Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Uoto. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits from September 2020 to April 2022, with its chapters collected in eight volumes. Set in 15th-century Europe, the series follows the dangerous journeys of scholars who risk their lives to pursue research on the forbidden heliocentric theory.
A 25-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Madhouse aired from October 2024 to March 2025.
By February 2025, the manga had over 5 million copies in circulation.
Plot
In 15th-century Europe, the Church tightly controls information, and dissent from its doctrine is heresy, punishable by death. Rafal, a child prodigy with a passion for astronomy, is raised by his adoptive father, Potocki, who urges him to study theology. However, Rafal's life changes when he is coerced by Hubert, a heretic scholar, into assisting with research on the Earth's movements. Initially skeptical, Rafal confirms the heliocentric model through his own calculations. Their secret work is discovered by Inquisitor Nowak, who finds Rafal's sketches. Hubert sacrifices himself, giving Rafal a pendant and taking the blame, leading to his execution. Rafal continues the research in secret but is confronted by Potocki, who warns him of the dangers, citing his own past struggles. When Rafal refuses to stop, Potocki reports him to Nowak. At his trial, Rafal refuses to recant and is sentenced to death. Before his execution, he commits suicide using smuggled poppy seeds, and his body is burned.A decade later, duellists Oczy and Gras are tasked with guarding a heretic during transport, accompanied by Nowak. Gras, an amateur astronomer, records Mars' movements and expects it to complete its revolution. However, Mars unexpectedly retrogrades, frustrating Gras. The heretic reveals the location of a box containing astronomical research and gives Oczy the pendant before dying. Oczy and Gras retrieve the box but Gras is lost when a bridge collapses. Oczy seeks help from Badeni, a demoted priest, who agrees to study the box's contents if Oczy continues Gras' observations. They discover the research on heliocentrism and seek collaborators, enlisting Jolenta, a scholar's assistant, and Piast, a Ptolemaic model researcher. After Piast's death, Badeni completes the theory. However, Nowak investigates, leading to the arrest and execution of Badeni and Oczy. Jolenta, revealed to be Nowak's daughter, is spared by a sympathetic inquisitor, who fakes her death. Meanwhile, Badeni's parish priest discovers he transcribed Oczy's diary on vagabonds' heads.
Twenty-five years later, Schmidt, captain of the Heretic Liberation Force, retrieves Oczy's book under Jolenta's orders. Draka, a Romani woman, finds the book and burns it, reciting its contents to Jolenta in exchange for access to a printing press. When Nowak's forces attack, Jolenta sacrifices herself, allowing Draka and Schmidt to escape. Schmidt's group is betrayed, and they sacrifice themselves to help Draka reach Antoni, a bishop. Draka convinces Antoni to publish the heliocentric research, but Nowak intervenes, killing Antoni and burning the church. Nowak turns the blade on Draka, but she fatally wounds him before succumbing to her injuries. In his final moments, Nowak hallucinates Rafal and realizes his role as the villain of heliocentrism. Draka sends a letter via carrier pigeon before dying.
In 1468, a baker's assistant, Albert Brudzewski, refuses to enroll in university until a priest encourages him. As a child, Albert loved astronomy and shared his observations with his father, who introduced him to Rafal, a fanatical scholar. Rafal took Albert to a gathering of scholars but later murdered Albert's father for refusing to support his forbidden research. Rafal was captured, and Albert, traumatized, initially abandoned astronomy. After speaking with the priest, Albert enrolls in university. At one point, he happens upon Draka's letter being delivered to Potocki's former address, which inspires him to study heliocentrism. After teaching at university for twenty years, he writes a commentary on an astronomy textbook in 1482, influencing future scholars including a young Nicolaus Copernicus in 1491.
Characters
Part 1
;Rafal;Nowak
;Hubert
;Potocki
Part 2
;Oczy;Gras
;Badeni
;Damian
;Jolenta
;Kolbe
;Count Piast
;Antoni
Part 3
;Draka;Schmidt
;Lewandowski
;Frei
;Dhruv
Final part
;Albert BrudzewskiMedia
Manga
Written and illustrated by Uoto, Orb: On the Movements of the Earth was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits from September 14, 2020, to April 18, 2022. Shogakukan collected its chapters in eight, released from December 11, 2020, to June 30, 2022.Seven Seas Entertainment has licensed the manga for English publication, releasing the manga in a 2-in-1 omnibus edition.