PLANETES

"Every ship needs a harbor. It will wait for it and accept it when it returns"

I've been a big japanese animation fan as far back as i can remember. Shows like Robotech, Astroboy, Voltes V and Transformers have been my constant source of entertainment as a kid. I still remember fond memories of watching these "cartoons" on our old black and white Hitachi TV back in the early 80's.

Fast forward to 2007 and japanese animation has really changed. In the past 20 years, there has been so much anime that has been released touching on almost any subject imaginable (more giant robots, more ninjas, more samurai, more pokemons.=P). Unfortunately, this has also resulted in a glut for original concepts as i believe a vast majority of the current releases are just rehashes of older, more successful titles. This turned me off for a while until i rediscovered a bunch of newer (and sometimes older) and more interesting titles that i found fresh and enjoyable for an old guy like me. =P

In early 2001, Sunrise decided to release Planetes (or Planet ES). It's an anime based on a manga by Makoto Yukimura. The whole premise is simple enough basically telling the story of a group of space "garbage men" out to protect space from a bunch of "deadly" trash floating around earth's orbit. Doesn't sound so exciting at all right? So what makes this show one of my all time faves then?

Story - A++

The story is the number one thing that this show has got going for itself. Unlike other sci-fi animations that has an emphasis on technology, the show is actually more about the lives and dreams of ordinary people like ourselves. There are no super robots out to save the world or some long lost super weapon that is mankind's last hope. In Planetes, it's all about the ordinary guy out on a pipedream to get his own spaceship some day, the idealistic new worker who always talk about love, the old boss tryin to keep his retirement pay, the underpaid dad tryin to fend for his kids back home or the lowly temp trying to better her life. On a grander scale, it's about corporate politics, the gap between rich and poor nations, mankind's greed and mankind's dreams. The whole premise of collecting garbage is just to tell OUR story in a future setting. The quest to conquer each of our dreams, to know the importance of others or the never ending fight for equality, this is the real story of planetes. And its a story as relevant today as it would probably be in the future.

The show itself tackles a lot of human, geopolitical, ecological, cultural, psychological and economic issues that its a wonder how it does it without the plot getting too convoluted or too dark (the atmosphere of the show is in fact quite light with humour injected in the right places) . It presents itself splendidly without any of the mind blowing philosophies of other anime (i.e. Ghost in the Shell, Evangelion). The issues are introduced in such a way that the show never really deviates far from its origin. It is seamless, with a well thought out pacing and ending that is definitely a cut above the rest.

Characterization - A++

The second strength of Planetes are the characters. The main characters are :

Hachimaki - an ordinary guy without a good background but dreams big and works hard for his goal. He is the primary EVA worker for the "Toybox", ISPV-7's (Space station) space debris collection vehicle.

Tanabe - an idealistic new hire for the Half-Section. She becomes the student of Hachimaki and in time falls in love with him.

Fee Carmichael - The chain smoking captain of the "Toybox". One of my favorite episodes stars her and showing the horrors that smokers have to endure in space.

Yuri Mihairokov - colleague of Hachimaki in the Half section who is in charge of taking care of the space station's in-house pets. He joins the debris collection unit to recover his wife's keepsake who died in the first major accident involving a space debris.

Character development i believe is one of the main criteria for deciding any show's worth and Planetes has one of the best characterizations i have seen in a while. In fact i would rate it as excellent. Not only the main characters but all of the characters shown in the entire series have their own story with fully fleshed out backgrounds. Better still, no one is introduced without a purpose and the story of one character has sometimes far reaching influences on the lives of the other people they meet along the way. (my personal favorite is Phase 11 - Boundary Lines). The main characters themselves most notably Hachimaki and Tanabe mature in a believable way based on their experiences during the course of the story. The development of the characters are based on an action and reaction principle and i believe that is its strong point. As in real life, no one changes without any reason. Mostly we are affected by the things we see or experience in our lives that makes us change for the better or worse and influence the choices we make in life. That kind of character development is very pronounced in Planetes.

Animation - A++

Of course an "anime" has to be judged based on its animation. To say the least, Planetes animation is above average. Detailed but not glossy but it does not need to be with such a story. Not much CGI but the simple colors and clean animation is more than adequate. Character design is top notch with realistically designed characters without large eyes and big boobs we see in many scifi anime.

Depicting actual space technology is where the animation excels. The series gives us a realistic picture of space that we may never be able to see in our lifetime. Physics plays a major role in this anime. I don't believe i've seen any live or animated show other than Planetes that depicts space the way its supposed to be.

Music - A+

Luckily, the producers also provided Planetes with a more than adequate soundtrack to make it into a well rounded series. Many anime have been ruined by crappy music. But planetes has been provided with "cool" opening and ending themes (of course, this is a very subjective topic). The last song in the series was also the best. In between, the bgm was unobtrusive and did not overshadow the story. I believe the background music should complement the story subtly without destroying the mood the story requires. In this regard, the musical director (Kotaro Nakagawa) succeeded quite well.

Overall Verdict - A++

Of course I do not believe that Planetes is a show that everyone will be able to appreciate. It might be too slow for some and too boring for others. It is thrilling and engrossing but it delivers its action in ways others might not like. But for those who want to continue to believe in the future, this show is highly recommended.