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「ゆめみの投影」 (Yumemi no Tōei)
“Yumemi’s Projection”
I’m contractually obligated to mention Darker than BLACK at least once every season, and with it and Planetarian sharing a motif involving a fake sky it’s a good opportunity to meet my plug quota. If nothing else, it will be an example of how relatively common this imagery is. In Planetarian the starry sky is hidden by fallout clouds. In DtB, the starry sky is hidden by sci-fi mumbo jumbo. In both shows, though, the loss of the sky is treated as a very human tragedy. There’s a certain romanticism we attach to the sky, it seems, and there’s a real blow to the human condition when it is taken away. Whether it be because of futuristic disasters, or just being stuck in a jail cell, it seems that in the heart of all peoples is the desire to see the heavens open above us.
In Planetarian, the night sky is a source of imagination. Ancient peoples looked to the stars and saw gods and beasts, inspiring them to weave tales of wonder. Perhaps there is no greater muse than the myriad lights that sit so far out of our reach. Even today, space is the final frontier. As her fleshy meatbag predecessors before her, Yumemi also tells her stories, and also has her dreams. But they are only stories, and only dreams. Obviously, in her world humanity does not manage to work our their problems. Her beautiful Earth has gone to hell in a handbasket. And in her world, the space program has failed, just as in our world NASA reviews its annual budget and weeps. And this is the saddest part Planetarian perhaps, that while Yumemi’s projection is the climax of the story, and it is beautiful, and it is moving, it is also a fairy tale. The only reason for her optimism, we suspect, is her malfunctions, and her blissful unawareness of the real state of the world. And duly, right before she can begin her special projection on the future of humanity, the power fails. Her dream is completely unsupported.
And so next episode will be something of a test. Yumemi looks to be finally emerging from her bubble. Sure, it’s certainly more comfy in the old planetarium, but they can’t stay cocooned forever—if only for practical concerns, like the lack of food and electricity. And so we wonder, how will Yumemi fare against the harsh glare of daylight (or rather, what’s left of it)? No doubt she truly believes in all her feel-good jabbering, and her belief is wholesome and positive and should be encouraged. But just outside the planetarium are killer death robots. It’s them against Yumemi the broken customer service gynoid who cannot shut up, and her hopeful little homilies versus cruel, unyielding reality. They’re not the most balanced matchups, that’s for sure.
I remember crying a lot during the projection screen in the VN. I didn’t find the anime adaptation of it to be even half as moving. I can’t remember exactly how it went in the novel, but I have a feeling the comparison between the optimism shown in her presentation and the reality of the world the junker lives in was much clearer. Maybe he narrated this as he listened? I can’t recall, but I definitely know that I was in tears from this point till the end (and several hours afterward).
It’s always better the first time around.
as i said in episode 01, this “anime” really just live from the interaction of our MC with this female Robot, that could save her innocent “robot soul”. But, she lost her recharge battery power.. So, she run until her battery dry out?…
a sad ending. but, if you could use today technology and could transfer her “code and OS” on a USB Stick, would she be the same if you find an “clone” robot and upload the USB? This “digital Soul” was in my past of watching films, sometime the same. I remember an B Movie of some Human Male that wanted to “fix” his robot wife, meeting up with some “junker” to hunt in an desert city for an exact Robot copy of his old Robot wife (btw, she shortcut while they where had “intim privacy”) to upload her old OS into this “new” Old Female wife robot. In the end, he realized she is not the same…
Sorry for this little wall of text, but this is my “image base” that fly inside my Mind when i try to dive into my deeper thoughts
Yeah, i saw perhaps to many films, and this is my Treasure
and thought of an old anime/manga Veteran
found it: it was Cherry 2000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_2000
consider this. What if she really does understand what is going on?
Then is it a matter of indomitable spirit, or being delusional?
Sweet… that pretty much sums up that episode. Just stop for a moment and indulge in a bit of escapism and savor that warm sweet sensation. But all good things must come to an end and as this is a Key series we just know that the end will bring with it some bittersweet moments and in all likelyhood we get most of the bitter next week given Yumemi’s battery problems and the aforementioned killer robots. I just can’t really see this ending well or happily.
I don’t really know where this is headed and while I can see why Yumemi can be taxing and even annoying with her non stop talking. You, as a viewer, just can’t help but root for that little ray of sunshine or star light in the endless rainy world.
I sniffled a bit.
Ep 04:
Show Spoiler ▼
Show Spoiler ▼