2006

Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Published by Kodansha & Tokyopop
Serialized in Weekly Morning

When you look outside your window, what do you dream? For Hachirota Hoshino, he dreamt of reaching the deep ends of the dark void with a big spaceship of his own. I believe it’s universal to be enchanted by space’s beauty. However, we discover that space isn’t merely a painting for us to adore. It is a reality that we all live in. Makoto Yukimura beautifully drafts the life of DS-12 “Toybox” as they encounter space. From what is commonly seen as just another space odessey, Yukimura takes it a step further to offer to us not just a tale, but a reflection on the importance of life, love, humanity, and space. Planetes explores the being in Being as the crew of DS-12 struggles in space. Sounds a bit complex, but hey, that’s life.