I love these kinds of "down to earth" (not entirelly a fitting term in this case), almost "pigfarming" stories. No super powers, no abyssal evil. Just people. The first half of Planetes reminds me of masterpieces such as Haibane Renmei, Cowboy bebop and Trigun.
Sadly, when the main story takes off, it does so in a direction I wasn't entirely sold on. I would have been more than happy to let the second half be more like the first. I like the political aspect that is introduced, but I would have prefered that the low-level drama was kept as the main focus.
The show also suffers from being too clean and nice. I'm not asking for all out Elfen Lied here, but a wee bit more blood and sex (or at least a kiss or two) wouldn't have hurt at all. It is hardly a kids show anyway. The immersion gets weakened when you feel the creators are holding back.
Graphically it is alright, although I had hoped for more. Simple but fitting art style, decent character design but a bit stiff animation. Soundwise, the opening and ending songs are decent, had it not been for the awful male vocals. The background score is among the best I have heard though. Varied and atmospheric.
All in all, I loved the first half, and really thought it would be a new top 10 show. But the 2nd half let it down in my opinion. Still worth watching.
