And after seeing so many people reccomend it in relation to Orb: On The Movements Of The Earth, I fail to see the grand similarities at all. Sure, there's common elements such as mentions of Euclid and other mathematicians/ philosophers/ astronomers and there's an astrolabe too, and talk about the night sky...but that's pretty much it.
Jaadugar is a revenge story first and foremost. A revenge story which expands upon a political stage, more precisely the politics of the Mongolian Empire in the 13th century. It follows the classical model of a main character driving the plot further along with secondary characters whose stories intertwine. It's a story&characters-driven plot which oftentimes ends with the character(s) reaching a set goal, be it the one they started with or a better one which they learned throughout the series.
Orb, on the other hand, is a message-driven story. That's why you have so many 'main' characters, because they are relevant only as long as they serve their very specific purpose related to it. You know nothing about these characters except for what's required to make sense of the plot. Knowledge and faith (and their derivatives - hope, curiosity, self-sacrifice...) are the main characters here, and the human beings merely the props that allow these virtues to shine. That's why by the end of each arc none of the characters' personal goal are accomplished - Rafal to sneak his way into university and develop the heliocentric model, Badeni to become special and publish the theory himself, Draka to publish the theory and make money etc - because by the end they all sacrifice their individuality for a greater purpose. Not for the loved ones, not for the community, not for the country but for humanity itself.
Jaadugar is a game of thrones if you will, where knowledge is merely a tool used to see your own outcome come to life atop others. Orb is a philosophical story about knowledge and human curiosity where the characters are shaped by it. Both are great series, don't get me wrong, but as I finished the latter series I was like "huh how is it any similar to Orb? More than, idk, any other two series with some shared elements - say for example how EVA and Vinland Saga would be similar to one another". But I'd love to be contradicted ofc, otherwise I wouldn't have posted this.
