“Orb: On the Movements of the Earth” is one of the best new anime of the past couple of years. This is a drama about the pursuit of knowledge and the resilience of human curiosity in the face of persecution, about how hard it is to kill ideas, and the sacrifices that lead to scientific breakthroughs. The show is set in 15th century Europe at a time of inquisition, a time when heretics are burned at the stake and it is essentially forbidden to look at the stars. You see, the church seems particularly keen on killing a silly little theory that the Earth orbits the sun.
One thing that makes the show unique is its lack of a protagonist. Instead, the show changes focus to follow several people across many decades, each being introduced to the Heliocentrism theory and becoming incapable of dropping the thought of doing research to prove it. Eventually, their lives are consumed by the pursuit of knowledge, and the wish to push the envelope on the theory just a bit further. The theme of knowledge and the inevitability of human curiosity are central to “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.” Or at least that’s what the theme is supposed to be, if it wasn’t for a big mistake in the English subtitles on Netflix.
Several times throughout the season, the English subtitles for “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth” use the word “truth” in relation to the opposition of it, and its pursuit. It makes sense. After all, the plot of the season is the pursuit of proof that the Earth revolves around the Sun, an absolute truth of the nature of the universe. Except that is a simplification of what the original dialogue says, and a localization error with big consequences. In Japanese, the word “chi” is spoken several times by different characters all throughout the season.
Like many Japanese words, it can mean different things depending on how it’s written — it can mean the word for blood “血,” the word for earth or ground “地” or the word for knowledge or intellect “知.” Even the Japanese title uses the word “Chi,” which is why dubs in other languages title the show as “Chi, Earth, Blood, and Knowledge.” Though you could argue that both “truth” and “knowledge” apply, there’s a big thematic difference between them.
In the English translation, the show constantly refers to the concept of “truth” as being absolute, and that changes the main theme of the anime. The main theme is not just about the religious persecution of the truth, but rather the conflict between the church and the pursuit of knowledge and humanity’s intellect. Having Nowak say in episode 3 that he despises “truth” is very different than him professing his hatred for “knowledge,” as he is specifically against people’s thirst for knowledge leading to dangerous truths being spread.
And that pursuit of knowledge drives every element of “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth.” As mentioned, the best part of the anime is that it doesn’t really have a protagonist, the focus being on the very idea of heliocentrism being passed around, inspiring new generations of people who want to gain knowledge. Once the idea of heliocentrism take hold in a new character, they slowly become incapable of not working on proving heliocentrism even in the face of torture and execution. Rather than focusing on the individual or group of individuals that make the discovery or who become known for an achievement, “Orb: On the Movements of the Earth” shows the importance of building on what came before. In that, the anime argues in favor of there not being such a thing as mistakes, for every failure is knowledge that helps whoever comes after you. It may be a small thing, but it makes the scope and tone of the show stand out from other stories about discoveries in science.
Localization is an art, not a science, and just like there are plenty of dubs that are just as good if not better than the original, there are also shows and movies with initially terrible localization. There was controversy over the loss of deeper meaning in the English subtitles for “Squid Game,” and there are plenty of titles that lose something in translation. This is why localization is important, for it can change the entire meaning of a story.
“Orb: On the Movements of the Earth” Season 1 is now streaming on Netflix with a new episode premiering Saturday, March 15.
