I thoroughly enjoyed the manga, the description doesn't quite do the manga justice... it doesn't show how brilliant of a character Tokuchi is. If you've read Eyeshield 21, Hiruma would be the equivalent of Tokuchi. Except in this case, the story is centred around Tokuchi, rather than a weak character who develops into an amazing player. Tokuchi starts out as a genius and never gets to be any more or less so of a genius.

Evidently, I'm a complete fan of Tokuchi. His antics never cease to amuse me. The story is great, albeit much of it is still untranslated.

It's similar to H2 in the sense that Kunimi Hiro started off as a star player and never stopped being one. He only messes up because of luck or factors outside of his control. However, the focus of One Outs is psychological tactics rather than simply improving skills. There's also no romantic subtext.

I'm not a person whose really into sports but I am totally in love with this manga. It's not a baseball manga about being the greatest baseball player/team but rather it's a baseball manga where the players try to out smart eachother. I think this manga has everything it has psychological elements, sports, gambling and a badass male lead.

This blew me away. It is most definitely focused on baseball, but psychology plays a larger part. It's just so good, I find myself suddenly laughing out loud at some outrageous occurrence or when I'm finally filled in on what new psychological attack Toua has come up with.

Unfortunately, there is a huge 53 chapter gap in the translations.
Although I have only read up to chapter 31 at this point (which was sadly left on a huge cliffhanger...), I am now turning to the anime to fill me in.

HIGHLY Recommended. (:
This coming from someone who doesn't usually pick up these sports manga, much less anything regarding psychology. This has definitely opened my eyes. (:

There's a massive gap in the scans so can't really say but I liked the start so I guess I would recommend it if you happen to enjoy watching tv shows after skipping several seasons.

One Outs is not a manga that concerns itself with the rules / techniques of baseball or a particular player's rise from being the disadvantaged underdog to a famous prodigy. This is more of a story about gambling and psychological play with the baseball diamond as its stage.

Certain readers complain about Toua Tokuchi's "unnatural brilliance." While I don't deny that his unparalleled genius is somewhat lacking in realism, it's rather enjoyable to come across a protagonist who's full of confidence and is not floundering in a sea of conflicting emotions or unnecessary worries; a man who knows exactly what he wants and has the mental capabilities to achieve those goals. Anyone who appreciates calm, ruthless, intelligent characters will doubtless enjoy following Tokuchi's tactical manoeuvres throughout the story. The question is never: "Will Tokuchi win?" but rather: How will Tokuchi (and the Lycaons) win?" (And more often than not, your guesses will be completely wrong!)

"Lack of character development" is the other primary complaint of the critics. But in my opinion, it's not necessary for a protagonist to have a tragic past, a complicated family background, or a dead lover in order to be realistic and relateable. These are adult men and professional baseball players. For them, the time of doubt, emotional turmoil and romantic entanglements is long gone. If that's what you're looking for, I'd recommend trying something like Major or H2 instead.

That being said, character development of a type entirely different from the norm is actually present, as becomes especially apparent in the latter half of the series. The evolution of the Lycaons players' willpower, confidence, tactical prowess, and team spirit (which, unlike in typical sports series, has nothing to do with friendship and more to do with pride and professionalism) is carefully laid out over the 20 volumes, and is a pretty interesting thing to watch out for.

The anime adaptation's very good -- actually even more exciting than the manga since the animation is able to convey the high-speed actions on the playing field far more effectively than static pictures (regardless of how skilfully drawn they may be) can. Either way, it's necessary to watch the anime before reading volume 10 of the manga, in order to bridge the gap in the scanlations.

Overall, a very interesting story. Even those who don't normally fancy sports themes might like to attempt this, as the psychological aspect is more fascinating and prominent than the actual game.

... Last updated on February 2nd, 2015, 1:23pm

This is a good psychological baseball manga. It's not a psychological manga but another good baseball manga that is more realistic than any other baseball manga I have read is Ookiku Furikabutte

@a_v
Come on we can not help it since the available scanlations is only around 3vol and all, moreover it is not available in our country. We can not help but watch the anime to get our fix, but i believe the manga is so much better.

I am also one of the very rare people who somehow bump to One Outs before trying to read Mitsuru Adachi manga, after i read it is about slice of life i knew immediately that is not my type of manga >.< i am struggling to find another manga that can ease my -one outs- withdrawal.

Toua is such a sadist. He reigns there at the top of my fav sadistic hero >.< together with Neuro. I really like the mind game. It reminds me a lot of Kaiji but his style looks similar with Liar Game which i have just found out it is from the same author!!

... Last updated on October 13th, 2009, 10:21am

I m one of those rare people who have somehow read Shinbu kaitani's Liar game and One Outs before venturing into shonen baseball like Adachi or Major. And now I CANT READ ADACHI AT ALL. coz this was so fulfilling and complete story tht u ca seperate boys from men. It would be like reading dragonball after gantz /berserk or POT after happy!.

Thank you Mr. kaitani i was saved by evil adachi for i will never be able to read shonen baseball anymore.

Take a pitcher with minimal skills, but a talent for psychological games, then place him in a situation where his paycheck is determined by his skills...

Solid manga, some humor in that he's working against the team manager, but overall very promising. As to earlier comments about "I didn't see the manga but the anime is blah blah..."

Frankly, who cares about the anime. This is MANGAupdates, so who gives a damn who something thinks about the anime?

Don't know about the manga, but the anime is really good! This is like the Eyeshield 21 version of baseball. They use tactics, mind games, and manipulative strategies to win more than relying on talent and skills. The main character is really smart and devious.