Planetes, Volume 3

Planetes #3

by Makoto Yukimura

After an excruciating selection process, Hachimaki is accepted into the Mars Development Project, his lifelong dream. However, feelings of elation are soon sucked up by a black hole of despair as he comes to grips with the fact that he will be leaving everything he holds dear behind. This realization forces Hachimaki to contemplate the meaning of his existence and the nature of his life in space.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Romance

225 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2003

About the author

幸村誠

Reviews

[Milan Konjevic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Malo mi super, malo mi dosadno. Eto, nisam pametan.

[Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a 4koma in this volume that manages to highlight my issues with it very well. It depicts Fee and Yuri realizing that they’re basically not in any of these chapters. Instead the focus in this volume is on Hachimaki and his emotional issues. On the plus side, by the end of things it seems like Hachi has finally sorted himself out and maybe the plot can begin to move on to more interesting things. But that means that this volume was largely just Hachi slowly realizing that he needs to have human connections to survive in space and can’t just abandon everything that makes him human.

I think part of what I find frustrating about this arc is that it feels like a very obvious message. I’ve never really felt like this has been a problem in real life space exploration. Yes, space is vast and the universe can seem uncaring, but that’s something the average person on Earth can feel perfectly fine - I know I’ve felt that way myself on occasion. Instead many of the astronauts I’ve read about have found the experience of leaving Earth humbling in a good way, as it leads them to reflect on how precious the Earth is and how important humanity is. I’ve liked how Planetes depicts space exploration in its future as very commercial, something I find realistic. I haven’t liked how it’s done such strange things with the emotional arc of space travel, at least with Hachi.

This volume is sadly also a let down on the space travel part, at least for most of it. As I discussed some last time, I expected Planetes to be very focused on the day to day missions of cleaning up space. I don’t have issues with it focusing more on the in between times, but I do find it frustrating that there’s very little space travel of interest in this volume. Sure, Hachi is often on the moon base or training for the Jupiter mission, but a large chunk of the volume is set on Earth. And even when he is in space, I’ve started to feel like the interiors of the bases don’t give me much of interest.

I did find it interesting that Hachi has an experience of surviving on the lunar surface alone for a week somehow, and I kinda liked his recurring dream of being 90,000 light years away, staring back at the Milky Way. That was a cool visual to go with his emotions about being in space and I would’ve liked this more if there was more time spent with his struggles being literally backdropped by the vast uncaring universe. It was also interesting to get Tanabe’s backstory, even if it meant more time on Earth. And the bonus chapter with Hachi’s dad playing baseball on Mars was fun and makes it clear that he comes by his stunted emotional state honestly.

Overall, this felt like a pretty weak volume, though I suspect I might’ve said that about the 5 book volume 2 as well if I hadn’t been reading the omnibus version of the first 12 chapters. At this point I’m over halfway through the series and I’m really hoping things pick up again. The preview for the next volume makes it sound that way, so I plan to keep going, but I won’t be entirely surprised if I’m disappointed again.

[Henry David Llantoy Sandoval · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Si yo puedo seguir con vida es por que no estoy solo."

Makoto Yukimura ha logrado plasmar con maestría el renacimiento de Hachimaki.

[Aleksandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love space stories which focus around human relationships and humanity. Hachimaki had an excellent character arc, I loved learning about Ai.

“Space is too dangerous to face it alone”.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ada satu gambar adegan di volume ini yang pastinya menarik untuk didiskusikan (atau barangkali, diperdebatkan), yaitu Hachimaki melihat rekan astronotnya sedang menjalankan ibadah shalat di permukaan planet Mars. Bagaimana cara menentukan di mana posisi Mekkah ketika dirimu berada puluhan ribu kilometer jauhnya dari permukaan Bumi?

All in all, Makoto Yukimura adalah seorang pencerita yang menarik. Karakter-karakter dalam serial manga ini dibuatkan backgroun story masing-masing, dan hampir semuanya bisa dibilang menarik.

[John Blacksad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serinin yeri bende ayrı, bu ünvanı koruyarak devam ediyor.

Fuar dönüşü, yorgun, uykulu, hasta ve parasetamollü halde okumaktan kendimi alamadığım kitap bu oldu. Kediler, flashback’ler, (bana Hira’yı hatırlatan) inzivalar… Yine iyi yazılmış, iyi çizilmiş, 2023’ün en keyif aldığım serilerinden biri bu kesin. Dört cilt olması derli toplu olma adına güzel ama bitmeye tek kitap kalmış gibi de hissetmiyorum. Şiddetle öneriyorum.

[Shin Donghae · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Volume 1-4)

Planetes adalah karya fiksi ilmiah yang berlatar masa depan di mana manusia telah berhasil melakukan perjalanan ke luar angkasa dan mulai menetap di dalamnya, dengan semua perubahan yang menyertainya. Terlepas dari pekerjaan sebagai debris, Yukimura sensei memfokuskan pada karakternya. Semuanya dirancang dan ditulis dengan cukup baik, masing-masing tokoh memperlihatkan latar belakang, tujuan, serta kepribadiannya masing2 dan mengembangkannya dengan hati-hati seiring berjalannya alur cerita.

Gambarnya lumayan (meski menurut saya, gambar sensei saat mengerjakan Vinlad Saga lebih nendang hhe), rapih namun tidak terlalu menonjol tetapi berhasil mengatur dengan benar ruang di mana protagonis tinggal dan menyoroti momen klimaks, melewati banyak area yang menyentuh topik seperti kesepian, moralitas, eksistensialisme, dan bahkan rasisme pada panel tertentu. ARtwork sensei cukup berhasil menunjukkan reaksi orang-orang terhadap perubahan yang terjadi di ruang angkasa, semuanya dengan cara yang realistis baik dalam situasi yang dialami maupun dalam cara karakternya bereaksi terhadap mereka.

Akhirnya, saya sangat merekomendasikan karya ini kepada siapa pun yang tertarik pada karya yang menarik dan ditulis dengan baik (apalagi yg fans sensei hhe), bahkan jika pun scifi bukanlah minat khusus pembaca tertentu, karya ini layak untuk dinikmati.

[Marko · Rating 3 out of 5]

U trećem tankobonu i dalje je Haćimaki u fokusu i očekujem onda da ipak on bude glavni junak i do kraja. Šteta, jer su u prvom tankobonu i Fi i Juri bili isto sjajno postavljeni i očekivao sam da ćemo i njihove priče detaljnije pratiti.

Svakako, Haćimaki je isto sjajan lik i priča oko njega je veoma zaniljiva. Nakon drugog tankobona gde susreće gomilu likova i preisptuje sebe i svemir kroz likove i događaja, u trećem tankobonu dolazi do njegovog "pucanja" gde više uopšte nije siguran gde ide i šta radi dok ga proganjaju košmari i dnevna priviđenja koja pokušavaju da mu pošalju skrivene poruke.

Dobijamo u ovom tankobonu i pozadinsku priču od Tanabe koje postaje "glavni-sporedni lik" i od svemirske avanture dobijamo malo i svemirske sapunice ali vrlo sa merom i sa smislom produbljujući likove i priču.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, Hachimaki gets it rough this volume. Complete existential dread. He's accomplished a seemingly impossible goal of being put on the crew of the Jupiter mission only to lose sight of himself in the process. And Tanabe finally gets a backstory, as we get to see her own oddities and fear/love of space. This volume is surprisingly so much more human, all about feelings like love and togetherness compared to some of the earlier chapters that included things like space terrorism and missions gone wrong. The first two volumes had me fearing for the characters' lives because space was dangerous, but this volume had me fearing for their lives because the characters might not have what it takes (mentally and emotionally) to keep on living.

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

🚀 Anksioznost i nestrpljivost pred velikim podvigom dovode Haćimakija pred prag smrti. Mora pronaći volju za životom uprkos riziku neuspeha i smrti, i osloniti se na punu podršku svojih ljudi.
🚀 Nisam volela Haćimakija do ovog broja. Sada - poštujem ga. Nije lako pasti, pa podići se i pritom dati sebi za cilj misiju koja će proširiti domet ljudske civilizacije. Dogurao je on dosta od prvog broja...

🚀 Nastavak ozbiljnijih tema iz prošlog broja i mnogo toplih porodičnih momenata. Veoma čudan kombo koji mi je prirastao za srce i nije mi više bitno da li je objektivno dobar...

[Paula El · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know, I just can't really get into it. I thought this series was mainly about space exploration and sci-fi, but that seems to be more of a side-quest in contrast to the main character's feelings plotline. So far, it seems that a lot of the manga is about self-growth. Interesting topic sure, but that is not the reason I read a sci-fi manga.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Freaking weird. Makoto loves his Buddhist, spiritual, enlightened nonsense and sees everything in that light, even to the point of contradicting himself. Typically negative to christianity eith unnecessary nudity. Put up with it in vinland saga, but this feels pointless and uninteresting.

[Niina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hämmentävä sarja. Ensimmäinen osa antoi odottaa toiminnallista scifiä, mutta jotenkin tämä lipsahti filosofisen olemisen pohdinnan puolelle. Ei ihan täysillä vakuuta, mutta vielä yksi, hieman muita osia paksumpi pokkari odottaa lukupinossa. Saa nähdä mihin suuntaan se ohjaa sarjan lopun.

[cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hachimaki benar2 akan berangkat misi Jupiter. Dream came true. Tapi malah ada yg lain mengganjal di hatinya.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still miss the other characters, but once I accepted this was now a single character study, the story is very personal and cathartic. It's about choosing to survive.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good.

[Mori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was by far my favourite volume.

[Eva Siagian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku memutuskan untuk memberi bintang tiga, meskipun aku merasa menikmati membaca buku ini, kurasa ini bukanlah topik yang kusukai. But yes, of course this is a good series :)

[Drizztl · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarina levenee ja laajenee ja taso säilyy

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Posle dosta turobne druge knjige, nešto optimističniji pogled na život i univerzum se rađa u trećoj knjizi. Mistični elementi provejavaju, a zov dubokog svemira neposustaje.

[Lucy Goodfellow · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Planetes, Volume Three' focuses on the personal struggles and philosophical dilemmas that arise when a person's dreams and reality clash in an unforgiving environment.

[Saoirse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superbe troisième tome. J’ai beaucoup aimé le côté introspectif, les réflexions de Hachimaki. J’ai hâte de lire la fin.

[Aidan Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man I love this, in only 16 chapters so far it’s turning into one of my top 10 of all time

[Ferhan Meraler · Rating 4 out of 5]

mangaka duyguları nasıl okuyucuya geçireceğini çok iyi biliyor

[Whatslifeanyways · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bu adamın şiddet, öfke ve hırsı anlatışına bayılıyorum arkasından bu duyguları sevgiye çevirip o karakter gelişimini görmemiz tek kelimeyle muhteşem.

[Beyza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Üç cilt içinde duygusal olarak en etkileyicisi buydu.

[S46354595 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Makes me wish I was better at science

Planetes Review

5/5 stars

This will be a spoiler free review. Onto the review!

For all those who don’t know, this is the debut manga of the same mangaka who wrote Vinland Saga. I’ve been slowly working my way through Vinland Saga, but I’ve been watching the anime first, so it’s taking me forever to get through the series. So I decided to go back and read his short, debut manga series, that way I can still read something of his while I’m waiting for the next season of Vinland Saga.

This is a 4 volume manga series set in the near future where people now live on the moon. It follows this group of people who have the job of collecting space junk. So basically it’s about space janitors. And honestly, it was great. This isn’t the sort of series where you get invested long term. You just read this and learn interesting facts about the realities of space travel.

Makoto Yukimura always makes sure he’s done his research for everything he writes, and it shows. I’ve never spent any time studying space travel, and the science of going to space, but it’s clear he has. Every volume ended with so much fascinating information about the people who have gone to space. Every single detail he researched and included in here really made this short series come to life.

The main plot is that one of space janitors hopes to eventually go on the first mission to Jupiter. He spends a lot of time training and preparing for the mission, while also trying to do his job. His teammates are very passionate about collecting space junk, but all he cares about is going to Jupiter. As per usual with Yukimura’s stories, the characters feel very complex and real, which helped to keep me connected to the story.

If you’re looking for something about space travel that doesn’t just handwave away the science and hope you won’t notice how little research the author did, this is definitely a series I can recommend for that. It’s slice of life, but on the moon. Space isn’t super scary anymore. Space is a 9-5 janitorial job, that just so happens to be a bit more exciting and dangerous than your typical earth janitorial jobs.

I can’t really say much else since it’s so short. If this sounds interesting to any of you, definitely give it a try. I had a blast reading this, and it made me even more excited for the next season/volumes of Vinland Saga. Maybe if the anime doesn’t update for a while, I’ll have to read the manga faster to see what happens. This did not have the intended effect of keeping me occupied until the anime updates. It made me more anxious to know what happens. Oh no…

Update: How am I just now finding out there's an anime of this? Adding that to my very long list of things to watch.

Note: I used the omnibus covers for the image for this review, which is why there are 2 of them, rather than 4.

Have a nice day/night everyone!

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space is big and empty and cosmic and junk. And if you got on a picnic in your spacesuit for days and days and somehow don't completely run out of oxygen, even though you should've, you'll hallucinate a cosmic white cat. Who'll be all mysterious and and mystical and stuff.

And then, one of your few female crewmates will try to fix your crazy self by getting naked. For pages and pages. Making the manga embarrassing to read on the bus. Though miraculously, those pages weren't torn out of the library book.

Oh yea, and you're totally in love with that chick from volume 2. Or something. So let's get married.

Meanwhile, where did the plot go? Not to Jupiter. That's for sure.

Then there's an extra about the main character's father when the main character's mother was pregnant with him. And the father's on Mars and playing baseball, while the mother's in premature labor. And maybe baseball's a metaphor or something. I have no idea.

Oh, and there's hints that the girl is an alien. Guess we'll find out in volume 4. And... other volume 4.

[Wayne Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent Manga. In the preceding books Hachi has gone from being a dreamer, to a man possessed by his dream. In this book he has to come to terms with everything he has put aside in pursuance of that dream.

He has to face the enormity of space, and his own insignificance, lastly but certainly not least, he must come to term with that which by it’s very nature confuses life, love. In the last two books he's run from Love. He had somewhere to go and love would just get in the way and delay him on his path. He has come to discover that love is not a pretty toy to be put on a shelf. He fights this pesky emotion, but the one he denies is always in his dreams.

I recommend the story for anyone who likes hard Sci-fi, or at least a little romance.