One Outs

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One Outs

One-outs.jpg
Series information
Title: One Outs
Medium: manga
Genre: sports, gambling

One Outs is a manga series by Shinobu Kaitani. It follows Toua Tokuchi, a professional gambler whose skill at reading people and playing mind games made him unbeatable in One Outs, an underground variety of baseball played for money. A twist of fate causes Tokuchi's path to cross with the Saitama Lycaons, a professional baseball team trapped in a losing streak.

The series stands out among Battles of Wits by having a unique concept centering on a competitive sport. Unlike other sports manga, where determination, effort and teamwork tend to be the main deciding factors, in One Outs matches also involve strategy, mind games and sometimes underhanded tactics.

Series

The One Outs manga consists of the following parts:

  • One Outs, chapters 1-168 (1998-2006)
  • One Outs: Miwaku no All-Star-hen, chapters 1-7 (2008-2009)

The manga was serialized in Business Jump magazine, with the original 168 chapters being collected into 19 volumes. Miwaku no All-Star-hen, published later and then collected into a 20th volume, is an extra story that takes place chronologically before the end of the original series. The first 82 chapters of the manga manga were also adapted into a 25-episode anime series that aired on Nippon TV from 2008 to 2009.

Characters

See also: List of One Outs characters

  • Hiromichi Kojima (Specialist): A batter for the Lycaons and the team's star player. During a training camp in Okinawa he is introduced to the One Outs game and to Tokuchi, and becomes fascinated and intrigued by his skills.
  • Toua Tokuchi (Lead Mastermind): A professional gambler who is undefeated as a pitcher in One Outs. Although he can only pitch fastballs, by reading his opponents he is easily able to avoid being struck.

Related titles

  • Other Battles of Wits manga by Shinobu Kaitani include Liar Game and the two Three Phase: The Forbidden Divination one-shots.
  • In Liar Game, one of the rounds of the Liar Game Tournament uses the idea of the L-Ticket introduced in One Outs chapter 126. One of the characters is also a fan of the Lycaons, suggesting that the two stories might take place in the same universe.
  • Tobaku Haouden Zero is one of the few gambling manga besides One Outs to include an arc based on a physical sport, with the first arc of Tobaku Haouden Zero: Gyanki-hen centering on golf.