Review | The Orbital Children (Extra-Terrestrial Boys & Girls)

“The Orbital Children is a capitvating and beautiful coming-of-age series with striking visuals.”

The Orbital Children is a limited series released on Netflix on January 28th. In Japan, it was released as a 2-part movie on January 28th and February 11th.

STORY

The story takes place in the future where there are people on the Moon and technology is an even important part of our daily lives. Phones are a type of glove that characters have on their hands. It’s also easy to go to space as a group of children are visiting the Anshin station. As you can tell, it’s a futuristic scifi setting. Though, our world is maybe not this far from having advanced technology like this.

The Orbital Children is about a group children stranded on the Anshin station after a collision occured. They try their best to survive on the damaged station and find a way home. I’m fond of this type of survival story so I was especially excited for this series. And I have to say I’m not disappointed. Indeed, it’s a captivating series that had me on the edge of my seat most of the time. There are some surprising plot twists! Even though, it has a tense atmosphere, it also has many calmer moments that delve into the characters.

Besides being a story about surviving on a damaged space station, it’s also very much a story about humanity’s survival. Which I find it to be quite riveting. Moreover, it makes us think about our own world too. Stories like these are so meaningful. More than ever, we have to think about our future and how we can do as a society to preserve our planet.

Additionally, The Orbital Children is a beautiful coming-of-age story as we see the characters evolve through their shared experience on the Anshin.

CHARACTERS

This series features an interesting group of characters. Firstly, you have Touya and Konoha, two children who were born on the Moon. They are on the Anshin station to prepare themselves to go to Earth. So, they have an outside vision of Earth and humans. Touya is the most interesting one as he’s someone who is resentful towards humans. Thus, it’s fascinating to see his vision changes as he befriends Taiyo and the other kids.

Secondly, you have Taiyo who is an earthling and a strong believer of justice. Thus, his moral code guides him on his journey but it’s also a shackle when he has to make tough decisions. He joins the Anshin as a UN2.1 white hat hacker. Evidently, he’s often in conflict with Touya. Though, their opposing personalities is what help them grow and understand each other. It’s a wonderful friendship.

Thirdly, you have Mina who is the a “Space Tuber” always looking for ways to gain followers on social media. It doesn’t matter to her if what she shows is true or not, if it makes views that’s all good for her. It reminds me of a lot of Youtubers nowadays. With this character, Mitsuo Iso criticizes people doing clickbait and fake news. Obviously, Mina is the annoying type of character but even her gets to change. It’s all about character development and how each of the characters are affected by the accident on the Anshin.

Finally, there is Hiroshi, Mina’s younger brother. He is probably the most cheerful character as he is a fan of both the Anshin station and Touya. However, he is the least interesting of the group as he’s more of a sidekick than a character with an important development.

VISUALS

The Orbital Children is a visually striking series. I love the character designs, they’re simple but quite expressive. Plus, there is a lot of references to real-life brands, it’s fun to spot them throughout the series. The most obvious ones are Deegle which is actually Google and Oniqlo which is actually Uniqlo.

OPENING AND END CREDITS

When I watch an anime, I’m always excited to see the opening and end credits. There is often a catchy song with them. It also gives you a good idea of what to expect from that series or movie. Unfortunately here, there is no opening credits, just a title card. And as for the end credits, it’s nothing special. Though, you can hear a good song, ‘Oarana’ by Harusaruhi.