For anime fans of a certain age, Planetes is one of the holy grails of sci-fi animation. Produced in 2003 by Sunrise (Cowboy Bebop, Mobile Suit Gundam), directed by Gorō Taniguchi (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion), and based on the manga of the same name by Makoto Yukimura (Vinland Saga), the 26-episode series about working-class space-debris salvagers has been elusive for North American fans looking for a legal way to watch it — until now.
On Tuesday, Crunchyroll announced that Planetes had been added to the service’s streaming library. Additionally, the streamer also announced that it will release the anime on Blu-ray on November 5. This is not only the first Blu-ray release of the anime in North America, but the first home video release of Planetes in the U.S. since the complete collection DVD set of the anime released by Bandai Entertainment in 2006. Preorders for the Blu-ray are available on Crunchyroll’s store.
Set in the year 2075, the anime series takes place in a future where humanity has finally begun to colonize space. There’s just one big problem: space debris left behind by the launch of satellites and space stations, which has the potential of not only endangering other spacecraft, but human life as well. To prevent catastrophe, companies like the Technora Corporation employ space salvagers to intercept debris left behind in Earth’s atmosphere. Planetes centers on space-salvager crew member Hachirota “Hachimaki” Hoshino, who not so secretly dreams of owning his own spaceship and traveling across the stars.
The anime show has been lauded by fans and critics alike for its grounded, plausible approach to futurist storytelling and worldbuilding. Similar to Cowboy Bebop, Planetes is a sci-fi story about an ensemble cast of working-class people living out relatively ordinary lives in an extraordinary sci-fi world and working together to overcome the day-to-day challenges of their job. If that sounds like something you’d be into, you won’t regret giving the series a shot.
Planetes is available to stream on Crunchyroll and will release on Blu-ray on Nov. 5.
