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A mature low sci-fi drama set in space? "Sign me up!," or so I was thinking when I started this series. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed within the first episode. The plot in a nut shell is fine; it's a simple slice of life set in space, musing on various aspects of the human condition. Zoom in any closer than that, though, and the cracks start to appear. The show is preachy, to say the least. Every episode is some vehicle for the author to set up straw men and knock them down to carry a shallow message across. Every character that stands opposite the crew of Debris Section in some way is a cartoonish caricature of a human. Expect antagonists to be obese, old men with shockingly little tact, to a self-destructive point. They will say the worst possible thing with little care for advancing their own cause only to make it that much easier for the heroes to rebuke them (and how they do!) It's almost as if the author has a bias! The only unfavorable conflict in which both sides even come close to being given a fair shake is the major one toward the end, Hachimaki's inner-turmoil regarding loneliness. However, this conflict is resolved with a deus ex machina that completely invalidates the entire point. Now, I should mention at this point that most of the stances the show takes on various issues are generally agreeable. People ought come before money, it's not good to shut yourself off from others, and all the other self-evident sentiments that are repeated ad nauseum in Japanese media. I'm not particularly taking issue with the show regurgitating these themes you've doubtless seen hundreds of times before (though it IS a point against it.) What makes this so infuriating is the way in which these themes are presented. I've already mentioned the straw men that unfairly and poorly convey the opposing viewpoints, but what makes it so much worse is that the heroes that topple these effigies are the most obnoxious, sanctimonious naifs you could write. Tanabe is a self-righteous, nosy, bitch who constantly intrudes into others' lives and can't let anything go without making sure everyone knows her opinion on it, and won't leave it at that, either. It's not just enough for her to make her beliefs known, she won't drop an issue until everyone else kowtows to her. The worst thing is that she is almost unfailingly portrayed as "correct." Same with basically any other member of DB-12, although she is by far the worst. I'm not saying you can't create holier-than-thou characters, in fact, it would be odd if characters didn't have some flaw. But when you put them on a pedestal and are completely oblivious to the fact that their flaw is grating, you shouldn't be surprised when the audience is turned off.
To make matters worse, the show makes a grand blunder that the authors probably didn't foresee. The show supposedly takes place in an international setting where all the nations are coming together, but the business and social climate is distinctly and emphatically Japanese. The series spends it's entire time tearing down traditional Japanese norms such as the extremely rigid adherence to hierarchy and caste, notions that have long since evaporated from Western civilization. A foreign audience will plainly see the ills that the showrunners, being stooped in such a society, must think are some hidden truth. The show acts as if these refutations of Japanese society are some revolutionary theses. It would almost be quaint if the show weren't so damn pious about it, as mentioned previously.
One final note, is that there (unsurprisingly) is a romance between Hoshino and Tanabe. This plot thread raises its foot and firmly stamps its boot upon your head. It's obvious, it's unoriginal, it's absolutely uninspired and bland, yet it's given the full treatment of any romance. It's presence is constant and will keep coming up to make your eyes roll, and it NEVER goes away. If you decide to watch this, despite my firm insistence that you not, at least understand that I tried to warn you.
The soundtrack is not so great either. It's mostly serviceable, save for one thing: cringe-worthy Engrish vocal tracks. It's easy to ignore or even appreciate the ambient music, but when these silly songs come around, it's hard to hold back laughter.
To it's credit, the anime LOOKS spectacular. The Blu-Ray specifically is absolutely gorgeous, and if it weren't for the artstyle, you'd think it was made just this year. The clean visuals are an undeniable glimmering star in an otherwise vacuous sea of nothingness.
To summarize in case you just want the bottom line, this anime is an immature treatise the author(s) cooked up, conveyed via mostly insubstantial one-off short stories that are a dime a dozen. It could have been so much more but it's brought down entirely by the pompous egos of the dewy-eyed writers.
