▶ Video Innovation is a beautiful thing. Revolutionary ideas that come so gradually in the world’s history are what has shaped the world as we know it. The amount of freedom that people have gained throughout history is not to be underestimated, and in Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, we got a look at a world that sorely lacked autonomy for the people. The clergy, stopping all thoughts that did not align with their beliefs, so they could remain in absolute power over the people, teaching them that there is only one way the world works.This review is spoiler-free, but will show some graphic imagery from the anime/manga.
However, humans, at their core, are hungry for knowledge, hungry to make something of their lives. Who wouldn’t want to be the one to discover the next big theory, or to be the one to uncover the truth behind something that people believed in for their entire lives? For years upon years, people believed in Ptolemy’s model where Earth was at the centre of the universe. Then came Copernicus, who proposed the first mathematical model that the Earth revolved around the Sun. These were seen as the revolutionary models of astronomy.
There certainly is a belief that in the 16th and 17th centuries, people were persecuted and killed for pursuing heliocentrism. However, as the author of Orb mentioned in an interview, “there was oppression, but in actual history, it seems that the Copernican theory was not persecuted to that extent.” The author found this misunderstanding interesting, and thus, he decided to make this the core theme of the manga.
By presenting a misperception as a core concept, while this series includes some scientific themes around astronomy, it never pretends to be reflecting the real world at all. In the end, this is historical fiction. It is more a depiction of human nature than anything else, especially the yearning of people who want to “move the Earth”. It shows the process of a radical idea that gets passed through generations, and the repercussions there were for studying what was considered as heretical back in early 15th Century Poland. This setting represented a time where most people believed in the same things, and people who showed any type of rebellious behaviour would be subject to severe punishment. Yet, a select few people pushed through.
The feeling when someone learns something potentially world-defining is unparalleled. It can be in the best of ways, such as the joy and bewilderment of learning something new, but this anime shows a bit of both the good and the painful regarding the learning of new information. When someone dedicates their whole life to scholarship, to research, and then having their life’s work shattered in an instant, that can be hard to accept. Orb does a great job in showing these critical moments of life, as well as showing how people responded to the fluidity of science. Furthermore, the opposing forces of the researcher and the clergy really made me consider whether or not there was a concrete protagonist or antagonist in this story. The anime frames it in a way that is easier to digest, with the viewer following the researcher’s perspective most of the time, but a deeper look revealed the complexities of the powers that exist in the established setting.
What made this anime stand out to me was just how consistent it was in its themes. It was a no-nonsense look into a world where people were persecuted for researching heretical subjects. People are slain without mercy, tortured to a breaking point, and emotionally manipulated, through savage imagery.
(This is how both the anime and manga in its first episode and first volume began. According to the author, he said that "by placing this scene at the beginning, I think it creates the thrill of making the reader think, "Who knows what this author will do? Anything could happen with this work from here on out.")
At no point does this anime go back on its established theme of being in an unforgiving world where one mistake could cost someone their lives. No plot armour, no easy way out, no loopholes. For that reason, it was all the more inspiring and respectable to see multiple characters push through with their research and stay firm on their beliefs, even when it means an impending death.
Another reason for the success of this anime was the effort from the staff members. I wanted to talk about the voice acting in particular, and props to everyone who voiced a character in this anime. In particular, I wanted to highlight Kenjirou Tsuda’s performance as Nowak, which was by far one of the best performances I have heard. He is very quickly becoming one of my favourite voice actors, and his performances as antagonists are some of his best work. It is truly amazing how a voice actor can command one’s attention, and draw the viewer into being unnerved every time the character opens his mouth. To make it even better, Tsuda was also a big fan of the manga, and introduced it in a voice acting interview almost three years ago, stating that he would love to voice Nowak. When you have that level of commitment and love for something, the work that gets put in will only get better. Excellent choice of casting here.
The one shortcoming I think this anime had was the visuals, but more importantly, some of the lighting. In some scenes, what was going on was virtually impossible to see due to the dark lighting. Yes, a lot of the anime takes place at nighttime, but I should not have to max out my screen brightness and squint to see what was going on. As for the animation, it was very serviceable. Here is where the “Poland Saga” comparison comes into play, because Orb and Vinland Saga have similar gritty character designs and never looked very flashy in terms of the animation. It is from Studio Madhouse, but this is definitely not nearly on the same level as say, Frieren. That said, the background art and especially the music by Kensuke Ushio, one of my favourite anime composers, more than made up for what was lacking in the visual department. Brilliant atmosphere all around.
(While the lighting may not be perfect in every shot, the art was always very impactful when it needed to be, and gave the made full use of visuals of the sky to convey its meaning)
Another thing I found unique was that we got to see multiple viewpoints of people learning the heliocentric theory, from a kid’s perspective, as well as young men and women. They all came from different backgrounds, yet they all converged to get to know how the world moves. They each have their own motivations, beliefs, and mindsets toward research and just life in general. The relationships between the characters build at a nice pace, and a lot of them had me thoroughly invested into how they would interact with the vast world of astronomy.
Back when I was scrolling through the seasonal chart before this anime started airing, picking which anime I would watch, I saw this anime, Orb, and from word of mouth, as well as looking at the synopsis and trailers, I thought it would be like a history lesson, or a historical fiction that was based on a real setting. I thought it would simply be educational, but it was so much more than that. The Japanese title of this anime, Chi, has multiple meanings, and the author also said in the interview I referenced earlier that “besides the "earth" in the title, there is also the clash of intelligence and violence, leading to the spill of "blood." I wanted to give the Japanese character "chi" various meanings.” The word “chi” is also a play on the word “knowledge”, so therefore, this anime’s themes revolved around “The Chi of the Earth, the Chi of Blood, and the Chi of Knowledge”. There is action, there is bloodshed, and there is certainly knowledge to be shared, and all in all, it was virtually a perfect package of an anime.
Overall, this was an anime unlike anything I have ever seen, with how it tackles human nature, and how it dealt with the historical backdrop of geocentrism versus heliocentrism. Will it have the staying power to get more popular outside the niche audience it had for most of its run, or will it become the next modern classic? Only time will tell if the anime could truly move the Earth, but it certainly moved me.
One final request, just go listen to this brilliant song (and if you have already, just do it again!). Your ears will be blessed.
