OK, we’re getting into pretty silly territory here. Planetes this isn’t. Watching the first episode I found myself making a list of implausibilities, but I had to stop when I ran out of paper.
Just to begin with:
- It’s hard to imagine circumstances under which space piracy would be a reliable way to make a living.
- Even if such circumstances existed it hardly seems like something that could be done by students as a part-time job.
- Even if that were the case, it seems doubtful that space pirates would wear cosplay pirate hats and greatcoats.
- Skirts don’t work in space. Exceptions may be made for civilizations that have cheap and reliable artificial gravity, but that clearly isn’t the case here.
- Long hair doesn’t work in space either unless you braid it and tie it back like Princess Leia.
Why am I even worrying about this stuff when obviously the writers know all this and don’t care? Perhaps because the story is delivered in such a deadpan straight-faced manner that it feels like it ought to make sense. Actually that’s probably the right approach. Winking at the audience works fine for a short parody but in a long story it gets irritating. The sillier the premise, the more important it is to play it absolutely straight.
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