Planetes

Aired: 2003 - 2004

A sci-fi anime produced by Sunrise, based on the manga by Makoto Yukimura serialized in Kodansha's Morning magazine. Set in an era of advanced space development, the story follows Hachirota Hoshino (Hachimaki), who works in the Debris Section of space station ISPV-7, collecting space debris in Earth orbit. Through his encounters with rookie Ai Tanabe and his struggle over joining the Jupiter mission, the series portrays the dreams and realities of people working in space. While building on the manga's framework, the anime expands on themes of terrorism and wealth inequality through original storylines across 26 episodes. Winner of the Seiun Award for Best Media.