Planetes

Humanity has expanded into space, but someone still has to collect the rubbish it leaves behind. Hachimaki works aboard an orbital debris ship, removing objects that could destroy passing spacecraft. He dreams of travelling farther than this unglamorous job allows, even as his doubts and the demands of earning a living keep pulling him back. His colleagues bring their own reasons for staying in orbit. Yuri carries the memory of a wife lost in a space accident, while Fee approaches the dangerous work with practical resolve. Beyond their small crew, nations and corporations carry Earth's inequalities into the new frontier. Makoto Yukimura makes space exploration a story about workers, ambition and human connection. Carefully imagined machinery and the physical dangers of orbit sit alongside intimate questions about grief, responsibility and the lives people hope to build when distance alone cannot solve their problems.