Anime Column] 100 Anime to Watch by Keyword! 100 Anime to Watch No.10 "Planetes" and more!

Drinking parties among anime fans tend to be a game of association. Whenever someone says, "XXX has XXX scene," someone else replies, "Speaking of XXX scene, don't forget XXX. Anime and animation are connected by invisible threads like this. Let's follow the "anime to watch" using keywords as clues.

On October 10, voice actor Kazunari Tanaka passed away. The author was very indebted to Mr. Tanaka, the MC, when he assisted in the internet radio program "Net Gears Return behind the scenes. Recently, when I gave a special lecture "Let's learn about the work of a voice actor" at the Asahi Culture Center Shinjuku classroom in July, I asked Mr. Tanaka to give a simple workshop as an instructor. It is hard to believe that Mr. Tanaka left us so suddenly. It is hard to believe that Mr. Tanaka left so suddenly.

I would like to start by introducing "Planetes," in which Kazunari Tanaka played the lead role of Hachimaki.
Planetes" is an anime adaptation of Makoto Yukimura's manga of the same title. However, in adapting the manga into an anime, considerable changes were made, such as strengthening the "work-related" part of the story.
The story takes place in the year 2075. The main character, Hachimaki (Hachirota Hoshino), is an office worker for Technora Corporation, whose job is to collect debris from the space station. He spends his days collecting debris in order to obtain his own spaceship. The story approaches the "meaning of life" through the various incidents that Hachimaki and his colleagues face in the course of their work. The down-to-earth narrative made the characters' lives seem very real.

Hachimaki is a hard-working extra-vehicular activity (EVA) crew member with a clumsy language but a cheerful and easygoing personality, but deep down inside, he has a passion to go farther into space. Hachimaki's drama is a tangle of conflicts between his passion and the harsh reality of the world.
Such a character of Hachimaki seems to have been very close to Mr. Tanaka personally, in terms of distance and temperature. If you are aware of Mr. Tanaka's name in this news, I urge you to watch this "Planetes".
Incidentally, his appearance in "Planetes" led him to be chosen to play the role of Tsuneshin Karasuyo in "HIQUE! I heard at the launch after I asked him to be a lecturer that his performance in "Planetes" led to his being chosen to play the role of Karasu Tsunagishin in "HIQUE!

So, since "Planetes" was the starting point of this project, I'll use "space (mainly up to lunar orbit)" as the keyword this time.

If you are looking for an anime that aims for the moon, don't forget "Space Brothers," written by Koyama Chuya. It is a series of 99 episodes that ran for 2 years, which is rare among recent anime (and not even for kids).
The main character is Rokuta Namba, a 31-year-old man who quits his job to pursue his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. Considering that Hachimaki in "Planetes" was 25 years old, he is quite an "old man. Rokutta has a younger brother, Hibito, who is three years younger than Rokutta and is the youngest person in the world to be selected as a member of a lunar exploration crew in the U.S. He is also a celebrity. The story revolves around these contrasting brothers' love for space.
Rokuta is a career changer from an office worker. Therefore, the story carefully depicts the examinations and training required to become an astronaut before going into space. The down-to-earth development of the story is more realistic than "Planetes," and there are many overlaps with the actual activities of JAXA and NASA.

There are a surprisingly large number of space anime that take place mainly in lunar orbit, including "MOONLIGHT MILE,""Futatsu no Spica," and "Rocket Girl" (all with original stories), in addition to "Space Brothers.

If we are talking about "down-to-earth" works, "Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise" can also be said to be a representative of down-to-earth space works, although it has a very different "down-to-earth" style.
The setting of "Royal Space Force" is a planet with a level of civilization equivalent to the 1950s on Earth. TVs are not yet widely used, and even if they are, they are black and white. There are still gas lamps in the towns. Humanity has not yet reached outer space. The "footing" of this film is in the way it carefully builds up the state of civilization on this fictional planet.
The story begins when the Space Force, a weak organization in a certain country, plans the world's first manned satellite project, and the protagonist, Sirotsugu, volunteers to be its pilot. The appeal of this film lies in its climax, where Sirotsugu's personal desire to become an astronaut crosses with the larger history of mankind's journey into space.

In "Planetes," this cross between the small and the large can be seen in the contrast between Hachimaki, who aspires to join the crew of the Jupiter return vehicle, and Werner Rocksmith, the developer of the return vehicle.

Finally, I would like to mention " Mobile Suit Gundam. Gundam" is a "robot story," but if we focus on its appeal as a "space story," we must mention episode 5, "Entering the Atmosphere.
In episode 5, Char, the commander of the enemy Zeon forces pursuing the White Base, says the following line: "In 20 minutes, we will enter the atmosphere.
In the fifth episode, the commander of the enemy Zeon forces pursuing the White Base, Char, says, "In 20 minutes, we will enter the atmosphere. The fact that a battle was launched at this time is unprecedented. If pulled by the earth's gravitational pull, the Zaku would burn up in an instant as it entered the atmosphere. However, now is the time to attack with Zaku, when the enemy is concentrating all its attention on entering the atmosphere. First target, wooden horse, second target, enemy mobile suits. The combat time should be less than two minutes, but I am sure that you gentlemen can accomplish this mission. I have high hopes."
The "delicious part" of the subject matter of entering the atmosphere (the fear of dying if the time limit is exceeded. ) This line, which succinctly expresses the "delicious part" of the subject of atmospheric entry (the fear of death if the time limit is exceeded, thus making possible a surprise attack that no one has ever attempted before), is still a great line.

By the way, since the special edition of "Mobile Suit Gundam," Mr. Tanaka has been playing the role of Oscar Dublin, the operator of the White Base. Mr. Tanaka's voice was also heard as Oscar in the video depicting the bridge of the White Base that was shown at the "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Art of Gundam" exhibition.

I would like to conclude this article with a prayer for the repose of Mr. Tanaka's soul, who is now a star further away than the moon.

(Text by Ryota Fujitsu)
(C) Makoto Yukimura, Kodansha/Sunrise, BV, NEP