Visual Effects of "Planetes," Using a "Space Helmet" to Depict the Emotions of the Characters [Nostalgic Anime Memoirs Vol. 50

Director Goro Taniguchi's new TV animation "revisions" started this month. Taniguchi directed the TV series "Planetes" in 2003. Based on Makoto Yukimura's manga, "Planetes" is set in the 2070s, when the sphere of human life has expanded to the surface of the moon. The main character, Hachimaki, works for a company that collects debris generated by space development, and in the anime, a woman named Tanabe, who later marries Hachimaki, appears in the first episode.

The difference in views between Tanabe, a new employee, and Hachimaki, who is used to working in the debris recovery business, is clearly depicted from the first episode.

The transparent visor creates an effect similar to that of "double exposure.

At the end of the first episode, "Out of the Atmosphere," Tanabe and Hachimaki go on a mission to burn a commemorative plaque from space to Earth, which is a prayer for peace in the disputed country of Mananga. Tanabe is against burning the peace plate. In satellite orbit, Tanabe is outraged when he is informed that the commemorative plates orbiting the orbiter will be discarded to keep the military satellite alive.
But, senpai, it's a military satellite.　Isn't it an instrument of war!" Tanabe protests to Hachimaki. At this moment, the helmet covering Tanabe's face snaps open, revealing her face covered by a transparent visor.
As Tanabe and Hachimaki argue furiously in satellite orbit, a commemorative plaque appears above Tanabe's head. The plate bears a large imprint of the mark of the World Federation, which operates the military satellite. Tanabe reads the words that follow the mark. The commemorative plate was nothing more than hypocritical propaganda from the World Coalition.

Tanabe's face as he looks at the commemorative plaque.
Tanabe reading the letters on the commemorative plate

The above two elements can be superimposed in one cut through the transparent visor. The letters on the commemorative plate are placed over Tanabe's face as she stares in stunned disbelief, conveying at once the shock she is suffering and the reason for it.
This effect could not have been achieved without the special equipment called a "transparent visor" that reflects objects.

The transparent visor sometimes becomes a "screen" that reflects the past.

In "Planetes," there are many cuts that simultaneously show "the expression of the person wearing the helmet" and "the transparent visor reflecting what the person is seeing.
In episode 7, "The Extraterrestrial Girl," an injured Hachimaki is admitted to a hospital on the moon. In the hospital room, Hachimaki meets Roland, a veteran astronaut.
Roland is stricken with leukemia and disappears from the hospital. After being discharged from the hospital, Hachimaki and his boss, Fee, accidentally find the dying Roland lying on the moon.
Roland reaches up into the air and says, "You know, nobody loves space as much as I do, but that's a hell of a way to treat a man. Roland's eyes widen and his up...... transparent visor shows Roland's arms and the blackness of space. I think it would be better to superimpose Roland's arms trying to grasp the void and his expression in the same shot to convey his desire to be "part of the universe" in a straightforward manner.

In episode 16, "Ignition," Hachimaki is isolated in space while working and suffers a serious psychological crisis. Hachimaki meets an eerie man in a space suit in a sensory deprivation room in a hospital. When the man's helmet opens, behind a transparent visor is the face of another Hachimaki. The visor shows a small image of the "real Hachimaki" in front of him.
Furthermore, the transparent visor of the "other Hachimaki" becomes a screen, projecting scenes that Hachimaki has seen before. In "Planetes," the transparent visor is "another screen" within the square frame of the animation, and by using two screens, the relationship between people and the universe becomes multilayered, and the universe and the mind can be directly and visually connected.


(Text by Keisuke Hirota)
(c) Makoto Yukimura, Kodansha/Sunrise BV, NEP