Absolutely outstanding "realistic" manga sci-fi

books:


	• Planetes, Book 1 Makoto Yukimura, Anna Wenger TokyoPop, 2003 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Absolutely outstanding "realistic" manga sci-fi

Planetes almost defies description, but it's nominally about a space debris clean-up crew in the near future who work ceaselessly at clearing away all the now-useless junk we've launched into orbit. It has all the stillness and mystery of 2001: A Space Odyssey, without the detachment and tension. The characters deal with real-life issues of loss, inadequacy and loneliness against the vast backdrop of limitless space, and without bringing out a stick to beat the moral into us, Planetes proves that companionship and purpose make us whole and give meaning to life. Can you tell I love this series? I want to run out and buy all the books. Then I found out there is an anime series, too - released on DVD here in America, with subtitles! I'm giddy with anticipation.

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One of the best manga's I've read

I'm not going to say much about Planetes. This is a review for the whole series.

There was never a dull moment in the series. Each page propelled the reader to keep reading until the whole volume was done with.

The characters were very realistic and I could relate to them and the overall themes of this manga unlike man fictional mangas.

This was realistic fiction at its best.

When I finished the series, for about a week I couldn't help gazing up at the stars and thinking "I want to be an astronaut."

I think anybody's whose anybody should check out this series, I promise, you won't be disappointed.

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PICK UP YOUR TRASH MAN!

The year is 2074AD and the human race is primed to explore the solar system. There are bases on the moon and preparations are underway to send an expedition to Jupiter. 23 year-old Hachimaki has always talked about owning his own ship and becoming a famous astronaut. But somehow, over the years that dream has given way to reality. Hachimaki is an astronaut, from a certain point of view. He has gotten a job as a debris collector, a job which entails removing space garbage caused by all the satellites and assorted junk that mankind has left in orbit around the Earth. Space debris probably doesn't sound that dangerous, but just ask his colleague, Yuri, who lost his wife because of a piece of space junk, how serious it can be. The other crewmember of their operation is the pilot, Fee, a single mom who lets the guys do all the dangerous work.

The first volume of Planetes is really a character study. There's Yuri, who must deal with the haunting presence of his dead wife. Yachimaki must ponder whether what he is doing is conducive to his goals in life, especially when he returns home to a little brother who sees him as a loser. And then there's Fee, who is just looking for a place to smoke a cigarette, even if the radical environmental group "Space Defense Fighters" is targeting smoking areas on the lunar base.

Planetes is a manga that features more realism than most which is reflected in the story and the art. It's good science fiction with a does of humor and a cast that is instantly likeable. Highly reccomended.

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2074 - Mankind is spreading out into space...

There are space stations, cities on the moon and a huge demand for more resources. And whereever man goes he takes his trash with him. Disused satellites, fuel tanks and other space junk makes it dangerous just moving about in orbit. The young Hachimaki works as a orbital garbage man but he has bigger plans in mind. He wants his own spaceship.
The manga is realistic, using real science, but never shoving it into our face - the characters and their stories are always the most important point. Great hard science fiction set in a near future that seems just around the corner.

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Starts strong, goes out with a whimper

I'd overall give this a 3.5 stars...
And this short review is more for the whole 5-manga series and not just for the first volume, but if you are thinking of geting the first one, you might want to know what you are in for.
I agree with what several of the others have said in Planetes' favor. The characters are interesting, the "realistic sci-fi" aspect is quite good, and the overall direction or plot pull the reader in.
This lasts through the first two or three books. The last two seemed to me at least to lose the pulse of the earlier volumes. Maybe it is the case that all manga/anime must devolve into "emo," but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I appreciated the psychological aspects to the storytelling, and their importance to the tale's overall theme...but, well, Planetes emphasized this to excess. What began as a complicated human story ended up as a facile lesson. I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone, so I won't disclose any more of the conclusion (if it could be called that).
Great first book, great 2nd, and maybe 3rd...weaker 4th and a disappointing 5th (or 4.part 2...as it is called)

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