Anime Christmas - Week 3 - Planetes
I am a stickler for Science Fiction. My relative immersion in the genre is more or less why I decided to study engineering. There are two major pitfalls in the presentation of speculative fiction, however. The first is most commonly recognised - that the 'science' and the world in general is not well thought out enough and results in derision from cynical (and rather lonely) nerds. The second is the most prolific - that the world is so detailed and complex that the fiction is too daunting to get into and the work goes largely unappreciated by anyone not hardened to the genre.
Planetes, adapted to anime by director Goro Taniguchi and screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi (a duo that would later make Code Geass) is one of those rare works of fiction that hits the sweet spot in between those two points. It presents plausible science fiction whilst focusing on down-to-earth, character-level exposition so that your average viewer can really connect with and understand the themes that are raised in the anime.
Planetes (transliterated from the greek Πλανήτης meaning 'wanderer' from where we derive the word 'planet') de-romanticises the nature of space travel for a young, fresh 20 year old Ai Tanabe. In the year 2075, space-born rubbish has built up to the point where it poses major hazards for anyone wanting to operate in orbit around earth. In response, space development corporations have started up their own "Debris Sections" - departments whose job it is to clean up the garbage in space and make it safer for all space-bound travelers. It is in such a section at space development conglomerate Technora Corporation that Ai begins her career in the space industry.
The Debris Section of Technora Satellite 7, dubbed 'Half Section' is staffed by a series of colourful 'half crazy', 'half witted' characters. Amongst the venerable staff at Half Section are Hachimaki, a loud, obnoxious but ultimately passionate astronaut; Fee, a tough non-nonsense spaceship pilot; and Yuri, the soft-spoken voice of reason for the team. From the perspective of Ai and the others at Half Section we begin to see a world not too far from our own, where space-bound operations are commonplace.
The anime manages to combine realism and believability with relatibility and a sense of personal, down to earth connectedness with the characters on screen. Planetes manages to avoid what other science fiction works have done by focusing on forging this incredibly complex and interesting world through the eyes of characters that we would meet walking down the street, in a pub or in the office.
The realism and research depicted in Planetes is only rivaled by the most sophisticated of Hollywood screenplays and special effects. The series does not only tell of an extraordinary amount of research, but also visually depicts the space environments in a very fluid and breath-taking way. The nature of maneuvering in space, the effects of gravity and the limits of what foreseeable human technology can do is depicted with great care and detail.
This is coupled with the much-reported fact that the cel-count was increased during zero-gravity sequences in order to make character movement seem more fluid and portray a more believable space-like environment. The result is a depiction of a strongly believable and real-world like space environment.
This believability is extended to the themes present on the nature of space-development and its effects on both a personal and geo-political scale. Throughout the series we are presented with themes that range from a girl born on the moon who has developed health problems due to growing up in a low-gravity environment; to small upstart space-development companies being swallowed by larger, more aggressive conglomerates; and even to the small fictional third world country of El Tanika and the involvement of the militaristic International Treaty Organisation (INTO) in a geopolitical landscape changing due to humanity's reaching out into space. Planetes is rich with detail and very well thought out themes that strike home because they are so relatable to events happening in the present day.
The emotional connection with this series, though, comes mainly through the loving characterisation of the members of Half Section. Fundamentally, Ai, Hachimaki, Fee and even the eccentric Debris Section Managers, Phillipe and Ravi, are characters we wouldn't be surprised to come across in every day life. These are people that we can imagine settling down and having a beer with at the local pub once our day at work is over. They are people that come from a context that is not very far removed from our own.
For this reason, the anime is able to reach out to even non science fiction fanboys and grab the attention of its audience. It is through Half Section's eyes that Taniguchi presents the complex setting and themes inherent within Planetes. We see and experience things as they experience them and feel the awe, excitement and disappointment at what happens as we begin to stride out into space.
That isn't to say, though, that the anime doesn't misstep with its characterisation and themes. More than once, Ai will present a naive and overly altruistic view on the nature of cliches like 'love conquers all' and 'destiny' and what have you. Given her development and coming of age is a major theme of the anime, a few too many happy endings ring true to such soft and slightly unbelievable motivations and end up betraying the 'hard' nature of the hard science fiction.
I won't lie - my personal (and perhaps professional) interest in humanity taking steps in space exploration is a major contributor to my fondness of this series. The idea that people are actively seeking to explore the rest of the Solar System and that people look to the sky with a real sense of awe and wonder is one that hits home particularly for me. Once upon a time I wanted to be an astronaut, now I'm looking at making a career out of building satellites.
It makes me slightly sad that so much of the world's energy has been focused on internal struggles and disagreements on economics and the environment, and that so much of our technological development has focused on consumer electronics and iPhones. The movement to send more men out further into space is dying. This anime represents what we could do in a very real way, and what I want 2075 to look like.
Planetes, adapted to anime by director Goro Taniguchi and screenwriter Ichiro Okouchi (a duo that would later make Code Geass) is one of those rare works of fiction that hits the sweet spot in between those two points. It presents plausible science fiction whilst focusing on down-to-earth, character-level exposition so that your average viewer can really connect with and understand the themes that are raised in the anime.
 |
| Hard Science Fiction - Hachi adjusts his inertia in order to collect a piece of space debris |
The Debris Section of Technora Satellite 7, dubbed 'Half Section' is staffed by a series of colourful 'half crazy', 'half witted' characters. Amongst the venerable staff at Half Section are Hachimaki, a loud, obnoxious but ultimately passionate astronaut; Fee, a tough non-nonsense spaceship pilot; and Yuri, the soft-spoken voice of reason for the team. From the perspective of Ai and the others at Half Section we begin to see a world not too far from our own, where space-bound operations are commonplace.
 |
| Half Section - Ai (right) argues with Hachimaki (2nd Left) whilst Yuri (far left) tends to the space station's animals and Fee (background) gets ready for a smoke in her smoke-suit. |
The realism and research depicted in Planetes is only rivaled by the most sophisticated of Hollywood screenplays and special effects. The series does not only tell of an extraordinary amount of research, but also visually depicts the space environments in a very fluid and breath-taking way. The nature of maneuvering in space, the effects of gravity and the limits of what foreseeable human technology can do is depicted with great care and detail.
This is coupled with the much-reported fact that the cel-count was increased during zero-gravity sequences in order to make character movement seem more fluid and portray a more believable space-like environment. The result is a depiction of a strongly believable and real-world like space environment.
 |
| Fluidity in motion - depiction of zero-gravity envrionment |
The emotional connection with this series, though, comes mainly through the loving characterisation of the members of Half Section. Fundamentally, Ai, Hachimaki, Fee and even the eccentric Debris Section Managers, Phillipe and Ravi, are characters we wouldn't be surprised to come across in every day life. These are people that we can imagine settling down and having a beer with at the local pub once our day at work is over. They are people that come from a context that is not very far removed from our own.
For this reason, the anime is able to reach out to even non science fiction fanboys and grab the attention of its audience. It is through Half Section's eyes that Taniguchi presents the complex setting and themes inherent within Planetes. We see and experience things as they experience them and feel the awe, excitement and disappointment at what happens as we begin to stride out into space.
That isn't to say, though, that the anime doesn't misstep with its characterisation and themes. More than once, Ai will present a naive and overly altruistic view on the nature of cliches like 'love conquers all' and 'destiny' and what have you. Given her development and coming of age is a major theme of the anime, a few too many happy endings ring true to such soft and slightly unbelievable motivations and end up betraying the 'hard' nature of the hard science fiction.
 |
| Ai (left) and Hachimaki (right) - their budding relationship is a major theme throughout the series |
It makes me slightly sad that so much of the world's energy has been focused on internal struggles and disagreements on economics and the environment, and that so much of our technological development has focused on consumer electronics and iPhones. The movement to send more men out further into space is dying. This anime represents what we could do in a very real way, and what I want 2075 to look like.
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