Orient

Musashi and Kojiro are two rebellious teens that want to fight against their demonic oppressors called the “kishin”, but are constantly discouraged by their peers since everyone has been forcefully indoctrinated into believing that their demon overlords aren’t evil. Despite lingering doubts, these two weren’t afraid to rise to the occasion to fight for their people’s liberation.

So what’s the verdict for Orient? A strong OK. It ticks off the general checklist of what you might expect of a shounen series. It has two childhood friends promising to take on the world together, they drift apart when they get older because ... of conflicting differences, etc, etc. Even though it hits those typical story beats both Musashi and Kojiro are fine protagonists and are acutely aware of the societal limitations placed on them.
I do appreciate the show’s acknowledgment that Musashi and Kojiro have different life experiences, which makes it easy to understand why Kojiro feels resigned to his fate while Musashi is ready to fight for their future. Musashi didn’t have to deal with his hometown’s discriminatory attitudes towards him, while Kojiro did since he comes from a long line of rebel warriors. Kojiro knows what’s at stake and has every right to be cautious since they both could end up killed. Seriously, they are just a couple of good boys trying to look out for each other in an unfair world.

It’s almost eerie seeing how quickly humanity was indoctrinated to be servile to their demon overlords while the bushi (human warriors) are seen as the “villains.” I’m sure there is a competent demon hierarchy that we just haven’t seen yet, but until then look at the funny cat demons below:
It’s also worth noting that the series composer is Kunisawa Mariko, who’s also known for writing a number of episodes for Ascendance of a Bookworm so that probably explains why the systematic oppression themes are handled adequately. Aside from that, the power of friendship won the day and our protagonists rode off together into the sunset with their motorcycle crystal hybrid.

Based on the opening and ending theme, it seems the duo will become a trio in the future and I’m honestly hoping she’s going to have character depth instead of being a damsel in distress. If Jujutsu Kaisen has taught me anything, it’s that we can have well-written women characters that can absolutely kick-ass too. At this point in the game, there isn’t any excuse for other shounen titles to not follow suit.
if folks are looking for a standard shounen show to watch then check it out and see if you like it.

I like to think of Orient as a fast food shounen. It has those things you may want from your shounen: bit of tragedy, some back stories and flashbacks, a couple fights and situations that make characters come out stronger. But in the end, you know damn well it isn't really that good. Can it potentially hit a spot if you’re desperate? sure. But um. Anime isn't fast food. You have options here, so there isn't much of a point to watch this.

But to actually explain what this even is, we have a world where demons exist and are thought of as gods, and the ... Samurai that fight to protect people from them are shunned. The MC is a miner who's friends with the son of a samurai, the only one in town, and he has a dream of being a samurai himself. There's nothing too special about the premise or it's execution. Sure, I won't pretend everything that happened was obvious, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was good. The world is not particularly interesting either. Everything looks the same, and it's all desert-like and boring which doesn't help. But all that being said, that doesn't mean this is bad. As I said, it does have the basics that you would more or less expect. The issue is that that is all this has. It feels more like the show is trying to hit a checklist of what this should be, rather than actually provide an interesting story.

I will edit my review after the airing of final eps. But for now if you want to watch this series because of Magi (the same author) don't expect too much of this series. The problem in this series is the pacing of story. The actual adventure just start from eps 4, in in the three first episode you will only get the vague explanation of Bushi Band and Demon itself. We get the chance to see Takeda Band (Naotora Takeda) in action but it is not happening cause YOU NEED TO SEE SOME NAMELESS BUSHIDO in action.

I haven't read the manga but you miss ... the chance to grab viewers attention if you waste 3 eps just to introduce Musashi, Kojiro and Naotora. In the Magi series they change a bit of the story to make it more appealing, so after we watch several eps we want to see more of the story. But this time we get to see all of the RGB main cast in eps 4.

I know this review seem like a rant, but it is that I felt after watch 4 eps. I have a big hope of this series and maybe I just go a head to read the manga if this series doesn't bring justice for the adaptation. I want to see the action, unfold the mysteries and see the journey of our MC. So I hope even if you see the low score of this series you keep supporting this series. There is a big chance we won't get Magi season 3, but maybe if this series is good enough they will reconsider to adapting Shinobu Ohtaka main series like Magi and Sinbad.

In conclusion I will finished the journey. I just hope the series will get better from this point. We get so hype in the opening to see some more action and another great supporting cast. But if it doesn't work maybe it is time to read the original source.
And maybe if you new haven't check the Magi and adventure of Sinbad. You should watch the series. It is GREAT SERIES.

Spoiler-free review.

I think I can offer a somewhat different perspective of this anime given I have not seen nor read Magi, which the author of Orient's source also wrote, so I did not come into this with certain expectations or something to directly compare it to. I'll mainly focus on the story and characters as the other categories aren't really worth talking about as they are just kinda there.

Story: The story is your typical shounen story with typical story beats. MC has a dream to be the best at something, faces ridicule for having such a dream, proves on a small level that ... the dream is obtainable, and goes on a journey with friends pursuing that dream. The actual setting for the story is what piqued my interest when looking at previews. The magic/combat system seems interesting at the surface and could potentially be unique, however, the pacing feels really off. I have not read the source material, but it feels like the anime has cut out a lot of details that would compliment the slow pace. There are attempts at world-building but it feels repetitive since either the same information is conveyed again or the amount of time spent on a subject is way longer than what we learn. The actual story progression also feels extremely slow. While watching, I could guess what general events would occur given what typically happens in shounen, but it would take an unnecessarily long time to get there. This has become very evident with the latest arc progressing at a snail's pace. To be fair, the source material could have the same pacing issues and the anime may not have cut much out, but I can't be sure.

Characters: The characters in the story also fall into the typical shounen molds one would expect, but they are still enjoyable to watch. Similar to the issues with the story, the characters are not given very much to do other than delivering exposition. Of course, the characters have their moments and there are signs of development, but the pacing of the story really holds the characters back and can make them slightly stale at times. The characters are at their best when interacting together and not conversing to just progress the story forward.

TLDR: Orient is an anime that is certainly watchable if you are a fan of shounen anime and are just looking for something to watch. If you can tolerate bad pacing, extremely slow story progression, and cliche characters and story beats, then Orient is worth a watch. If you are looking for a great story or something unique in the genre, I would recommend passing on it.

This show, this damn show... When I was much younger. Maybe 3 or 4, I had a dream. Of a man. A young man. Red hair. No older than 15. He was a miner. He worked day in and day out. Yet, he never loved what he did. He was friends with but one man. A boy with blonde hair. The blonde haired child was an outcast. He was considered under those known as Bushi. The red haired boy showed no care for this as he enjoyed the time he spent with the Bushi. They would spend every day together. The red haired boy dreamed ... of going on a journey with the Bushi. Soon, that dream would become reality. This show is the embodiment of that dream I had many years ago. This show, this damn show... its alright. Nothin special. Episode 11 was really good though.

Orient. An Anime about Onis, which are monsters that took over the world, and Bushis, the people that fight them. The main goal is to defeat the Onis and get back the freedom they once had.
Freeing the World from anything evil is a common storyline of an anime. Its nothing special. So was this anime.

Starting off with the quality. The Overall Quality is pretty good. The Animation quality was quite good and it was fun watching the fights, and I liked the character design very much, but as usual the main character sticks out very much. The music is not special in any way, ... average I would say. But overall there is nothing to complain about the Quality.

Now continueing with the Story. The Story starts pretty slow, what got me bored quickly. So the main character has a goal and that is to defeat the onis. This motivation comes from his "Stepdad". At the beginning of the show there is not much explained, you just get to know how the oni and Bushi Bregardes work and that with not many details, which confuses a little but it gets better over time. As I reached the middle of the show I thought of dropping the show because it bored me so much, because the world and setting this anime is in, is boring and not very beautiful. And you didnt know anything about the villains and about the system of the Bushis. But I have to say after you reach Episode 7 it gets better very quick. New interesting Characters get introduced, and you get more information about the villains in this anime, more fights and action. It turns out that the protagonist is pretty strong, which didn't look like it at first. That saved me from dropping this show and got me to finish these first 12 episodes. So the second season or part 2 is currently airing but i didnt watch it until now. I hope the action is kept up and they continue to progress with the storyline and especially the villains because the villains are nice in my opinion and I would like to see more of them.

I know this isnt a very objective review, but i wanted to describe the watching process in my point of view, maybe it helps someone to decide if it is worth starting this anime or not.

So overall I have to give this anime a 6, because the first half ruined the score for me, but with the second half and the quality it comes to a solid 6 out of 10.

Full Disclosure: I've never seen Magi, so I don't know what people are referring to when they say that the original creator has fallen from grace. Because the OC can make whatever they want, and Orient...was fine (LOL). It was going to be the worst show of the season for me, but the last 5 or 6 episodes made me like it...a little bit more.

Look, I know I'm not really selling the show and really, if I had heard of the show a few years later with a few other parts of it available with everyone saying its not worth their time...I'd fall right ... in and believe them.

The only reason I recommend this show is...because its there

And its not Tokyo 24-ku.

Orient Review

150 years ago, the the demons, called Oni, attacked humanity and started ruling over them. While some worship them as Gods while others see them for what they are: devils tormenting humans. They fight against these otherworldly beings for the sake of humanities. These brave soldiers are known as Bushi. Inspired by his father, Kojirou, and his friend Musashi went on a journey to forming the strongest Bushi band ever known, but their path is not smooth and easy. Follow them on this journey as they cross the hurdles in their way.

Story:
The story follows the general action Shounen trait, with nothing new to add ... as such. The begining of the anime was weak and didn't look much promising. The pacing was somewhat irregular, becoming another drawback of this show. However, towards the end, in the last few episodes, it become interesting. Still, the build up of the anime was bluntly boring for me.

Characters:
Musashi is the common action Shounen protagonist, with a sad backstory, full of dreams of becoming great, believing in the power of friendship, however, still fun to watch. The character of Kojirou is also nothing extraordinary. Tsugumi is a cute and strong girl but a one dimensional character. The character dynamics are fun to watch. Shirou is the type of antagonist I like, so one may say from this show, he's my favourite. Overall, the characters are nothing new, follows the same pattern, but fun to watch.

Music and Voice-Acting:
The opening track is appealing and goes with the series. The bgm used is apt and cleverly used. The voice actors did a good job.

Artwork and Animation:
The character artwork is impressive except the artwork of the Onis. They look too funny, to build up any tension. The animation is irregular and though the last few episodes were visually great, the first part of the show again fails.

Orient is a good one time watch if you want to experience the general Action Shounen Experiences. The story isn't too deep or the plot twists aren't that much unpredictable. Though Kojirou's father's past is a bit of mystery still but judging from the story so far, it won't be something too breathtaking. The second season is coming in Summer 2022. Hope the series get better in that, or atleast match the standard of the last few episodes.

Orientation for Mining Samurai Children.

At first glance theres nothing particularly special about Orient. It’s animation is sloppy and the story plus world building fall apart if you think about it too much. However, if you’re looking for a show that reminds you of early episodes of Naruto then you may have a good time with this one.

The story follows Musashi and Kojirou who want to become magic samurai warriors known as “Bushi” so they can form their own clan and go and kill weird, alien demons so they can escape mining slavery. Later they meet Tsugumi who joins them after Musashi and Kojirou learn that ... not all Bushi clans are necessary good and that Tsugumi has big boobies so they can go to hunt more demons. Okay, I admit that I may have watered down the plot a bit, but if you’re looking for an interesting, philosophical, coming of age story about demon slayers then you’re better of watching the hundreds of better written shows out there on the topic, one of them is literally called Demon Slayer.

However, even though it’s story and animation are lacking I will admit that I did enjoy my time with Orient. There’s a certain charm that shines through all the bullshit and very bad discrimination metaphors and I think it comes down to the three leads. I really like Musashi, Kojirou and Tsugumi. They all have really good character chemistry with each other and although some of the writing is a bit naff, some of their joking around and banter got legit laughs out of me. I especially really like the episode when they all set out together, but have no idea how to handle the new dynamic which leads to some very funny misunderstandings. I like the arcs they go through too. Even though Musashi’s character arc is a bit more ridiculous then the other two, it is very satisfying to watch them overcome their individual trials so that they may form a better team.
I also really like some of the designs of things in the world like the weird crystal motorbikes that they refer to as horses and the floating crystal Bushi fortresses. Even some of the Demons look pretty cool.

Orient will not be everyones thing in fact it has a lot going against it. Considering the behemoths the show was up against this winter season the second part slated for summer has a tough road ahead if it wants to keep interest. However, I will say that there are good things about the show that save it from mediocrity and if you’re willing to give it a try you may have a good time.

6/10 It’s Okay *thumbs up*

This was definitely a bit of a slow start for me, but once the trio got together things started to pick up. This was never going to beat Magi for me as I absolutely adore those characters and that world, and have a strong sense of nostalgia for it considering how invested I got when I was younger. It was an interesting beginning to a new story though - even if I wish the character designs could have been a it more distinguished from his other series as it took a while to wrap my head around it when watching.
The different bushi bands ... and the way they interact definitely seems like it will be more at the forefront of the next half of this season (this first half ending rather suddenly an episode in to a new arc, which was a rather strange place to take a break), and I think things will continue to be on the up here. As an introduction this could have been better and the characters and plotlines felt rather generic thus far, but I am still glad I gave this a chance after my lacklustre feelings at the beginning. It also had those small moments of humour mixed in which didn't fail to make me smile - especially the misunderstanding between the trio with Musashi liking older women and Tsugumi only wanting to be closer to them.

Orient is fine.
It's the most fine anime you'll ever come across of probably.
It's a shonen that doesn't really innovate or do anything different, it probably doesn't even want to do it. The show gets more enjoyable to watch after the first 3-4 episodes, it has some interesting things and enjoyable characters but it all goes on without having anything in particular done really well.

OP and ED are okay and sound like they came out from a 2000s anime.

Animation is not great, it's not Rusted Armors level of animation but it's still not that amazing.

The last episode was a bit of a mess, ... bunch of things throwed at you to get you interested in the second part (already announced and coming in the summer, very surprising) of the show with little time to actually expose it a bit because it all happens in the last minutes.

I thought i would drop it, but for some reason i kept coming back, like a guilty pleasure.
The fact that there's Rie Takahashi as a VA is probably one of the reason I stayed.