I've seen 14 episodes of Planetes. The first half has been pretty lackluster, 6th episode for instance, the one with ninjas, was almost unbearable. Second half however, when it really delves into characters, has been spectacular. Yuri's arc was genuinely emotional, he's also by far the most likeable character. Tanabe on the other hand can be at times downright irritating due to being overly naive and childish. I also don't really care for the romance bit that's going on, luckily it's not all up in your face so there's that, hopefully it stays that way. Overall, Planetes is enjoyable, if you have have a sci fi itch after seeing films like Gravity and Martian Planetes should do just fine, the premise alone is bound reel you in.