Shounen Orient by Shinobu Ohtaka

[Valhalla]

Raws for Orient chapter 133 is out. Great chapter for Kojiro & his growth, expecting stellar developments for him. My god Ohtaka's sword fight choreography has been really shinning in this arc.

Thanks for the heads up on the chapter. Man this arc is getting more hype by the chapter. Ever since the fighting started and the flashback each chapter is just fire.

Also is Kazumasa a white soul? His attacks seem to be controlling space, kinda. On the last cover there was a white crystal coming out of his chest, but thats usually the spot where the black crystals comes out, so i just assumed he had something special in him (or it was just an artistic choice). I dont read any fan translations so im just trying to guess here

Man its really dire for the gang and the Hojo's in particular.
Really hyped for Kojiro, although im not sure what he can really do to Kazumasa and Mikito in the long run. At most I assume he is gonna take down Mikito and save Musashi.
lol also Ohtaka and her heroines, Tsugumi nowhere to be seen. I hope Ohtaka has planned something big for her soon or maybe once we reach the Tokugawa, i really dont know

 

[Tamil]

Thanks for the heads up on the chapter. Man this arc is getting more hype by the chapter. Ever since the fighting started and the flashback each chapter is just fire.

Also is Kazumasa a white soul? His attacks seem to be controlling space, kinda. On the last cover there was a white crystal coming out of his chest, but thats usually the spot where the black crystals comes out, so i just assumed he had something special in him (or it was just an artistic choice). I dont read any fan translations so im just trying to guess lol

Man its really dire for the gang and the Hojo's in particular.
Really hyped for Kojiro, although im not sure what he can really do to Kazumasa and Mikito in the long run. At most I assume he is gonna take down Mikito and save Musashi.
lol also Ohtaka and her heroines, Tsugumi nowhere to be seen. I hope Ohtaka has planned something big for her soon or maybe once we reach the Tokugawa, i really dont know

Yup it's totally heating up very well. I'm not sure on his soul and wouldn't surprise me if he's white.

I personally think Tsugumi is next in line for having her focus and Tokugawa. Musashi had pretty big focus from Daito Mine to Awaji & now Kojiro is having his focus for this arc.

Also just was looking through Amazon and we have more english Orient volumes coming out! Volume 15 is coming June 2023 (far away yes lol but I thought they stopped translating these volumes). I don't get why do these bi-monthly releases and then stop but it's better than nothing.

 

[Valhalla]

Also just was looking through Amazon and we have more english Orient volumes coming out! Volume 15 is coming June 2023 (far away yes lol but I thought they stopped translating these volumes). I don't get why do these bi-monthly releases and then stop but it's better than nothing.

They are really slow with the releases, im still waiting for volume 10 and its been months by now.

Oh and the Logo is see-though instead of being behind, like volume 16. I think its neat.

--- Double Post Merged, Nov 8, 2022, Original Post Date: Oct 31, 2022 ---

That latest chapter what a Kojiro chapter. Reminded me so much of Alibaba at his best.
And now Imari vs Tsugumu, maybe?

 

[Tamil]

People mentioned Imari & Tsugumi have a connection together so it could be that. I can't see Tsugumi doing much against Imari.

And as expected, nice chapter for Kojiro

 

[Tamil]

Orient volume 18 back cover

Ohtaka posted rough sketches for the front cover (outlined in blue), this cover is going to be the best one yet I feel.

Spoiler

--- Double Post Merged, Feb 25, 2023, Original Post Date: Feb 3, 2023 ---

Orient vol. 18 cover. IMO the cover could've been the best yet but the style is reminiscent to volumes 13/14 (which are my least favs). I do love the background though and feels much more inspired than vol 13/14.

 

[Samurai Rider]

https://screenrant.com/attack-on-titan-kodansha-announces-new-manga-app/

Orient

Ancient Japanese warriors, invaders from another world, and… <i>motorcycles</i>?! You don’t want to miss this crazy, action-packed shonen manga by the creator of <i>Magi</i>!

kodansha.us

>Where to Read

Is it finally happening?

 

[Tamil]

This arc which I once thought was wrapping up, now feels like we are approaching the end game of the series.

Yes, an Orient simulpub is so much needed. We got the worst luck for its anime adaptation so simulpub is somewhat redeeming lol

 

[Samurai Rider]

 

[Valhalla]

 

[Tamil]

We won Orient bros

Hojo arc is so good

 

[Cat Sidhe26]

 

[Vortigern]

I suppose it makes sense for the final battle to begin soon given what just happened, although it's still a little earlier than I was expecting. The Awaji Island arc was heavily centered around Musashi while the Hojo arc focused on Kojiro, so I figured next would be Tsugumi's turn to help her catch up to the boys. The last two arcs were also systematically going through the members of the major factions. The Uesugi and Takeda Bushi were featured in the Awaji Island arc, and the same was true for the Hojo Bushi in their titular arc. That left the Date and Tokugawa Bushi for a presumably shared arc given the interactions between their leaders. As for the Obsidian Brothers, Shiro and Nanao got some exposure in the Daito Mine arc, Seiroku and Yataro (and Katsumi) in the Awaji Island arc and then Kazumasa, Mikito and Imari in the Hojo arc, leaving only Aijiro. These unexplored elements could have been covered in a Tsugumi focused arc where the main trio visits the Tokugawa (and Date) Bushi and repel an attack by Aijiro. After that we could have moved on to the final battle featuring the powered-up main trio, the remaining three major Kishin, the Five Grand Generals and the surviving Obsidian Brothers to neatly wrap up the series.

All that said, the final arc in this type of "battle shonen" series is usually quite long, so we're most likely still going to explore the Date and Tokugawa Bushi as well as Aijiro, at least to some extent. The only character that may have gotten the short end of the stick is Tsugumi, which is really just a repeat of what happened in Magi where Morgiana had no hope of keeping up with Aladdin and Alibaba. If Ohtaka still has it in her to publish another series after Orient, I'd prefer if she didn't repeat this pattern a third time, but that's neither here nor there. For now, a more pertinent question is whether Orient will end up having a stronger final arc than Magi? Personally I'm hopeful that it will, as the series has been getting better over time and everything is now in place for a big dramatic showdown. As for the length of the final arc, I would be very surprised if it ended before volume 25, but at the same time I don't see it reaching volume 30. For reference, the start of the final arc wraps up volume 19 and the Hojo arc lasted for about 6 volumes.

 

[Tamil]

Orient translated chapters are all up on certain sites

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 3, 2023, Original Post Date: May 22, 2023 ---

Orient volume 19

 

[Vortigern]

Now that the series has concluded I figured I'd give some final thoughts on it.

The final arc started out strong and it kept that momentum until the last few chapters. Tatsuomi's duel with Soma was good and I also enjoyed Naotora's fight with Aijiro, but the way Seiroku's fight was resolved off-screen seemed strange to me. After that the story moved on to the final battle against Shiro which I found to be way too quick and easy to the point that the whole thing felt somewhat anticlimactic. I was also puzzled by how Tsubasa didn't get a final hurrah like her fellow generals, in fact she did almost nothing in the entire manga despite her importance being hinted at all the way back in chapter 7 alongside Tatsuomi and Shiro. I think it would have made sense to have Imari join Shiro's faction and for her and Nanao to fight Tsubasa and Tsugumi in a 2v2 since those characters, all of them female by the way, got the short end of the stick. Maybe giving them a big fight was originally the plan but then Ohtaka decided that it wasn't worth prolonging the series by an entire volume? Either way, even though some elements of the finale were lackluster I still feel that the series wrapped up in a satisfying manner.

As for the story as a whole, the biggest problem with the series was its very slow beginning that probably caused many readers to lose interest. It took way too long for the main characters to even obtain proper weapons with which to fight the demons. Things picked up a lot with the introduction of the Obsidian Eight and the subsequent Awaji Island arc. After that the series went monthly due to Ohtaka's struggles with a weekly schedule, which I found to be a good decision since the arcs that followed the change were my favorite. I was not a fan of all of the choices the author made, for example Kazumasa being rather unceremoniously tossed aside after all the buildup and mystery around him. Shiro being the final villain worked well in my view, but that outcome could have perhaps been reached in a more satisfying manner. Another issue that stands out to me is Tsugumi and her role, or more specifically lack thereof. Despite being part of the main trio she fell far behind the two boys and became almost like a mere mascot or something towards the end. In a way it's not that surprising given that Morgiana in Magi also suffered a similar fate. I get the impression that what Ohtaka really wants to write is a tale of brotherhood between two male characters and the female lead is added in just to keep the editorial department happy.

Overall I enjoyed the series despite its flaws and I'm looking forward to Ohtaka's next work if her health still allows her to continue drawing. I'd prefer for her next manga to be in the same vein as Magi and Orient: a fantasy action adventure set in a loosely real life inspired world that incorporates various historical and mythological elements from a specific region. Obvious choices for the setting would be Greek, Nordic and Chinese. The last one could even tie into Orient in some way considering that the main characters headed west from Japan to hunt down the remaining demons. I doubt a direct sequel is in the cards given that the series wasn't very popular but I could definitely see the Orient cast getting a cameo appearance in Ohtaka's next manga. Personally I'd prefer a Greek inspired setting rather than Chinese one though. Figures such as Heracles, Achilles, Perseus and Odysseus are quite underutilized in Japanese fiction in much the same way as the likes of Sinbad, Aladdin and Alibaba despite these characters being very famous in their regions of origin. Ohtaka managed to weave a very interesting story around the latter group of heroes so I have faith that she'd be able to pull off something similar with the former group as well. The fact that a Greek setting would be relatively close to Magi in terms of the aesthetic could also help attract more eyes to the series and hopefully make it more popular than Orient was.