Summary
- Orb: On the Movements of the Earth boasts a compelling conflict between science and faith.
- The anime introduces a unique heliocentric theory challenging the church's geocentric beliefs.
- Complex character development and historical themes make Orb a must-watch this Fall.
The 2024 Fall anime season is stacked with a host of shows that have been greatly anticipated by fans. However, there is a title that comes from the long-celebrated studio behind several critically acclaimed anime that has had minimal hype leading up to the broadcast of its first and second episodes, which were both released on October 5.
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is an anime that boasts an immensely compelling premise based on the conflict between science and faith, and executes it in an amazing way. Here's why Orb is a definite must-watch this Fall.
How Significant is Historical Fiction in Anime?
Investigating the impact of anime and manga's exploration of historical events and figures through unique storytelling.
Basic Plot
Literally, About the Movements of the Earth
Chi: Chikyu no Undo ni Tsuite, known in English as Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, is set in the 15th century, in the "P Kingdom" (most likely a fictionalized Poland), a place where the teachings of the church are absolute, and those branded heretics face immense persecution, torture, and even death. Rafal, a child with a promising future and immense interest in astronomy who is set to enroll in university despite his youth, is forced to collaborate with and keep the secrets of a heretic named Hubert, who pretends to have been reformed after his run-in with the Church, but has secretly continued his sinful ways, engaging in extremely controversial research that challenges the very structure of the universe.
The geocentric model posits that the Earth is the center of our universe, and all the other celestial bodies orbit it. However, Hubert is convinced that this readily accepted idea is misguided. Instead, he blows Rafal's mind by presenting a theory he calls "heliocentrism" – the idea that the Earth and other planets orbit the sun. When Novak, an inquisitor, finds a diagram Rafal drew depicting this model at work, Hubert takes responsibility, and as per the rules of the Church, any repeat heretic is to be burned at the stake. Hubert entrusts his life's work to Rafal, whom he believes can prove heliocentrism. But with increasing suspicion and his adoptive father, Potocki, pressuring him into studying theology at university instead of the astronomy he'd been looking forward to, Rafal has an incredibly difficult and dangerous task ahead of him.
Background Information
The History and Production of Orb
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is a manga created by Uoto which was published in Shogakukan's Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits from September 2020 to April 2022. It has been collected into eight volumes. The series won the 26th Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize Manga Grand Prize in 2022, and won the 54th Seiun Award in the Comics category in 2023. The anime is produced by Madhouse, the studio behind anime mainstays like Kon Satoshi's Paprika; the adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata's Death Note; Death Parade; the adaptation of Rei Hiroe's Black Lagoon; the first season of One Punch Man and even last year's resounding hit, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. Staff behind the production of Orb include director Kenichi Shimizu (key animation, Afro Samurai: Resurrection); with series composition by Shingo Irie (scripts on several episodes of Kuroko's Basketball); character designer Masanori Shino (character designs, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean), who also serves as chief animation director; art director Yasutoshi Kawai (backgrounds, Devil May Cry [2007]); photography director Akane Fushihara (photography director, One Punch Man) and sound director Kisuke Koizumi (sound director, Dororo [2019]), with music composed by Kensuke Ushio (music, CHAINSAW MAN).
The revealed cast includes Maaya Sakamoto as Rafal; Kouichi Makishima as Potocki; Kenjirō Tsuda as Novak; Shō Hayami as Hubert; Katsuyuki Konishi as Oczy; Saya Hitomi as Yolenta and Yūichi Nakamura as Badeni. The series' opening is "Kaijū" performed by sakanaction, while the ending is "Aporia" performed by Yorushika. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is set for 25 episodes and will run for two consecutive cours. The first two episodes were released simultaneously on October 5, and Netflix is streaming the title internationally.
What Makes This Anime Special?
Unique Subject Matter and Interesting Characters
A medieval setting in anime is by no means an uncommon thing, and there have also been countless titles that have presented some kind of religious organization as an antagonistic force, but what's both compelling and unsettling about Orb is the overwhelming sense of oppressive power that the Christian church exerts in the Kingdom of P, and the fact that the series introduces itself by showing the level of cruelty that the Church will exhibit in order to protect its interests, which it conveniently subsumes with divine interests in order to maintain power over the layperson. This reflection of how the Church treated what it considered heresy in history is disturbing, but based on real life; however, what makes Orb compelling is how, in three short episodes at the time of writing, the characters manage to show incredibly complicated but ultimately inspiring reasons for putting themselves in such profound danger for the sake of truth.
In three short episodes, 12-year-old Rafal shows development from arrogant and insincere as a result of his ability to play on people's beliefs and emotions, to being willing to put his own life on the line to defy the status quo in a show of valiance and wisdom far beyond his years. Even the character of Rafal's adoptive father, Potocki, has an interesting set-up and development based on his connection to Hubert, and his own history as a "heretic" due to his interest in heliocentrism. The Church's vehement punishment of academic curiosity and questioning what scripture presents as indisputable truth. This marked war on questioning reality or what has been taught as an absolute truth; a contest between unshakable faith and the spirit of scientific curiosity, is incredibly well done, and Kenjiro Tsuda (Nanami, JUJUTSU KAISEN) does an incredible job driving home how depraved and terrifying the inquisitor Novak is as an agent of the overwhelming authority that is the Church. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is a title worth watching this season because of how well it immerses the audience in the precarity of its setting, and how it develops its characters, regardless of how short-lived their screentime may be, and serves as yet another example of anime historical fiction done well.
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is available to stream on Netflix.