PlanetES

Review: PlanetES (Anime Series)


I recently had a chance to revisit the anime series "PlanetES" which I watched for the first time a few years back with room-mates from my old guesthouse. I began re-watching it last year with a room-mate at my current guesthouse, only to stop for a long period of time, and then quickly restart again when we both realized I would soon have to move out again and had better finish it before the chance passed.

I don't watch as much anime as I used to, and usually when I do nowadays it tends to be movies that will at least wrap themselves up somewhat cleanly within a couple of hours. Still, there are some qualities we can only get from watching a series: a longer, more protracted storyline, a certain epicness that otherwise is harder to achieve in movies. PlanetES, one of the last series I watched in its entirety, is named after the word the ancient greeks used which means "wanderers" and is the word we use to describe them as well. True to its name, it takes place in outer space. It's very well written, and doesn't just explore themes of science fiction, but also the psychological mindstates of those who are bold enough to explore, and also some of the political/moral issues which may confront space exploration into the future. At the heart of it all though, are some very memorably characters and a story that will cling to you long after you finish seeing it.

Please note: Entries about media reviewed in this blog are written from the framepoint that the reader has already seen the work in question. Plot twists and endings will sometimes be examined.

The story is set in the near future with space exploration having progressed a bit further than it is in the world we live in today. The space stations are larger, and there are a few of them, including a permanent one on the moon. Most of the story takes place in space, and what glimpses we get of Earth, show it to be much as the one we live in today. Technology in space, however, is much more advanced, reflecting the sort of innovation and invention that would accompany adapting to it. Inventions such as artificial gravity, partial gravity (allowing people to jump much higher and come down softer), newer propulsion systems, and spacecraft have all become a reality.

The main characters are members of the "Debris Section" which is in charge of cleaning up space debris -materials such as loose metallic bolts and shrapnel floating around in the vacuum of space- that have become hazardous to space travel because they can shred traversing vehicles that come into contact with them. Debris Section is often belittled by members of the other sections as being mere garbage collectors, despite the job being both vital and dangerous.




The most central of the main characters are Hachirota Hoshino -often referred to simply by the nickname, "Hachimaki"- and Ai Tanabe. The series centers primarily around the relationship between these two protagonists. Hachi has been at his job for some time and is gruff, impatient, and defensive. He also comes off as being apathetic and a little bit lazy at the beginning of the series. Ai, on the other hand, is the newest member of the team. She is not only inexperienced, but naive and very idealistic in her thinking. Especially in the earlier episodes, I found her to be shrill and insistent to the point where I found myself shaking my head at the screen in disbelief, just like all the other characters within it. Both characters will grow and change a lot as the series progresses.

The show starts off being quite lighthearted, establishing its slightly futuristic setting in space with episodes that have a lot of humor as Ai blunders around while learning the ropes from her new crew, while also confounding them with her stubbornness on certain situations.

The action in the show isn't exactly what one would call action in the terms we've become used to. It isn't fast-paced and doesn't involve much fighting, hand-to-hand or otherwise. What there are a good deal of are realisticly frightening situations that result in some very tension-filled moments and will certainly bring some viewers to the edge of their seats. Very much in the variety of "My hand slipped and I just dropped the wire-cutters into a place I cannot retrieve them while disarming a bomb, time to panic"- kind of tension. Malfunctions, equipment failures, and sabotage that result in characters floating helplessly away into space might not seem like much at first, but when the realization settles in that they're heading out into the vast, cruel, endless void of space and no one will be able to help them in a few short minutes it can get pretty unnerving.

The show takes a much darker shift in its later episodes with increasingly frequent appearances by a terrorist group calling themselves the "Space Defense Front" (SDF), who conduct terror operations in space. To give an idea of the types of things they do: in one of their earlier appearances, they attempt to crash a highjacked ship into another larger ship, creating a storm of debris that will literally rain down metallic shrapnel onto a moon colony containing many civilians. What exactly is the SDF protesting? They feel that richer nations, by mining space for minerals and resources, are widening the disparity of wealth on earth and using that to take their oppression of poorer countries even further. Not incredibly far-fetched when you think about it, and enough to make you think seriously about what ethics problems might develop as space exploration progresses.

Other issues are explored in the series as well. While western audiences are sure to enjoy the universal themes of this series, as a Japanese work, it's also peppered with some very subtle criticisms of the Japanese business culture and ethic that will most likely go unnoticed by those who have never lived in Japan. Many of the employees are forced to work for excessively long periods of time, rarely seeing their families, a situation all too common amongst Japanese salarymen. The desire to make a profit results in crooked ways of doing business in foray that science is still researching. This idea is very effectively demonstrated in some very sleazy characters. One, who is the cocky son of a successful businessman, behaves like everyone has to take orders from him (shades of Japan's problem with hereditary power-passing perhaps). Another is a corrupt businessman himself who tries to order the Debris Section not do a particular job because it'll humiliate him personally, despite the fact that it could put others in harm.

On the other hand, there is one very intriguing character introduced late in the series, named Locksmith, who seems to absolutely fly in the face of what many would consider a character flaw that is found all too often amongst Japanese politicians and businessmen. Unlike others who are driven to succeed for profit he sees his goal -further exploration into space- as unquestionably noble, and doesn't listen to critics. At one point an engine test under his supervision results in an explosion that costs lives and he makes no intention of resigning (an action which many Japanese politicians and executives wouldn't hesitate to do). Unlike a lot of Japanese in leadership positions, he is driven enough to stick with things rather than let ideas of damaged honor or the fact that others call him "shamed" bring him to quit. No attempt is made to hide that he is unrelenting and ruthless. At a couple of points, he allows applicants to fall into real danger during a testing process to see how they'll react if such a situation would occur, whether they'll crack under pressure or work through it. This instance has a sort of dual purpose. It allows us to see the show's philosophy when it comes to the spirit of what kind of men will succeed in exploration. It also serves as something of a challenge to certain aspects of Japanese society such as backbone and complacency i.e. Are there people in there who have what it takes to break conventions in order to succeed?

Finally, however, there are the inner issues that confront the main characters. During the course of the series, Ai will have her faith in the overall goodness of humanity thrown into question, and while she might be unrelenting to the point of annoyance as the series starts, she becomes its voice of conscience by its end. The show truly loves its subject matter, and makes no secret that many characters have nothing less than a love affair with space itself and want to stay even though conditions like brittle bones from low gravity and sickness from space's high radiation threaten to kill them. Hachimaki, at one point, suffers from space dementia after an accident nearly leaves him stranded in space, and learns that the panic attacks he suffers afterward, might end up ripping him from outer space, the place he loves so much. He's confronted by an inner version of himself who mocks him saying that deep down inside he doesn't want to recover and that this will just become the excuse he needs give up on his dreams. While, as I mentioned before, Hachimaki starts off as seeming very apathetic, even broken down and beaten by life's realities, he will transform over the course of the series into someone capable of meeting the uncompromising standards of men like Locksmith.

Ultimately, however, the show really belongs to its characters. They're people we come to care about, and its their relationships and these personal challenges that form the most interesting part of the plot, and the soul of the story itself. I can't recommend it enough.






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