Well, as endings go, that was definitely of the \u201chmm\u201d variety. Which is fitting I suppose for a series that would up being pretty vexing and hard to pin down generally. I hate to do series review posts about shows as interesting as Chi.: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite<\/em> when I\u2019m swamped (I\u2019m moving today and tomorrow) but the alternative is a sizable delay, so it is what it is. And no doubt, Orb<\/em> was<\/em> interesting \u2013 really interesting. And that\u2019s a sizable compliment to pay to any series, whatever else one might say about it.<\/p>\n I suppose the headline has to be that no, we didn\u2019t really get an explanation for the Rafal thing. Clearly he was real \u2013 we can rule the ghost theory out. As to how this Rafal relates to the one from the first two episodes, I think that\u2019s pretty unclear. The whole \u201cP Kingdom vs. Poland\u201d thing suggests that the first 23 eps were some kind of fictional retelling, but nothing we got here (that I picked up on) suggested that. And the Potocki letter suggests that all that stuff really happened in this timeline (or at least some version of it). Is there a Steins;Gate<\/em> parallel reality thing happening here? Maybe, but again \u2013 if so, I see no direct evidence.<\/p>\n As to the denouement of this Rafal\u2019s storyline, it manages to be both shocking and anti-climactic. He makes an inspirational speech<\/a> (speeches are the bulk of Orb\u2019s<\/em> third act, seems like) and then sends little Albert B. off to mingle<\/a> with instructions not to leave early, but Albert is a dedicated lad. He can\u2019t bring himself to skip a day of observations and leaves the gathering for home, only to walk in on Rafal having just stabbed his father to death<\/a>. That explains his PTSD about learning, to be sure, but it\u2019s a pretty WTF development apart from that.<\/p>\n This kind of plays as if it was written to give a chance to contrast Rafal\u2019s thinking with Albert\u2019s father, which it too-neatly does. And of course the priest in the confessional is the sort that knows all about science and philosophy and loves to discuss it, which gets us to another soliloquy. It\u2019s an interesting topic to be sure, but not remotely natural as dialogue \u2013 which is a recurring problem of this whole third act. The stuff about doubt and conviction is certainly grounded in truth, and well worth considering and debating. Both men being wrong in their extreme view on it is not a controversial position to take, and I certainly don\u2019t disagree with it.<\/p>\n Chi Chikyuu<\/em> has almost always managed to work at least one really fascinating discourse into even its wonkiest episodes, and this one was no exception. Of all the things the priest said to Albert, what really piqued my interest was his question about the price we pay for knowledge and truth. Wages for work, coin for bread, taxes for protection and roads. But what is the cost of enlightenment, however you define it? Is it tireless research, is it faith? Is it poverty, ignoring chances to enrich oneself at the expense of the pursuit? Especially in the context in which it was presented it\u2019s certainly an intriguing question.<\/p>\n In the end Albert does decide to go to Krakow University<\/a> (one supposes we\u2019re to believe that was his stepfather\u2019s intent in sending him to that particular priest). Curiosity wins the day, which I think Rafal would say is a happy ending (though we never find out what became of him<\/em>). And\u00a0 from here the timeline is the true (to us at least) one. He enrolls at 23, goes on to be an instructor there for 20 years. Observes on geocentrism and alternatives but never becomes an advocate. And in 1491 a young student named Nicholas Copernicus reads Albert Brudzewski\u2019s contributions to an astronomy textbook<\/a> and is captivated (in fact, young Copernicus is said to have taken classes taught by Albert).<\/p>\n I\u2019m left feeling somewhat ambivalent about Orb<\/em>, if I\u2019m honest. The lasting impression is of a series written by a very smart mangaka with lots of ambition who didn\u2019t quite have the chops (or experience) to tie it all together. Maybe the whole was less than the sum of the parts as a result, but the parts were still awfully good. We just don\u2019t get many series that dedicate themselves to the pursuit of interesting ideas, so you have to be somewhat forgiving if that pursuit is clumsy at times (as I would argue it was here).<\/p>\n What Chi Chikyuu<\/em> seems to celebrate more than anything is curiosity and the pursuit of truth for its own sake, and those are incredibly noble things to advocate for. I would also say that the first cour or so \u2013 roughly ending with the close of Oczy and Badeni\u2019s arc \u2013 was consistently great. In that respect it gets grouped in with the likes of Fumetsu no Anata e<\/em> and Ousama Ranking<\/em> as series which show off greatness and then lose their way. The difference here, I think, is that Orb\u2019s<\/em> missteps were mainly a matter of execution \u2013 it never lost sight of its core principles in the way those series seemed to. It\u2019s too bad the entire series doesn\u2019t sustain the level of its first half, but this is still a wholly worthwhile and distinctive series, and I\u2019m eager to see what mangaka Uoto does next.<\/p>\n
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