Planetes, Book 1

Planetes, Book 1 - Makoto Yukimura I discovered this by luck, and I was very pleased. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is that some small parts of the story were things I did not particularly like (I tend to dislike bratty younger siblings of main characters, for instance). However, that small detail aside, this is an excellent manga with a very strong hard science fiction element. The premise is very good as well. Space exploration is a given. It has left a lot of trash and debris in space, and someone has to pick it up. Our protagonist is one of those space garbage men. The author writes very good stories of this character and his team mates. There are moving moments, some action, and it is all presented in a good science fictional setting that pays attention to the science as we learn a bit about astronauts and how space affects them mentally and physically. On investigating a bit, I learned this manga is out of print, so I may have to scour a bit to find the other four volumes in the series. This is a series I definitely want to continue following. Even if you do not like mangas, if you like science fiction, this is a pretty good series. Definitely a very pleasant discovery for me.