One Outs

More than a sports manga with funny, action packed moments it deals a lot with the psychology & physical pressures of professional athletes in Baseball and shows a behind the scene look at sports corruption and politics. The main character Toa Tokuchi is a cool, calm, calculating gambling demon who will not hesitate to do what he has set out to do. Toa Tokuchi is the life & soul of this series and he is also a very distinguishable character in manga/anime history. TYPE A series with a 9.2/10 rating.

Honesty, this is the best manga I have read so far. The storyline was brilliant, and Tokuchi is simply outstanding. His hair and personality kind of remind me of Hiruma. Although I do not really like sports or stuff like that, I found this to be so much fun, mosty because sports was not the main focus. Needless to say, once I started reading, I simply could not let go of it. Things that Tokuchi did, the way he played other people around his little finger, his personality and the brains to make any situation go in his favour left me with a wide ear-to-eargrin after every single chapter. So, if you are into genious midegames, this is a must. Watching other people underestimate him and then getting served made me so dorkishly happy. This manga was very enjoyable, not because of the storyline (do not take me wrong, it is awesome), but mainly because Tokuchi is a type of guy you simply love and can not imagine losing. He has this cool air around him and it is impossible to shake him up or outsmart him. He calls himself a first rate gambler, but is it really gambling if you already know you are going to win?

Warning: I am not a very good. . . reviewer? So, uhh, beware. *flicks booger at screen.* *Gintoki comes along and highfives me.* *shot for bad Gintama reference.* - Alright, to be blunt, i'm not a sports person. I'm not even athletic, and i have the stamina of a dying cat that is being weighed down by fifty pounds. i dont even like sports. However, i am easily persuaded by manga- for instance, after One Outs, i liked baseball. After Kurogane, i liked kendo. After Kuroko no Basuke, i liked basketball. After Eyeshield 21 and Prince of Tennis. . . well you get it. Sonow that you know that. . . let's begin ~ - To start us off, here's a quote that pretty much, in my opinion, sums up One Outs leaving out any details. "A small possibility/chance doesn't mean zero percent." The story is perfect. It's pretty much what motivated me to even read One Outs- and finish it. It's kind of like a slice-of-life sports manga about a smart guy, to be extremely general. To be more specific, it's about a guy who's recruited for the Lycaons in an odd way and turns out to be extremely good for the team, even though his physical talent is pretty average. In each seperate arc where a new problem or challenge arises, his mental ability is brought out in a way that shocks the reader and makes you go, "So thats what it was?!!?!" and "How did i not realize that. . . " This manga isn't just about some guy who has some inhuman strength who's super amazing, it's a lot more then that. As I said, I pretty much stayed not for the sport, definitely not for the art, not even for the characters, but for the mystery and plot. A definite ten out of ten. - Now the art. . . . at the end of every chapter, the art made me want to quit One Outs. However, nearly immediately afterwards, I would think, "But I really do want to know what's going on. . . Alright, I can do this! Force myself, Uh Huh! *imitates Kagura and is immediately shot again* Annyyyhow. . . To be blunt, it was terrible. I hated the art. Sometimes, even when the art is bad, I just get use to it. Although the art did get better a bit, I don't think I'll ever like it. I know that this manga is considerably old, but even so. . . I'm sure some people in this world don't mind the art for this series, but it just makes my eyes burn. While the art is fairly realistic and brings out all the necessary emotions, I guess, frankly, it's not my thing and thus get's a four out of ten from me. - The character development was fairly nice, although there are still things to be questioned. I really loved Toua (although, as expected, I couldn't stand how he was drawn. If it was another art style, though, I'm pretty sure I would be fan girling all over him.) and thought he was fantastic, the way he managed to motivate people by insulting them. Also, even if the Lyacon's manager is a terrible guy, I think he was created fairly okay. However, I do occasionally wonder why Toua bothers staying with the Lyacons and dealing with it's awful manager, as well as why Kojima is so. . . emotional? In addition, I think it would be better if the Lyacon members themselves were given more of a background. I'm not asking for a whole chapter for each character, maybe just a page or two so the reader could at least get a basic idea. However, some of the early opponents of the Lyacon's were introduced nicely. Seven out of ten. - If you bothered reading the beginning (and I'm hoping you did. . .) then you would've remembered I'm not a sports person. Obviously, that deducts a few points from my enjoyment grade. I mean, if you don't get all the terms used in the manga, then it's like your being left out of an inside joke, and that's just no fun, right? Well, I did eventually learn all of the baseball references, but it was a bit confusing in the beginning and when Toua explained his grand scheme, I'm just like. . .Woah, that's so awesome! So what did you do again? Plus, I couldn't stand the art. It's like I'm just taking a crapper and suddenly I spot a tiny spider on the wall. . . it's extremely bothersome, but I can't do nothing about it. Luckily, the story was fantastic, which was the one thing that stopped me from ripping out my hair and going back to my many other mangas and animes with a bald head. As for the characters, despite the lack of background (as far as i can tell. . . i mean, i want his Toua's life story, or at least a whole bunch of major key events. Call me a stalker. . . or Santa Claus. Hohoho.) I still found them interesting, so that helped alot. Even if I found them drawn horridly. I always said 2D people were better looking than 3D people. . . guess I have to take that back now. Anyway, for the enjoyment rate, I would give it an 8/10. Now. . . . *puts on circular glasses and a Shinpachi wig* Look at me! I'm so smart looking, right?! *is knifed*

IMO the other reviews on here are far too generous, this is the first review I've written on MAL, but felt the need to put my 2 cents out there since I'm the only one who wasn't blown away by One Outs. The artwork is definitely simple, and has been criticized even by fans. I noticed inconsistencies and simple artwork in general, even stuff like a missing foot in one particular panel. For a sports manga, the action is simple and drawn clearly enough to tell what is going on, but not exciting. Characters stretch in impossible ways and a few of the character designs aredownright ugly, I think 'decent' is a fair score here. The majority of the other characters are two dimensional, you will get tired of Tokuchi's team mates doubting him time after time. They complain and whine and cast negative energy, yet this man saves their ass game after game. Most of the bad guys are straight up evil, with no redeeming qualities - it's pretty black and white who to root for. Tokuchi himself is an enigma, and while it's cool at first, by the end you are disappointed that you never really get to know him. I think there was a lot of potential for a cool background story, and since it's a one man show with Tokuchi front and center, feeling alienated from his past didn't do the story justice IMO. Only the final chapters does anyone really grow or change, EXCEPT for the MC - we know about as much him at the end as we did at the beginning, and to me that was a big complaint. While I did enjoy the story overall, the big let-down with One Outs is that it's a gambling story at it's core, so it constantly tries to set the stakes pretty high. However, the MC always seems to be 10 steps ahead of everyone else, and even the fiercest competition never really feels dangerous. I was never able to suspend belief long enough to feel like the story would end unpredictably. So how do I still end up at a 6 with that in mind? I think the author was creative with the schemes Tokuchi pulls off, and even though I never doubted he was playing the long game, I was still trying to figure his methods each time they go up against a new obstacle. It is a cool story, and despite the characters lacking depth, there are a lot of likeable guys in the cast and some pretty funny moments in there. It seems like a beginner's effort, but the potential is visible, and I'm excited to check out Liar Game soon and see how he has grown.