Review: Planetes
"If you ask me, the limit doesn't exist."
2074: Twenty-three year old Hachimaki Hoshino works as a debris salvager, clearing Earth's orbit of dangerous space junk. Moving at eight kilometres per second relative to the Earth below, even a small object can cause tremendous damage to spacecraft in the event of a collision. With Yuri and Fi he helps to make space a safer place in which people can work.
Space is big business. Environmental problems on Earth have led to a push for resources further out, including helium-3, an isotope that can be used as a source of energy, which is abundant on the Moon.
Hachi dreams of joining the Jupiter mission, an ambitious project that aims to harness the resources of the gas giant planet, which will more than provide for the needs of humanity. However, places are limited and there are many applicants. His ultimate goal is to have his own spaceship which, for him, represents absolute freedom.
There are a few obstacles for him to overcome, however. He excels at the physical challenges of EVA but struggles with the theoretical aspects of astronautics. Also, his unflinching determination to succeed masks emotional problems that he is unwilling to face.
An injury highlights the health hazards of life in space (bone and muscle wastage from prolonged microgravity). Radiation from solar flares is a constant threat. A brush with death leads to panic attacks and hallucinations.
The road to the stars is a rocky one...
Planetes by writer/artist Makoto Yukimura is a hard sci-fi manga masterpiece. The wondrous arena of space is the setting for a relentlessly gritty and brutally realistic narrative. Space is a harsh mistress who pulls no punches, and neither does this story. Human ingenuity, courage and spirit is pitted against the unforgiving forces of raw nature, and only the best candidates are worthy to take the first step into the great beyond.
Of course, the natural dangers of space are not the only perils out there; humankind also has to face something worse and even more devastating ... itself. Unity, as ever, is a hopeless dream. Those who oppose the colonisation of space in favour of concentrating efforts on healing the Earth are not averse to resorting to violent tactics to further their goals. Is the hope offered by Jupiter doomed before our hero can reach it?
Hachi has many hurdles to leap, but he also has help nearby ... if only he can see it. His obsession with pushing himself to the max at the expense of all else threatens to unbalance him, and closes him off from his own humanity. Carrying a wounded comrade across the dark side of the Moon, he is distracted by the memories of a new recruit he is training, a girl prone to emotional outbursts, who rages against his stoic monomania... Why does she haunt him?
Planetes is a stunning work, beautifully and atmospherically rendered. Here all the fascinating scientific details of space travel are enjoyed, and right alongside it the human dimension is also explored. Space is big, cold, dark, deadly and lonely. Here, more than ever, people need and depend upon each other, and not just for buddy-checking each other's spacesuits or keeping the ship's systems running smoothly. Can we have our eyes on the stars, but also keep our feet on the ground?
Life support is more than just oxygen, water and ration packs. Venturing forward into the unknown, as ever, what keeps us alive is our relationships with those around us.
Planetes on Dark Horse
Planetes on Dark Horse
Zak Webber
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