Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Episode 8

I want to start this review with something I've been meaning (and forgetting) to properly compliment for weeks now: kensuke ushio's soundtrack. It's so good. His style fits the content of the show perfectly. While his delicate and unobtrusive touch never overpowers the anime, if you really pay attention to the music, you can hear the multitudes within its minimalist and ambient contours. In that sense, he captures both the cosmic scope of the subject and the grittier human drama at the core of it. Orb's overall production continues to stand up to the strength of the story, but I'd wager that Ushio's music might be its lynchpin.

As for this episode in particular, Badeni is both more bastardly and more likable than ever. For one, he's very upfront with Oczy about his utilitarian attraction to Jolenta as a collaborator—and, by the way, Oczy's incessant wide-eyed shock at the monk's ruthlessness further endears both of these men to me. There's just nothing like a good odd couple. Meanwhile, you can taste the relish in Badeni's voice as he steers his conversation with Jolenta into deeper heretical trenches, appealing to the young girl's pride and curiosity. In fact, he seems to relish it so much that I think he genuinely enjoys talking with Jolenta. It makes sense. She's bright, educated, and inquisitive, and I wouldn't be surprised if Badeni were starved for one-on-one intellectual conversation. There's no way he'd admit as much at this point, but I'm eager to see how his relationship with Jolenta develops.

Since this is as much a story about religion as it is about science, the Biblical framing of this scene pops out at me. Their chat is Orb's twisted take on the seduction of evil, as Badeni the snake spreads his honeyed words to lead Jolenta astray from Catholic orthodoxy. He even makes a point of brandishing a spherical object to tempt her towards greater knowledge. While you might argue that a globe isn't exactly an apple, allow me to walk you down my reasoning. Globes were indeed quite rare at the time, and the oldest surviving one dates back to the late 15th century, i.e. contemporary with Orb's setting. While that's a neat bit of historical accuracy, here's the really cool part: the name of that globe is the Erdapfel, which is German for “earth apple.” See? I told you I was onto something. And if you compare the anime's globe to the Erdapfel, you can tell that the animators used it as a reference.

Badeni's temptation leads Jolenta into moral turmoil, which the anime supports with stellar visual language. On a fundamental level, the storyboarding is solid throughout. Even though this was an extremely wordy episode with little character movement, it never felt boring to me. That's also a sign of keen direction and editing. More specifically, when Jolenta begins absorbing the gravity of Badeni's implications after he leaves, she unconsciously cups her hand over her right eye, which is the same one his eyepatch covers. Already, the anime draws parallels between them. Similarly, when Piast catches Jolenta slinking away from the well, the camera holds for a moment on both the flame and a drop of melting wax, echoing Badeni's torture from a few episodes back. These subtle cues call back to the danger at the heart of this story without being too ostentatious about it. At the same time, though, the wax also represents the mutability of the "truths" held evident at the time. Piast encourages Jolenta in spite of the overwhelming societal prejudice against women because he believes in something more fundamental than the Church's interpretation of holy scripture.

Piast is a compelling figure in his own right. In general, his scenes speak to the woes of being a scientist in any field. It is not only possible but probable that you might devote your life to studying a small piece of a puzzle that turns out to be a mirage anyway. Still, that hasn't stopped thousands of years of scientific progress. In that regard, I really like Piast's interpretation of the Icarus myth—it wasn't just hubris, but faulty equipment that was the lad's undoing. In this metaphor, the limited observational tools of the time are the wax wings of astronomers, and they have no path upward except to continue their studies so that better tools can be both made and used properly. Even a liberal-minded academic like Piast, however, can get stuck in his ways. He clings to geocentrism because he needs his life to have a purpose. He needs to prove his father wrong. In Orb, it all circles back to the human elements. And just as the cosmos moves in cycles, so too must he think about who he'll be passing his gold astrolabe onto.

Rating:

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is currently streaming on Netflix.

Steve is on Bluesky now, and he's okay with that. He is busy pondering the orb. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.