Customer Reviews

Planetes (Vol. 3)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

PLANETES is one of the best anime series to be released in the last decade, building a captivating story to a very satisfying climax, presenting a great ensemble of characters that you might find yourself truly attached to. Volume 3 begins the journey in earnest.

The series tries to blend near-future sci-fi realism with trademark anime humor, often with mixed success. Case in point: the Lunar Ninja episode on Volume 2 is one I will always be ashamed to show friends, no matter how into PLANETES they are. Embarassingly goofy! Sometimes, the stories remain a bit shallow, and while the English translation is top notch, some of the dialogue doesn't seem to translate well. Hachi also tends to be a little loud in the English version... the Japanese voice actor pulls off his frustration and angst with a little more subtlety.

That might sound like a thumbs down, but it's not. PLANETES still ranks as my favorite anime series, beating out many quality shows that I have seen over the last 20 or so years.

This DVD opens with an episode that begins to touch on the geopolitical issues that will culminate into a climax later in the series. It's really the first "serious" episode, and that might be not doing the final episode of Volume 2 much justice, but it does feel like the series finally feels comfortable with itself. We begin to see more complexity in the characters, and start to see how debris is not the only problem people will have to deal with 70 years from now. Is it too depressing that terrorism is still an issue in 2070?

The DVD wraps with one of the best "first kiss" scenes in anime history, and you don't even see it onscreen. It's a testament to the fine directing and writing behind the show. If you find yourself interested in PLANETES, but you're not sure where it's going, stick with it. Every DVD gets better from here on out; by the time you own the entire collection, you'll be glad you went for the ride.

This is the first Japanese comic series i read, and subsequently watched, and i would recommend it to almost anyone. while the premise, garbage collecting between the earth and the moon in 2075 might seem a stretch, the themes and characters are universal. there are some episodes that are a bit wacky, but overall the books and the series (especially the title song) are some of my favorites.