Orb: On the Movements of the Earth 1x25 "?" - reaction & review
Added 2025-07-08 14:09:25 +0000 UTCHey everyone! Here it is - my reaction to episode 25 of Orb!! Wooooowww you guys, well now I know that wasn't really Rafal!!! Dang though, Albert's story was still really inspiring, and to think that he got the idea from the 10% note!!! That's incredible, it all really counted for something in the end - even the littlest thing sparked an idea!! This was actually a fairly happy ending to the series and a really beautiful message about humanity - its flaws, its strengths, etc. Glad I got to check this masterpiece out!!! Enjoy! ~ MH
Comments
I thought they were hiding Albert’s last name because he was Einstein. lol I was wrong there. I went into this thinking more travesty and yes there definitely was— like woah! But for brilliant reasons. I love the mangakas choices in the end here when showing the reverse can be true as well. Overall it did come down to one simple lesson but it’s more amazing than that as well. Even though this is fictitious it can reign as true. We may never know the stories that aren’t written in textbooks. And that’s something to ponder from time to time. It’s just a lot to take a way from this series. As crazy and harsh as it was it did something right. Fantastic work. ☀️ 🌎 ✨
Manny
2025-07-19 10:57:54 +0000 UTCFirst of all, YES to things turning into a 55-minute philosophical spiral! And THANK YOU for clarifying the Jolenta detail!! I totally forgot she was there in that sky-pan intro until you mentioned it and now I feel like I unlocked a secret level. Also, yes yes YES to the anime comparison — I love how you phrased it. It’s not anime anime, but it feels like that same energy of “we’re playing in someone else’s sandbox, so here’s our own flavor of tragedy and moral compromise on top.” MHA: Vigilantes and Clone Wars are perfect comps. That bit you wrote about Rafal and Nowak?? I got literal chills. Like, this show knew what it was doing with its thematic mirror flips. I’m still not over the fact that Rafal is both the cautionary tale and the echo of conviction. The irony is baked in. Chef’s kiss. And your reflection on contradiction in human nature??? That fits so well, I totally wanna save that and point at it when people ask me why I’m crying over fictional monks and philosophers!! The way this series balances ambiguity without feeling cheap is honestly masterful. Like, I’ll probably still be rethinking that ending in five years. Was it profound? Was it nonsense? Yes. Both. And I LOVE THAT FOR ME. Anyway — thank you for this thoughtful comment!! I feel seen. I feel validated. I feel like I need to go rewatch the finale again immediately. 😭
Melissa Moore
2025-07-14 22:08:51 +0000 UTCMelissa two minutes in: “I don’t want to get going too long on theories.” Me seeing the reaction is 55m long: “Welp, that mission probably failed. 😅” So the notes do clear up a few things, but I do think a couple tidbits I should point out are as follows: You keep asking if during the intro, the scene when the sky moves over the houses where the lights are going out if someone used to be there: yes. Jolenta was in the foreground, until the end of her participation in the Oczy/Badeni arc. The priest’s question to Albert, ending with “what must one give to obtain the truth of this world?” is actually presented at the beginning of the first episode. It’s a particular trope of presenting something at the end at the beginning, without context, but in this case it’s giving away so little I don’t really have an issue with it. Comparing this show to fictional anime doesn’t actually seem correct, but the method the author is using is quite similar. The difference is they have historical facts they must adhere to. The authors for both MHA: Vigilantes and Clone Wars are doing the same thing, they have the facts of the main show they have to input plot and characters into, and certain things must occur, while others are impossible. (This person cannot be killed, because they exist in the main show, for example.) The first thing in this episode is the gathering of people with different scholarly intentions and they’re all free thinking and willing to ask different questions. They all appear to be from different backgrounds as well, yet they’re all conversing with each other in cordial terms - something that didn’t occur at all throughout most of the series. I also noticed that there were a decent amount of women participating. Given the scope of Jolenta’s arc, this is one occurrence where the “show, don’t tell” narrative works in a much better way. Rafal in this case may have existed in reality, but also may have not. We won’t know for sure, we can only theorize. It’s clear this version of him took a completely different mindset than the so-called “original” did. Ironically, he’s a lot more taking the side of Nowak here and willing to kill in the sake of his own beliefs and the pursuit of them. If that isn’t flipping the coin directly on its head, I really don’t know what is. Humans are quite often a walking contradiction. We want connections, but we’re afraid of commitment. We want income, but are hesitant to give up our time to earn it. The very juxtaposition of our existence has been a reversal of ideals and beliefs since the Dawn of our time. It’s hard enough to get two people to completely agree, multiply that by the entire world and it makes sense why something’s always in turmoil. The internet has done a lot to build bridges between cultures (Japan’s anime culture is a perfect example of this, because we’re talking about it), but it’s also done a lot to show the divisiveness in ideals. People are always searching for a happy medium. Everyone wants to know the truth, but few are willing to give up the sacrifices required to obtain it. Everyone has to consider the ideas that are most important for them to pursue, and the mist important thing to realize, something that most of the protagonists don’t stop to consider is: you could be wrong. As Albert’s mentor said, doubt your own convictions: it’s the first line of defense against your own overzealousness. If you still believe after that? You’re probably on to something. As far as the most interesting character, let’s answer that question by another: can the story’s protagonist also be its villain at the same time? What tied most of the “fictional” characters together? It was Nowak. Who might’ve been the epitome of the message the show appears to be conveying. “Don’t be so set in what you think you know that you fail to realize the questions that need to be asked.” I finished this series shortly before you started it, so going through a rewatch was interesting. I thought the last two episodes in particular were either an incredibly deep meaning that the author was trying to make, or the show was trying to jump the shark and I wasn’t ever sure which was closer to the truth. The fact that it’s left ambiguous is probably intentional. It’s the kind of show that’s going to keep your wheels turning after the camera stops… and that’s probably in the end, what the intention was in the beginning. CHI. :P
Tyler Stobbe
2025-07-09 00:46:50 +0000 UTC
