In the year 2075, mankind has reached a point where journeying between Earth, the moon and the space stations is part of daily life. However, the progression of technology in space has also resulted in the problem of the space debris, which can cause excessive and even catastrophic damage to spacecrafts and equipment. This is the story of Technora's Debris Collecting section, its EVA worker, Hachirota "Hachimaki" Hoshino, and the newcomer to the group, Ai Tanabe.
~ANN
I thought it was, because the manga takes more time to flesh out the characters. Also, it's not as overly dramatic as the anime, and more light-hearted. I like that, because it kind of suits the story more, in my opinion.
On the other hand, much the same problem as in Eikoku Koi Monogatari Emma (although far less articulated) occurs to me, the manga might be too open-ended for some readers.
YMMV, but I definitely recommend reading it (I'd even recommend reading it before watching the anime).
Yes, we would need to think about it and act on it now, rather than later. But so far, humanity has only acted when there was actually a pressing need for something. I'm rather pessimistic in that regard.
Sadly, I think we're still some ways away from anything like the Debris Collecting we saw and read in Planetes. The ramifications are, as of yet, still too big, since you'd need much cheaper ways to reach orbit (all the personnel and material has to get up there), plus space stations (and perhaps moon habitats).
It sucks, really, because I'd be very much in favour of sustained space development (plus I want to go up there).
