Planetes Recommended

Publisher
Tokyopop
Writer
Makoto Yukimura
Artist
Makoto Yukimura
Country of origin
Japan
Year
2001

Planetes GN 1

By David Rasmussen
14th Aug 05

Space. What was once the domain of governments and their space programs is slowly opening up towards the private corporations and, soon enough, the common man (as long as you can pay through the umentionables for the tickets to ride).

But is man ready for space when they have yet to clean up the mess they’ve made of space? Space debris litters the space above the Earth, fragments of space shots over the years (from the size of discarded panels right on down to something as small as a lost bolt from a decaying satellite) which now clock an orbit around the Earth at speeds which would punch it through hard metal, or the viewing windows of a passenger spaceliner making a suborbital flight from New York to Beijing. And the one thing shown in the opening intro roll that is supposed to start the clean-up, the space shuttle, is being grounded… again… so we are nowhere near ready for space, at least not while it’s such a mess.

Thus the title Planetes, which does not speak of things like space aliens, invasions, cosmic crisies or intersteallar wars. Instead it’s topic is the mundane job of space debris removal, life in space, and the small things that make us what we are, and what makes us human.

This oh so very human epic, which has recently gone onto DVD with Planetes DVD V. 1 (featuring the first five episodes of the Anime series) thanks to BANDAI, is the topic of my review. Planetes the manga, which first came into fans hands thanks to the TOKYOPOP manga series, is the start of the fan interest in the title (the anime is the continuation). This book in particular, Planetes GN 1, is the prequel to the events in Planetes DVD V. 1, so think of this as something that’ll warm you up for the series to come. Heck, in fact it should be something you should pick up the same time you get Planetes DVD V. 1!

It’s been several years since the incident of 2068, which brought the problem of space debris home to those who didn’t think it mattered much. But why is this incident so important? For one of the members of the Debris Section (aka Half Section) it has a very deep significance as you’ll soon see once you start reading. But for Hachimaki, a young up and coming spacer, the only thing that matters is earning enough creds to buy a spaceship of his own. That is his dream, and that seemingly is his curse since the struggles to earn that money seem as endless as the amount of debris lost in Earth’s orbit.

Anyway you get the distinct “pleasure” in this book to watch Hachimaki degenerate from the somewhat depressed newcomer with some hopes into the skeptical downer he is in the Anime series! Watch as he starts off as a disillusioned young debris cleaner, until he becomes that downer you know from the Anime… and while your at it watch his hair change from blonde (or some light color) to black! Weird!

Speaking of cast don’t expect to see everyone from the Anime here, or at least don’t expect their presence to have as much impact as in the Anime. Yes, Hachimaki, Fee and Yuri are here but that seems to be it. The office staff might be here but they don’t stand out, secondary characters you see occasionally in the Anime are obviously not here, and you won’t see newcomer Tanabe until next Graphic Novel. Still it’s not so bad that you don’t see everyone from the Anime as you get to know the trio of Hachimaki, Fee and Yuri that much better here. That and you’ll get a 4-1-1 on politics yet to be seen in the Anime, mainly their “terrorist” problem of the year 2075.

This hasn’t been mentioned yet in the Anime, but I have a feeling it will be mentioned soon. “This”, of course, being the “terrorist” slant present in the manga series. It seems that the year 2075 has eco-terrorists, named the Space Defense Fighters, who think humans are polluting space so they constantly plot to stop man‘s expansion into space. Oh, and they also seem to have been founded by the original founders of truth.com since they also have a mad on against cigarette smoking and the big tobacco companies, go figure.

So far the SDF (no relation to the Super Dimensional Fortress - SDF - of Macross/Robotech fame) has only made their presence seen in the mangas, though I have a feeling that will change as the Anime rolls along.
Ok. Short cap on the content of this book.

- How does the incident of 2068 tie into one of the trio of this title, and what happens when the past pays a visit to that person in the present? Find out.
- While down because of an injury for two months, Hachimaki meets an amazing girl who seemingly changes him… until he gets over it and the Anime starts then he pretty much forgets all about her.
- What’s worse than terrorists waging a war against lung cancer, second hand smoke and space pollution? What’s worse is being a smoker who can’t live without a hit only to find somebody’s taking that away from you. That is the boat Fee has found herself in as her little bad monkey on her back has come under attack by a force known as the Space Defense Fighters. After spending a month smoke free Fee is going to huff and puff and blow smoke in the SDF’s… heh, SDF (Super Dimensional Fortress)… blow smoke in the SDF’s faces, if she can find a place to light up where she won’t be drowned alive by fire supression sprayers first… or blown up when she -- well, you read.
- One more story, which I won’t note on since you can discover it yourself, and we’re done.

It’s the manga that started the buzz, which should carry full out into the anime series which is as strong a view as the manga is a great read. If you liked one, you’ll enjoy the other, period.
Breakdown time.

Planetes Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
The same thing I said about the anime makes the manga hot. A very human drama with real emotions and sentiment makes this a solid read. No space aliens, no overblown plots or stories that just have no place (like asteroids hurtling towards the Earth in some doomsday scenario or something), just good solid human storytelling set in a very real place.

Planetes is a cut above the standard cookie cutter sci-fi tale in that it’s characters are grounded, well made, and quite human in all respects. It’s stories are solid, the technology is believable, the characters are likable (even lovable) and the whole package is a wonder to behold.

Say what you will, but Planetes the manga (as well as Planetes the anime) is a well done piece of work, and something you should consider for your collection (as well as a place in the Best of 2005 voting)!

What’s Not?
Sadly while Graphic Novel 1 is a prequel to the start of the Anime, Graphic Novel 2 seems to jump abit… probably best not to read Graphic Novel 2 if you don’t want anything spoiled in the Anime since it starts with Tanabe’s arrival and jumps into a plotpoint that seems to take place episodes into the Anime… well, maybe. Then again maybe not since I don’t know how the Anime is going to turn out. Still, still, I wish the pacing of the manga gave more time to developing Tanabe’s place in the group and her growth as a character, which it just didn’t seem to do enough. That is such a downer.
I like Graphic Novel 2, yes, but still that is my complaint about it.

Moments to Remember?
You should discover it. That’s half the fun.

What to Ignore?
Hmm… when did Hachimaki stop being a bottle blonde and started being “normal”? And what the heck! Why did he seem to have blonde (or light colored at least) hair in the start of the manga? What’s up with that!!

Overall?
Combine TOKYOPOP’s Planetes GN 1 with BANDAI’s Planetes DVD Special Edition V. 1 and you have yourself a nice double feature hit that’ll make a great gift. For sci-fi that is down to earth, and well grounded with lovable characters and firmly done storytelling with nice artwork you can’t go wrong with Planetes GN 1. A perfect start to one of the Best of 2005. Try it out ASAP, you’ll like it.

-- David Rasmussen 14th Aug 05