Logo of Planetes (Anime).
Planetes (in Japanese プラネテス Puranetesu, in Ancient Greek Πλανήτης) was a Japanese hard science fiction television show which aired on NHK from October, 2003 through April, 2004. It was made up of 26 episodes adapted from the manga of the same name. It was about a team of space debris collectors based on the debris ship Toy Box in the year 2075. Both the manga and anime received the Seiun Award for best science fiction series.
Synopsis[]
IN SPACE NO ONE CAN HEAR THEM SWEEP!
In the year 2075, space is filled by all kinds of debris: disused satellites all the way along to pieces lost by ships or space stations. These debris, however small, are real dangers for spacecrafts and mortal threats to their passengers. A space debris collection agency is formed, but it's a money losing venture for the corporations involved, leading to the agency being sidelined in both terms of budget and manpower.
Ai Tanabe is a young recruit full of principles and dreams; she joins one of the debris teams and soon discovers how their staff is looked upon by everybody else. However in this group made of odd people with bad reputations. Ai soon realizes the space garbage men and women are unsung heroes of their generation.
Contrary to the majority of science fiction series, Planetes is an anime that presents life conditions in space with incredible precision: the absolute silence of the void, the consequences to prolonged exposure to weightlessness... It is both a realistic and profoundly touching series about space and what our futures societies could evolve into.
Characters[]
Main characters (Toy Box crew)[]
Minor characters[]
- Main article: Minor characters of Anime
Episodes[]
- Main article: Episodes of Anime
Soundtracks[]
- Opening Theme: Dive in the Sky by Mikio Sakai.
- Ending Themes: Wonderful Life by Mikio Sakai and PLANETES by Hitomi only in episode 26.
Disk 1[]
| # | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside atmosphere | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:22 |
| 2 | Dive in the Sky | Mikio Sakai | 4:27 |
| 3 | Jupiter highway | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:26 |
| 4 | Urgent mission | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:33 |
| 5 | Floating ruin | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:53 |
| 6 | Music for universe | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:52 |
| 7 | A Secret of the Moon | Hitomi | 5:03 |
| 8 | My address | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:24 |
| 9 | Work with dance | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:32 |
| 10 | Circular style | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:38 |
| 11 | True stories | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:57 |
| 12 | My first experience | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:54 |
| 13 | Paradise and cola | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:25 |
| 14 | Terrible workplace | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:22 |
| 15 | FB | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:45 |
| 16 | The enterprise | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:07 |
| 17 | Fate of man | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:52 |
| 18 | Turn into space | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:36 |
| 19 | There is no | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:44 |
| 20 | Our world | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:10 |
| 21 | Wonderful Life | Mikio Sakai | 4:36 |
Disk 2[]
| # | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Remember Me? | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:56 |
| 2 | Thanks my friend | Mikio Sakai | 5:14 |
| 3 | Bingo | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:37 |
| 4 | Hoshino's Family | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:30 |
| 5 | Wishes | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:57 |
| 6 | Make Your Canvas | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:04 |
| 7 | Perfect Answer | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:49 |
| 8 | Target Loss | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:43 |
| 9 | Great Father | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:18 |
| 10 | PLANETES [affettuoso] | Hitomi | 3:10 |
| 11 | Flying Anonymous | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:32 |
| 12 | United Nations | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:35 |
| 13 | Avoid Object | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:43 |
| 14 | The Confession | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:59 |
| 15 | Turning Sequence | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:44 |
| 16 | Our Debris Section | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:25 |
| 17 | Dream Space | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:10 |
| 18 | Enemy Inside | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 1:53 |
| 19 | God Only Knows | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:25 |
| 20 | Be a New Man | Kōtarō Nakagawa | 2:19 |
| 21 | PLANETES | Hitomi | 8:13 |
| 22 | Previous Notice | Kōtarō Nakagawa, Mikio Sakai | 0:29 |
Production[]
The series was animated by Sunrise's Studio 4 and directed by Goro Taniguchi. The script and series composition was done by Ichiro Okouchi.
Release[]
- Main article: Planetes (Anime)/Home Video
The series was originally broadcast on NHK-BS2 from October 4, 2003 to April 17, 2004. The series was dubbed by Bang Zoom! entertainment. The dub has aired on the defunct Anime Central network in the United Kingdom and ImaginAsian in the United States. The series was formerly licensed in Australia by Madman Entertainment, in North America by Bandai Entertainment and Europe by Beez.
The series is currently licensed in the UK for home video by Anime Limited. Anime Limited temporarily provided streaming through their Screen Anime service in 2021 [1]. The streaming period lasted from February 25 to March 25 [2][3].