Planetes (プラネテス)

Thank for you choosing to fly with Oberth Aerospace today.

We departed from the Bangkok airport on...

2068.

The accident with the Alnair 8 suborbital passenger liner...

...focused public attention on the problem of space debris.

Abandoned artificial satellites.

Tanks jettisoned from shuttles.

Refuse generated during space station construction.

This debris is traveling around the Earth at speeds approaching eight kilometers per second.

Should this debris collide with a spacecraft, it could result in a terrible accident.

And so, to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again,

...as well as for the sake of further space development,

...disposal of this debris has become a necessity.

This is a story of the people who live in such a time as this.

Phase 1

Outside the Atmosphere

GO-S09, routing from exposed area to Bay Five.

Main umbilical, connection complete.

I'm in space...

I finally got a space assignment!

Next stop, Technora Corporation office block.

Zero-G... Satellite orbit... Astronauts!

Oh, right. That's our mascot character...

Excuse me!

I am Ai Tanabe, newly assigned to Second Department, Debris Section!

Age 20, single, Japanese! I look forward to working with you!

Um...

At least learn where things are in the company.

This is Control Section.

Huh? It is? Oh, I'm sorry!

Claire, we'll wait until we get instructions from INTO to deal with that plate.

Understood, sir.

I'm really sorry... Thank you.

Good grief... You must be a new recruit for the Half Section.

Half Section? No, ma'am, Debris Section.

Like I said, Half Section.

If you're looking for Half Section, take the company elevator all the way to the bottom.

What were you thinking, Tanabe?

"Control Section" is written there as plain as day!

You could've said something, you know...

That's what you get for trying to make a grand entrance!

Say, wasn't that the guy who gave the speech at our company welcoming ceremony?

Right, he's the department manager.

One point deduction, looks like.

It's not like my workshop grades were all that great...

Look out!

Sheesh, this is why you're at the bottom of the class.

Maybe, but she came in second at the Technora company dance competition, remember?

Dance?

Sure, you remember.

The one where you're supposed to express your Technora company spirit through original dance.

Only two of us entered.

Oh, really?

Who in their right mind would sign up for something that embarrassing?

I'm amazed you entered!

Look, I joined by walking in off the street and I've got no connections,

...but I wanted to try to go into space, so I signed up for it.

See you later, Tanabe.

Aerospace Section is to the left, so this is my stop.

Maintenance Section, too.

I guess this is goodbye for now.

That's the elevator that will take you down, Tanabe.

Come on, I'm not a kid!

Be careful.

Of what?

If you run into any drama queens or dirty old men, don't fight back.

'Cause you always act before thinking.

She doesn't pay attention to her surroundings, either.

I don't?

No, you don't.

See you at lunch, then.

Remember, Debris Section is downstairs.

Lay off!

Debris Section is all the way at the bottom...

All the way at the bottom...

All the way at the bottom is Debris Section.

Yep, this is it, all right.

Starting today, this is my workplace.

Let's do it!

Excuse me! I've just been assigned to Second Department, Debris... Section?

I-I've made a mistake! Pardon me!

But this is Debris Section...

Um...

I'm sorry to keep bothering you, but where is Debris...

I've had it up to here with their "Half Section" crap!

Dammit, Chief, how come we always play second fiddle to Control Section?!

Well, they have a bigger staff than we do.

Those guys don't even use spacesuits!

An astronaut... A real astronaut...!

Huh? Who are you?

Diapers?

Hey, don't blow people off when they're talking to you.

M-My name is Tanabe! I'm a new employee.

You are?

Come to think of it, Human Resources said something about us getting somebody new...

Note: Senpai is term of respect given to an elder, mentor or a more senior person.

Hey, I'm your senpai. What's the big idea, running away from your Senpai?

B-But, well, put something on down there!

Down where? I am wearing something.

But they're diapers!

All astronauts wear diapers! You should know that!

Stay away! Please.

Say what?! Who do you think you are, rookie?!

But...

When you're out in the field, this is what you wear!

I'm gonna knock some real-world sense into you, so get ready!

But couldn't this be thought of as sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment?!

You aren't going to sue, are you?

Chief, call Legal Affairs at once!

Please, don't go public with this!

Something's on me!

Get it off!

Hey, what's the big idea?!

Hey! For the last time, no cigarettes!

Hey, come back!

Come back!

Over here, miss, over here.

This is Philippe Myers, assistant section manager for Debris Section.

In other words, he's the top dog here.

I look forward to working with you, sir.

Of course. Same here.

And I'm the supervisor (assistant), Arvind Lavie.

I'm number two around here!

It's a pleasure to meet you!

Oh, this?

This is for the sendoff and welcoming party at General Affairs later.

Really?

The important thing is that you're a company girl now, so make sure you remember the pecking order, okay?

Excuse me?

Greet the most important person first.

R-Right.

Still, I'm glad you're here. It's been three years since our last newcomer.

To be honest, there's no money to be made in collecting debris.

So our section's performance rates at the bottom each year.

But it's like that at the debris sections of every other company, Chief!

We're the bottom of the barrel.

You see this room? It used to be a cargo bay.

Anyway, don't expect to move up in the world.

The work's hard, it's dangerous, our budget is a joke, and then there's the diapers...

Hachi! What if she quits?!

If that's enough to make her quit, we're better off without her.

Even if there's no money in it, it's a job that needs to be done.

Oh, you're not out of the astronaut academy, huh?

Um...

Fee Carmichael. I captain the debris recovery ship Toy Box.

Yuri!

This is my first mate, Yuri Mihairokoh.

Pleased to meet you.

That's Edelgard Rivera. She's a temp staffer.

She takes care of the office work for us.

She's a temp?

I wish they'd send us temp superiors like her, too...

Fee! Criticism of your superiors... -

- should be used in moderation.

And last but not least, that's Hoshino Hachirota.

We call him Hachimaki.

Like a hachimaki headband?

It fits.

Get off my case! I didn't give myself the nickname!

Come on, play nice.

I'm teaming you up with her, after all.

Why?!

She works EVA, too.

Go over to Materials Section and get her fitted for a spacesuit, okay?

What's "EVA" stand for again?

I thought I was an extravehicular activity worker...

It means the same thing!

O-Oh, of course.

I look forward to working with you.

Geez, I can't believe these general hires...

Okay, all done. You can go now.

But I still haven't...

If we custom-made every spacesuit, we'd run ourselves into the red.

Customizing parts of them is good enough.

We have one-size-fits-all spacesuits in the next room, so go put one on.

Yes, ma'am!

Hey, wait!

Ma'am?

We can't have you leaving your oversized garbage lying around.

Yes, ma'am. I'll take it off your hands.

How does it look?

Just great! Nice body!

Okay, we'll run face panel tests next. You know how to do that, right?

Yes, sir. I learned that during our workshops.

All right, let's start with axis alignment. Try setting your artificial horizon to Earth.

Yes, sir!

Man, this is all Control Section's fault...

Hey, Hachimaki.

Hey.

What are you guys gonna do about that debris that everybody's talking about?

Beats me. Sounds like the top brass are still fighting it out.

Okay, time for your next stop, diaper girl!

Come on, Senpai, don't shout it out!

This is the real thing...

Well, that oughta do it.

Senpai, that's one more than what's on our list.

Having an extra won't kill us, right?

We can't! We have to do this by the book!

Of all the stupid...