Planetes

Set in 2075, when spaceflight has become a routine part of human life, the Moon has been settled and outer space is firmly in the hands of major corporations. Ai Tanabe, an optimistic young woman with her eyes on the cosmos, joins the Technora Corporation—only to be assigned to the Debris Section, the unglamorous team responsible for clearing hazardous space junk from the region between Earth and the Moon.

The reality of the job hits quickly: the Debris Section is treated as a company punchline, left short on staff and budget, and sent out in a battered craft nicknamed the “Toy Box.” Even so, Ai throws herself into the work and begins to understand the people around her, including the well-meaning but clumsy chief clerk Philippe Myers, the reserved temporary worker Edelgard Rivera, and the fiery Hachirouta Hoshino, who dreams of owning a ship of his own. Against the immense backdrop of space, Planetes follows the everyday struggles, ambitions, and relationships of ordinary workers reaching for something beyond Earth.