Planetes Deluxe Edition Book 2

Planetes #3-4

by Makoto Yukimura, Brendan Wright (Adapter), Yuki Johnson (Translator)

The award-winning hard science-fiction saga concludes in this definitive omnibus! Hachimaki makes the cut for the Von Braun Jupiter mission, but what awaits him past the farthest frontier? Back home, his compatriots Fee, Yuri, and Tanabe become embroiled in a war that threatens to trap Earth forever behind a wall of deadly space debris!

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics Manga, Japanese Literature

528 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2004

About the author

幸村誠

Reviews

[Artemy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second omnibus concludes the Planetes saga, and it's just as fantastic as the first one. At first, this series may leave an impression of a more comedic and humorous one, but it's actually much more concerned with philosophical and existential themes like our place in the world as a species, human worth, the humanity's constant push for progress and exploration against all odds and the great, all-conquering power of love. Come to think of it, Planetes is very similar to Chris Nolan's movie Interstellar, though it predates the film by a decade and explores almost all the same themes in a much more thoughtful and meaningful way. Makoto Yukimura's storytelling is wonderfully poetic and subtle, and his artwork is luscious and absolutely stunning. Overall, it's an incredibly moving series and one of the best mangas I have ever read. Highly recommended.

[E. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

--Planetes Omnibus, Volume 2

Planetes Supplement Part 2: Being 70% happy is all right
Planetes Extra Phase: Ah, I just wanted to say that! Buzz! My cell phone on vibrate!! Incoming message! Chihuahua!

[Liam || Books 'n Beards · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good conclusion, but I wish it had kept going :( A better end than the anime, anyways.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic continuation/conclusion to the series. I love the existential questions, the pondering and space gazing in this series. Maturation of characters in this second omnibus, less high jinks and angst, and more meaningful conversations. The art is superb.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful! The characters grow, develop, get married and we learn their pasts. This volume becomes very emotional as the many facets of love are explored. Also, the characters struggle with their place in the world when faced with the vastness of space. A few new quirky characters keep some humour to temper the darkness. I loved the characters and this is one series I'll probably re-read. Not only a great story but a quality book that will be a keeper for my shelves.

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Review of the 2 volumes) A setting with so much potential, but I found the story to be pretty flat and unexciting - no real intersection between the two at all either. Occasionally suffers from continuity where the story doesn't seem to translate from panel to panel. Some characters don't feel fully developed and leave you wanting (much) more. Perhaps I came in with the wrong expectations.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's...... just over. It was a beautiful journey :-(

[Nate]

My second time reading Planetes, and I enjoyed it as much as the first. This series takes place in the near future when interstellar travel is possible and humans have colonized the moon. We follow a crew that cleans debris in Earth’s orbit (space janitors basically), with one member going on a mission to Jupiter in the second half. There’s an overarching plot, but Planetes is more a series of vignettes about these people and their lives in space and on Earth. By turns funny, sad, philosophical, and always human, these vignettes are beautifully written and usually have a theme that comes full circle. Yukimura rarely uses the overexaggerated emotion common in manga, opting instead for nuance at every turn. I will say, however, that the series can feel wandering at times and not especially meaty. If you're looking for a story with a concrete beginning, middle, and end, you won't find it here. But Yukimura's pacing and art are excellent throughout. It’s a great, thought-provoking series that I highly recommend.

(Planetes was Yukimura’s first manga, making it all the more impressive. He did Vinland Saga after this, which I still need to catch up with. Let this be my reminder.)

[Dominique · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this volume. It looked more into the past of the captain of the debris collector ship, Fee and what her life at home was like. I was semi disappointing to find that we weren't going to be fallowing Hachimaki more closely on his Jupiter mission or his new found relationship. But fallowing Fee and the other crew members in their rebellion against the government in the space war was very interesting. I don't know when the story will be continued but when it is I am excited to see what is going to happen. 

[Koen Claeys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect manga about space exploration, the Kessler syndrome and what it means to be human.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

i would read pieces of this before bed, and so it has been a nice, slow journey back into the atmosphere. brilliant story and great art. one of a kind read.

[shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would have been happy to see this go on and on and on.

#JanuaryinJapan

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Supports the well known fact that Elvis was an alien

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Still more dragging parts, but great universe and good character development.

[mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved all 1060 pages of this series

[Nathaniel R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great science fiction, while not falling into tropes you'd find in most science fiction. It's also great manga. An easy recommend to anyone.

[Romain · Rating 5 out of 5]

« If we live alone ... and we die alone ... what's the point of going through it all in the first place? »

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humans reach Jupiter and learn to love people.

[yuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m soooooooooo drunk @fee

feeeeeeeeeeeeee😭😭

[João · Rating 4 out of 5]

"God is out there, hiding in the vastness of space, just watching our pain. I'm not so generous as to keep letting him do that forever."

Planetes quickly became one of my favourite pieces of media when I finished the first volume. It talked to my love for space and it felt so real that it pulled me into it, into the lives of these debris collectors who were just struggling to get by. I'm pained a bit that the second volume didn't fully live up to my expectations, it's wasn't bad by any stretch of the word, it was quite good, 4 stars good. However, it felt a bit all over the place and rushed, the quiet personal moments that made the first volume so good, felt few and far between and didn't leave the impact that the previous ones did. I still enjoyed it quite a bit and it was good to jump into the lives of these characters one last time. I encourage everyone who liked the first volume to read this one but to temper their expectations a bit.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top shelf. A story not about love or winning, but the human condition. No villain twirling a mustachio, no damsel in distress, no knight in shining armor (spaceship). Also, a good intro to manga to the uninitiated: the style of asides and many of the other little things going on in the background of the images.

One drawback: I think it might have lost something in the translation. The societal norms and societal history of Japan is so very different. As close/good as a translation can be, it is never 100% true.

That being said, it is great. Good enough to read again.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phew, this was a heavy read, just like the first one, but for some reason I had more trouble with it this time. Maybe also because we just kept switching between characters and I couldn't follow it all the time. Sometimes it was just plain boring, other times it was just gorgeous.

All in all, still an amazing volume and still a series that I really like and would recommend.

[Connor Foley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the definitive space exploration pieces of media/art I’ve come across. The story of a group of space debris collectors expands and encompasses a vast array of human emotion and experience in the setting of space. Reminded me alot of the genius Cowboy Bebop, minus the action. Aces on the characterization and character growth across the board. Huge fan.

[Janta · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay, but I felt like there was a lot of random stuff that never really amounted to much of a story. The ending was mostly meaningless, in which a character came to a banal, commonplace conclusion. I'm not sure if the series is ongoing or not, but if not there are several plot threads that do not get resolved. Yeah, that's how life *actually* is, but is that why we read fiction?

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic series! I loved the pacing and the time dedicated to character development.
Key themes like exploration, family, love and optimism made this a really heartwarming read, too.

[Greg D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something enticing reading a story where characters face the same struggle you do. In Makoto Yukimura's Planetes, despite the technological advances of mankind, many of the same problems persist in its members: the elusiveness of love, the pain of working a dead-end job, the uneasiness of trying to live in an apathetic universe.

And yet, despite the depression the main characters feel, they consistently choose love over apathy, they choose optimism over nihilism, and they choose to struggle despite the pain of the struggle. Like Yukimura's later work, Vinland Saga, Planetes is ultimately a life-affirming piece that reveals its author to be a thinker -- showing just as much interest in asking the bigger questions about life as he is in the small personal relationships of the cast.

As a (momentarily) young person, it was easy to be swept up into the characters. The main character, Hoshino, is an emotionally-stunted young man determined to avoid love and focus only on his work in a desperate bid to be considered for a dangerous trek to Jupiter. His devotion to studying and passing an impossible test felt like I was looking into an alternate version of myself; I am currently studying for my CPA exam, a test that could shape my entire professional future. Since I have to spend so much time studying, I, too, have had to neglect my social life in exchange for academic solitude, much to my shame (I'm going to make it up when I'm in my mid-twenties by going on an epic month-long club bender). What I liked about Planetes is that is shows that difficult questions such as, "what should I do with my life? Am I doing the right thing?" don't just disappear over time. It doesn't matter if humanity builds a rocket ship right out of Gene Roddenberry's imagination; it won't make these questions every person ask themselves disappear, nor will it make these questions less important to ask.

Hoshino ultimately tries to balance his professional passion with his romantic passion, a character choice that feels autobiographical in nature (Yukimura is open about his personal life and his affinity for his wife and family. The long journey to Jupiter could be seen as a metaphor for manga creation itself and its priority over spending time with loved ones).

My favorite character is Fee -- a married woman with kids with a fierce dedication to smoking despite its growing obsolesce. Fee is mostly comic relief in the first omnibus collection, but her role expands in the second omnibus with us being exposed to more of her family and childhood. Regarding her childhood, I liked how Yukiumura was not afraid to address racism. It seems prejudice is another quality of mankind that we are unlikely to shed. More often than not, black characters in manga and anime are either portrayed in bad taste or are not portrayed at all. Here, Yukimura makes a strong-willed, funny, charismatic character in Fee, portraying her with just as much sympathy and vulnerability as the rest of the cast (it makes me happy that my two favorite manga authors, Kentaro Miura and Makoto Yukimura, happen to be very progressive with depiction of female characters. With Yukimura, the female characters often act with more maturity and common sense than their male counterparts (Perhaps, this is another insight into the author's personal relationship with his wife).

The plot is relatively subdued. There are things happening, such as the Jupiter mission and the never-ending job of cleaning up space trash, but these events don't drive the manga. Instead, it's about character and atmosphere, both of which are brought to life with gorgeous illustrations. Yukimura has a pleasant art-style, every character having a distinct visage with descriptive eyes that seem to pierce you while you're reading, made even more effective when that style is contrasted against the more realistic depiction of environments. Yukimura's art is so flawless, it's not uncommon to burst out laughing just from the way he draws expressions. It's fun to take your time with any given page, soaking up all the details. Something about realistic tech in manga/anime really makes me smile, and there's lots of that here.

It didn't shake my very being like Vinland Saga did, but Planetes is still a journey I don't regret embarking on. It made me feel less alone. And isn't that what art is here for?

[Karissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series Info/Source: This is the second omnibus volume in the Planetes series, there are two volumes in this omnibus series. I received this volume as a birthday gift.

Story (5/5): This continues to be a very “day in the life type of” story mainly focused on Hachimaki and Tanabe. We get to see Hachimaki realize his dream of going to Jupiter. We also find out a lot about Tanabe’s history and watch her realize her dream to work in space. We also get to spend time with Fee and other characters. The story was very well done and much more mature than the beginning of the previous omnibus. I really enjoyed it.

Characters (5/5): As mentioned above the story focuses on Tanabe and Hachimaki. We start out learning a lot about Tanabe’s childhood and then get to watch as her and Hachimaki start to form a relationship. We also get to spend quite a bit of time with Fee and her family, which was highly entertaining. I absolutely loved the characters in here, they are so well done and have so much depth.

Setting (5/5): I love the space setting here. This is a fully realized world where living and working in space is just a day to day part of human life. It is complex and beautifully designed and I really loved it!

Writing/Drawing Style (5/5): You can really see how Yukimura has grown as both an artist and a writer over the course of this series. The drawings are much more detailed and polished in this volume. The story seems much more cohesive and well put together. I really enjoyed it all a ton.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing continuation and conclusion to the Planetes Omnibus series. This is a very “day in the life” type of manga series but set in the extraordinary setting of space. Illustration and writing were both incredibly well done. I enjoyed the amazing world-building and the characters who had a lot of depth and were easy to relate to. I would definitely recommend it if you are interested in sci-fi manga or a fan of Vinland Saga.

[Jejaka Buku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amaran Pencetus: Kesunyian, Kekejaman, Cubaan Bunuh Diri, Kehilangan, Penindasan, Adegan Dewasa.

Planetes, sebuah manga bergenre fiksyen sains, mengisahkan sekumpulan angkasawan yang ditugaskan untuk membersihkan sampah angkasa. Masing-masing mempunyai impian serta kepayahan yang harus dihadapi. Di antara mereka, Hachimaki mempunyai impian untuk menyertai kumpulan eksplorasi ke Musytari. Namun, sebuah insiden meninggalkan trauma yang berpanjangan lalu menjadikan dirinya sebagai batu penghalang.

Manga ini bertemakan keihsanan di ketika manusia sibuk mengorak langkah mengejar kemajuan, banyak pengorbanan yang terpaksa dilakukan termasuklah sifat manusiawi mereka. Sepanjang penceritaan, bukan sahaja perspektif Hachimaki yang diberi perhatian tetapi pembaca juga akan mengikuti sisi-sisi lain manusia yang pada dasarnya hanya mahukan apa mereka rasakan terbaik untuk diri sendiri. Selain Hachimaki dalam pencarian dirinya semula, terdapat juga kisah kru lain seperti Yuri, Fee dan Tanabe yang menyentuh hati bertemakan kehilangan, kasih sayang serta diskriminasi. Tidak dilupakan juga elemen humor yang diselitkan sedikit sebanyak berjaya menghiburkan jalan cerita di mana hampir keseluruhannya menyentuh realiti yang tidak sentiasa indah.

Secara keseluruhannya, manga ini untuk mereka yang inginkan bacaan berfalsafah berkaitan keindahan hidup serta alam semesta. Sesungguhnya ini sebuah karya yang mempunyai lapisan di mana setiap kali pembacaan bakal memberi perspektif baharu. Walaupun ini merupakan karya debut, penukis berjaya menyampaikan sebuah cerita memfokuskan pada sisi manusiawi sebagai terasnya malah merangkumi konflik individu hingga ke konflik politik berlatarkan era penerokaan angkasa lepas yang tiada batasnya.

4.25🌟/5🌟

[Bradley Farless · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good read. It's great sci-fi, but I think what I liked, even more, was the commentary on life and the human condition. I wish it had been longer. I can't help but wonder if the story was cut short for some reason because the last volume felt like an abrupt wrap-up of the storyline. Still, what's there is a 5-star story.

I would have liked to have read about the return trip and more about Hachimaki and Tanabe's relationship when he got back, especially after that last conversation with Fee and Tanabe. It felt real and it was interesting. Plus, I felt like a little more attention could have been given to what role Fee and Yuri played in trying to stop the space war. I wasn't really clear on what they were doing in the panels that showed them out there. It seemed like they were using their ship's empty cargo hold to try to catch debris but every time their ship was hit, it was just creating more debris.

[Aldy · Rating 5 out of 5]

(tulisan ini dibuat setelah membaca volume 1-2) Planetes sebuah manga sci-fi yang menceritakan hachimaki, seorang pengumpul sampah luar angkasa yang mempunyai impian untuk memiliki 'spaceship' nya sendiri.

sebuah cerita luar angkasa yang disajikan dengan sangat menakjubkan, setiap karakter memiliki latar belakang cerita dan kekurangannya sendiri, membuat semuanya menjadi terlihat realistis, di dukung dengan latar sekitar tahun 2070-an dimana bekerja dan bepergian di luar angkasa adalah hal yang mungkin dan biasa.

Salah satu bagian paling menakutkan dari berada di luar angkasa adalah betapa luas dan kosongnya disana. Itu adalah sebuah ruang hampa yang diisi dengan triliunan bintang dan ciptaan lainnya. Tidak ada oksigen, tidak ada cahaya, tidak ada suara. Sangat menakutkan betapa sepinya ruang itu, dan konsep mengerikan ini digambarkan dengan luar biasa oleh makoto yukimura.