"Orient Volume 1" by Shinobu Ohtaka introduces readers to a captivating world where demons reign and brave warriors rise. The stunning cover drew me in, and the heartfelt beginning didn't disappoint. As Musashi and Kojiro embark on their quest to overthrow the demonic rule, the story unfolds with promise and intrigue. While reminiscent of typical shonen tropes, the introduction of complex characters and the hint of deeper conflicts add depth to the narrative. Ohtaka's storytelling prowess shines through, setting the stage for an epic adventure filled with action, friendship, and the pursuit of justice. I eagerly anticipate diving into the next volume to see how the story unfolds further.

I absolutely loved "Orient 1" by Shinobu Ohtaka. From the very first page, I was hooked on this epic fantasy adventure, which takes place in a world of magic and swordplay.

The story follows Musashi, a young boy who dreams of becoming a great swordsman like his father. But when his village is attacked by demons and his father is killed, Musashi must embark on a journey to avenge his father and protect his village from further harm.

The worldbuilding in this book is incredible, and I was completely immersed in the vivid descriptions of the landscape and the magic system. The characters are also well-developed, with complex motivations and backstories that kept me engaged throughout.

One thing I particularly appreciated about this book was the way it explored themes of friendship, loyalty, and honor. Musashi's relationships with his friends and allies are at the heart of the story, and I loved watching them grow and evolve over the course of the book.

Overall, "Orient 1" is an exciting and engaging fantasy adventure that is sure to appeal to fans of the genre. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves stories of magic, swordplay, and epic quests. 5/5 stars.

Having read this before the anime I was so pleased! This hyped me up for the anime. Musashi and Kojiro are such amazing characters. They've been dealt such crappy hands at life, but they make the most of it. I love seeing them team up together to live like the Bushi do.

A very action oriented manga, which I think maybe takes place either in the distant future or in a completely different world, but either way, demons have ruled for over 150 years and humans pretty much love them. The only people to stand up against them are Bushi, who are demon hunters, but most people think they suck, and anyone from a Bushi family is shunned by society. Musashi is different though, he WANTS to be a Bushi and form a band of warriors along with his best friend, who is one of the outcast members of a Bushi family.

Musashi ​and his childhood friend, Kojiro, learn the legend of the Bushi - demon fighting warriors who use their katanas to fight even in the name of humanity. The only problem is, the two of them seem to be the only ones who think the demons are bad. Musashi hides his dream to become a Bushi and instead goes to school to become a miner, but he fashions his pickaxe to be a katana and continues to hone his skills in sword-fighting. On the day Musashi goes out to the mines, he discovers that his sword practice was well worth it, and that his dream of becoming a Bushi is much more obtainable than others made him believe.

The storyline in the first volume is extremely repetitive. Musashi keeps repeating how his dream is to become a bushi, and Kojiro had to struggle for several pages throughout the volume about his identity as a person with a bushi ancestor. The demon metal horse that he rides in on is a motorcycle with tons of spikes on it, so where is the fuel for this bike in this world? The main issue I had that was completely untouched was how this human society trains young folk to believe the demons are great and that bushi are bad. What do they have to gain from training their children to believe this? There are some sacrifices that are made to the worldbuilding in this volume in favor of the fast pacing and action sequences. If you or your students are into a bit of mindless violence, this might be a decent title to get into. It might be better in a library where Magi, the previous work by this mangaka, is popular.

​The art was very detailed and there were some really intricate and impressive fight scenes. Despite the ludicrousness of the main character's katana, his character design is well done, and he looks believable as a sword-swinging fighter.

Sara's Rating: 5/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley.

The art was cute and I think it is a good start to a new series. I will be looking out for the new books in these series.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in return for an honest review.

I had to DNF this as it just bored me. While it is full of action, I found it more generic than anything and couldn't get into it, I just feel like I have read this type of book so many times. Nothing stood out to me which is a shame. I wasn't too fond of the art either.
Rating: 2⭐

Would I Read It Again? No
Would I Recommend it? Not really

An exciting first volume that REALLY starts things off with a bang! Character designs are cool and the double page spreads are grand and action-packed. But the demon designs and Bushi armor are where Ohtaka's design chops shine. The demons are so stinking cool and the scale at which she draws some of them is mind-boggling. I love this mangaka and I'm excited to see where she takes her new series!

This may be one of the most bland and confusing Shonen manga I've ever read.

The world-building is okay in the beginning but as the manga goes on, the world-building stops entirely, leaving the reader floundering. After the first third of the story, NOTHING is explained. The protagonist's goal is to become a bushi but he doesn't explain his motivation or reason for why. The characters were extremely uninteresting and actually annoying. The pacing is super slow for the first third, but then it throws the protagonist into a huge fight that goes on for the last two thirds-- and the fight isn't even concluded by the end! Every chapter is just regurgitated character development where the character develops-- only to immediately revert back, or revelations that are immediately acted upon but then totally ignored otherwise.

The protagonist wants to be a bushi, rather than a miner like the rest of the humans. He's outgoing but he has no backbone in the beginning, despite how motivated he's supposed to be. When he's finally able to start his journey to becoming a famous bushi, he becomes ridiculously reckless in a way that just makes him look stupid. As a character and a protagonist, I found him unappealing and uninspiring. He's supposedly over-powered, but his big flashy attacks do nothing. He uses a ridiculously massive double-bladed scythe (which he used as a miner's pick for some reason) in place of a katana but uses bushi katana techniques with it. It's never questioned or brought up, it shouldn't work but since it's a manga OF COURSE IT DOES, and its capabilities exceed that of an actual scythe.

The lands surrounding of the village's walls as far as the eye can see are mined by hundreds if not thousands of humans under the cruel eye of demons, who kill some of them here and there because they felt like it. There's no explanation for how the villagers never heard all of that going on outside the walls, or how the villager miners who "graduated" didn't panic the second the gates (set in a very public space) opened to let them out of the village for the first (and last) time.

When the protagonist "graduates" from the village and is about to be forced into slavery like the others, he attacks and kills a supposedly strong demon with great ease. Because of this, a demon god appears -- WHY does such a powerful demon appear so soon? You wouldn't send a tank to put down a rabid Pomeranian. The protagonist is also a skilled swordsman despite only ever practicing sword techniques (with a scythe!) on his own with no actual opponent.

Bushi appear to save the village from the demon god. They are also able to use magic but this is never explained, nor was it brought up before the moment they started using it, or even talked about after. Their ability to use magic was NOT something the protagonist learned or knew about before that moment! They can shoot magic from their swords, change their swords' shape, and use it for other....things. One bushi used her sword to essentially grab the protagonist at a very long range and pull him up to the top platform of the bushi base. This base looks like a permanent, already established one. It literally came out of nowhere!! How could anyone miss that base when bushi are outcasts??

I have no motivation to continue reading this series. Orient proves that one can have one popular series (Magi the Labyrinth), and then write a truly awful one.

In the land of Hinomoto, demons have taken over control to the human race and worshipped as gods. However, there is a group of humans who continued to fight against the Demon Gods to free the human race from their grasp and save the world. They were called “The band of Bushi.” This is the story of how Musashi and Kojiro started their journey to become the best Bushi in the world. So, are you brave enough to join their ranks, risk your life for humanity and save the world? Let us begin!

As expected from the creators of Magi! An exciting mix of magic and bushido in a fantastic world. I look forward to seeing more.

A strong start to the new radiant series from the same mangaka as Magi!

This story centers around our boys Musashi & Kojiro. They live in a world where Oni's are considered deities and worshipped. The oni's eat gems and metals and so they live in a mining society where miners are heroes and warriors who used to hunt the oni's are outcast.
The two set off to satisfy their warrior ways and hunt the demon's, thus our age-old shounen story begins.

I really enjoyed the art style and I found the action packed panels highly alluring. I have to admit that the motorcycle element in the story woke me out of the immersion of the world.
That aside, I would definitely give the story two more volumes before forming a solid opinion on how I feel about it.
I'd give this story 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys Magi or shounen in general. Great action scenes, two likable characters with a can do attitude and a vibrant panels that keep you wanting to turn the page.

Nothing about this book really sticks out. It’s a pretty standard shonen manga. The main character is a teen with little sense but tons of enthusiasm, and he wants to be the very best...like no one ever waaaaaaas! He has a friend who’s kind of a jerk to him. They fight giant monsters. You know, pretty normal manga stuff. The action is fun and the monster designs are cool. I was entertained while reading it but it wasn’t interesting enough for me to consider picking up the next volume.

I'm going to pre-face this review that's while I wasn't personally a fan of this manga – I have to say this volume was a pretty solid start for a Shounen series. Through our two main protagonists, Musashi and Kojiro, we learn of a world taken by demon gods who are worshipped blindly by everyone around them, almost to a cultish level. When our two leads are children, they hear of a legend – about a band of humans who are working to save humanity from the oppressive forces, called the Bushi. Obviously, just like any young child who found something cool to idolize, the two boys plan to become Bushis themselves when they grow up. But as they get older . . . things don't go their way.

While this synopsis I provided tells a bit too much, but if this may have peaked your curiosity, I will note that the fighting scenes so far are very fun and pack-full of energy, and some of the designs for the monsters are very unique! If you enjoyed Ohtaka's other works such as Magi, I believe you'd enjoy this story too.

I really love Magi series by the same author and I DEFINITELY LOVE THIS ONE TOO. It's a new comics series by Shinobu Ohtaka, one of my favorite mangaka. This story is about a once world that was ruled by humans but one day, demons arrived and everything changed after that. Demons are worshipped as a god by humans but some human is still fighting against Demons ( was called as Bushi). Our MCs are a-newly-made Bushi.

The thing is that the MCs and plot sound really similar to Magi series but again I really love Magi series that's why I can still tolerate it. I can't wait for the 2nd book soon.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance of getting this ARC.

This feels like every other shounen manga out there. A strong protagonist that dives into things without thinking. It's just been too overplayed by this point.

Orient is a true feel-good shonen manga. The protagonist is a relatable "act first, think later" character that is typical of the genre and the plot so far seems to be the comfortable "kid chasing after his dream to become great like his mentor/father/idol" that leaves me feeling satisfied and happy. Lately I have found myself looking for stereotypes like this when I want to read my comfort manga but feeling bored reading the same manga over and over again. This manga gave me just enough change that I feel refreshed while still in my comfort zone . That being said, it was not a terribly unique plot but the intricate details in the art and designs make up for that. This is only the first volume so there is definitely room to grow. All in all, I would still purchase this manga if purely for the art.

I just reviewed Orient 1 by Shinobu Ohtaka. #Orient1 #NetGalley

Ok I have never read or watched Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic so this is my first taste of Shinobu Ohtaka. I can say that even though I never read Magi these characters look really familiar which I think is kind of cool. I like the homages mangakas make to their other works. But, I also wasn't super impressed by these characters.

Musashi was cool and very typical of a main protagonist. He is strong willed, headstrong with a little spice of dim witted added in for good measure. His friend I liked a bit more, Kojiro, because he of course is the perfect balance to Musashi. Kojiro is a bit insecure, level headed and apathetic. They make a pretty good team, but again I wasn't particularly WOWed by them.

I think that I will be checking out the rest of the series though. It had lots of action and I like the idea of our heroes, the Bushis, being looked down on in this world filled with demons. I think right now is a great market for demon stories with Promised Neverland & Demon Slayer being so popular. It's also different enough from those to stand on it's own, but I personally think that has more to do with how unique & engrossing Promised Neverland and Demon Slayer are.

All in all this was a solid read. The art is beautiful, the action is there and the story is coming to fruition.

This manga is full of action, friendship and determination. The main character and his best friend decide they are going to be Bushi, a group of people that fight demons, but they are shunned in their community and the demons are worshipped. The community trains to take care of the demons. Upon graduation the main character discovers that the demons actually eat the majority of the community members that graduate and he decides to finally prove he can be a bushi. He and his best friend, who is of true bushi decent, spend most of the book trying to defeat the demons at the graduation. This seems like a title that would be really popular among middle school boys. Very Naruto. I liked it.

I received a copy of Orient from Kodansha through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This is the first manga I have read by this Mangaka. I really enjoyed this first volume. I am not a big Shounen manga reader but I was sucked in by Orient’s compelling story and likable characters. I was pleasantly surprised by this volume and look forward to the rest of the story.

Orient takes place in a world where demons have taken over. This manga focuses around two childhood friends who have a dream to become Bushi (warriors who fight against the demons).

I recommend Orient to anyone who likes fantasy, action, and Shounen manga!