Shounen Orient by Shinobu Ohtaka

[Tamil]

Volume 12

Looking at the release dates, my guess is that the simulpub for volume 11 will come out sometime this month, since for volume 10 it was officially out on January 19th.

Pretty cool visuals. That spread would make a pretty cool wallpaper if it were a cleared image
Awaji Island arc was quite an arc. Had weird moments, but pretty cool with some really dope moments as well.
Very eager to see where the story is heading next.

Release date for volume 11: April 20 2021

Orient, Volume 11

A new series from Shinobu Ohtaka, creator of "Magi"! The setting is Japan's Warring States period, and the country has been conquered by demons. Two boys, Musashi and Kojiro, have made it their dream to form the strongest band of bushi and eradicate the demons. A one-of-a-kind Japanese fantasy...

kodanshacomics.com

With Attack on Titan ending that month, it would be a good time to give Orient a simulpub, but we’ll see I guess.

They could have simulpub come next month or maybe announce it once the anime airs since thats when the hype for the series will pickup.

Also I think the anime will air fall 2021, looking at other WSM titles, they don't wait more than a year after it's announcement to air the anime (EZ & Fire Force). If we are getting an anime this year then it's likely that Awaji island won't be included since it finished today, unless they do an anime original ending. With how it sells and that it's now monthly, it's looking like they'll probably do 1 cour to see how it goes. I can see a studio like 8-bit (Slime anime) to work on Orient. Regardless, if it's airing this year then we should get news about it in the coming months. AnimeJapan 2021 is this month...

 

[Valhalla]

Volume 12

They could have simulpub come next month or maybe announce it once the anime airs since thats when the hype for the series will pickup.

Also I think the anime will air fall 2021, looking at other WSM titles, they don't wait more than a year after it's announcement to air the anime (EZ & Fire Force). If we are getting an anime this year then it's likely that Awaji island won't be included since it finished today, unless they do an anime original ending. With how it sells and that it's now monthly, it's looking like they'll probably do 1 cour to see how it goes. I can see a studio like 8-bit (Slime anime) to work on Orient. Regardless, if it's airing this year then we should get news about it in the coming months. AnimeJapan 2021 is this month...

Damn, thats a really nice volume cover with Michiru and Musashi.

With Awaji Island arc finished i can see the anime airing in fall as well, yep.
As for what they will adapt it depends if they will do a 12 episode season or a 24.
They have two good stopping points for making it seasonal. First would definitely be the final battle of the Daito Mine arc, and obviously the second point would be the final battle on Awaji.
I think they could pull off Awaji with 24 episodes, but they will have to rush it and maybe skip some stuff. Same way with Nanatsu no Taizai 1st season where A-1 managed to adapt over 110 manga chapters for 24 episodes. It was like 112 or so chapters, but they had to change and cut stuff which was infuriating. A-1 did the same thing with Magi first season. They changed the beginning, they altered the Sindria arc and managed to completely wreck Zagan arc. It was like, bruh what the F are they doing.
I hope Orient does not fall victim to this. Which is why im also hoping for A-1 to stay the F away from it.

Daito Mine should be a good stopping point for season 1 imo

 

[Tamil]

Damn, thats a really nice volume cover with Michiru and Musashi.

With Awaji Island arc finished i can see the anime airing in fall as well, yep.
As for what they will adapt it depends if they will do a 12 episode season or a 24.
They have two good stopping points for making it seasonal. First would definitely be the final battle of the Daito Mine arc, and obviously the second point would be the final battle on Awaji.
I think they could pull off Awaji with 24 episodes, but they will have to rush it and maybe skip some stuff. Same way with Nanatsu no Taizai 1st season where A-1 managed to adapt over 110 manga chapters for 24 episodes. It was like 112 or so chapters, but they had to change and cut stuff which was infuriating. A-1 did the same thing with Magi first season. They changed the beginning, they altered the Sindria arc and managed to completely wreck Zagan arc. It was like, bruh what the F are they doing.
I hope Orient does not fall victim to this. Which is why im also hoping for A-1 to stay the F away from it.

Daito Mine should be a good stopping point for season 1 imo

Yeah A1 doesn't have the best reputation for adaptations but they do make successful ones lol. In that sense I wouldn't mind that much if they adapted it.

I agree and the problem of not including Awaji is that we'll be missing out on characters like Michiru/Naoe/Seiroku/etc. which are all characters that I could see being very popular and helping out the popularity of the series. Adapting up to Daito can be good since they can take their time adapting it and even flesh out some areas better but it does cut its sales potential since Awaji is the arc that helped expand the series.

At the other side, adapting Awaji means they have to rush some parts, even if there are chapters where not much happens so it won't be nearly as bad Magi's situation of adapting like 115 chapters into 2 cours. The fear of catching up to the manga is there as well for the production team. Anyway both adapting up to Daito vs Awaji has it's pros and cons so just have to wait and see.

 

[Vortigern]

I think not adapting the Awaji arc would be a huge mistake, because that's the arc where the series actually gets going. Before the black kishin and its growth is explained and the kishin diagram is shown, the reader doesn't really understand the scope of the threat they pose to humanity. Likewise the introduction of the 5 generals and the glimpse of their forces and territory is what establishes how the bushi compare to the kishin. The meeting of the black dogs serves a similar purpose for their group. Before these reveals happened the audience's grasp on the situation was rather poor as they had no idea of how large or how powerful the various factions were. The purpose of an anime adaptation is typically to advertise the source material, which is why I think ending the anime before it gets to properly explain what the main conflict in the series is about would be a very bad idea.

The length of the Awaji arc is definitely an issue for the anime, but I'd argue that rushing past some of the less important stuff is not a high price to pay for being able to adapt the arc in its entirety. The ending of the arc is also a much more climactic final battle than the relatively brief encounter with Shirou and Nanao at the end of the Daito arc. Of course it's worth noting that Fire Force was given around 50 episodes right off the bat, so it's not out of the realm of possibility for Orient to get like 36 if that seems necessary. The fact that they announced the anime just as the Awaji arc was ending gives me the impression the plan is to adapt the entire thing. The Daito arc has been over a while now so if that's all they are going to adapt the announcement could have happened over a year ago.

 

[Amarax]

The characters on the cover give off Alibaba and Sheba vibes

オリエント12巻　発売日告知と書店ペーパーについて

巻末おまけ

otakashinobu.wordpress.com

This comic at the bottom, is that supposed to be Sinbad?

 

[Valhalla]

This comic at the bottom, is that supposed to be Sinbad?

Nah, its just Musashi with his Uesugi platoon. But now that have mentioned it, with no color he does look like a young Sinbad lol


edit:
Or did you mean this yeah the purple haired one looks like Sinbad lol

 

[Taris]

Press F for Michiru

 

[Valhalla]

And more Black Dogs. Very cool designs i might add

 

[Taris]

And more Black Dogs

Is there a website where you can read ongoing like 116 chapter (in english of course) without buying a manga (yes, I'm my mother's little pirate )?

 

[Valhalla]

Is there a website where you can read ongoing like 116 chapter (in english of course) without buying a manga (yes, I'm my mother's little pirate )?

Sadly no. Only raws.
It seems like the translators kinda gave up and are now just waiting for the official releases.
There are also tumblr sites where there are translations but without pages.
Also there is usually a very expansive summary posted here.

 

[Vortigern]

It's a shame that the translations are lagging behind since the series seems to have had a pretty good 're-debut' in a different magazine. Chapter 113 looked like it was introducing the core concepts and character to the new audience, which makes it a really good starting off point for a season of the anime, assuming it does well enough to get multiple seasons. I enjoyed finally seeing the designs of all the Black Dogs. The girl with the muzzle was my favorite, she looks like she's going to be pretty wild. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the designs of the 5 Grand Generals, but that will probably happen soon since the story seems to be moving to their territory. All that's missing is a similar reveal for the remaining top Kishin and we'll have covered all the factions.

Speaking of the different groups, something that I've been thinking about for a while are the sword soul colors and the groups (note that some of this might have actually been covered in the manga and I've just forgotten about it). There are 5 different colors + black which seems to be able to function together with another color. Coincidentally there also happen to be 5 Grand Generals, so I'm guessing each of them is going to be a master of one color, which was actually outright stated to be the case for Naotora I think. My money is on the shortest silhouette in chapter 46 having the rare white soul color, because his/her(leaning on her) face and sword were actually shown all the way back in chapter 7 alongside Tatsuomi and Shirou. A character that was already designed in the very beginning, but has still not appeared over 100 chapters later has to be someone really important. Similarly I'm guessing the 4 largest Kishin just below the Black Kishin are going to be green, red, blue and yellow, with a white Kishin being something that could appear later on, like some sort of a never-before-seen cataclysm.

 

[Taris]

It's a shame that the translations are lagging behind since the series seems to have had a pretty good 're-debut' in a different magazine. Chapter 113 looked like it was introducing the core concepts and character to the new audience, which makes it a really good starting off point for a season of the anime, assuming it does well enough to get multiple seasons. I enjoyed finally seeing the designs of all the Black Dogs. The girl with the muzzle was my favorite, she looks like she's going to be pretty wild. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the designs of the 5 Grand Generals, but that will probably happen soon since the story seems to be moving to their territory. All that's missing is a similar reveal for the remaining top Kishin and we'll have covered all the factions.

Speaking of the different groups, something that I've been thinking about for a while are the sword soul colors and the groups (note that some of this might have actually been covered in the manga and I've just forgotten about it). There are 5 different colors + black which seems to be able to function together with another color. Coincidentally there also happen to be 5 Grand Generals, so I'm guessing each of them is going to be a master of one color, which was actually outright stated to be the case for Naotora I think. My money is on the shortest silhouette in chapter 46 having the rare white soul color, because his/her(leaning on her) face and sword were actually shown all the way back in chapter 7 alongside Tatsuomi and Shirou. A character that was already designed in the very beginning, but has still not appeared over 100 chapters later has to be someone really important. Similarly I'm guessing the 4 largest Kishin just below the Black Kishin are going to be green, red, blue and yellow, with a white Kishin being something that could appear later on, like some sort of a never-before-seen cataclysm.

After what the local Sinbad showed as a blue soul vs Dog with white soul, I will say again that blue is the most underrated color (greatly underestimated) and potentially the strongest.

P.s What about Kenjiro's father? Was he a vassal of one of the noble families or not? What was he offered there in the last chapter? Castle?

 

[Tamil]

Orient volume 11 is out & for the first time the official translations have passed the fan translations

FYI Orient volume 13 will be out in September and it's likely to expect anime staff/visual during or around that time to promote vol. 13. If the anime staff & visual are announced during that time then it's probable we'll be looking at a spring 2022 release for the anime which is great since it means they'll adapt Awaji island.

I'm guessing they'll announce a simulpub next year April since that would coincide with the anime release and it'll be already 1 year deep into the new arc that started this month. That looks like the earliest time they would announce a simulpub or maybe after the anime is released.

Is there a website where you can read ongoing like 116 chapter (in english of course) without buying a manga (yes, I'm my mother's little pirate )?

The translations are so behind so no but as for the official translations it's up to volume 11 now (chapter 103). I won't list websites here but you should be able to find the chapters up to volume 11 on some sites. I'd check back in a month or so it depends on whether someone decides to post them or not.

--- Double Post Merged, May 11, 2021, Original Post Date: Apr 22, 2021 ---

Volume 11 is up on a certain aggregator site btw (super easy to find lol). That means we have up to chapter 103 now.

The raws look quite nice for the latest chapter.

 

[Valhalla]

A lot of setup in these past chapters since the magazine change, and a lot of new characters.
First the remaining Black Dogs, and now the remaining Grand Generals. Also more insight into Kojiro's dad, and probably more insight into the Kanemaki family as a whole.

Damn, i know its kinda wrong to say this since fan translations are illegal, but i freaking wish the translators didnt just gave up with the translations, i wish the series was up to date with the fan translations. There are some really interesting stuff happening, but sadly have to wait for it with the english release of the volumes. I kinda lack the strength to always search tumblr for translations ...

... we are reaching 120 chapters, and outside this lone discussion thread, the series still got no MH forum page
maybe the anime will finally fix this the interest for this series should go up

 

[Tamil]

Orient volume 13 back cover illustration

Spoiler

Preview for chapter 118 cover (will be out on June 9th)

Spoiler

A lot of setup in these past chapters since the magazine change, and a lot of new characters.
First the remaining Black Dogs, and now the remaining Grand Generals. Also more insight into Kojiro's dad, and probably more insight into the Kanemaki family as a whole.

Damn, i know its kinda wrong to say this since fan translations are illegal, but i freaking wish the translators didnt just gave up with the translations, i wish the series was up to date with the fan translations. There are some really interesting stuff happening, but sadly have to wait for it with the english release of the volumes. I kinda lack the strength to always search tumblr for translations ...

... we are reaching 120 chapters, and outside this lone discussion thread, the series still got no MH forum page
maybe the anime will finally fix this the interest for this series should go up

Yup definitely a lot of setup and the pacing of the manga has improved with going monthly too.

As for the translations, I'd prefer if we had simulpub than fan translations tbh. Sense-scans is a great group but I don't see them delivering chapters consistently/quickly. I am grateful that they've translated 90+ chapters thus far considering the small fanbase it has in the west. I can feel a simulpub coming for the series since the simulpub for their other series (AoT/UQ Holder) have/are coming to an end and they're purposefully leaving a 1 volume gap between the ENG/JPN releases too.

Anime will fix this

 

[Valhalla]

Yup definitely a lot of setup and the pacing of the manga has improved with going monthly too.

As for the translations, I'd prefer if we had simulpub than fan translations tbh. Sense-scans is a great group but I don't see them delivering chapters consistently/quickly. I am grateful that they've translated 90+ chapters thus far considering the small fanbase it has in the west. I can feel a simulpub coming for the series since the simulpub for their other series (AoT/UQ Holder) have/are coming to an end and they're purposefully leaving a 1 volume gap between the ENG/JPN releases too.

Anime will fix this

Oh yeah, simulpub would definitely be amazing
I didnt have a problem with fan translations from Sense-scans, aside from being really late i even found some of the translations better than the official ones, the Kuroko vs Seiroku strategy battles were fun to read, but yeah i would prefer a simulpub for the series as well. Like you mentioned, maybe now that AoT is over they might give it to Orient.

There is a preview for Volume 13?

Spoiler

Oh, two grand generals on the back cover.
Does that mean Volume 13 will have some of them on its front cover interesting

 

[Vortigern]

It looks like the conflict is really starting to escalate. This reminds me a bit of the whole Magnostadt war in Magi where you suddenly had all the big factions and important characters in the series getting involved in the same arc. These recent chapters after the magazine switch have been some of my favorite so far so I guess that monthly schedule must be working well for Ohtaka. She might also be trying extra hard to make sure the new readers who check out the series get a strong first impression.

The series getting a simulpub would be nice since it doesn't look like Sense-scans is ever going to catch up. I don't blame them since they have multiple series on their plate and Orient isn't that popular at this point, but it does make it harder for non-Japanese fans to follow the series. The most up-to-date text only translations I've found were by Mutsurini Translations who's at chapter 112 right now, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were other more recent ones floating around on Discord or something.

 

[Tamil]

This was suppose to be the front cover of volume 13 but Ohtaka changed her mind and it's now on the flap

Spoiler

She also teases a new color illustration she's working on and one that she hasn't done before. Seems like an obvious beach theme illustration and it's probably an upcoming color page for the magazine

Spoiler

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 4, 2021, Original Post Date: Jun 27, 2021 ---

Orient is coming to crunchyroll (weird that we got this announced yet no details at all about the anime)


Orient volume 13 release date will be August 6th, instead of September.

『オリエント（１３）』（大高　忍）　製品詳細　講談社

『マギ』の大高忍、最新作！　時は戦国、鬼が覇権を握る時代──。二人の少年、武蔵と小次郎が目指すのは、「最強の武士団」！　夢は「天下統一」！　勝ち獲れ、世界のど真ん中！　誰も見たことがないジャパニーズ・ファンタジー、開幕！ 武蔵は鬼神と同化した八咫郎を女神の力をふるい撃破！　淡路島奪還作戦は終結した。その一方で、「黒曜石の八人」が暗躍し、五大武士団の王、「五傑将」が動き出す！　そして八咫郎の呪縛を脱したみちるは……？　武蔵の戦いは新たなる段階へ！！

kc.kodansha.co.jp

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 8, 2021 ---

Any final predictions on the studio for Orient? I'm going for studio 8-bit/Bones

 

[Hermit]

 

[Valhalla]

Interesting she reused the cover from Bessatsu for March
Pretty good cover, but not as artsy as the others