Product: Planetes (Vol. 1) 2 Disc Special Edition
Rating: 5.0
Anime reaches Clarkian heights
As a viewer of Japanese animation for about (gasp!) 25 years, I'm astonished at how fast this terrific series has risen into my top 10 list. (The top 5 is already permanently filled, but that's another review entirely.) It's a deft combination of real science and emotional interplay, set during a time when humanity has FINALLY taken the first real steps into the solar system, building a colony on the moon and discovering a wanderlust that will push ever outward. First, though, there's a mountain of trash to be cleared out of Earth's orbit; literally millions of tiny (and not so tiny) bits of debris travelling faster than bullets that can punch clean through a spaceship. The main characters in Planetes are at the bottom of the sociology of the time, yet they perform the most important service imaginable: they're trash collectors. Through their eyes we witness the social and political paradigm shifts that are being caused by access to this new frontier. Some nations are at the forefront, others are being left behind. The series leaves nothing out, often mixing the big picture with the most intimate and touching moments I've seen in any anime series in a long time.Long story short: if you're a hard science-fiction fan with an eye toward realism, this is the anime you've been waiting for (I often get the feeling that if Arther C. Clarke were to write a series, it would turn out pretty much like this one). If you're an anime fan, here's one of the best examples of the medium you can find. 26 episodes, infinite enjoyment.(And while you're at it, you'll want to read the manga of the same name. The two versions of the story overlap, but each has its own unique elements.)