The following contains spoilers for Season One Part 1 of Orient, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Crunchyroll has recently released an official trailer for the second installment in Orient’s first season and announced that Season 1 Part 2 will be released in July 2022. Although the clip is short -- only 45-seconds in length -- there are a few key things that fans can take away.
The trailer shows no sign of the series’ protagonists (Musashi, Kojiro and Tsugumi) and divulges no further information on the revelations that arose in Episode 12, “Where This Road Leads,” which gave fans an insight into The Obsidian Eight and the origins of the Black Kishin. Instead, the clip reveals the Uesugi Band, which includes Tatsuomi Uesug, Kanetatsu Naoe, Kuroko Usami and Masaki Amakasu. Here’s what can be expected from Orient’s upcoming follow-up.
During the show’s last episode about the beginnings of the Uesugi Alliance, an agreement between several Bushi factions that they will work together was revealed. Thousands of Bushi troops lined the harbor waiting to board a variety of ships to combat a Kishin that had recently appeared on Awaji Island. Throughout the majority of the first part of the series, only the Takeda and Kosameda Bushi were shown. However, in this episode, fans managed to get a glimpse of the Amako, Arima, Ootomo and Shimazu clans.
It appears that the Orient Part 2 will focus on the Bushi within the Uesugi Alliance and their journey to reclaim Awaji Island. Kuroko Usami, a member of the Uesugi band, details how they plan to use one group to lure out the lesser Oni into a single location, while another will likely turn their attention to the Kishin.
It’s unclear how Musashi and his Kanemaki band will fit into this scenario. Since their clan currently only has three members, all of whom lack experience, it seems unlikely that they will fight as a single unit for this mission. Instead, this arc seems like the perfect moment for the team to separate. Doing so would not only give each character the opportunity to grow their skills but also allow viewers to gain a better understanding of how Bushi clans work.
Hopefully, the law behind the Oni, Kishin and their allies (The Obsidian Eight) will also be explored in greater detail and finally have their true goal revealed. While the trailer offers little to speculate on regarding this secret, it does show Takeda and several other Bushi praying to an altar that's surrounded by a collection of black crystals. This is likely a reference to the Obsidian Goddess (or potentially other similar counterparts) and their religious significance to certain sects of the Bushi. Fans will likely expect to see Musashi’s relationship with the Obsidian Goddess built upon during this part of the season.
While many viewers were critical of the slow pace of the first part of Orient’s premiere season, it looks like the things are about to get a lot faster. With an increased number of Bushi bands being added to the mix, the trailer indicates that the next run of episodes will be packed full of action as they attempt to rid Hinomoto of their Oni overlords.
