Orb is the freshest work I’ve seen since Frieren. Possibly fresher than Frieren, actually.

There are virtually none of the staples ones would expect from anime; there is no world to be saved and society itself is more the villain than the literal torturer is. Stakes are personal but feel high. Action is very limited and it’s mostly a science-philosophical exploration of theological dogma through the lens of astronomy. It’s basically like a particularly talky Star Trek episode but in medieval Poland.

On top of that, the characters, presentation, and story are all of high quality.

I didn’t think the industry had something like this in it and it might beat Dan Da Dan as my anime of the season. While Dan Da Dan’s punches land flawlessly, Orb is a master of an entirely different martial art, one rarely seen in the genre.

Probably the most similar other anime that I can think of is the second season of Vinland Saga (not the violence- and action-heavy first season), which shares the detailed mundane historical setting and relatively small stakes, and has some religious-philosophical underpinnings to its plot (although there it’s about pacifism rather than astronomy). Vinland Saga’s still more action-based and the stakes are a little higher, though. I don’t think Orb is going to solve anything significant with a fist fight.

So maybe not an especially close match, just the closest I can think of right now.