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planetarian Launches Crowdfunding for CG VR Anime Video

Visual Art's/Key launched a Campfire crowdfunding campaign on Friday to fund a full 3D virtual-reality anime video for planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume. The campaign's goal is to raise 10 million yen (about US$89,000) to produce the video.

If successfully funded, the 360-degree virtual-reality video will feature "Yumemi Hoshino's starry sky explanation" scene from the net anime. D & D Pictures, which produced a special planetarium project for the anime that debuted in March, is returning to produce the new anime video. The anime will utilize the latest 3D motion capture technology to create Yumemi's facial expressions and motions. ASMIK Ace began streaming a demo video for the anime on Thursday.

As of press time the campaign has raised 6,764,840 yen (US$60,000), and the project will end on January 18. Backer rewards include clear files, Blu-ray Discs, copies of the script, ending credits, signed paper boards, and figures. The project is only accepting backers who reside in Japan. Backer rewards are slated to ship in April.

The planetarian anime project includes a five-episode anime planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume (planetarian: The Dream of the Small Star), which premiered in July 2016, and the planetarian: Hoshi no Hito (planetarian: Star Person) anime film, which premiered in September 2016. The net anime adapts the main game's story, while the film is "another story" about what happens to Kuzuya afterward.

Funimation streamed the net anime and with an English dub.

Visual Art's/Key (Clannad, Rewrite, Angel Beats!) originally released the planetarian ~the reverie of a little planet~ "kinetic novel" in Japan on personal computers in 2004 before porting it to the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable consoles. The story takes place 30 years after a world war put a halt to space development. The protagonist, simply known as "the Junk Hunter," attempts to restore a planetarium's projector after meeting a robot.

Sekai Project licensed the PC version of the game and released it on Steam. VisualArt's also released an English version for iOS.

Source: Animate Times