As the series progresses characters relationships begin to move in a strange direction, with a contrived romance that comes in and out of focus at various times. The two main characters, who seemed strong, become caricatures of themselves in order to seem more like foils and thus bring about the moralising/trust telling aspect of the show. The Chief and Assistant Manager characters were already unbelievably annoying, so it's a shame that in the end our main doesn't stand out as much as she could have. Hachimaki is the only one of the crew that retains something interesting about him in the end and is really the only main who develops in any meaningful away, even though it doesn't seem like that drastic of a development. (Yuri and Fee aren;t that bad I guess, at least I enjoyed Yuri's little side-story, it was properly emotional).
The most interesting characters in the anime may be two side characters (Dolf and the Von Braun guy) because, given the backdrop of human progress and pioneering that we see throughout, they are the only ones who seem to be at home in space. What Planetes does well, is that it makes you really hate some of these characters, to the point of frustration. You can judge whether that's a good or bad thing.
Another complaint that I have is that the show makes the mistake found in a lot of anime; of introducing characters we'll never see again, give us a dramatic back story for them, and introduce a problem involving them which is resolved in a very unrealistic and emotional way, all in one episode. Yeah, I know it's supposed to develop the mains, but it hardly ever works.
Sadly, politicization becomes a problem pretty early on. In the beginning it's kind of cheesy but as we get past episode 16 or so, we're hit with some pretty cringe worthy moralising which becomes the main plot for the rest of the series. Although I must admit that depending on who you sympathise with (the space reactionaries or the earth commies)and how you look at it the final 'lesson' may not be as formulaic as you might think. Even so, a lot of the rhetoric is the typical 'monopolization/capitalism is bad think about the poor' which seems counter-intuitive for a show about space, especially one in which the desire to reach new frontiers and evolve humanity plays such a strong part.
The show gives us a minute long or so discussion about loneliness using space as a metaphor coupled with some interesting imagery. Even though it only appears on screen for a short time it is vastly more interesting than all of the political and moral lessons that are thrown at us throughout, even if it's not all that original. The parts that go into Hachimaki's psyche are equally as good. If the show focused more on these types of things: isolation, relationships, and lofty dreams combined with the backdrop of space and the desire to move humanity in a new direction, it would have been incredible. All those themes are there, certainly, however they are pushed aside to make room for the politically and morally focused plot that I've been complaining about. It's a shame that Planetes really sucks you in only to betray you to something that really isn't all that interesting. Although the plot is, for what it's worth, decently constructed.
I think this anime is definitely above average and I would recommend it, however there are enough weak-points that I feel that this show won't be sticking around in my mind for very long. A tinge of disappointment, that's what it makes you feel.
