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It’s hard to see what’s in store for humanity in the future especially when it comes to space. After all, we’re not physic and we’ve made laughable guesses like the terrible scifi show space 1999 and that we would all be wearing foil suits. But an issue that we can’t ignore is an environmental one; with the massive build up of space debris around the planet and its only going to become an ever-increasing threat when humanity develops further in space.
With this Premise, Planetes is set not too far in the distant future of 2075. Humanity has made great strides in space allowing viable and affordable travel and colonisation of parts of our solar system for the common folk. But these breakthroughs have come at a cost with so much floating debris leading to disastrous consequences. As a result, debris collectors are set up to get the unenviable job of collect junk in space. They are despised and considered nothing but garbage men in space despite these individuals being fully trained astronauts in their own right. Planetes story revolves around the lives of one such crew and their everyday struggles.
Created byMakoto Yukimura , Planetes has won critical acclaim and positive reviews from both critics and fans alike. Neo magazine considers it one of the essential anime’s to watch and won the Seiun award (best Japanese science fiction) in 2002 and 2005. So high praise indeed and you’ll probably (unsurprisingly) know that I full heartedly agree. In fact i loved it so much that words can't describe how awesome this anime was to me and how much i loved it.
No matter, I'll try.
Admittedly, First impressions based on the first episode were generally mixed; Planetes doesn’t have the trademark surreal excitement nor action to entice (or deter) viewers normally associated with anime these days. It’s made worse when the colour feels washed, pale and makes the whole thing feel clinical, sedate and bland. Although that said, the artwork is still of decent quality and they have done their research and thought into designing and developing a plausible inhabitable space environment. The audio is also of a high quality as the Dubbing isn’t annoying and the various tunes are appropriate and match the situations and atmosphere quite well.
It would be wrong to say Planetes is a sci fi anime because its set in space, rather it deals with many down to earth issues ranging from the political, social and philosophical themes. Planetes makes a wide variety of comments on these issues. Most notable of these being Ambition and the price in achieving it, arguing that the price people pay to realise ones dreams can be a costly one and frowning on practices leading to ruthless and artificial infighting to achieve it, suggesting it’s pointless, sad and has little benefit. Especially when you’ll be all alone at the top and without anyone to share in your achievements making the whole endeavour entirely pointless and sad. Other issues include love and loss, Equality in space for the rich and poor suggesting that although mankind maybe making great strides in space exploration, it’ll only benefit the rich unless equal opportunity is provided.
Frequently discussions are triggered off through various key plot elements allowing these issues to be discussed. Of course, it does deal with life in space and the collecting of debris, but it’s the more thought provoking issues that make it’s so good and sometimes feels like you’re watching a very interesting documentary or discussion then Japanese animation.
A key reason as to what makes the story so interesting is the characters themselves who bring the story to life. Each character, including the minor ones, are well thought out, each with their own vice, virtues and their own personal motives of having their unenviable jobs of debris collectors. An Example would be “Hachimaki” Hoshino who could be considered the leading male character in series. Despite being very talented and passionate about his career as an astronaut, his lazy, occasionally arrogant, Fiery and cynical realist attitude restricts him from doing anything more than collecting debris (and being at odds with tanabe). He finds it immensely degrading and frustrating as he dreams of greatnesses especially as his father was a legendary astronaut; someone who he also greatly despises. But over the series as he begins to pursue his dreams and ambitions he slowly starts to follow the exact footsteps of his father. He begins shunning/resenting his friends, increasingly becoming emotionally detached to the world around him and resembling the person he hates the most. Through his frustrations and fears his imaginary alter ego representing the doubt and defeatist nature, pops up to mock him in trying to give up his dreams and reminding him the price he pays to pursue it.
The characters are all believable as well as likable and you’ll grow quite emotionally attached to them. More importantly It’s through the interactions of the ds-12 Toybox crew that the various themes and issues that are asked throughout the series gets discussed as they symbolise or represent the various beliefs and sides to the issues and themes discussed. The message that the creators convey are effectively achieved throughout the story using these characters and it moves the story along and makes something very compelling to watch. Conflicting interests begin to arise, the story twists and turn over a variety of events leading them into danger, suffering and facing up to the past or even entering a new factor to the issues at hand. The story never ceases to be interesting and continues right to the end with a very satisfying and brilliant ending.
MY VERDICT
Well, don’t judge a book by its cover seems to be the most relevant statement. Although on the surface planetes deceptively appears to be a slow, boring sci-fi series and far from what people expect from most anime, give it time and you’ll find what Planetes actually offers is an outstandingly well developed story that’s thought provoking and immensely fascinating whilst at the same time entertaining.
It’s one of the few anime’s that i would whole-heartedly recommend to people who love and loaves anime.
10/10
With this Premise, Planetes is set not too far in the distant future of 2075. Humanity has made great strides in space allowing viable and affordable travel and colonisation of parts of our solar system for the common folk. But these breakthroughs have come at a cost with so much floating debris leading to disastrous consequences. As a result, debris collectors are set up to get the unenviable job of collect junk in space. They are despised and considered nothing but garbage men in space despite these individuals being fully trained astronauts in their own right. Planetes story revolves around the lives of one such crew and their everyday struggles.
Created byMakoto Yukimura , Planetes has won critical acclaim and positive reviews from both critics and fans alike. Neo magazine considers it one of the essential anime’s to watch and won the Seiun award (best Japanese science fiction) in 2002 and 2005. So high praise indeed and you’ll probably (unsurprisingly) know that I full heartedly agree. In fact i loved it so much that words can't describe how awesome this anime was to me and how much i loved it.
No matter, I'll try.
Admittedly, First impressions based on the first episode were generally mixed; Planetes doesn’t have the trademark surreal excitement nor action to entice (or deter) viewers normally associated with anime these days. It’s made worse when the colour feels washed, pale and makes the whole thing feel clinical, sedate and bland. Although that said, the artwork is still of decent quality and they have done their research and thought into designing and developing a plausible inhabitable space environment. The audio is also of a high quality as the Dubbing isn’t annoying and the various tunes are appropriate and match the situations and atmosphere quite well.
It would be wrong to say Planetes is a sci fi anime because its set in space, rather it deals with many down to earth issues ranging from the political, social and philosophical themes. Planetes makes a wide variety of comments on these issues. Most notable of these being Ambition and the price in achieving it, arguing that the price people pay to realise ones dreams can be a costly one and frowning on practices leading to ruthless and artificial infighting to achieve it, suggesting it’s pointless, sad and has little benefit. Especially when you’ll be all alone at the top and without anyone to share in your achievements making the whole endeavour entirely pointless and sad. Other issues include love and loss, Equality in space for the rich and poor suggesting that although mankind maybe making great strides in space exploration, it’ll only benefit the rich unless equal opportunity is provided.
Frequently discussions are triggered off through various key plot elements allowing these issues to be discussed. Of course, it does deal with life in space and the collecting of debris, but it’s the more thought provoking issues that make it’s so good and sometimes feels like you’re watching a very interesting documentary or discussion then Japanese animation.
A key reason as to what makes the story so interesting is the characters themselves who bring the story to life. Each character, including the minor ones, are well thought out, each with their own vice, virtues and their own personal motives of having their unenviable jobs of debris collectors. An Example would be “Hachimaki” Hoshino who could be considered the leading male character in series. Despite being very talented and passionate about his career as an astronaut, his lazy, occasionally arrogant, Fiery and cynical realist attitude restricts him from doing anything more than collecting debris (and being at odds with tanabe). He finds it immensely degrading and frustrating as he dreams of greatnesses especially as his father was a legendary astronaut; someone who he also greatly despises. But over the series as he begins to pursue his dreams and ambitions he slowly starts to follow the exact footsteps of his father. He begins shunning/resenting his friends, increasingly becoming emotionally detached to the world around him and resembling the person he hates the most. Through his frustrations and fears his imaginary alter ego representing the doubt and defeatist nature, pops up to mock him in trying to give up his dreams and reminding him the price he pays to pursue it.
The characters are all believable as well as likable and you’ll grow quite emotionally attached to them. More importantly It’s through the interactions of the ds-12 Toybox crew that the various themes and issues that are asked throughout the series gets discussed as they symbolise or represent the various beliefs and sides to the issues and themes discussed. The message that the creators convey are effectively achieved throughout the story using these characters and it moves the story along and makes something very compelling to watch. Conflicting interests begin to arise, the story twists and turn over a variety of events leading them into danger, suffering and facing up to the past or even entering a new factor to the issues at hand. The story never ceases to be interesting and continues right to the end with a very satisfying and brilliant ending.
MY VERDICT
Well, don’t judge a book by its cover seems to be the most relevant statement. Although on the surface planetes deceptively appears to be a slow, boring sci-fi series and far from what people expect from most anime, give it time and you’ll find what Planetes actually offers is an outstandingly well developed story that’s thought provoking and immensely fascinating whilst at the same time entertaining.
It’s one of the few anime’s that i would whole-heartedly recommend to people who love and loaves anime.
10/10
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It’s hard to see what’s in store for humanity in the future especially when it comes to space. After all, we’re not physic and we’ve made laughable guesses like the terrible scifi show space 1999 and that we would all be wearing foil suits. But an issue that we can’t ignore is an environmental one; with the massive build up of space debris around the planet and its only going to become an ever-increasing threat when humanity develops further in space.
With this Premise, Planetes is set not too far in the distant future of 2075. Humanity has made great strides in space allowing viable and affordable travel and colonisation of parts of our solar system for the common folk. But these breakthroughs have come at a cost with so much floating debris leading to disastrous consequences. As a result, debris collectors are set up to get the unenviable job of collect junk in space. They are despised and considered nothing but garbage men in space despite these individuals being fully trained astronauts in their own right. Planetes story revolves around the lives of one such crew and their everyday struggles.
Created byMakoto Yukimura , Planetes has won critical acclaim and positive reviews from both critics and fans alike. Neo magazine considers it one of the essential anime’s to watch and won the Seiun award (best Japanese science fiction) in 2002 and 2005. So high praise indeed and you’ll probably (unsurprisingly) know that I full heartedly agree. In fact i loved it so much that words can't describe how awesome this anime was to me and how much i loved it.
No matter, I'll try.
Admittedly, First impressions based on the first episode were generally mixed; Planetes doesn’t have the trademark surreal excitement nor action to entice (or deter) viewers normally associated with anime these days. It’s made worse when the colour feels washed, pale and makes the whole thing feel clinical, sedate and bland. Although that said, the artwork is still of decent quality and they have done their research and thought into designing and developing a plausible inhabitable space environment. The audio is also of a high quality as the Dubbing isn’t annoying and the various tunes are appropriate and match the situations and atmosphere quite well.
It would be wrong to say Planetes is a sci fi anime because its set in space, rather it deals with many down to earth issues ranging from the political, social and philosophical themes. Planetes makes a wide variety of comments on these issues. Most notable of these being Ambition and the price in achieving it, arguing that the price people pay to realise ones dreams can be a costly one and frowning on practices leading to ruthless and artificial infighting to achieve it, suggesting it’s pointless, sad and has little benefit. Especially when you’ll be all alone at the top and without anyone to share in your achievements making the whole endeavour entirely pointless and sad. Other issues include love and loss, Equality in space for the rich and poor suggesting that although mankind maybe making great strides in space exploration, it’ll only benefit the rich unless equal opportunity is provided.
Frequently discussions are triggered off through various key plot elements allowing these issues to be discussed. Of course, it does deal with life in space and the collecting of debris, but it’s the more thought provoking issues that make it’s so good and sometimes feels like you’re watching a very interesting documentary or discussion then Japanese animation.
A key reason as to what makes the story so interesting is the characters themselves who bring the story to life. Each character, including the minor ones, are well thought out, each with their own vice, virtues and their own personal motives of having their unenviable jobs of debris collectors. An Example would be “Hachimaki” Hoshino who could be considered the leading male character in series. Despite being very talented and passionate about his career as an astronaut, his lazy, occasionally arrogant, Fiery and cynical realist attitude restricts him from doing anything more than collecting debris (and being at odds with tanabe). He finds it immensely degrading and frustrating as he dreams of greatnesses especially as his father was a legendary astronaut; someone who he also greatly despises. But over the series as he begins to pursue his dreams and ambitions he slowly starts to follow the exact footsteps of his father. He begins shunning/resenting his friends, increasingly becoming emotionally detached to the world around him and resembling the person he hates the most. Through his frustrations and fears his imaginary alter ego representing the doubt and defeatist nature, pops up to mock him in trying to give up his dreams and reminding him the price he pays to pursue it.
The characters are all believable as well as likable and you’ll grow quite emotionally attached to them. More importantly It’s through the interactions of the ds-12 Toybox crew that the various themes and issues that are asked throughout the series gets discussed as they symbolise or represent the various beliefs and sides to the issues and themes discussed. The message that the creators convey are effectively achieved throughout the story using these characters and it moves the story along and makes something very compelling to watch. Conflicting interests begin to arise, the story twists and turn over a variety of events leading them into danger, suffering and facing up to the past or even entering a new factor to the issues at hand. The story never ceases to be interesting and continues right to the end with a very satisfying and brilliant ending.
MY VERDICT
Well, don’t judge a book by its cover seems to be the most relevant statement. Although on the surface planetes deceptively appears to be a slow, boring sci-fi series and far from what people expect from most anime, give it time and you’ll find what Planetes actually offers is an outstandingly well developed story that’s thought provoking and immensely fascinating whilst at the same time entertaining.
It’s one of the few anime’s that i would whole-heartedly recommend to people who love and loaves anime.
10/10
With this Premise, Planetes is set not too far in the distant future of 2075. Humanity has made great strides in space allowing viable and affordable travel and colonisation of parts of our solar system for the common folk. But these breakthroughs have come at a cost with so much floating debris leading to disastrous consequences. As a result, debris collectors are set up to get the unenviable job of collect junk in space. They are despised and considered nothing but garbage men in space despite these individuals being fully trained astronauts in their own right. Planetes story revolves around the lives of one such crew and their everyday struggles.
Created byMakoto Yukimura , Planetes has won critical acclaim and positive reviews from both critics and fans alike. Neo magazine considers it one of the essential anime’s to watch and won the Seiun award (best Japanese science fiction) in 2002 and 2005. So high praise indeed and you’ll probably (unsurprisingly) know that I full heartedly agree. In fact i loved it so much that words can't describe how awesome this anime was to me and how much i loved it.
No matter, I'll try.
Admittedly, First impressions based on the first episode were generally mixed; Planetes doesn’t have the trademark surreal excitement nor action to entice (or deter) viewers normally associated with anime these days. It’s made worse when the colour feels washed, pale and makes the whole thing feel clinical, sedate and bland. Although that said, the artwork is still of decent quality and they have done their research and thought into designing and developing a plausible inhabitable space environment. The audio is also of a high quality as the Dubbing isn’t annoying and the various tunes are appropriate and match the situations and atmosphere quite well.
It would be wrong to say Planetes is a sci fi anime because its set in space, rather it deals with many down to earth issues ranging from the political, social and philosophical themes. Planetes makes a wide variety of comments on these issues. Most notable of these being Ambition and the price in achieving it, arguing that the price people pay to realise ones dreams can be a costly one and frowning on practices leading to ruthless and artificial infighting to achieve it, suggesting it’s pointless, sad and has little benefit. Especially when you’ll be all alone at the top and without anyone to share in your achievements making the whole endeavour entirely pointless and sad. Other issues include love and loss, Equality in space for the rich and poor suggesting that although mankind maybe making great strides in space exploration, it’ll only benefit the rich unless equal opportunity is provided.
Frequently discussions are triggered off through various key plot elements allowing these issues to be discussed. Of course, it does deal with life in space and the collecting of debris, but it’s the more thought provoking issues that make it’s so good and sometimes feels like you’re watching a very interesting documentary or discussion then Japanese animation.
A key reason as to what makes the story so interesting is the characters themselves who bring the story to life. Each character, including the minor ones, are well thought out, each with their own vice, virtues and their own personal motives of having their unenviable jobs of debris collectors. An Example would be “Hachimaki” Hoshino who could be considered the leading male character in series. Despite being very talented and passionate about his career as an astronaut, his lazy, occasionally arrogant, Fiery and cynical realist attitude restricts him from doing anything more than collecting debris (and being at odds with tanabe). He finds it immensely degrading and frustrating as he dreams of greatnesses especially as his father was a legendary astronaut; someone who he also greatly despises. But over the series as he begins to pursue his dreams and ambitions he slowly starts to follow the exact footsteps of his father. He begins shunning/resenting his friends, increasingly becoming emotionally detached to the world around him and resembling the person he hates the most. Through his frustrations and fears his imaginary alter ego representing the doubt and defeatist nature, pops up to mock him in trying to give up his dreams and reminding him the price he pays to pursue it.
The characters are all believable as well as likable and you’ll grow quite emotionally attached to them. More importantly It’s through the interactions of the ds-12 Toybox crew that the various themes and issues that are asked throughout the series gets discussed as they symbolise or represent the various beliefs and sides to the issues and themes discussed. The message that the creators convey are effectively achieved throughout the story using these characters and it moves the story along and makes something very compelling to watch. Conflicting interests begin to arise, the story twists and turn over a variety of events leading them into danger, suffering and facing up to the past or even entering a new factor to the issues at hand. The story never ceases to be interesting and continues right to the end with a very satisfying and brilliant ending.
MY VERDICT
Well, don’t judge a book by its cover seems to be the most relevant statement. Although on the surface planetes deceptively appears to be a slow, boring sci-fi series and far from what people expect from most anime, give it time and you’ll find what Planetes actually offers is an outstandingly well developed story that’s thought provoking and immensely fascinating whilst at the same time entertaining.
It’s one of the few anime’s that i would whole-heartedly recommend to people who love and loaves anime.
10/10