Planetes

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Planetes, an anime that I was hesitant to watch at first. I have my reasons why, but when I picked up the DVD one day, I decided to finally sit down and watch the first episode. Until now, I don't remember what I was expecting at first, maybe just a show about astronauts and such. Let it be known, this anime is so much more. Planetes is probably a very realistic picture of what the future is going to be like. Cities on the moon, a career in space, vacations that actually take you to explore ... the vast unknown... however none of that will happen for at least 50 years at least, but this anime gives you a perfect example of what life is going to be like in 2075.

For starters, I thought that an anime about astronauts who pick up garbage in our atmosphere. Apparently it's a bigger problem then it sounds, garbage in space, due to the fact that the first scene is a visual of an event that caused many people to die on a trip into space, and all because of a single screw. Anyways, the story revolves around the Debris Section of a major company in space. They're space garbage men. Sounds like the most boring job ever, but when you get to fly around in Zero-Gravity and get a beautiful view of the earth from hundreds of miles in the air, you can't complain. Despite the fact the main plot is about picking up trash, around halfway into the series it gets more of a main plot added to the story. Action, Romance, and a good finale to the series is what makes this so popular.

Mmkay, so, not to be kind of "Artistically-Racist" or something, but the artwork is what kind of pushed me away from watching Planetes. I have never been a big fan of animes that push for a realistic view of characters, however I was pleasantly satisfied with the art style in this. I guess I'm so used to animes with the characters having huge eyes and stuff that once I start watching an actual TV show with living people, or animated shows with a realistic concept to it, I'm a little thrown off. Either way, satisfied.

Voice acting was good, had some good actors and actresses who played their roles well. I have never been the biggest fan of how Lara Miller has made her characters sound in the past, but she matched Nono perfectly. She was my personal favorite voice actress in Planetes. Another thing I was impressed by was the realism of the SFX in the series. It's a fact that you can't hear anything in space, it's completely silent once you go outside. That's what the creators of Planetes added to make the show more realistic, which was very smart on their part.

They had an interesting Character line-up. They made the characters seem real somehow. It may have been because of their realistic hair styles (not pink or purple or anything, just real hair colors like blonde and black), or it may have been their personalities. Either way, I enjoyed having most of the characters along for the ride. Nono was my personal favorite character, and Fee was brilliant, hilarious, and the episode where she's looking for a place to smoke in peace was awesome, the dark, crazy side of her was shown then. Then there's Tanabe and Hoshino, our 2 protagonists. They were what made the show happen, what made this into a 26 episode series. Without them, this might have been a 1.5 hour movie at best. Very pleased.

I can say I enjoyed Planetes a lot more then I thought I would. As I said before, I was skeptical about watching this at first, but it was so worth my time. I enjoyed it for the most part, there were some scenes that ran a little long, but for the most part it was all enjoyable. Good storyline, characters, satisfying ending, pretty neat effects, overall a very good anime. I recommend this for all of those anime fans seeking a series with a more realistic side to it. If you aren't, watch it anyways.

I recently ran through Planetes a second time, this has made me reconsider some of previously outed statements, not necessarily in a negative way.

Planetes is labeled as a "hard science-fiction" work of fiction. For some reason inexplicable, I am extremely fond of video games, movies, series and anime which try to stay as realistic as possible.

Planetes starts as a slow story about the debris clean-up crew aboard "ISPv-7", a space station orbiting earth. For about half of the series this is the only background info you got on the universe until the shift of focus to an interstellar journey to Jupiter later on.

You get acquainted ... with the core members of debris section and more specifically: the two leading roles: Hachirota Hoshino: an extremely arrogant and apathetic astronaut; Aï Tanabe: a new employee, relatively unmarked by events in life and a tad naive, believing every conflict or dilemma can be solved with pure and dedicated love (a nod to her name 'Aï', which means "love" when translated from Japanese).

As opposed to most works of fiction I know; these characters stay quite true to their inital personalities at first, but they quickly start changing in their behaviour towards one another and towards themselves. This change is conveyed wonderfully in the anime thanks to the talented voice actors and intellectual dialogue.

Aestethically, Planetes picks a more simple approach. The character detail is quite low, and the IPS (images per second rate) is quite low. An interesting thing to note: when in space, the IPS is raised drastically to enhance the fluid motion of a weightless space. You don't notice it when you don't know about it. The characters aside, the backgrounds and locales look absolutely marvelous and are rich in detail. Especially the space stations and spaceships. Another thing which was designed in great detail was the city of Mare Tranquillanis on the moon.

Planetes is not only "hard" or "rough" on the scientific aspects of our universe, politics and the further industrialization/capitalization of space's resources is explained comprehensively. As with every political idealogy, you have opponents. They manifest themselves as a self-sufficient terrorist front in Planetes, attacking civilian targets out of revenge/discontent with how the rich only become richer and the poor, disadvantaged fractions of the populace are only exploited more by the leading parties in the global economy.

Planetes is of a relatively calm but confronting tone. The viewer is soon explained the gravity of the dangers when working in space: debris can instantly kill you, hazardous radiation threatens every EVA worker and the long-term effects from labour in space such as depression, severe mental instabilities etc. are explained and covered throughout the series. Something for which I admire Planetes greatly, it might be fiction, but the anime covers almost everything which is theoretically or even practically possible should we ever reach the stage of further exploration in space.

Also, the National Space Agency of Japan was the official advisor with the creation of both the manga and the anime, making the hard science fact genuine and believable.

To summarize: for me, Planetes never fell short. Never. It was a helluva time watching it, every episode was interesting and confronting, leaving you behind, longing for more. So far, this was the only anime which was capable of doing so.

It's a pity the extremely realistic tone of the universe scares a great part of potential viewers away since the majority of the anime viewers seek metaphysical/magical/nonsense (I assume) in an anime. It's a real and genuine shame. Planetes should be seen by everyone. Even if you don't like it, you should try and see how complete this ensemble feels.

Set in a world in the not too distant future, Planetes explores life in a space station. In particular the Space Debris Section, also mocked as the "Trash Section" by other divisions. Its twenty six episode run throws in themes of philosophy, sociology and politics. These were presented well, often with subtle foreshadowing. Character relationships played an integral role, feeling authentic and original. This is not simply pertaining to the romantic squabble but includes characters connections with self identity, space and the working place.

The most prominent two characters are Hoshino and Tanabae. Hoshino at first appears to be a man child, working a dead ... end job and leading a life of a dreamer. His personality shifts when he sets his mind to a goal, often wearing his bandana as a visual cue. There is strength in his stubbornness and as you are fed his backstory you begin to understand were his ideals stem from. The anime does a great job in showing his internal conflict as he faces both his demons and dreams.

Tanabae is a new recruit, we first get to see the world through her eyes. At the start of the series she had a tendency to act naive and idealistic. It's her flaws and how she grows from them that make her so enjoyable to watch. Her relationship with Hoshino likewise had plenty of development. Although, from the very beginning you could see the love rays shooting from her eyes. The side characters are treated well with interesting and occasionally moving back stories which rarely felt out of place.

There were moments in the plot that felt like certain events unfolded just to progress the story forward. An example would be when Yuri Mihairokov found the compass floating in space, of which he had been searching for several years. It didn’t break the immersion but I thought it should be worth mentioning. For the most part we were given slice of life type episodes with themes relating to the environment, politics or workplace. Concededly, we were sprinkled with an undercurrent of a greater story throughout. The final third brings it to the forefront shaping into something a bit more dramatic.

The character designs take a more serious approach, looking plain but unique enough to differentiate themselves from other anime. The views from space are stunning and brimmed with photorealism. The animators did a good job with pacing the fast and slow movements, from peacefully mending a broken satellite, to thrusting away from an impending collision. Likewise the OST fitted very well, picking up where the action notched up while being more ambivalent during the quieter moments.

Planetes shines its best with how the characters react and play off each other. It has an immersive story, only during rare occasions does it feel contrived. Much like the debris floating in space, it's beautiful, often tragic and something not to be missed.

Back in the 00s, there was a digital TV channel in the UK called Anime Central, sadly now defunct. They aired such works as Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, the three Japanese Transformers anime and the 2003 version of Full Metal Alchemist but one work I had never heard of was "Planetes". I am really excited by space exploration and to have an anime about it was indescribable.

Story: 10/10
Planetes is an incredibly realistic anime. Artificial gravity is generated the ISPV 7 space station rotating and that is kept to a minimum, most of the time the characters ... float around and similar to UC Gundam series; have handles and bars all over their in their spacecraft interiors to assist the astronaut.

Planetes shows casual office life but with space added to the formula, the complications of space travel are also added such as radiation sickness, being born on the moon where there is a lower gravitational field strength etc. and also the features of the space age, an age where space travel is regular enough that astronauts aren't all heroes, as Hachi tells Ai. But most importantly the theme of the show which overlaps with environmentalism and capitalism. Collecting space junk and not paying attention. Conversely one of the plot points revolve around how turning to renewable and cleaner sources of energy such as nuclear power and solar power have left oil rich nations of the middle east in bankruptcy because no one needs their oil now they have a cleaner alternative.

Art: 10/10
This is made by Sunrise and I can't help but thank them for how grateful I am that they animate space accurately and keep 3DCG down to a minimum, only using it for space stations such as the ISPV 7 and large spacecraft such as the Von Braun.

Sound: 10/10
As there is no sound in space because of the lack of air, characters talk through radio. Planetes keeps our ears listening with its beautiful classical music that fits the theme of the series.

Character 9/10
Ai is the idealist whereas Hachi is the realist, he is also very hotheaded which other views might find annoying but he demonstrates a flawed human in my opinion and echoes his words that things aren't like the way they are when man first set foot on the moon. One of the things that I liked from this anime is how they handled their "minor" characters too. This anime also shows a multicultral future, although two of the protagonists are Japanese we also get an Indian, American and Russian employee, and one of the things I like about the dub is that he does not get a stereotypical accent. Each of the main cast has their own back-story and they do not hold back to explain why the character is the way they are.

Enjoyment: 10/10
This remains one of my favorite works ever. I love space and I love anime.

Overall: (10+10+10+9+10)/5=9.8 rounds up to 10
Overall:

Well, when I first heard that this anime was about “garbage collectors in space”, I was a little hesitant to start watching Planetes. I mean, seriously, how good can an anime about space garbage collectors be? Well, Planetes did turn out to be a rather pleasant surprise, and while Planetes isn’t quite a masterpiece, it does get very close. Planetes does an excellent job with creating a realistic, and more importantly lovable and charming, cast of characters with an at times very compelling plot. The character development is great, and at times, is extremely intense yet incredibly realistic; Sunrise did an excellent job with characterizing ... the main cast into people that are both memorable and easy to sympathize with. There are a select few annoyances I had with this show, but if you exclude my personal bias, Planetes certainly turned out to be a rather entertaining, yet at times very serious and thought provoking, anime.

One of the things that bugged me slightly was how the first half of the series is episodic; each episode constitutes a little mini arc, with a bunch of comedic moments mixed in with a few typical corny events occurring here and there. That being said, what I did love about these episodic episodes is that while watching them, you really did get a good feeling for the main characters for this show. You really do get a feel as to how the characters grow closer together, with the dangers of space debris collection, mixed in with other stuff such as romance and a bit of drama all developing the characters bit by bit. There were some characters that did annoy me a little at first, such as Tanabe in the beginning with her naive yet very stubborn attitude, but even “annoying” characters are developed extremely well, and really helps you appreciate just how great the main cast is. I’d say that this is one of the few series where every single episode gives us some level character development, sometimes subtle and other times just outright great. There are some genuinely terrible characters too, though; terrible in the sense that they’re completely selfish, unlikable characters, but that’s what makes this show all the more realistic.

The strength to having the first half of this show as all episodic in structure is giving us all a feel for the actual characters, so when the second half hits with it’s much more serious (and thought provoking) plot, it really leaves a big impact.

The second half easily is what makes this show an excellent series; there are some incredibly intense moments throughout the second half of this show, often leaving off on cliffhangers that leave you dying to see the next episode. I am sooo glad I didn’t watching this show while it was airing, because the week long waits in between episodes would have killed me; the cliffhangers were truly intense, leaving off the story at those moments where you just want to see more. The story to the second half is very philosophical and thought provoking at times without being too corny as well, with a lot of talk on the necessity of space development, and also brings us a ton of awesome character development for our main characters.

In fact, I’d have to say that the entire cast of characters were developed well, and considering the relatively large cast, I’d have to say Sunrise did an amazing job here. Even the characters that you’d think of as “side” characters get quite a bit of screentime to them, giving them an incredibly realistic characterization. Their interactions are rather dynamic, changing as they actually develop, which creates some very genuine (and sometimes heartbreaking) moments here and there. Not to mention, this show does a great job blurring the line between what is “good” and what is “evil”, with our characters often confronting each other for their own “good” reasons, even if it means they end up almost killing each other.

Planetes proves that it can define characters that go beyond simple good or evil. Instead, it shows us characters with multidimensional, very complex characters, kind of similar to how Miyazaki portrays his antagonists; as being a mix of both good and bad.

Animation and art for this show is pretty solid, though I feel that the soundtrack was lacking a little. Even so, the world that people see while in space was depicted very realistically, and it becomes rather easy to imagine yourself there in space as well. The artwork and animation was crisp, and really did a great job complementing the outer space setting.

The strength to Planetes is almost without a doubt it’s very smart, compelling yet very realistic way of developing its cast of characters, all amidst a very thought provoking and well thought out setting. Planetes might not be perfect, but it delivers where it all counts, creating a genuinely enjoyable show to watch.

Animation/Art: 8.5/10

Music: 7.5/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Story/setting: 9.0/10

Overall Enjoyment: 8.6/10 (Rounded up to a 9 on MAL)

I hope you guys enjoyed it :) Feedback and comments are always appreciated.

One of the few animes that actually managed to make me care about characters and to burst in tears when something horrible was about to happen.
It manages to contain an excellent slice of life style while delivering the highest levels of despair at occasions.
Character development trough the plot is outstanding.

Remember when ISS was almost hit by debris in 2012? Or satellite collision in 2009?

There's no "epicness", no space races or über machines. There's no sound in space either. Our characters face what space has really to offer - cancer, leukemia, osteoporosis, hypoxia, mental disorders.
Our characters work as debris haulers, the problem, that is actually going ... to arise in our future. They try to prevent accidents with debris collision, to stop Kessler effect.
It's full of historical references regarding cosmonautics.

I liked it because it has lovable characters, who actually develop as the plot goes. I liked it because it's realistic as it can be. I liked it because it managed to make me care about those characters. I liked because there's no enemy. I liked it because the ending is satisfactory.

Planetes is a highly enjoyable anime despite being about space garbage men. To be honest Planetes is very deep and meaningful yet it is able to do this with great humour and without preaching the point too far. Be it about rich countries exploiting the third world or just about office life.

The first half of the Planetes is episodic. This is not without reason because we have some of the best character development in anime. Although the series does focus on Tanabe and Hachimaki each supporting character has their own chance to take centre stage. My favourite being episode 12 where Fee almost reaches ... breaking point trying to have a cigarette including foiling a terrorist attack and the episode finishes with Fee sailing off into the sunset, James Bond style, smoking a cigarette and back to her normal personality. Sorry for the spoiler!

The second half of Planetes adopts a central story line or I should say two, one being very much action based and the other very much character driven.

As great as the story telling is in Planetes what sets it apart are the characters. Each one is developed in a way that fits in with the story with the exception of Tanabe who despite having an eternally optimistic outlook on life we find out nothing about her background. Planetes controls your emotions about each character whether it is loving them, hating them or getting frustrated with them. I won't go into detail with each character as the cast is very large but they are all connected somehow making space, despite its size, seem very small.

I should also mention the romance in Planetes. From the very first episode it is obvious that there will be a romance and who it will be between, however, like everything in Planetes it serves a purpose in that it gives us a perfect ending.

Planetes, oh Planetes. I watched this on a whim and boy was I blown away. The short answer is: yes, this is a film about garbage collectors in space but it is also a story worth listening to nonetheless.

It is a story that follows the journey of several characters as they struggle to reconnect with the past, the present and the future. Like most (good) anime, the characters are all flawed, they all have problems and bouts of depression. Yet it is these moments, where the quality of writing truly shines to acutely keep me interested in these fictional characters' hopes and dreams. Their ... internal stream of consciousness and their external relationships.

It's all beautifully animated and doesn't rely much on dry exposition to move the story forward. Like good films, it frequently shows more than it tells. It also does help that the sometimes wacky humour takes the edge off some of the melodrama but it's the deftly paced and well handled character arcs, interactions and development that makes this show one of the best character driven dramas around. Here the characters drive the narrative, not arbitrary events.

In many ways, it is also a parable about the rising gap between the poor and the rich, it is particularly damning of artificial borders, racism, wage slavery and corporate culture and many other themes I may have forgotten to list. It is broad in scope yet limited in how it handles them, even though I congratulate it for giving these issues a voice, at the least.

If I had any reservations, it would perhaps be the final arc that hinges a cliffhanger constantly at the end of each episode but the resolution far outweighs the slightly ostentatious final part.

Nevertheless, it is the various depictions of moral quandaries placed in front of the remarkably realistic characters that truly elevates this space drama from the norm. A touching story and an understated, brilliant ending. Planetes has it all.

Planetes is one of the few anime I've come across that are worth calling 'masterpiece'. The main theme, the main idea of this anime is very unique and significant. It mainly highlighted the importance and magnitude of something one wouldn't notice despite the subject being very important. Hat's off to that. After watching a few episodes, I expected that this anime would have a great world buildup. But the works it did on building up the world surpassed all my expectations. The overarching focus on everything starting from the matters surrounding the main theme to the situation of the world, wars, etc. was excellently built ... and thought out. It touched and worked magnificently on themes I never anticipated. The realistic system buildup and well handled technology progression once again reminded me why I love hard sci-fi so much. It didn't leave out the smallest of details and went through the apotheosis of space drama setup. It delivered uncountable informations regarding the whole franchise perfectly. What I particularly love about this anime is that there is no info dump to interfere with the flow of the story. Rather, the informations were provided slowly, subtly and as a part of the story. The story itself is told wonderfully. I expected it to be an episodic anime with a very good story each episode, but what I got is a lot more. This is at the same time, a very well written love story, excellent drama (definitely not melodrama) and an extremely touching and humane story of life. This is a story full of realism. The anime starts off with a good pacing slowly getting us introduced to the characters. It slowly and carefully starts getting more and more serious and around the end, the story is at its peak. Then we get a very satisfying ending. The story doesn't only aim big, it also provides small parts of life all the time throughout the series. It has one of the best propose scene I've seen. A compelling point of this anime is the fact that it doesn't leave any event or incident incomplete, aside from the last part where it was definitely a better choice to do so. If this is not well written, I don't know what is. It's a story about life. The lives of the characters and their struggle through them. The cast is comprised of interesting characters with different characteristics. All of them are more or less well written. Some characters were quite typical, but they are far from being bland or one dimensional. It's also an excellent example of the anime's realism. There certainly are many types of characters in the anime and it does a great job building them up. Although one of the main characters had a bit too superficial ideal, that character was also quite well written. The character development was a masterful job. It didn't go for a huge unnecessary development of the cast, but rather did the job as much as needed. The best part about its characters is the character interaction which is one of the best in anime. The steadily developing relationship between the characters grew on me. The anime successfully made me sympathize with the characters.
Excellent plot, well written story and a grand set of characters, all these are accompanied by superb visuals. The art of this anime really gained my favor. The artstyle was realistic. The lines are drawn well. The character design is excellent. Loved the realistic and brilliant use of colors. I just feel like there is a slight lack of effects on the characters. But, it wasn't a problem once I got used to it. It wasn't a considerable problem to begin with. The environment design is perfect. The graphics work other than on the characters is amazing. The anime provided a good amount of aesthetics. Although it barely caught up to my expectations, I did expect way too much. The careful job of the views from different angles is magnificent. There wasn't any particular color theme of this anime, but that's better. The animation is very good. The great production job is not only limited to the visuals, the audio department is also excellent. The music of this anime was great. The opening song is fantastic! I loved it both as a part of the anime and a standalone music. I loved how they provided many important information through the opening theme. The tension moment was well handled in this music and it let the potential loose into kinetic at the right moment. The instruments are well played. I couldn't bring myself to skip it for once. The ED was also a very enjoyable piece. The BGMs used in this anime was great and perfectly blended in. The voice acting of both sub and dub was great. The environmental sounds were okay. The directing was good. Overall, it's production value supported the other aspects almost perfectly and was nearly a masterpiece.
All these together created a fine piece of entertainment. It was thoroughly enjoyable. But, there are some parts, especially around the end, that touched my hypothalamus deeply.
Overall, there was a bit of something about the execution that felt slightly off at parts, but the anime still remained a masterpiece.
9.2 out of 10 is a justifying score, in my opinion. But, since decimals are not allowed, I'll give it a 10/10 because a 9 doesn't do justice to a masterpiece.

Planetes is surprisingly one of the most grounded/down to earth anime I've ever seen. No pun or irony intended given it takes place in space. In this review, I will discuss a common misconception about Planetes and then discuss its appeal.

When Planetes was recommended to me by the internet, it was described as a somber, slow-paced anime. Much to my surprise, that was not the case. I'm not saying to expect an action-packed series like Attack on Titan, but Planetes is nowhere near as somber as things like Gunslinger Girl, Casshern Sins, or Haibane Renmei. Now that I mention Haibane Renmei, THAT'S what I was ... expecting from Planetes. I think people are mistaking a bland/inconsequential plot for slow pacing. Sure, nothing happens in the anime, but it's still exciting and entertaining because the main characters are so lively. They brighten up the atmosphere of the anime significantly. The two main characters could've easily been taken right out of a heavy action series. They were simply placed in a less surreal setting. It's like putting Goku or Sailor Moon in a realistic setting and giving them average day jobs.

I mentioned earlier that nothing really happens in Planetes; so then, what is the appeal of Planetes? Why did I give it such a high score? Let me clarify first what I mean when I say that nothing happens.

In Planetes, don't expect any sort of grandiose plot. No one is gonna save the world, no one is gonna go back in time fifty thousand times, no one is gonna kill the bad guy and avenge their father, nothing like that. The main characters (with one exception) do not impact the world in any way. This is much to the credit of the amazing world-building. This world is portrayed to us as extremely intricate, realistic, and well thought out. There is a lot of politics in play, and our garbage men of main characters do not have a say on that stage. They simply live and comply with the universe they are given.

So, the plot is not the main appeal of Planetes. Then, what is? As my scoring would suggest, the visuals and the characters are what carry the anime.

The directing in Planetes stands beside the best directing I've ever seen. So much so, I would even say at times it stands on its own as admirable, regardless of what it is portraying. There are individual shots so breathtaking they take me out of the anime. The visuals are everything the show needs them to be, and more. They perfectly set and complement the pacing and atmosphere, as well as properly portray the emotions of the scenes. The only reason I didn't give it a 9 or 10 in this category is that as good as the visuals are, they are not as inventive as things I've given 9s or 10s. See my review of Casshern Sins for a comparison.

On to the characters:
I found the two main characters mostly unrelatable and bland throughout most of the anime, but they did come through in the end. Their story arcs were well executed and their convictions were exemplified and validated in the last couple of episodes. As much as I didn't like the two main characters, I would've still given Planetes a 6 or 7 in this category. But, what really impressed me, was how deep and well thought out the side characters were. I honestly probably find every other character in the anime more interesting than the main two. Yeah, even the gold-digging flight attendant. For the most part, they had so much more going on. They had rich backgrounds and stunning convictions. I would argue the main theme of Planetes had to deal with goals and aspirations and the characters did a good job of illustrating those themes. Every character had noticeable aspirations or noticeably lacked aspirations and that drove their character.

Ending Thoughts:
Don't come into Planetes expecting Gurren Lagann because it's a futuristic Sci-Fi, but don't expect it to be Haibane Renmei because everyone says it's slow and contemplative. Planetes is neither. It's action-packed at times and somber at times. The main thing to expect though is a character-driven interpersonal story about regular people, doing regular things (for the most part). Sure, they do get to experience some extraordinary events, but it doesn't drive the anime, and it doesn't drive the characters. It's more about individual needs, ambitions, and interpersonal relationships, though it does delve quite a bit into politics and corruption. Sounds random, and kinda feels random that they cram that in there as the main characters couldn't care at all about that, but maybe they really needed something to drive the action. Or maybe one of the writers or whatever really wanted to put his philosophical take on elitism in here. I don't know. It seems like a weird creative choice for me, but maybe they had to have action scenes in there for some reason. Regardless, Planetes is not bad, far from it. I recommend it to anyone that wants to watch characters be regular adults for once and seeing those kinds of struggles. If you need a break from watching high school boys saving the world, or watching a high school guy almost get the chance to kiss his crush for 10 seasons in a row, this is it. Planetes embodies the true meaning of a Drama. Planetes is an adult drama, about the drama of being an adult.

Wow! This series is AMAZING! Watching the first episode, about a year ago, was a pain because I wasn't capable of understanding the beauty of a philosophical anime. I thought it was useless to continue and so I dropped it.

I started watching it again, because I craved for an anime show with a wonderful storyline, character development, and life lessons. This time around, it was like a calling. I suppose, when I watched it the first time, I didn't see or hear that. So I recommend to those who dropped it to watch it again after receiving ... that "calling"!

The story was a masterpiece. It starts off with a comedic feel, leaving the viewers, after each episodes, to laugh continuously. Halfway through, the episodes transition to a more dramatic, if not at all, solemn pace. Once this happens, you will undeniably become conscious that the series is about the existence of animate and inanimate objects and something more. Life is not about getting the goal you set up for without realizing any challenges, because truly, these challenges, in different forms, tangible, abstract, and liminal, connects us all. The story climax and you come full circle, you start at the same place and time, but something is different. And you realize, that that very "difference" is the essence of life.

The characters show contradictions, yet vindictive of their actions. Truly, I believe that as human beings, we come to face obstacles that threaten our philosophies. There are times when we choose the right path, yet the path not meant to give us positive conclusions are inevitably decided. That I think is what life is about and this anime portrays it so dynamically. The characters truly represent the struggles of what it means to be human.

This anime is a GEM. I have never encountered anything like it. I recommend it highly because I believe that it helps us all to realize, in some way, even if we are not able to see it, that we are connected.

It's weird to think that an anime set decades in the future based on garbage collectors in space could be described as realistic, but Planetes has managed that feat. In doing so, this series has done multiple things differently to any anime series I have previously seen.

Usually this anime is described as a sci-fi slice of life and that it is episodic, however I disagree. While it does have elements of slice of life type shows, as the story progresses the show explores many political themes and eventually becomes somewhat of a sci-fi action thriller in the later episodes. As for being episodic, while the ... first few episodes involve minor stories that aren't directly related to the main plot later on, these stories still progress the overall story and are referred to in the later episodes.

With a plot that builds up slowly, Planetes is able to explore it's characters in depth. Everyone has a different, unique background that shapes who they are. However these backgrounds aren't all tragedies; instead it's realistic where the characters have experiences you'd expect to see from people in an average workplace. Hence the characters, even the antagonists, are very relatable. This becomes important as the series progresses since the focus becomes the motivations behind the main characters and how their morals are tested. Nevertheless, Planetes ensures to portray each character's growth or change without being cliched, while still keeping true to the nature of the characters.

The soundtrack for Planetes isn't very memorable sadly. While it does it's job, there aren't many instances where I heard a song and was impressed. On the other hand the art style is well done. The designs for all the sci-fi technology are very realistic and the space scenes are fantastic. Through it's art style Planetes manages to capture the feelings of loneliness and exhilaration that come with being in space that the characters experience.

At first, Planetes will not seem like a great anime. The characters might be annoying for a while before the show gives you an understanding of who they are. For example, I struggled in episode three due to Tanabe constantly voicing her opinions. However, this turns out to be the first of many tests she endures throughout the series, hence making the episode acceptable in hindsight.

The strength of Planetes comes in it's ability to give a realistic feel to a futuristic show. All aspects of the setting is explored. The series doesn't go over the top or exaggerate situations. Actions lead to reasonable consequences, good or bad. The characters can be empathised with, leaving you questioning what you would do in their situation and whether there is a better solution to their problems than what is presented. Planetes is an enjoyable ride that I would recommend anyone to watch.

The story revolves around a group of characters whose job it is to get rid of space debris, or other left over garbage still orbiting the earth. It starts off with simple one shot stories that help us get into the daily lives of our protagonists. Slowly revealing their back story and the internal politics of the company they work for and the politics back on Earth in the future. This builds a solid foundation for the series near the end of the arch when everything that happened before, insignificant as it might have seemed, comes back and pays off a hundred ... fold. This slow burn might prove dull for people who like their anime filled with instant gratification, and pointless mystery, but for people who can appreciate a slower, more deliberate and smarter story, then you've found your home here.

At times the two main characters Ai and Hoshino being more of the stock anime mold, the cocksure, talented, and brash with a chip on his shoulder male lead, and the naive, guileless, impossibly idealistic and forever optimistic female lead wear thin. Luckily their back up cast makes up for some of the leads shallowness with a depth of their own. Be it the back story of their captain and her previous crew to their Russian pilot and his own motivations for cleaning the debris, add a richness to the text and the characters actions.

Another big part of what's great about this series is that it's true science fiction. The reality that it creates obeys the laws of science and physics as we know them. Too often science fiction is a term we use when we really mean science fantasy. This is a series that takes place mostly on a space station orbiting the earth, and when the characters float around in the station (given there is no gravity in space) they must learn how to control their momentum, and inertia as to not spin around out of control. The same goes for the space walks and debris collection. A lot of time is devoted to the way life would actually be in real life, and that flavor of reality, of true science fiction, helps bring a depth to this series that would be lost if done otherwise. It's this feel of reality that makes this series so enjoyable. Too often we look for the fantastical when the reality is so much more interesting and appealing (this series being a case in point).

The fascinating thing, is that this is an actual current concern in our reality. Just this past February (2009) two satellites collided sending debris everywhere, and scientists are trying to determine how the debris will affect the international space station and the hubble telescope.

Over all, for those of you with patience, a love of character and smarter storytelling, as well as true sci-fi, then this definitely is a series you need to check out.

Oh man, Planetes, where to begin on this gem?

The scope of this show's world (Well, entire solar system) is really incredible. It's the small attention to detail that really hooked me at the start of this, like to much suit-time as an astronaut is pretty much guaranteeing some form of cancer from solar radiation. Space debris can reach ludicrous speeds and are seriously dangerous. It's some pretty hard sci-fi which is pretty refreshing to see in any anime. It's safe to say, this has wonderful realism.

Initially, the characters seemed a little strange, kind of clunky in parts, but then it dawned on me that they ... felt quite real, they were just strangers who found it hard to communicate. They became frustrated at their own failures and found it hard to deal with the things they couldn't change. As the story progresses, these beautifully broken people grow, and the two main characters, Hachimaki and Tanabe, grow closer together - no spoilers, but I hope you like romance. It's sort of a slice of life in space where everything is difficult, but rewarding kind of show when it kicks in, if that makes sense.

By the end of the series, the largely episodic run-through ties up, leading to a human space vessel facing disaster, and the choice to help a friend in need or save yourself. This is handled absolutely perfectly, and the last scenes are absolutely fantastic; from the quality of the writing, to the emotive strength of the animation. This is one of those older shows that really deserves a larger fanbase, it has wonderful pacing, and its characters feel a lot more human than the popular shows like sword art online. If this came out today, it would be huge.

When I first Heard about the anime Planetes was through Code Geass as they’re both written by the same creators (Goro Taniguichi and Ichiro Okouchi), I know the manga was initially made by the guy who wrote vinland saga, but apparently the anime and manga are very different especially in thematic elements of politics/existential philosophies and anime was more celebrated on that aspect as well as other things such as characters behaviors. So as Code Geass is my Favorite media of all time, I was thrilled especially after hearing that Planetes is also this thematic and deep yet subtle masterpiece.

When I started watching Planetes ... from episodes 1-13/14 I found it quite less appealing as I thought I would, by no means did I have a problem with the narrative or plot issues such as plot holes or bad lazy contrivances, in fact the story is more or less done well on those regards. My main issues were that the story was pretty boring for 95% even after finishing the series, maybe because it was seinen magic where its so subtle and deep that I don’t understand the message or picture of it all however contrary to that belief a lot of Seinens I love and enjoy are in fact thrilling and entertaining to me but with Planetes I didn’t get the same treatment.

After sometime of finishing Planetes, I compared it based off its genre being SciFi. Personally, I have never been a big Science Fiction fan guy, in fact I would say I find SciFi to be the most boring genre and that it is very much overrated and over romanticized in medias. I then came to this concusses that maybe thats why I found Planetes as a story unentertaining while still being able to admit that it is far from a bad show because it really doesn’t have any major issues that you can probably find in most modern day media’s especially such as in the Animanga industry. However, Saying I don’t like the SciFi Genre therefore I found Planetes boring is quite over simplified. I came to realize that my dislike for most SciFi’s compared to Planetes differs, the main reason being is as I said previously SciFi’s are over romanticized by the same repeated unrealistic tropes. However, Planetes is different from your standard SciFi genre because it is realistic, it show’s that these characters in this SciFi are human and just doing their jobs in the futuristic setting where mankind has dumped their trash so much into outer space that we have to advance Space exploration to deal with them as in Planetes, a lot of the 2nd to 3rd world nations are suffering because of these issues but space exploration itself causes these suffering to these countries excel even further. Planetes also removes the elements of fantasy in SciFi tropes and replaces it with more of the regular SOL and Rom/Com elements into the story mixing it with psychological inner conflicts for these characters to deal with which I actually really found unique for SciFi being blended with other Genre while not fully conflating the entirety of tropes from either Genres that are being implanted. Which all leads me to say that Planetes is by far the most realistic SciFi series I have ever seen.

You may he wondering how I have been complaining about SciFi while also saying I found Planetes very boring yet here I am giving it a 9 and recommending it in the review? Planetes isn’t for everyone, I wouldn’t even say its 100% for me either but denying its many brilliant aspects such as the realism of Space being mundane and boring and not all that it is hyped up to be is disingenuous, the fact that Planetes makes it out to be boring and lacking of big explosions and crazy space ship battles like you would find in Star Trek or Star Wars is Planetes displacing the reality of SciFi being over romanticized and drastically unrealistic in comparison to actuality of Science, Space, and Reality of it all as they’re simply just as mundane as any part of life can be and I live this ingenious sensation I received from Planetes and Im glad I liked it more than I didn’t since the pros of the story such as realism, uniqueness, and simplicity out weigh the cons of boredom and fan service (I don’t necessarily mean nudity, fan service as in how genre of SciFi grants elements that excites the audience e.g. big space ship battles, power systems, etc).

Overall: 8.7-8.8/10

Planetes isn’t a Masterpiece nor Flawless but it is something close to genius and I love it, changed my view of how SciFi are all the same as it shows that SciFi’s do not necessarily have to follow the same formulas and Cliches.

"Why.. why does it have to be this way? From up here, you can't see any borders, or countries, or armies... all you can see... is the Earth."

Planetes is a bit unlike than the other shows that I've given 10's. So far, only Attack on Titan, Steins;Gate, and Planetes are members of that club. Yet, as I mentioned, Planetes is different. It can almost be viewed as a direct commentary on our world, or what our world's future could be. You question right and wrong, morality or practicality, and even the welfare of all versus the prosperity of the few. You see a world dominated ... by private sectors and international organizations that either neglect or manipulate undeveloped countries and use their financial gains to fund economic and scientific ventures in space. You have to think to yourself- should we question how money is distributed, and should we continue the funding of massive projects that only benefit the upper levels of the economic pyramid?

Story: 10
Planetes can almost seem a bit like Slice of Life or episodic in the beginning, but you quickly begin to understand the backstories of each character and what makes them who they are. The lack of strong continuous plot in the beginning is most definitely atoned for in the end when our now-beloved characters are tested with fateful decisions and by nail-bitingly suspenseful moments.

Art: 9
Planetes was aired from 2003 to 2004. It was obviously held back in some areas of character animation; however, it doesn't bother me- it just isn't anything outstanding. What is outstanding, though, are the shots of space, planets, and the ISPV7 (the space station on which our protagonists live and work). They are gorgeous and majestic shots than make you feel there, and feel how lonely space can really be. You become truly immersed in the Final Frontier.

Sound: 9
Again, this is an older anime. The sound effects aren't going to be perfect. They're adequate, just like the character art. However, the music is great. It gains new meaning after you complete the series. In fact, I almost cried at the end of the series, but I did not. I did cry, however, while listening to the soundtrack the very next day. That's how much it makes you feel. Its nothing short of beautiful, honestly.

Character: 10
The characters and the meaning of the show are arguably the best part. Like I said, the beginning is somewhat lacking in strong continuous plot; however, the characters are built to no end. I absolutely love these characters. They all have their own unique qualities and characteristic, as well as motivations for doing, well, anything. And as for the meaning of the show, I described it in my opening paragraph. So yeah. Very impacting.

Enjoyment: 10
I love space. A lot. I also love shows/movies/games that actually follow science that makes sense and the laws of our universe. *Cough cough* Star Wars(still love you though). Planetes is set in 2075; that's 55 years after my time of writing this. There is no technology or settlements or anything that I could not see be developed in, say, the next 100 to 130 years. I would say its realistic but I suppose that word doesn't apply since we don't have that kind of tech yet. But I think we will! I just think it's cool to think about this as our future. Seamless space travel, lunar cities, and massive space stations. Its all very fascinating to me. You know, if you ignore the dystopian politics and economics of Planetes, it would be a really cool universe to live in. Lets hope our world gets the best and avoids the worst from this show.


Overall: 10
Please give this show a try. Its disappointing and strange that it doesn't get the popularity it deserves. But, maybe one day, Planetes will be appreciated for its true greatness. Hopefully that time comes before our world looks like theirs. :)

"Things are only impossible until they're not." -- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

I always had a great fascination towards space and everything that lay beyond our tiny piece of dirt, in the vastness of this unimaginable universe, and naturally, that reflected on things that I watched, read and listened. that also happens to be anime, and this specific anime I’ll talk about here was something of a personal touching experience to me, but before I delve on the show I want to comment a bit more on the things outside of the show that made it more impactful to me.

My father worked as an IT specialist at ... the Observatory next town over. so he always spent his time he could showing me there and teaching me a lot about space and its wonders, what the astronauts who worked at the ISS did to better our world and what we could achieve in that final frontier, where no man has gone before.

this show was precisely what I wanted to see, well not quite, but it certainly showed the promise of what lies ahead in the endless possibilities of space and how even the minutiae was important for that. Our titular garbage men (and women) working to make sure space is secure for other spacecraft. Also, the way it posits on the nature of the relationship between men and space was something else which fascinated me. Bringing me nostalgia of those old days where I watched Captain Picard tell the crew of the Enterprise to engage to the next wondrous encounter with the mysterious vastness of space.

I saw myself a lot in Tanabe, her passion for space and energetic attitude brought what the show needed to contrast with the other characters. Being a shining example of goodness and humanity even in place where such sentimentalities aren’t recognized as useful, countering the cynicism that seems to initially be a part of the routine of the other debris section members. It was important to have her functioning as a viewpoint character that we, as the audience, could experience the looming future Planetes pictures for man. Ai Tanabe is your uber-idealistic individual whose naivety is noticeably visible and lack of experience helps serve her role as the audience surrogate character. Her teacher, and foil, is none other than rash and brash hachimaki. Who, despite sharing her passion for space is sceptical and believes her naiveness. A man who dreams of owning his own spaceships so he could freely navigate space. As it progresses, both of them come to experience a variety of events that helps them learn about themselves, their limitations and their goals on the debris section team and beyond.

With these two characters on the helm of the show, we sail the sea of stars (and space trash) that makes up this universe.

The story focus on the lives of the debris section team of the ISPV 7 space station, right as Tanabe transferred to work there, a rag tag team of seemingly unorganized and awkward people. Here I would like to notice how much of the narrative structure of the episodes reminds me of star trek, starting by introducing a moral dilemma the crew (usually) resolve by the end of it, making the audience reflect upon what the show introduced to them. I see the same here in planetes, each episode building up to a question to the audience, sometimes answered or left open to reflection.

However, you cannot have a space show without its crew and ship and that is where the rest of the cast comes to shine. I won’t go down into the details of every character who plays a role in the story, I feel that some of it should be experienced on your own.

The crew of our flagship, the toy box, is comprised of 3 EVA (extra-vehicular-activity) members. Two of which are our main characters, and the enigmatic and dour Yuri Mikhalkov. At first a mysterious figure, we come to learn more about Yuri later on in the series, where his drive for working on something as demeaning as space debris collection comes from and how that plays into his personality and relationship with the other cast members and space itself. A lovable dork with some scars left from bitter memories. And the commander and pilot of the mighty toy box, Fee Carmichael. One boisterous woman with an even more tempestuous attitude than hachimaki, she can be quite crass and rude towards others, however she is the guidance and unifying force of the team, perhaps it’s a side effect of her being a mother. Despite her rude exterior, she has a soft side to her that she shows from time to times. These four make up the team responsible for debris cleaning, big or small, their roles and interactions helped define Planetes and everything the show stood for.

Planetes isn’t only about the characters, it is a story of human ingenuity and perseverance. In a harsh and cruel emptiness of space, humanity ekes out their survival, risking their lives everyday braving the cosmos. In this mad ambition to seek out new resources, new planetes and perhaps even new life. this is not a sci-fi where the there is a convenient super alloy that allows them to safely navigate space, micro meteorites and debris are a real threat they all go through, alongside the harmful radiation and lack of gravity. Yet despite all these hurdles humanity still wants to go on. With different ambitions in mind, but the goal is the same, that which lies beyond our cradle, the earth.

Essentially, I believe anyone who watches planetes has something to gain from watching it, be it as simplistic as enjoyment or provocative events, which occur on the show, mirroring many of our own. Truly, an experience that is worth to share with everyone, and if you love space as much as I do, something you will never forget.
in memoriam of my beloved father chandler, who is my guiding star.
"There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it's just a matter of finding it." -- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Shows like Planetes are the main reason I really got into anime. Based on the manga of the same name it portrays quite beautifully life as we now know it or more accurately as we may come to know it by focusing mainly on human interactions and our relationship with space.

Severely underrated, probably forgotten by most and unheard of by many; Planetes is one of those all-round feel good anime which give you a nice warm fuzzy feeling and in my opinion is ‘Hard’ Sci-Fi at its finest. Set in 2075 Planetes is a Sci-fi drama with a multicultural team of misfits who are underpaid ... and under-appreciated in their role as space garbage collectors. With large and tiny debris orbiting earth at 7,000 kilometres per second (about 15,500 mph), an impact with a space craft or space station could prove to be catastrophic and it’s up to the Toybox team to prevent it.

What I really enjoyed about Planetes was the sense of realism in its execution. The division between space and earth, nations and individuals portrayed in the show is to a great extent a mirror image of the world we live in. It also explores the negative side of environmentalism which we rarely hear of these days. Cutting through it all and at its centre is the character development which is top notch. Juggling heavy weight themes, concepts and dynamic individuals isn’t an easy thing to pull off but pull it off Planetes does…sublimely. It takes pot shots at our idea of ‘the norm’ and emphasises the point that it’s ok to just be yourself.

To add to the sense of realism, having JAXA (The Japanese Space Agency) serve as consultants to the series really paid off. We come to see astronauts suffer from a myriad of diseases such as radiation poisoning, brittle bones and mental illness from prolonged isolation in the vacuum of space which are all known issues. Sound does not travel in the vacuum of space (unless you have super sensitive hearing and can pick up a couple of atoms hitting against your eardrum) which the anime again portrays with space ships making no noise. To this extent it tries way harder than most other shows to present a realistic view of space and what our future in space may come to look like.

Each episode builds on the last and advances the main story without diverting needlessly or adding too much to an already full plate. It’s a great piece of work which you need to watch! Anime fan or not and is quite probably one of the best ‘hard’ Sci-fi anime shows I have seen; its definitely in my top 5 for the genre.

With a nice blend of science, politics, philosophy, romance and a little comedy its one for the collection which sadly has been all but forgotten about. I just hope we won’t be suffering from Kessler syndrome anytime soon.

The first time I watched planetes I gave it a 9. I knew it was amazing but thought it was missing something. However when I rewatched it, it was even better than before. I realized this anime is truly special.

Story (10/10): The first few episodes are episodic but they are interesting as you see how the characters develop a relationship with one another and you get to see them on the job. As the anime progresses the plot continuously gets deeper and becomes better every episode.

Art (10/10): The animation is simply amazing. If you consider the year it was made in you will appreciate ... it even more. There was many times in the show where I was enthralled by the animation. They outdid themselves.

Sound (8/10): The opening is good, the ending is magnificent and the OST is great. Better yet they all suited the show. The voice acting was also good so I have no qualms about that.

Character (10/10): Although some people say Tanabe is annoying, it doesn't matter. She is a realistic character but since her backstory wasn't explored muchI see how some viewers aren't able to understand or sympathize with her. The highlight of the show is Hachimaki's character development. Hachimaki's journey from just coasting around to realizing his ambition and striving for success was perfect. It didn't glorify it but instead showed how dark the journey is. With strong main characters, also came strong supporting characters. The whole section debris crew, Gigalt, Claire and Hakim were great characters and made the experience much more enjoyable.


Conclusion: I thoroughly enjoyed this anime from beginning to end. The second time I watched it, I finished it in 2 days. As someone whom has watched many animes its a miracle for me to find an anime that I haven't heard of that I can deem as a masterpiece and planetes was it. I would suggest this show to anyone that likes watching entertainment.

Planetes

This story is about everyday heroes that live in space. The genre is equivalent to a slice of life story, however the story is continuous. There is not one filler episode in this series and if one episode ever felt filler-like, well you'll be sure that it will be referenced in future episodes as being an important part of the series.

I would first like to depict the animation elements ever so prevalent in NHK's graphical style. You will notice throughout every episode how certain actions are depicted in great detail, from a simple hand gesture to activities in the background. There can ... even be a hidden sense of humour in the background activities.

What I appreciated the most about this anime was how emotional the characters became about their jobs and styles of living. I felt like I was watching a realistic adventure of human life without the forced drama. Any dramatic activities within these episodes are completely understandable in their causal effects and how the characters might deal with them. No unnecessary explosions or superpowers. These characters act in a very realistic way and if you pay close attention, you may actually learn something about spaceships and how they function from the control room to the living quarters.

Needless to say, more work was put into this anime than normal storylines, especially counting the actual research and mathematics taught to the viewers about space itself and the idea of a civilization living on the moon. You likely know by now that my score for this anime will be tremendous.

Story: 10 Incredibly realistic.
Art: 10 Older animation however very detailed at the worst of moments.
Sound: 9 Emotional and invigorating music at moments.
Characters: 10 Every character has had their background explained and best of all, all characters have faults and flaws ( like normal human beings ). Also, as some people tend to be picky about bland main characters, you have a choice between two main characters in this anime, both with strong emotions and preferences.
Enjoyment: 10 Watch it yourself.
Overall: 10 Highly recommended.