Planetes ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ review: A human drama told from the perspective of space trash pickers

Planetes ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ - Planetes - Reviews and Recommendations

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

October 4, 2003 - April 17, 2004
NHK BS2 October 4, 2003 - April 17, 2004 (Episodes 1-26)

■Broadcasting station

NHK BS2

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 26

■Original Story

・Original work by Makoto Yukimura

■ Director

・Director: Goro Taniguchi

■ Production

Produced by Sunrise, Bandai Visual, NHK Enterprises 21

■Works

©Makoto Yukimura, Kodansha, Sunrise, Bandai Visual, NHK Enterprises

■ Story

The main character, Hachimaki (Hachirota Hoshino), is an office worker. He is also a professional astronaut whose job is to collect debris from the space station. In order to get his own spaceship, he spends his days collecting debris with his colleagues Yuri and Fee, and newcomer Tanabe. Now in his fourth year, he is 25 years old and has begun to think about his way of life.

The year is 2075. How will Hachimaki think and grow in a world where passenger planes travel normally between the Earth, the space station, and the moon? Hachimaki goes to work again today.

■Cast

・Hachimaki/Kazunari Tanaka・Tanabe/Satsuki Yukino・Fee/Ai Orikasa・Yuri/Takehito Koyasu・Chief/Aika Ogata・Rabi/Tetsuo Goto・Edel/Maiko Ito・Dolph/Ryo Kamon・Claire/Kumiko Watanabe・Chen Xin/Nobuyuki Hiyama・Lucy/Masayo Kurata・Gigalt/Norio Wakamoto・Narration/Kyoji Kobayashi

■ Main staff

・Original story by Yukimura Makoto・Planning by Uchida Kenji, Kamino Yoshikazu, Matsumoto Hisako・Director by Taniguchi Goro・Series composition, script by Okouchi Ichiro・Character design by Senba Yuriko・Concept design, setting research by Ogura Shinya・Mechanical design by Takakura Takeshi, Nakatani Seiichi・Art director by Ikeda Shigemi・Color design by Yokoyama Sayoko・Director of photography by Oya Sota・Editing by Morita Seiji・Sound director by Urakami Yasuo・Music by Nakagawa Kotaro・Interview cooperation by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
Producers: Yoshitaka Kawaguchi, Jun Yukawa, Tomoyuki Uehara Production: Sunrise, Bandai Visual, NHK Enterprises 21

■ Main Characters

Hachirota Hoshino is an extravehicular worker in the Technora Debris Division. He goes by the nickname "Hachimaki." His father is a top-class spacecraft engineer, Goro Hoshino, and he feels inferior because his father is too famous. He has an unlikely dream of owning his own spacecraft.

Tanabe A new employee assigned to the Love Debris Division. Nicknamed "Tanabe." She is an active and cheerful woman, but she can also be a bit reckless, which often causes trouble for those around her. She tends to use the word "love" when in trouble, and she clashes with Hachimaki at every opportunity.

Fee Carmichael is a pilot in the debris division. She is the captain of the recovery ship "Toy Box". During debris recovery missions, she acts as the control tower, giving precise instructions to the extravehicular activity crew. She is a heavy smoker, which is unsuitable for life in space.

Yuri Mikhailokov is an extravehicular worker in the debris division. Seven years ago, he lost his beloved wife in a debris accident during his honeymoon. Having survived the disaster, he took a job as a debris collector, partly due to his personal motivation of searching for his wife's compass.

Philip Myers Deputy Chief of the Debris Division. Nicknamed "Chief." A manager nearing retirement age, he is so desperate to finish his career and receive his retirement benefits that he has fallen into a do-nothing attitude. Although he is usually an unreliable boss, he is also a family man and shows concern for his subordinates.

Arvind Rabi, assistant deputy section chief of the Debris Division. Nicknamed "Rabi-chan." He neglects his daily duties and pours his heart and soul into developing a wide variety of tricks and props, and is happy to be called the "Banquet Manager." It seems he was assigned to this position after being passed around from other departments.

Edelgard Rivera A temporary office worker working in the Debris Department. Nicknamed "Edel." She often mutters harsh words between tasks, but her abilities are excellent. She also has ambition and strives to get more qualifications, and is a heavy drinker who rivals her male counterparts.

Dolph Azaria is the second division manager of Technora. He is a quiet-looking executive with first-class management skills. He was originally the president of the space venture company "Traom Space Development" and worked with Fee, but was absorbed into Technora.

Claire Rondo: Technora Corporation, Second Business Division, Government Regulation Section staff member. A member of Hachimaki's class, she has excellent grades, is ambitious, and is a hard worker. After coming to America as a refugee, she studied hard to reach her current position, but she is troubled by a complex that makes it difficult for her to fundamentally agree with the elites of developed countries.

・Kao Cheng-sin
A pilot belonging to Technora's space department. He is from Taiwan and is a contemporary of Hachimaki. He comes from a good family and origins, which reflects his cheerful and straightforward personality. He became the co-pilot of a space passenger plane early on and is considered the most successful among his peers.

Lucy Ascam is a cabin attendant in the Aerospace Department of Technora. She is a colleague of Tanabe and has a straightforward personality, saying what she thinks straight away. She is ambitious to use her beauty to marry a rich man, and this seems to be her motivation for joining the company.

Colin Clifford: Son of Chairman Clifford of the Union. Appears in #4. An original character from the anime.

Shia A girl who loves space and is on a regular flight to the moon. 5 years old. Her clothes are inspired by space suits. Appears in #5. An original character from the anime.

A Lunarian girl born and raised on the moon Nono. 12 years old. She is tall because she grew up in low gravity. Appears in #7. Original character.

Roland: A former astronaut hospitalized on the moon. Original character. Appears in #7. In the anime version, he is the master of Hachimaki's master, Gigalt.

Orin Yozakura: Ex-wife of Kasumi Kogenta. Her real name is Citta Sullivan. She came to the hotel restaurant with the intention of meeting Hachimaki on an arranged marriage date. Did she break up with her husband because of their different naming sense? Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

・Kasumi's Kogenta A resident of the moon's apartment "Maison de Yashiki" and the leader of the seven ninjas. His real name is Cozy Blues. He is Orin's ex-husband, but still has feelings for her. He's on the moon to work. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

・One of the residents of Tarobotsuki's apartment. His real name is Nikolai Bienkov. He has three children. Appears in #6. An original character for the anime.

・One of the residents of the apartment of Saru's Mijitsuki. Her real name is Marcy Sanchos. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

・One of the residents of Yatsuki Jiraiya's apartment in Hida. His real name is Michael Williams. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

One of the residents of Dragon Trung's apartment building. His real name is Nguyen Minh Touan. He came here to work after failing in business. He likes girls. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

One of the residents of the apartment of the Bottenren Gennojotsuki. His real name is Jack Francis Meyer Jr. He became a guarantor for a friend and got into debt. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

・One of the residents of Kurenai Ukontsuki's apartment. His real name is Robert McLeod. Appears in #6. An original character from the anime.

・Large fire support vehicle
A fire truck for large fires that appears in #6.

・Gigalt Gangaragash Headband's Eva's master. He used to be in the Debris Department. He first appears at the beginning of #2. He plays an active role in #9. An original character from the anime.

Temara Poitier A scientist from Eltanica, a small Central American country. She comes to Technora to sell their newly developed space suit. Appears in #11. An original character from the anime.

Nin Mantegna: A researcher at Technora who develops new materials using sea cucumber catch connective tissue. He has a child with the daughter of the third division manager, and is called the "Pregnant Man." Appears in #14. An original character from the anime.

・Kyutaro Hoshino Hachimaki's younger brother. He works hard on rocket development at his family home in Chiba. He is trying to become a rocket developer to rival his father and brother. Appears in #13. Original character.

Haruko Hoshino Hachimaki's mother. A strong-willed woman who supports her family home, where her husband and son rarely come home. Appears in #13. Original character.

Sasha Hidak Edel's ex-husband. He appears in front of Edel just before the five-year anniversary of their separation. He seems to be trading illegal items... Appears in #15. An original character from the anime.

・Goro Hoshino Hachimaki's father. A veteran engineer who has made five round trips between Mars and Earth. He is a man who rarely goes home, but he cannot stand up to his wife because of his love for her. Appears in #17. Original character.

Werner Locksmith: The designer of the Jupiter shuttle "Von Braun" and the developer of its main engine, the "Tandem Mirror Engine." Appears in #17. Original character.

Sally Silverstone: One of the candidates taking the crew exam for the Jupiter roundtrip ship "Von Braun." A former Caltech (California Institute of Technology) mission specialist. She takes the closed environment exam with Hachimaki, Hakim, and Leonov. Appears from #20. Original character.

Leonov Norstein: One of the candidates for the crew exam for the Jupiter roundtrip ship "Von Braun." A former transport ship engineer. He takes the closed environment exam with Hachimaki, Hakim, and Sally. Appears from #20. Original character.

Chairman Christopher Clifford Chairman of the "Union". Father of Colin Clifford, who appears from #4. Appears from #22.

■ Main robot items

- Debris Division EVA Suits: Worn by Hachimaki and the others when they perform extravehicular activities.

・ToyBox
The 30-year-old, dilapidated debris collection ship on which Hachimaki and company are aboard

・Fishbone
A small debris collection vessel installed on ToyBox

・ISPV-7
The International Space Station, which also houses Technora, the company where Hachimaki and his friends work.

- Temara's Space Suit A space suit jointly developed by the Temara and Eltanica scientists. It has the ability to link to Navstar without going through the mothership (meaning that even if it gets separated from the mothership, it can connect to Navstar and return on its own). Their technology was not able to provide the ZPWS functionality (the ability to go into space without decompression) in a normal space suit shape, so it ended up looking rather clumsy.

・ToyBox2
In #12, Fee destroyed ToyBox and saved ISPV7. This is the latest model newly assigned to the Debris Division as its replacement. It appears in #14. Compared to the old ToyBox, the hull is more compact and its performance has been greatly improved.

The Jupiter roundtrip ship "Von Braun". Designed by Werner Locksmith. Equipped with the main engine "Tandem Mirror Engine" also developed by Locksmith. Hachimaki and his friends depart on this for a seven-year journey to Jupiter.

■Subtitle

・Phase 1/Outside the Atmosphere (2003/10/04)
・Phase 2/Dreamlike (2003/10/11)
・Phase 3/Return trajectory (2003/10/18)
・Phase 4/Work (2003/10/25)
・Phase 5/Fly Me to the Moon (2003/11/1)
・Phase 6/Moon Flying Squirrel (2003/11/08)
・Phase 7/Extraterrestrial Girl (2003/11/15)
・Phase 8/A Place to Rely on (2003/11/22)
・Phase 9／Heartache (2003/11/29)
・Phase 10/Sky of Dust Stars (2003/12/06)
・Phase 11/Boundary Line (2003/12/13)
・Phase 12/A Small Wish (2003/12/20)
・Phase 13/Rocket Scenery (2004/01/10)
・Phase 14/Turning Point (2004/01/17)
・Phase 15/Her Case (2004/01/24)
・Phase 16/Ignition (2004/01/31)
・Phase 17/Therefore He (2004/02/07)
・Phase 18 / The Debris Department's Last Day (2004/02/14)
・Phase 19/The End is Always...(2004/02/21)
・Phase 20/Hesitant (2004/02/28)
・Phase 21/Tandem Miller (2004/03/06)
・Phase 22/Exposure (2004/03/13)
・Phase 23/Debris Swarm (2004/03/20)
・Phase 24/Love (2004/04/03)
・Phase 25/The Confused (2004/04/10)
・Last Phase/And the Days We Meet (2004/04/17)

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・Dive in the Sky
Lyrics: Mikio Sakai Composition: Mikio Sakai Arrangement: Mikio Sakai Singer: Mikio Sakai

・ED1
・Wonderful Life
Lyrics: Mikio Sakai Composition: Mikio Sakai Arrangement: Mikio Sakai Singer: Mikio Sakai

・ED2
・PLANETES
Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Music: Hitomi Kuroishi Singer: Hitomi

・IN1
・A secret of the moon
Lyrics: Hitomi Kuroishi Composition: Hitomi Kuroishi Arrangement: Hitomi Kuroishi Vocals: Hitomi

・IN2
・Thanks my friend
Lyrics: Mikio Sakai Composition: Mikio Sakai Arrangement: Mikio Sakai Singer: Mikio Sakai

Planetes ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ - Planetes - Evaluation

"Planetes" is a science fiction anime series that aired from 2003 to 2004 and is based on the manga of the same name by Yukimura Makoto. The story depicts the daily lives and growth of astronauts who make a living by collecting space debris, and has been highly praised for its exquisite blend of human drama and science fiction elements.

The main character, Hachirota Hoshino (nicknamed Hachimaki), is an extravehicular worker in Technora's debris department. His dream is to have his own spacecraft, and in order to achieve that, he works hard every day collecting debris. Hachimaki is surrounded by unique characters such as Yuri, Fee, and Tanabe, who also belong to the debris department, and Hachimaki himself grows through his interactions with them.

The appeal of this work lies above all in its realistic worldview and the depth of its characters. Set in the future of 2075, it depicts the everyday lives of people connecting the Earth, the Moon, and the space station, but the human relationships, worries, dreams, and setbacks depicted therein have the power to deeply resonate with viewers. In particular, the backstories of each character, such as Hachimaki's relationship with her father, Hoshino Goro, and Yuri's past trauma, are carefully drawn, adding depth to the story.

"Planetes" is also an excellent science fiction anime. While it deals with the practical issue of debris collection, it is packed with exciting elements for science fiction fans, such as the design of the spacesuits and spacecraft, and the long-term mission to Jupiter. In particular, the fact that scientific research has been thoroughly carried out, such as Temara's spacesuit and the tandem mirror engine of the von Braun, is also commendable.

Music is also an important element that enhances the appeal of this work. The opening theme "Dive in the Sky" and the ending themes "Wonderful Life" and "PLANETES" perfectly match the atmosphere of the story and stir the emotions of the viewer. In particular, Mikio Sakai's singing voice has the power to simultaneously make you feel the vastness of the universe and the smallness of humans.

The combination of director Goro Taniguchi and series composer/scriptwriter Ichiro Okouchi is known for their skill in skillfully fusing human drama with science fiction elements, as seen in "Code Geass." "Planetes" also fully demonstrates their talent, with each episode meticulously constructed. In particular, the final episode, "And Then the Days We Meet," is a moving episode depicting Hachimaki's growth and the bonds he forms with his friends, and is sure to leave a strong impression on viewers.

"Planetes" is a work that can be highly recommended not only to sci-fi anime fans, but also to viewers who love human drama. The work depicts the growth and human relationships of each character against the backdrop of the realistic problem of space debris, and is sure to leave viewers deeply moved and sympathetic.

Recommendation

For those who, after watching "Planetes," would like to explore more of this work's worldview and themes, we recommend the following works.

1. "Space Brothers"

"Space Brothers" is an anime series based on the manga by Chuya Koyama. This work depicts two brothers chasing their dreams as astronauts, and like "Planetes," it is a human drama set in space. In particular, the themes of brotherly bonds and friendship, and the pursuit of dreams, will resonate with fans of "Planetes."

2. "Gundam Series"

The Gundam series is a group of works that can be considered the pinnacle of science fiction anime. In particular, Mobile Suit Gundam UC (Unicorn) depicts an epic story set in space and a deep human drama, and is highly recommended for fans of Planetes. In addition, the Gundam Build Fighters series is a work that depicts friendship and growth through model building, and is perfect for viewers who empathize with the growth of the characters in Planetes.

3. "Planetes" original manga

The original manga of "Planetes" depicts different perspectives and episodes from the anime, allowing you to delve deeper into the world of this work. In particular, the original manga contains many character backstories and episodes that were not depicted in the anime, making it a must-read for fans.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey

"2001: A Space Odyssey" directed by Stanley Kubrick is known as a masterpiece of science fiction movies. This work is a grand story about space travel and human evolution, and is highly recommended for fans of "Planetes". In particular, the scene depicting the vastness of the universe and the smallness of humans has a common theme with "Planetes".

5. "Interstellar"

"Interstellar," directed by Christopher Nolan, is a science fiction film about a space journey to save the future of the Earth. This work combines scientific research with deep human drama, and is highly recommended for fans of "Planetes." In particular, the themes of family ties and challenging dreams have much in common with "Planetes," and will surely deeply move viewers.

Above is a summary of my review and recommendations for "Planetes." This work is not only an excellent science fiction anime, but also an excellent human drama, and will surely give viewers deep emotion and empathy. Please watch it and experience its charm for yourself.