Feb 20, 2012
Intro: Not your usual sports manga. If you only like unrealistic sports manga or anime, this is not for you. Last Inning is very realistic and uses more of the psychology and the strategy of the game than the game itself. That is what I most enjoy about it. Here goes my first review. This review is only after reading 101 chapters.
Story:
The story is simple in terms of what we can expect from it. I mean, the objective is pretty clear and we know where it can go. A team trying to reach the Koshien. If the team doesn't reach, it's going to be disbanded.
...
Of course this is a simple resume of what the story really brings, but we can sum it up like this. What I like about this manga is the way they portray the game and the way that they show what the players and coaches think during the game, the mental, strategic part of the game. It goes deep in the minds of players and coaches. It treats each player’s personality and exposes them in the game and how that itself can affect it. The players skills set are similar to what a real high school baseball player can do. They are flawed, they are learning and not perfect yet.
Art:
I like the art, not the best I’ve seen, of course, but it is enjoyable and we can see the characteristics of each character pretty easy. I don't like some expressions they make though, like when they are angry and stuff like that, the mouth looks a bit ugly in my opinion.
Character:
They are mostly simple characters with their own personality. Hatogaya divides them by "categories". The coach is a smart one with a good perspective of the game, and is good at analyzing personalities. At first, I thought he was going to be one of those unbeatable geniuses that we see every once in a while in a sports manga (Tokuchi comes to mind). Glad I was wrong. He also shows signs of emotions and doubts throughout the game. He fails at times, he is surpassed at times. The players are simple minded, well, at least most of them. They are well portrayed if you look at it realistically. Hatogaya has pretty interesting enemies, like St Mary's coach. It is an evolving curve. It still doesn’t have that deep character development or the evolution of some characters, but it is still a long way. The manga has a long way to go and isn’t even in the main part yet.
Enjoyment:
I really like realistic sports manga. The psychological part of the game and the way the game is portrayed captivated me and makes me enjoy this manga. A good read in my opinion. I like the pace; I think it’s just right as where I am right now.
This is my first review like I said. Going to get better and use better words to describe what I read. English isn’t my first language either, so there are maybe some mistakes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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