Why the hell would I want to watch a show about space garbagemen, I hear you ask. Well, that's part of the beauty of the show - taking a subject as mundane as this and making it into one of the best anime out there. What's more, it does it without having flashy animation, or even great music. It's an anime doesn't rely on its exterior to catch and keep the viewers' attention. With its multiple layers of depth and abundance of talking points, "Planetes" is a reviewer's dream - only thing is, there's actually TOO much to talk about, so it's hard to keep the length of the review down if you want to do the show justice.
"Planetes" is a series of two unequal halves (in more than one sense of the word). In fact, the two halves are so different that I've decided to split the remainder of the review into two corresponding parts.
PART I:
"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity..."
- extract of a T.E. Lawrence quote
We all have dreams. And for most of us, that's all they are - dreams. Although films/books/anime etc are full of stories of people who strive for and achieve their lofty, unlikely dreams, the reality is that as we grow older, most of us end up being forced to either abandon our dreams, or to compromise and scale them down to something more realistic.
The first half of "Planetes" may be the greater half in length, but it does not deal with greatness (at least not in the normal sense) - instead it deals with the "losers", the "insignificant" people, as well as the unsung heroes of society. These are represented primarily by the workers of the space debris collecting section of Technora (and the people they come across on the job), condescendingly nicknamed the "Half Section". In this show, space debris collection is a thankless task, and the people working in this section are often looked down upon by the rest of the company employees despite the invaluable, indespensable role they play in space development.
Like the characters it deals with, the key word that describes"Planetes" is "humble". Week in week out the show mostly follows an episodic format, telling mundane, slice of life stories. It's the utterly unremarkable things you might expect from a story about space janitors... but there's something compelling about the drab stories that it tells and the ordinary characters that the stories centre around. The theme of broken dreams and betrayed expectations is omnipresent in the unfortunate characters they feature: unemployed bums, disillusioned characters who turn to a life of petty crimes, and of course those that end up in the dreary, unglamourous role of a space janitor.
And yet, amidst all the doom and gloom, things are not at all bleak. Despite all the predicaments the characters are in, there's always a sense of optimism and hope. At the end of the day, life doesn't seem so bad, and every cloud has a silver lining. And sometimes, the stories are not only hopeful, but also inspirational. These kind of stories would often feature characters from disadvantaged backgrounds who tries hard and refuse to give up what seem to be hopeless dreams; or characters who show immense pride in their jobs, however menial they may be. These may seem like the little people with their "insignificant" contributions, but "Planetes" show them to be the true giants of society.
At a higher level, "Planetes" goes beyond the personal dreams of the characters and deals with grey areas in politics and moral dilemmas. In the anime, the alliance forged between the first world countries and advertised as a force for good is really only looking out for themselves. And questions such as whether the funding necessary to advance space development (for the benefit of a few first world countries) is justified when there are so many people from third world countries still starving back on Earth is also serious food for thought. It isn't afraid to show that in order to make an omelette, you have to break some eggs... but at the same time it tries to bring that fact to the attention of the ones who are eating the omelette in blissful ignorance of the process.
Another great strength of "Planetes" is in its worth as a sci-fi (damn, is there anything this show doesn't do well?). Unlike most science fiction, where you get some far fetched fiction backed up by some flimsy science, "Planetes" puts more emphasis on the science than the fiction. It constructs a futuristic vision that's so detailed and so well grounded in our current world that it seems inevitable that it will become non-fiction in time. The amount of thought that's gone into this aspect of the show is apparent in its incredible attention to details: the realistic movements under zero gravity; the absolute silence when in space; the countless hazzards of being an astronaut are just some examples of the things they thought about. It really says a lot that all my friends who studied Physics are impressed by the science contained in "Planetes", and that every time I read a "New Scientist" article on the growing problems of space debris I think of this anime.
The down to earth feel of "Planetes" isn't limited to its science - it's something that's embedded into its style. The comedy is often slapstick, but not to the extent of typical over the top silliness of most anime comedy, and certainly not enough to prevent the very realistic feel of what's underneath from shining through. The art and the animation is also plain looking, but unique at the same time. It opts for a very realistic style of character design, and it's one that suits the show very well. It has to be said though, that the opening and ending theme feels a bit too plain with its generic, happy-go-lucky J-pop songs. Admittedly, the opening song really grew on me, as it's at least able to generate a kind of soaring, inspirational feel which became particularly suitable as the show goes on, but the same cannot be said for the ending theme, which only felt more and more out of place.
Which leads me to the source of almost all the weaknesses of the show - its lack of elegance. A more subtle touch would have gone a long way towards improving this series. Some of the drama is overdone and clumsy, there are times where it tries to come up with some poignant lines only to fall flat on its face. Also, the construction of moral dilemmas are occasionally heavy handed and dictated more by emotion than common sense.
But despite all of this, "Planetes" has this uncanny ability to find that emotional sweet spot time and time again. Even when I'm laughing at the silly blunders of the characters, I'm moved by its stories about people who are down on their luck, about people trying to begin afresh, and about unlikely heroes and their under-appreciated, noble deeds. And through these stories, I feel I've gotten to know the misfits of "Planetes", and accept them for all their flaws and quirks: the quiet, melancholy Yuri; the guy from the third world country trying to get his space suit approved; and of course, Tanabe Ai, whose attitude emboddies nearly everything that the anime is trying to show to be the good side of humanity (albeit in an often annoying and naive way). Some of the characters only get a short amount of screen time, yet "Planetes" somehow manages to breathe life into nearly all of them, and make you feel as though you've spent time with them as part of the "Half Section", and that's one of its greatest strengths.
Phenomenal character development, realistic and detailed sci-fi, strong political/moral themes running throughout... but what's incredible about "Planetes" is that all these things covered by its first part is only half the overall journey. The full extent of the show's vast ambitions are only revealed during the second part.
[Warning: those who have not seen the entire show should probably stop reading at this point. Though I don't describe anything specific in Part II of the review, I do go through the overall change in direction of the show, and considering the nature of the change, many will want to experience it for themselves first for maximum effect.]
Part II:
"...But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."
- remaining extract from the T.E. Lawrence quote.
The first half of "Planetes" may be a great show in its own right, but its the second half that raises it to stupendous heights. It's here that you'll full appreciate the values added by its earlier episodes. Their purpose goes well beyond simple character development (as brilliant as they did it), they're also there to condition your expectations for the series and to create a spectacular contrast against what's to come. The result is a shockingly destructive second half, as the show takes everything you thought you knew about it, and ruthlessly rips it up in front of your very eyes.
Did I say "Planetes" was humble? Mundane? Episodic? Well, not any more. All of a sudden, an epic story starts to emerge from beneath the once plain surface, and the show changes almost beyond recognition. While the first half of "Planetes" deals with everyday life and broken dreams, the second half of "Planetes" deals with greatness, and with the pursuit of grand dreams, as symbolised by what originally seemed like innocuous animation of a running Hachimaki in the opening credits.
These kind of stories about people aspiring to great heights are often quite inspirational - everyone loves the tale of someone overcoming adversity to achieve their dreams right? And "Planetes" also tells you that story with its usual dose of awe-inspiring greatness... but there's a huge twist. While acknowledging all the blood, sweat and tears it takes to achieve ambitious dreams, the real focus here is on the issues you don't often - perhaps don't want to - think about. How far are you prepared to go to for your dreams? How much of the things you hold dear - moral principles, friendship and love - are you willing to sacrifice?
The second part of "Planetes" explores these questions like few others have done: it looks at the unwanted truths and the hidden costs - not just to themselves but to others - of the actions taken by those who act their dreams with open eyes. And in doing so it goes on to explore the darker, ugly, selfish side of humanity. It'll make you question whether all the good values of humanity that the first half of "Planetes" showed you is just a cruel joke, a naive dream that has no basis in reality.
While before, the stories would often have an almost fairy tale quality to them, now the characters find themselves rudely awaken by the unfair realities of life. They are forced to go through circumstances that exposes their darkest thoughts, shakes their firmest principles, and challenges their strongest beliefs down to the very core. Hachimaki's struggles against his own demons may be the primary focus of the show, but it's Tanabe, the ever incessant preacher of love and peace, who is the one that faces the toughest, harshest of tests. She may be excessively annoying early on, but that only serves to heighten the impact of her moment of truth.
All these things adds up and accumulate to a collossal, tempestuous climax with the combined weight of all the previous episodes thrown behind it (and ruined only by what is at this point, a terribly inappropriate ending theme). It is here that you realise that no episodes were wasted - everything is part of a carefully laid out plan leading up to that moment, and it's simply one of the greatest moments in anime as far as I'm concerned. As the two opposing forces of "Planetes" collides violently, you can't help but wonder: which is the "true" face of "Planetes"? If you haven't done so already, you owe it to yourself to find out.