Planetes

[Scarecrow]

I got to see episode 1 last night. Interesting. Not the high adventure fare I usually prefer. Subtle, understated, near future sci-fi. Pretty much Transhuman Space or 2300 (but without interstellar flight it seems).
It reminds me an awful lot of Star Cops. An eclectic and international team of police men and women based on one of many space stations in Earth orbit.
I must admit, I'm intrigued. A team of people that collect space debris from Earth's orbit. I fail to see the story opportunities, so I'm really looking forward to seeing the other episodes and see where they take it.

 

[Scarecrow]

I've seen episodes 2 and 3 now. It's an interesting show and does seem to be more about the characters than some meta-plot which is nice. They're interesting and likeable characters.
It's really gotten me interested in running a near future 'Star Cops' style game. Hmmmmm.

Crow

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

Originally posted by Scarecrow:
It's an interesting show and does seem to be more about the characters than some meta-plot which is nice. They're interesting and likeable characters.

That's the main appeal for me as well. The characters aren't larger-than-life or superheroic, they are just average joe's and jane's in space doing a thankless job.

If you like reading near future science fiction about commoners like this, I recommend the books of Allen Steele - especially the two books 'Orbital Decay' and 'Lunar Descent'. Good stuff, all of it - with very believeable characters.

 

[Scarecrow]

Cool. I'll have a look for them.

Cheers

Crow

 

[clementk]

Originally posted by Scarecrow:
Pretty much Transhuman Space or 2300 (but without interstellar flight it seems).
It reminds me an awful lot of Star Cops.

I also suggest looking for the Planetes manga series (sometimes I just like reading and looking at drawings) and also the 2001 Nights series that was published by Viz (at least in the US) some years ago now. 2001 Nights is a bit more epic (it's named after 2001) but still in a "this is life in space" vein.

Star Cops looks *very* interesting and something I'll look for. Thanks! That site reminds me that I need to watch all of Blake's 7 sometime (Star Cops co-creator worked on Blake's 7 and Dr. Who as well). I only saw a little of it as I caught it at the end of my local PBS station's fling with British sci-fi.

If the anime sticks to the manga there should be some plot development but it does focus on the characters and wanting to be in space.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Star Cops is definitely worth checking out.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

Originally posted by Casey:
I also suggest looking for the Planetes manga series (sometimes I just like reading and looking at drawings) and also the 2001 Nights series that was published by Viz (at least in the US) some years ago now. 2001 Nights is a bit more epic (it's named after 2001) but still in a "this is life in space" vein.

I remember 2001 Nights from its first appearance from Viz comics. Another very good recommendation for manga. Actually, I just ordered my own copies from Amazon a few minutes ago since I have no idea where my original ones went off to.

 

[Takei]

More thread necromancy

I've just finished watching part 5 of the anime and was wondering if anyone knew when the next part of the manga would be appearing? A quick visit to my bookshelf shows that Volume 4: Part 2 was published in January 2005. The official website doesn't show any more volumes.

 

[Takei]

Thanks. Looks like I'll be re-reading the manga over the weekend. I seem to remember Hachi making it to Jupiter, but was kind of expecting one more volume, and the story to finish on his return to Earth.
I'll also have to keep an eye out for volume 6 of the anime.

 

[clementk]

link to source: Plantes manga article at ANN, which also has a link to their entry on the TV show

 

[Takei]

Thanks again guys. Vol 6 is now on the way.

 

[Mysterion]

Originally posted by Jeff M. Hopper:
I'm not sure how many of you read manga for inspiration out there, but for those who do I'd like to direct your attention to a wonderful series. The title is Planetes by Makoto Yukimura and it is about the lives of a crew of orbital debris collectors in 2075. Good artwork, fantastic and original story, plus it is hard science to boot. Each of the five books can be picked up at Borders in the USA for about $10 each (not sure how to get them besides Amazon or ebay outside of the USA).

Thanks for mentioning this! I checked out the first book, and have ended up buying all the available volumes of the series. Great stuff!