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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 are ... downright 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.