Well, when I first looked at Planetes, I imagined what kind sci-fi story could be made in just 4 volumes. The slice of life style surprised me when I noted it by the second volume. That's original, huh? I think there's nothing better than a sci-fi background to explore the human nuances. Sci-fi is the most human thing ever. It's man being God, it's a Second Creation, it's an extension of the humankind.

In this case, space. The true focus of Planetes are people. However, the information and how the technology works in space looked very accurate to me, showing the understanding of the author about them. After all, it's a sci-fi-based background, isn't it? It's important to build the atmosphere, since a lot of thoughts are based on ideas of loneliness, infinity and dreams.

All the manga's characters, supporters or main, had a reason to be there. They represented, they meant something. An emotion. A thought. A dream. A pain. While reading, I suddenly would stop and think "What was the author wanting to mean with this? How does this match my reality? And if it doesn't, how can I understand the feelings of this char?" These questions often come to me when I read something able to absorb me. It has to be a good reading. And Planetes is really and deeply good.

Planetes' characters are charismatic in a different way. They aren't cool or flashy. They are... Human. I read their stories and their minds, and a smile always escaped, unconsciously. Those guys looked so nice. The kind of person that I really would love to talk with for hours. I felt so close to them, and we're not even in the same reality. My favorite was probably the calm and light Yuri, with his wandering and melancholic existence, but everyone grew on me someway. They look unique among the characters that I usually like. I think that's incredible. The four main characters had their own ways of seeing the world, and the development and question about them were inspiring and beautiful. You could think with them on your own way. "What would I do?". Fee and Hachi were the most special cases. In the end, even the bratty Tanabe had my cherishing. Each one grew as people, mainly Hachi, because of his great change of his point of view about life.

And even the matters outside of the human psychology have their shine in Planetes. Man and nature, war, terrorism, social unorthodoxy. Simply and powerfully, the manga relates these themes with the characters, bringing out the best of both. The realism is superb in Planetes. The outstanding art did a lot. The character design had me, and the backgrounds were nothing less than amazing. That's where Yukimura's style really shines.

For me, this manga's message is: humankind has an essence. A lot of things are in it. Hatred, ignorance, greed. But, two assured things are love and willpower. We only evolve because of all qualities and flaws of ourselves, that's our true form. What we really and naturally are. And, despite the humankind's eternal wish to achieve bigger and bigger horizons in outer space, we should never forget that we are also a part of the Universe. So, besides the outer universe, we should never forget about the inner universe of each one of us.