ΠΛΑΝΗΤΕΣ

Our Philosophy lesson is going to use Spiderman 2 to teach moralities. Mmmmm…

Anyway I’m on episode 24 of Planet ES. It’s good beyond expectation. The first few episodes almost made me give up on it, but it really gets better. You can see a shift in the entire series somewhere in the middle, and the events that followed make you realize the significance of all the little stuff that happened previously. The character development is unmatched, and unlike most series, all the characters do matter and are figured into the general theme and message of the series.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

In year 2068, where space travel has become the norm, a commercial space shuttle was destroyed by a single screw travelling in an orbit around Earth. Debris left by decades of human space exploration and travel has become a problem. Even the smallest piece of metal travelling at such high speed can cause huge damage if it hits something. The main characters are a group of people working as debris collectors, a job looked down upon but necessary for the continuation of space development. Spoilers starting soon… Their Debris Section is referred to by others as the “hanka” (半課) or the “half-section”. The first half of the series mainly revolves around their outstanding work for their company and their struggles against being looked down, etc etc. A classic underdogs rising to the top story with lots of comical situations, etc etc. I thought that was where it was heading, but it turned out to be something more unique.

In the future, space development has advanced to a stage where people have colonized the moon and city-size space stations orbit Earth. An Union/Federation (I don’t know which is official, the actual word used was 連邦) was formed and referred to throughout the series but never explained. From the context I assume that it is an alliance that includes America, Japan and other countries not specifically mentioned. European Union and Russia still exists apparently and are not part of this Union. That fact was not touched upon until later in the series. In fact, the first half of the series left me with an impression that the Federation (I like this translation more) represents the majority of Earth and only a few stubborn countries are not part of it. This was done purposefully in order to match the light-humoured mood of the first half of the series. The main characters worked for a company under the Federation, so by making the Federation seem like a unified entity of mankind, it relates to how the characters are working hard for the future of mankind and all those noble ideas. The reality is that space development is monopolized by the rich who are the only ones benefitting from it. Later on, a terrorist group starts attacking the Federation, and we realize that this is the backlash from the people left out of the space development. Five million people died of starvation in a year. Ten million from not receiving vaccines. Meanwhile the Federation is spending a huge pile of money and resources building a spaceship to go to Jupiter and exploit its resources for itself.

The hipocrisy of the system starts showing. Suddenly the story isn’t about the underdogs doing big things, but the bigger picture of human nature and implications of technological advancements. I like.

Now… I still need episode 25…