Welcome back to Anime Rants. I’ve been struggling to find the motivation and mental energy to write lately. However, if nothing else, I still want to continue writing about Orb. This engrossing installment was another reminder of how much there is to love and analyze in this anime. From the 18th episode, there are several key points to mention – including Schmit’s idea of spirituality and Draka’s atheism. Let’s rant!
Note: This is not a recap, but just some thoughts that I took notice of while watching. Apologies for the possibly awkward and disjointed writing, but I’m doing the absolute best I can in my current mental/emotional condition.
Episode 18: To Liberate Information
Episode Rating: 10/10
Bishop Anthony was surprised to find that Draka was a keenly intelligent and outspoken woman. Given her educated abilities, it seemed possible that he would provide Draka with a chance to improve her position. However, I doubt he had anything good in mind for her. Even if he intended to let her live as a slave or something at first, he probably would have ordered her execution after finding out about the book. So, I was definitely happy when Schmit and his people arrived to secure the forbidden novel.
In the violent scuffle with the Heretic Liberation front, one of the men accidentally sliced Draka’s uncle with his sword. Dhruv was fatally wounded. While he bled out on the ground, I was muttering aloud, “Die, bastard.” Absolutely nobody will miss that man. I don’t have a shred of sympathy for him after he tried to sell off his own niece to the very same people who force-converted his tribe and continued to rule them cruelly afterward.
Interestingly, Draka (who probably doesn’t believe in a literal hell) told her uncle that he was falling into hell. I think this was her way of asking him to apologize at the end of his miserable life. But Dhruv took it literally and wasted the last of his breath saying that there is no hell. While I’m convinced this statement is true, that’s not the point of this at all. The point was that Dhruv failed to even try to make things right before his only life ended. Good riddance.
Before we talk about Schmit, let’s talk about Draka. Her beliefs (or lack thereof) influenced her decision to take drastic action in this episode. Remember, Draka came to the village at night expecting a change in her fate. Now that the opportunity was here, she grabbed the bull by the horns. She burned the heretical book and told Schmit that she knew all its contents (which seems to be true). Schmit and his men had only read half of it or none of it at all. Now, they had no choice but to take Draka with them to their leader. As usual, Draka’s quick thinking was impressive.
If Draka had believed in a god, it’s possible she would have stopped taking the wheel and trusted her fate to divine will. But this episode makes it clear that Draka is an atheist. Compared to her uncle, she is more compassionate and humanistic, in addition to less fatalistic. However, her ultimate goal of making money remains rather shallow. (Draka is an early example of a Capitalist; and since I’m seeing now what late-stage Capitalism does to society, I’m unable to hold the model in any respectful regard.) Nevertheless, it’s great to see an atheist character who isn’t a piece of shit.
I also appreciated the moment as humorous when Schmit reacted to Draka’s profession of atheism. I’m glad his response was relatively calm, though he was also clearly flabbergasted. In many countries and across history, it’s dangerous to admit to lack of belief. If you’re an atheist in the USA like I am, you probably won’t be in serious danger – at least not physical danger. But you’re very likely to get puzzled and/or defensive responses from almost everyone. I suppose all we can do is appreciate the humor of these reactions while working toward a less judgmental society.
Next we’ll discuss Schmit. He deserves a full character analysis post and a proper write-up detailing his philosophy and personal faith. For today, I’ll just summarize what he believes. The God of Schmit is the natural world’s creator, which he deems necessary despite the lack of logical following to that argument. But though this God controls fate, it is not a personal God. It’s a bit closer to a Deistic God, though Deism doesn’t usually involve the act of worship. In his own words, however, Schmit worships nature.
Schmit’s beliefs align with what some call “spiritualism.” He doesn’t follow any organized religion, as he thinks God is not understandable to humans. Although some thinkers like this appeared during the Enlightenment, the idea of a personal god-belief did not take root in society until much later. I enjoy nature, though I don’t feel the need to “worship.” The problem I have with Schmit’s idea is that there is still no good reason to believe that his more natural God exists. By his own admission, Schmit views the world based on feelings and not logic. This makes no sense for those who value truth.
Speaking of Schmit, I love how he’s such a colorful theater kid. Everything he does and says is so dramatic and theatrical. I was smiling and chuckling while he did his “worship” pose in the morning sun. Humor aside, this scene was gprgeous. For Draka, though, it was painful. The light of sunrise for her brings back memories of the day of her emotional trauma. I hope Draka can find a way to heal and move on.
(Side Note #1: Fatalism and views of destiny are also important topics in this episode, but I don’t have time to delve into that. At present, it will have to suffice to know that Schmit is some form of fatalist. I also believe in a form of “fate” – that is, I’m currently convinced the universe is deterministic and that free will is a mental illusion. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t seize “control” and continue making the choices we believe are best. In this regard I am more similar to Draka, who believes in taking willful action rather than waiting around for “fate.”)
(Side Note #2: Orb once again shows that it knows how to reflect what was happening in real history in the 15th Century. “Moveable type,” would have been in use in some places in Europe in the 1400s, leading up to the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1450. Like many other inventions, “moveable type” or arrangeable letter stamps originated in China centuries earlier. As always, you can check these facts for yourself rather than taking my word for it.)
The plan now is to publish and distribute the book using Draka’s memory of the contents. The Heretic Liberation Front plans to do this by working with “the Reformation.” Since the Protestant Reformation didn’t begin until 1517, I’m not entirely sure what this means. It’s possible that it’s a group of dissenters that would later become protestant following the actions of Martin Luther.
I love this plan because I concur that liberating information is extremely important. The mission of the Heretic Liberation front is one I completely agree with despite not agreeing with Schmit’s ideas on almost anything else. I believe he’s quite arrogant as well as lacking in self-awareness. He ought to realize that his idea of spirituality is no better than organized religion in terms of epistemology. (Though, to be sure, it’s better for society and human freedom.)
On a final note, the end of the episode finally showed us the founder and leader of the Heretic Liberation front. IT’S JOLENTA!!!! She’s back! Fuck yeah! I am so psyched about this turn of events. It’s not exactly an unexpected plot twist, but it’s so damn cool that the predictability doesn’t bother me. Jolenta is still my favorite characters in this series, followed by Rafal and Draka. I’m so thrilled to see her again. 🙂
~Thanks for reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
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