Overview

A visual novel released by Key in 2004, shortly following the release of their much acclaimed Clannad, Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet was a short work, offering no alternative paths, merely a four hour long story to read. The soundtrack release, Planetarian Original Soundtrack, was equally as brief, offering only a handful of original compositions by Magome Togoshi and Shinji Orito. Nearly half of the album is dedicated to their own arranges of two original, classical pieces, one by Charles Crozat Converse, the other Kenji Miyazawa. How does this mini-album sound?

Body

There are two classical pieces on this album, both arranged by Magome Togoshi. Charles Crozat Converse's "The World of the Stars" opens the album, though the full version isn't featured until "The Loving Depths." This piece is rather gentle and poignant — reminiscent of a nursery rhyme in its innocent simplicity. It was certainly a fitting choice to portray Key's visual novel.

The full version of Kenji Miyazawa's original piece is found as "Song of Starflight." MELL contributes the vocals to this soft, peaceful melody, and brings out plenty of meaning in the lyrics. This piece too is reminiscent of children's songs, though the melody is more distinctly Asian in origin. This piece receives quite a few arrangements in the album, in variations that sound more typical for a Key game, with Togoshi using mostly acoustic sounds.

Togoshi also composed three original tracks. The best of these is "Gentle Jena," which also receives a lengthy extended treatment further on the album. This piece is pleasant at first, yet the melody's second half is fantastically evocative and rivals the composers best works melodically, if not in complexity. "Perfectly Human" is rather forlorn, and quite nicely composed, utilizing various soundscapes to give an otherworldly air. Both tracks are more enjoyable than th .

Shinji Orito's sole contribution to the album is "Human Warrior". This techno piece feels rather drawn out and feels out of place with the rest of the album, though it does fit the game's worldview. Another disappointment is the rather basic "The Rain and the Robot," which isn't as enjoyable as Togoshi's other contributions.

Summary

This album is quite short, which is a shame, as there are some great pieces on here. Miyazawa's piece doesn't get old despite the multiple arrangements Togoshi gives it, and Togoshi himself contributed some great pieces as well. Still, with only six pieces total plus arrangements, it's obvious why this soundtrack was never given a proper commercial release beyond Comiket. This album presents an enjoyable yet brief romp, but might not be worth your money.