Orb : On the movements of the Earth
@ SEVEN SEAS Publication / Uoto
Orb begins as a story about a young astronomer’s curiosity to understand how the earth, sun and moon move around each other. However, this setting takes place in an age where religion was the one source of information for all astronomical and human activities. In such an environment to refute religious claims about the position of the earth in our solar system would be blasphemous and would result in some dire consequences.
The religious heads in this environment have deemed humans a doomed race who are meant to suffer on this horrible planet that we call earth. Thus they promote the idea that the earth is the center of the universe and humans are responsible for all the problems of the universe. However, many brave souls like our protagonist, Rafal, are not so ready to accept this claim.
These souls can sense something is quite wrong with this declaration as they can see the beauty of this earth and our universe, daily, which is further reinforced through their observations of the strange movements of the stars and planets. Thus, despite threats to their lives, these souls push forward to learn the truth about humanity’s place on this green earth and in the universe.
This drive to understand the universe and to convince the world that the earth is not the center of the universe is a truly admirable quality, especially given the circumstances these characters face. Thus, if you are looking for a manga series or volume that inspires you to question your circumstances or in my case, appreciate the scientific discoveries made before technology such as Chat GPT or the internet was invented, then do check this amazing series. I assure you, you will be left spell bounded.
P.S. I would also like to mention that there is an anime adaptation that has recently been released on Netflix. Do view it !