Planetes

Original Title: ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ (プラネテス)
Romanized: Purenetesu
Literal: Planetes

Plot Synopsis

The year is 2075. Space debris orbiting the Earth, the result of abandoned satellites and space station construction, have become so numerous that they are a serious threat to space travel. To combat this growing problem several space-faring corporations have employed space debris recycling teams. One of these teams is the understaffed Debris Section attached to Technora's 2nd Business Division, jokingly called Half Section by the rest of the company. Among their staff is Hachimaki Hoshino, an EVA (extra vehicular activity) specialist. Although he's been in space for only three years he is already a jaded veteran who has seen it all, who knows that being an astronaut is not all that its cracked up to be and is ready to give up on his dreams. Can the arrival of the cheerful newcomer Ai Tanabe brighten up the mundane atmosphere in Debris Section? Or will she too be sucked into the boring routine of an unglamorous and seemingly dead end job?

Reader Review

Rating: 5 / 5
Reviewer: The M Man
Review Date: 2005-12-27

When most people associate Sci-Fi with anime they conjure up images of giant humanoid mechas, psychic aliens, gun totting cyborgs, galaxy roaming bounty hunters, or massive fleets of war space cruisers engulfing each other in plasma hell. Rarely does it include what is basically collecting space trash. Welcome to the world of Hard Sci-Fi, where the top speed limit is still well below light speed and constant thrust doesn't mean constant speed. It's quite rare to see a hard SciFi anime, let alone a Hard Sci-Fi drama anime. But then again Planetes is a very special anime.

While the backdrop is still fairly futuristic, its is still quite realistic. There is no sound in space (space ships don't go FSHHHHHHH when they fire their engines), the impact of low gravity and inertia on movement is an important plot element, and so on. If Arthur C Clarke were to make an anime, it would be something very much like this. Yet with all this focus on making Planetes feel realistic the focus of the series is actually on the humans themselves. The main theme of Planetes is Man's relationship with space. His love/hate for the endless vacuum of outer space, the overwhelming (bordering on illogical) need to explore it, and the politics of sharing its resources. Interjected with this are stories of very human issues. Dreams, hope, love, hate. The drama elements in Planetes go hand in hand with the Sci-Fi ones, complementing each other.

The episodes are extremely well written. The bane of TV series length storytelling is pace. Very few manage to maintain good pace through out the whole series. With only very few snags, Planetes manages to do this with flying colors. The first episode, which by tradition is usually slowed down by introductions, is fast paced and gives you a good feel for the series. Definitely one of the best "first episodes" I have ever watched. The rest of the episodes flow in more or less the same pace. The episodes for at least the first half of the series are "slice of life" stories. Episodic affairs shedding light on the status of the world in the late 21st century, exploring the wonderfully built characters, posing moral dilemmas, injecting humor here and there (least you think its too serious), and gradually building up the main plot. What at first seems to be a series of tangential stories figure into a single encompassing plotline culminating into a very satisfying ending. Now that's writing!

Visually, Planetes doesn't fail either. The animation is beautiful with relatively realistic (but still quite pleasing) character design that fits the series's somewhat sober mood. No gravity defying hair or mammary glands here thank you very much. The mechanical design as stated before is realistic and highly detailed. Everything from space ships and space stations to space suits and air filtering smoking rooms look like NASA concept sketches. The music is a nice mix of sweeping orchestral pieces and mellow jazzy interludes, all working beautifully towards the image of "life as usual" that pervades Planetes.

So to wrap it up, Planetes is definitely one of the best animes I've seen in a long long time. It's definitely one of the best Hard Sci-Fi stories (anime or otherwise) that I've had the pleasure of viewing. A realistic and well-written series dealing with serious issues but thankfully never preachy or over-philosophic, and most importantly fun!

US DVD Review

Bandai's hybrid DVDs feature a number of interesting extras. Each disc includes one episode with a commentary track by the director and voice actors, and there are a variety of other extras: interviews with NASA orbital debris scientists, interviews with the English voice cast, radio dramas, scientific information, galleries, clean opening and endings, and more.

Content Guide

Some violence and serious political and social issues for a 13-up.

Violence: 2 - People get killed, and blood is spilled. But nothing overly gory.

Nudity: 1 - A few skimpy clothes here and there.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Kissing level romance.

Language: 1 - Nothing worth mentioning.

Notes and Trivia

Planetes means "wanderers" in Greek, which happens to be where the word "planets" is derived from. Unlike stars, which follow a fixed path in the night sky, planets wander all over the place.

Availability

Available in the US on six hybrid DVDs from Bandai.

Looking to buy? Try these stores: RightStuf (search) | AnimeNation | Akemi's a(nime)Store