Planetes takes place in space, but unlike Gurren Lagan or Galaxy Express, things like physics and science not only matter, they inspire the plot. Planetes is about a future earth, much like our own, where space travel is common place. Here's the problem: In the early days of space exploration, leaving debris in space didn't seem like much of a problem. Now mankind has learned that a penny floating in space can kill an entire commercial space shuttle full of innocent passengers. The fallout from a discarded rocket or debris from a crash can be devastating.
Tanabe, an idealistic young woman, joins the debris collection division of a major company. Her team is not so lovingly dubbed "Half Section" and they have little resources and less respect for doing their job. It's unprofitable and so their division only exists for the corporate tax write off. Her mentor, a nihilistic young Japanese man called Hachi Maki, has to teach Tanabe the ropes and the very real dangers of working out in space.
The show starts off with 3 or 4 episodes of Tanabe ranting about war, idealism, environmentalism, and compassion. If you wanted to punch Katie Holmes in Batman Begins, then you will want to throttle Tanabe. They do that on purpose. Tanabe does calm down and become a bit more realistic, though, and then things get interesting.
The plot takes a lot of interesting turns, ultimately leading down a road to a Jupiter expedition that explores a strained father-son relationship and brings in a well-organized group of terrorists. It's an amazing series with a fulfilling ending and some really beautiful writing.
http://www.amazon.com/Planetes-Complete-Collection-Nao-Nagasawa/dp/B000HT3876/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1312855105&sr=1-1
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