The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter
According to manga artist Yuri Narushima, she began the manga with "a dramatic feeling in mind" and wanted to "start off with a comic book for young girls (shōjo manga)." Narushima planned to have the plot progress quickly so the reader remembers the events and can "'digest' the foreshadowed events". "Planet Ladder" was based on the Japanese folktale "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", which focuses on a girl named Kaguya-Hime who is discovered to be the princess of the moon.