January 27, 2008

Fallen through the cracks

Somehow or other, PlanetES fell off my radar. I'd been told that it was amazing, and it was on my list of things to get eventually, but it wasn't fully released yet, so I kind of let it go, and simply forgot. It was "check into it again in a couple of years".

That was maybe 3 years ago. By now it's fully released, and then replaced by a budget thinpak for $38, which was released last July. I dunno how I missed all this; too many things to keep track of, I guess. (Senior moment, no doubt.) Anyway, Ken reminded me of it yesterday. And after I looked it up at Bob's, I started cussing.

It's going to be part of my next order. Chris Beveridge gave the original release straight A's, and everything everyone else has ever said was very positive.

The vague memory I have of what I was told: fantastic visuals, wonderful character-driven story, no fan service to speak of, the story a bit dark but not horribly oppressive, and an ending which is a bit strange. I'll take that, especially at the price. (They don't all have to have fan service.)

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 05:32 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 I finally finished it a few weeks ago when I was in the worst of my illness and forced to hack away at the unwatched pile or go insane(-er).  It was surprisingly good, despite my early misgivings about it (which were rooted in my own psyche, not the show).  I just haven't gotten around to writing a review of it.

It's easily the best "hard science" anime I've seen, and the OP should be a classic.  They were at great pains to make the series scientifically realistic.  But in the process, they didn't sacrifice the story, although they do take a while to get it rolling. 

One thing it does not do is follow the normal "storytelling" rules in some ways. In fact, one of the latter scenes made me laugh (painfully, given how I felt) and go, "yep, that's about right!"  (It was a wedding.). People enter and exit the story in ways that they might in real life; not at all orderly. 

....and I'd better stop here or I'll end up writing that review on your blog.

Posted by: ubu at January 27, 2008 06:07 PM (0Ojad)

2 Oh, sorry for the double post, but I forget to include this.  Everyone gets confused by the title because of the font and "artistic" rendering, but it's actually "Planetes" as in the Greek word.  It's explained during the title sequence.

Posted by: ubu at January 27, 2008 06:09 PM (0Ojad)

3 I picked up the manga for this, and genuinely enjoyed the whole thing. Haven't gotten around to the anime, but shoot, if it's just $40...

Posted by: Avatar_exADV at January 27, 2008 06:21 PM (LMDdY)

4

Planetes was the show that got me interested in Anime.

I read a review on the space review, and the idea of a programme that showed a realitic depiction of space development hooked me.

Though I've only watched it once as I soon foubd I prefer comedies to serious drama or action series.

Andy

Posted by: Andy Janes at January 28, 2008 02:40 AM (hunM0)

5 Highly recommended.

I concur in the praise for the opening: it is great to watch, and fits the story too. There are eleven different subtle - but meaningful! - variations over the season.

Posted by: HC at January 28, 2008 02:55 AM (h0XuM)

6 I didn't find the visuals to be more than adequate, but other than that, the impression you're getting is pretty much how I remember it. I liked it a lot and look forward to hearing your take on it.  It's got plenty of material for you to chew on.

You may have a problem getting through the early episodes...I found one of the characters to be annoying and hard to stomach...but the ensemble is good and gets better as the series progresses.

Posted by: pflorian at January 28, 2008 05:37 AM (lI2L7)

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