirit]

I bring again a visual novel write up, this time covering another of Key's works.

Planetarian ~The Reverie of a Little Planet~
planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ～, Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume


"What do you think about the planetarium? That beautiful twinkling of eternity that will never fade, no matter when. All the stars in all the sky are waiting for you."

Planetarian is Key's fourth visual novel and is branded as a kinetic novel, a type of visual novel in which there are no choices for the reader to make. It is also Key's shortest work thus far; a reader can comfortably read through the entire story in under five hours.

Planetarian is set in a post-apocalyptic world where, because of overpopulation and loss of natural resources, humanity has nearly wiped itself out with biological and nuclear warfare. Thirty years after the war broke out, automated war machines continue to defend territory and cities for governments and organizations that no longer exist from threats long forgotten, and humanity struggles to survive in a world draped in darkness and plagued by constant rain poisoned by nuclear fallout.

The story follows the viewpoint of a nameless man who, while searching for supplies in a ruined city, a 'sarcophagus city', stumbles upon a functional female android operating within a department store's old rooftop planetarium, which still has power even after 30 years. The android, Hoshino Yumemi ("Reverie Planetarian" in the translation), has continued to serve out her duties since the onset of the war, apparently oblivious to what has happened due to errors in her system and being unable to connect to her external databases. She has an innocent and talkative personality and does not understand things the protagonist tells her unless it is related to her duties as a planetarian. The story plays out within the planetarium for the first half of the tale, and then in the second half the two characters venture into the ruined city in which the planetarium resides.

The artwork for this VN was done in a slightly different style than what you may be familiar with from Key. It still retains many of their typical aspects for character designs, such as very large eyes and small mouths, but these are not as exaggerated as they are in other Key releases. In addition, the background art and CGs (pictures typically for special/significant scenes, for those of you unfamiliar with visual novels) are done with an air significantly different from the standard artwork in previous releases. This is largely due to the setting of the story requiring a darker/more melancholic feel, but it is also used to subtly emphasize the situation the protagonist finds himself in. He's stumbled upon a functioning android in a planetarium that somehow still has power thirty years after civilization was essentially destroyed. He's stepped into a world marked by those thirty years but not completely taken over by them. The artwork reflects this otherworldly feeling with the artwork of the planetarium; it has subtle glow practically everywhere, so it doesn't seem quite 'real' to the eye.

Planetarian also hits on that note through its music. Many of the themes have an otherworldly aspect to it in at least one of the instruments. These themes are used when interacting with Yumemi, emphasizing the fact that she is not human. The music also emphasizes her personality with light, high notes and airy instruments. The two combined help create the gentle atmosphere for the feelings in much of the story.

It's also worth noting that this otherworldly feeling in both the artwork and the music has a more obvious association, too; that is, the involvement of a planetarium, a place dedicated to worlds other than our own, as a central aspect of the setting early on.

Unlike Key's previous releases (Kanon, Air, and Clannad), Planetarian does not have any romantic elements to it. It is a relatively straightforward story that develops primarily through the characterization of Yumemi in contrast to the protagonist. While he is a human, jaded and hardened by the trials of his life, Yumemi is an innocent character, never having experienced or even knowledge of such hardships. She fulfills something like an airhead role, but her reality regarding personality and intelligence is a nice play on the typical representation. From their interactions, it appears that artificial intelligence developed prior to the war could not completely replicate human consciousness, or at least was not implemented for androids of Yumemi's type. As such, her character seems to be a result of having noticeable limitations as to what she can actually comprehend due to her programming.

This is played further by showing just how similar her emotions seem to be compared to a human's. It's this contrast between the limitations of her programming and how human she can seem at times that provides the hook for the story. We see glimpses of humanity in her as time passes, leaving us not quite sure what, exactly, she is consciously capable of. It also provides the necessary empathetic connection to her for the readers to really draw us into this world we're seeing. The protagonist's character develops a little over the course of the story as well, becoming less rough, but it is Yumemi's character that binds that story together.

If you're familiar with how Key tends to operate, you'll have a pretty good idea of what's going to ultimately happen by the end of the story. The story does try to throw you off a little at times, perhaps making you doubt that idea, but make no mistake, this is classic Key storytelling. It's made to get you emotional by the end, and as is the norm with their stories, it does so through a growing sense of foreshadowing and foreboding before delivering the final emotional blow. One might not expect to get emotional from a story focused on a robot that doesn't have a fully human personality and intelligence, but the story plays its cards well. It is a thoroughly satisfying story overall that can, at times, defy your expectations about what you may think about such a situation and the characters involved. It carries itself very well, though you may not realize it until after you've finished the entire tale and have had a chance to reflect on it.

If there are any complaints to be made about Planetarian, they're largely about issues that do not really impact the overall story and feel. Some aspects of Yumemi's character could have been played up more or less, depending on preference, but there's nothing really wrong with how she is portrayed here. There aren't too many backgrounds and scenes shown, leaving me wishing there were a few more in there just so I could get a better feel for certain themes and feelings at times. The music is relatively simple and uses mostly synths; none of it really stands out as noteworthy, yet it is still used quite suitably through the story. It could have used real instruments to add more emotion, subtlety or nuance to the music, but then again, the simplicity is a benefit in itself. Finally, there's nothing truly unique about the story itself or the background to it. It's the crafting of the story and the characterization of Yumemi that pulls it all together and makes it work, not the uniqueness.

All in all, Planetarian is a very good, short visual novel. It doesn't do anything extraordinary. It doesn't break any new ground. It's just solid storytelling with two solid characters acting as contrasts to each other. The emotional aspect is played well, and the story ends on a note that could perhaps be described as bittersweet. It doesn't do anything explicitly wrong, and what it does right shines in such a way that it isn't really obvious until after you've finished and reflected on just how well it handled itself.

Planetarian is an excellent addition to Key's release lineup. It is definitely worth checking out, even for those that don't typically like how Key crafts its stories; it carries a very different feel to it than their more romance-based visual novels such as Kanon and Clannad. It is highly unlikely to disappoint, and for a time investment of just a few hours, it's more than worth the effort of reading.

Ratings
Story - 8.5
Characters - 9
Artwork - 8.5
Sound - 8

Overall - 8.5


As a final, personal comment, while Planetarian does not have an anime adaptation, I believe I would enjoy an animated movie adaptation. The kinetic novel format is close enough to an animated medium from a storytelling standpoint, minus that actual animation, and the story is short enough that I think it could be comfortably told in the span of something like an hour and a half or two hours. There would be obstacles to overcome to be sure, particularly how to handle the nameless protagonist, but I think it's something that would work really well.