Reviews

Jan 3, 2025
Mixed Feelings
FunnyFunny
TL:DR
Characters are vehicles for the plot, some chapters feel more like textbooks than manga and the story jumps to different characters constantly. However, there is something profound in what it has to say. Read it for the philosophy not the story.

Story: 6/10
The manga has three time skips, each following a different character (well, four including the epilogue). First we're introduced to the first protagonist and I was excited to see his journey. Then we have a time skip and I realised that there would be no protagonist to follow in this manga. In fact, we seem to follow the ideas each character left behind more than the characters themselves.

The first part felt too short, it was jarring to move past the first protagonist so soon. The second part was the longest and, predictably, the best. We followed one set of characters for longer and they could be more developed.

The third part was the worst in my opinion, it felt very out of left field due to how, for lack of a better word, shounen it felt compared to the grounded historical feeling of the rest of the manga.

I feel like the manga tries to tackle the historical prejudice against women in the era of the setting but it was very surface level and preachy. The main female character is pretty much immediately accepted as an intellectual equal and there is no obstacle to overcome, most characters around her is totally cool with her being a scholar. Seems weird to focus on the difficulties of female scholars when we really only see it being an issue for a chapter or two.

And yet, despite all my complaints, there is something profound here. The manga dives into the philosophy of faith and science, as well as the fact that they may not be so opposed after all. The characters' motivations behind sacrificing so much merely to advance an idea resonates with me. At times I felt like the author was the one speaking not the characters but their ideas are delivered so earnestly I can't bring myself to hate it.

Character: 5/10
The characters are used exclusively as a vehicle for their respective world views. The majority of their dialogue reads more like the author lecturing through the characters than something someone would actually say.

When I realised that we wouldn't be following any character for very long, I stopped caring all that much for each one and I wasn't surprised when I found that they were not very developed. They don't really do anything except research or talk about heliocentrism.

The main antagonist, Nowak is genuinely scary - his sheer conviction and brutality make a compelling villain. Considering he's the only character that is present throughout all three parts, this is especially good.

Art
Every part of the art is beautiful… except the characters. Buildings, nature, objects, backgrounds, all of it is great but the characters look so strange. Their faces have this strange uncanny valley quality that is genuinely distracting at times. The fact that many characters look very similar does not help. The rest of it is very good though.

Overall: 6/10
The very definition of not for everyone. Orb as a story feels rather bare-bones but it shows such passion for science and the pursuit of truth that I almost can't fault it.

Mixed recommendation: avoid if you're in it for plot or characters but if you want to understand why people pursue truth, then this manga is for you.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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