Planetes

Looking for TV shows with realistic depiction of space, this came highly recommended. But boy, if was really tough to even get trough the first two episodes. Everyone is just so annoyingly hyper. While some of the physics stuff is pretty neat, and the characters (mostly) get a little calmer, it wasn't nearly enough to overshadow the lack of interesting stories to tell. That weird cosplaying ninja troupe was the last straw for me.

(from my old collection of anime reviews circa 2003) Hard Sci-Fi comedy drama. It is the year 2075, and space junk around the Earth and moon threaten further development. The task of removing this latest of human-made trash is a group of eccentric space "garbage collectors", part of the large Technora Corporation, who are joined by a strong-minded new recruit. What's unique about this show is it's a hard (or realistic) sci-fi portrayal of the future. Throughout most of the series, though, the emphasis is on character development, particularly the dreamer/slacker Hachimaki, and the new stubborn girl recruit, Tanabe. The development is a bit cliche and stretches on for a bit long before the plot kicks in, but is decent entertainment. The way the main serious plot is concluded is unsatisfactory to me; the issues are controversial, and I don't always agree with the stance the writers took. However since this wasn't the main focus it's not as big an issue. Overall, interesting because it's different, with occasional really nice episodes, but had much more potential.