There are very few “good” hard science-fiction anime out there, but Planetes is definitely one of them, albeit one wrapped in a warm, cosy blanket of comedy.
Set in 2075, Planetes deals with the trials and tribulations of space-based garbage collectors who have to remove dangerous debris in Earth’s orbit to protect space travel.
The series starts with the fresh, wide-eyed Ai Tanabe starting her astronaut career in the Half Section. This is the aforementioned garbage collectors, who are underfunded despite the importance of their work.
The romance of Tanabe’s vision of being an astronaut is quickly shattered when she is paired with Hachirota “Hachimaki” Hoshino, an outwardly rowdy astronaut who is more whimsical than he first appears, wanting to buy his own spaceship one day.
However, it’s not long before Tanabe realizes that the romance of space is something her eclectic co-workers also share, but they are more restrained in how they express it.
Much like the drama Shomuni, which dealt with low-level salary workers doing remarkable feats, Planetes takes a very similar approach, by having a group of varied and fleshed-out characters doing entirely essential work out in space, but in hardly ideal circumstances.
Based on an excellent manga, the anime series is directed by Goro Taniguchi, and while he’s known for more pathos-driven anime, the passion is still here in Planetes, but beneath the surface.
As the series progresses and characters end up in places that are really quite impressive in terms of their careers, Planetes remains a very grounded and human anime.
The hard science-fiction elements are definitely there, but the show handles them as something that’s part of the background of what the Half Section’s work entails.
As for this release, it’s pretty light on extras, but the visual and audio quality are excellent. I also thought the translation was solid, as I watched the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
Considering that there are few hard science-fiction anime out there, Planetes is a refreshing show to watch and deals with lots of complex issues very deftly, and as such comes highly recommended.
Planetes is available on Blu-ray from the Crunchyroll online store for $55.98.
Disclosure: Crunchyroll sent me this Blu-ray set for the purposes of this review.
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