Mar 31, 2016
Planetes is a fantastic series which explores not only its colourful cast of characters and the concept of space exploration, but complex themes relating to world politics and the human condition.
Art - Visually, the series is very well animated. It manages to keep a fairly constant quality of visuals throughout the series, even when animating complex space structures. The art is very clean and expressive and mimics the source material well. The characters are designed well and are extremely unique and easy to distinguish. Spacecraft and related technology is particularly well designed and comes off as authentic. The series looks beautiful (especially considering its age)
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and uses its visuals to effectively bring the viewer into the experience.
Sound - All sound effects in the series seem authentic and contribute to the realistic depiction of space seen in the series. The music, while acceptable, didn't strike me as particularly effective. Nothing in the soundtrack diminished the viewing experience but any contribution the music made to the series was minor enough to be overlooked.
Character - At first viewers may find characters irritating due to the series' initial reliance on comic relief. This may be a hurdle to viewers expecting mature storytelling. The characters do however, develop as the series progresses and character complexities are explored thoroughly. I personally enjoyed many of the side characters as well as the main cast and found many of them to be endearing. The main cast however, are broken down to the point that certain moments in the series were genuinely upsetting. The main cast is developed excellently and, while not perfect, is a great example of great character based storytelling.
Plot - The series, on the surface, is about an advanced age of space exploration and the debris haulers of the time, but the series later on expands beyond this straight forward plot and explores many different fascinating storylines (some of which became excessively silly at times) which I will avoid spoiling here. The story reaches a good climax towards the end, but the series was always primarily a character based story and the plot eventually gets put aside slightly.
Enjoyment - The series had an overwhelming effect on me and I enjoyed it immensely. I became more and more invested in the series with each coming episode. At times the series tugged heavily at my heartstrings due to its heavy subject matter and sublime execution.
While not perfect, Planetes is a series I would wholeheartedly recommend to most anime viewers. The series comes off as adult and complex while still remaining to keep most viewers entertained. With a healthy mix of heavy, sciencey plot and skilful character based storytelling, Planetes has to be one of my new favourite series. I wholeheartedly recommend this series as an authentic story about space, and people too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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