Planetes Omnibus, Volume 1 is a hard science-fiction epic I received as a present from my sister and her family for Christmas. The book is 525 pages broken up into 12 chapters of about 45 pages each. Most of the chapters are fairly self contained, with an overall story advancing. Planetes is mostly the story of a crew of waste disposal experts aboard the DS-12. Fee is their leader, although only one of the chapters really centers around her. As the omnibus progresses, the story revolves more and more around Hachimaki, a driven astronaut who dreams of joining the Jupiter mission.
Some great manga was produced around the turn of the century: One Piece, Planetes, Hunter x Hunter, 20th Century Boys, and Old Boy are just a few examples. Sure, there are a few dated examples. The low-rent astronauts all smoke cigarettes, especially the Japanese ones. By the year 2075 when the story takes place, smoking will have been replaced by vaping, and I can't imagine smoking taking place in space. Even 50 years ago, Gene Roddenberry foretold of a future that didn't smoke.
I read the first third of this gigantic tomb last night, hoping that maybe I'd get through it in a week, but once I got into the heart of the story, I couldn't put it down. I'll have to dig up $13 or $14 to buy Volume 2, which finishes the story, as soon as possible. The art and characterization are really top notch, but it's the drama and the situations that make this manga for me. Hachimaki going from literally being a space janitor to applying for the greatest space mission in the history of humankind - going to Jupiter to mine for Helium-3 - is the epitome of hubris, and I can't wait to find out if he actually makes it there.
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