Anime
One Outs = Total Sports Anime Ripoff
Decided to watch One Outs episode 1 last weekend since it’s been subbed, and my initial impression could be summed up as:
Toa is Hiruma’s long lost twin, not to mention they exude the same aura too. I’m sure TheBigN can attest to this.
So you can say that we’ve got some (Hiru)MANservice here. And the ladies rejoice!!
The heck, it’s a Gori (Akagi from Slam Dunk)! They’re more similar personality- and voice-wise.
…oh and he has a bit of Golgo 13 genes in him too. He must be one of Golgo 13’s sons 
wow, Kogure is also here! Again, the similarity is uncanny, in terms of looks and personality.
Uhm, that you, Oishi-senpai (Prince of Tennis)? Or more like, a cross between Oishi and Inui.
There’s like 100% testosterone power here, since all the characters are men.
Oh wait, there’s one woman, y harlo that big momma (that’s what she’s really called btw)!
…and they even brought this Kin-chan (Itazura na Kiss) lookalike, or what Kin-chan would’ve been if he was drawn better and had his hair dyed brown. They also exude a similar air of [unfoundedly stupid] haughtiness, and the way they speak is also similar (especially the ~su-ness).
(awkward silence)
I can only hope that made you chuckle, at the very least, because from hereon out, I shall sing nothing else but praises for this show’s awesomeness, and that might make you puke, or something. If you seriously thought I was going to diss this show, well, shame on you. Enough silly talk and let’s get crackin’!
One Outs is easily one of my most anticipated anime for this season. I mean, Baseball + gambling?! I’m IN! And, as expected, it was made of TOTAL WIN! This opinion, however, comes from a fangirl who’s totally biased for sports animes, so you might find this unreliable or whatnot. And since I don’t recall mentioning about my sports anime fanaticism in this blog, I’ll gladly take this opportunity to do so (whether you like it or not).
I’m easily taken by sports anime, partially due to the influence of my brothers who infected me with their sports anime zeal. The excitement I feel when watching these animes (especially the action-packed ones) is indescribable, and yes, even the silly Prince of Tennis is awesome for me. These animes spoiled me with the mix of thrill, excitement, and sheer enjoyment (or in the case of Mitsuru Adachi’s works, the slice-of-life aspect of sports) that they provide, so much that I have come to find them even better (or at least, more exciting and gripping) than their real-life counterparts. I even owe most of the RL sports knowledge I have right now to various sports anime series — Slam Dunk, Eyeshield21, Hajime no Ippo, Ookiku Furikabutte, I’ll/CKBC (the OVA was too short, just saying), Overdrive, etc. (Mitsuru Adachi’s sports mangas focus more on slice-of-life elements rather than the sports itself so I can’t really include those here).
As such, it should not come as a surprise that I totally enjoyed One Outs. It’s intense, gripping, and instead of boasting testosterone-filled purely physical hard-pumping action, it gives baseball a twist of gambling for that dramatic and psychological flare, in a way like Kaiji, with less (or close to 0) “manly” tears, and more of the Akagi GAR-ness. May I coin the word gamb(al)ling?
As if that’s not enough, this series also takes a jab at Japanese culture, criticizing Japanese people’s indecisiveness and passiveness, and tendency to run away from problems. But then this case should not be isolated to the Japanese alone, as this mindset is ever-present in other nationalities, especially Asians who are typically reserved and passive. But times are changing, and people are becoming more open-minded, and it’s always interesting to see animes that bring these weaknesses to light, all for the love of Japan.
I managed to catch up with this series in no time, since I got hooked right after watching episode 1, whose the damn cliffhanger ending prompted me to make do with the available csubs up until episode 3! It kinda ruins the moment, having to pause in between the scenes just to get what the heck the characters are saying, especially when they go down the psychological or gambling and baseball details, but that didn’t get in the way of my enjoyment. I badly need the english subs for this, however, to understand what was going on 100% (I think I understood 80%). So once the english subs are out for the episodes, without doubt I’m going to rewatch it! RAWR! Having brothers who are equally excited (or even more?) about this makes me all the more hyped up.
Anyways, I’m running out of coherent things to say about the actual show, which is probably why I’m hesitant to blog this episodically. You wouldn’t really want me to sound like a broken record as my thoughts/insights/impressions on each episode would be reduced to: “It’s awesome, it’s exciting!! Mind-blowing!!! Woohoo! Toa is THE god of Baseballers + Gamblers!”, rinse and repeat. Until the time I’m able to see One Outs from a broader perspective (or analyze Toa?), I’ll just continue to savor the thrill and ultimate enjoyment that this gamb(al)ling anime provides.
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31 comments for “One Outs = Total Sports Anime Ripoff”
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I cannot agree more. The issue with such shows is that it will be terribly under-watched because most people
1. Hate sports anime
2. Hate series without moe
3. Cannot take baseball in general.
It is clearly a pity because the whole series aims to decipher the thought processes of humans, and try to manipulate it through the use of little small actions. Episode 4 is a brilliant case on this. It is hard to find, for the lack of a better word, a mindfuck anime that makes you go “wow, this is seriously manipulative.”
I love this show! But it’s really a tad unrealistic especially after epsisode 4. it’s like a baseball AKAGI not Kaiji… Still awesome though.
And I agree with Impz, even Author of Aninouto loves moe only, the fag.
@Impz: one more thing to add to the list (which is actually caused by what you’ve also mentioned) – lack of consistent fansub supply.
It’s just frustrating to see when sports animes don’t get the attention they deserve, especially a series like ONE OUTS which breaks the mold of the stereotypical sports series. I can only hope more people give this a try. It’s mindfuckingly awesome *___*
@tj: But Akagi > Kaiji!! Oh well I guess I don’t have the right to say that since my view is skewed and biased, all I could remember of Kaiji was his… “manly” tears.
Also, more people should pimp this show!! RAWR!
LOL @ Kin-chan cameo. It’s an uncommon hairstyle, I’ll grant you that, but wouldn’t a better comparison would be Sakuragi before he shaved his head? I mean, if you want to keep it within the genre…
Impressive amount of comparisons, btw. Looks like you know your sports anime quite well. Does this mean that One Outs looks set to be the TTGL of the genre? I mean, as far as borrowing heavily from existing archetypes go, it did that pretty well.
NO ONE will ever be able to replace Hiruma-sama EVAR =_= *gets shot for being a bad kind of fangirl*
But still I will watch because me loves slashable series.
I don’t like or dislike sports anime but as a fan of the sport, I think One Outs is really not for baseball fans. It’s for people who like to watch gambling shows, or your typical sports-anime/manga fan-fujoshi types. But so far it feels like a lame Kaiji knockoff…
If you like baseball, watch the drama Rookies. Great show and based on a manga.
Since I haven’t watched either Kaiji or Akagi (whose production staff are also working on this?), this is my first go at this sort of gambling-type anime. I haven’t been disappointed with it though.
This is definitely similar to the anime Major. 1 of the baseball anime that have over 90 episodes.
Alright then, I’m watching this… Slam Dunk and Prince of Tennis are bigtime favorites of mine. I haven’t seen Kaiji though. I hate not getting the references! Nevermind, time to look for fansubs nao…
Oh, they even have Dali there, heh.
I watched up to episode 3… I think I rather like gambling anime…
@Owen: I first thought of Sakuragi, actually, but then I figured it would be too insulting for the great rebound king to be compared to this measly coward of a character, and opted for Kin-chan instead lol.
As for the TTGL-ness of One Outs, in a way it is, but not quite. Overdrive or Oofuri are the TTGL-esque sports anime for me. Then again I’m not sure if we’re seeing this from the same POV.
@yaku: here’s to hoping you’ll really enjoy this series, more than just its ’slashability’
@omo: but the only character here that comes close to being a “bishie” is Toa, though he’s not really the type of guy FYGs would normally fall for. But I’ve read your post about One Outs and see where you’re coming from. I’d have to admit I’m looking at this series with rose-colored glasses, both because of my bias for the genre and for my baseball n00bness. In any case, it’d be interesting to see baseball fans give their opinion about this anime, and whether someone among them would still find this fascinating.
@elvadrieng: I watched ROOKIES and loved it! Thanks for the recommendation anyways =D
@N: The gambling genre has been consistently fascinating, it seems. Or the psychology involved in it is fascinating.
@Bunster B: baseball is where the similarity of One Outs with Major begins and ends, from what I see. Major is more slice-of-lifey, inspirational, shows us how characters grow both in baseball and other aspects of their lives. Major makes use of a wide-angle lens, whereas One Outs focuses on its psychological aspect with a touch of gambling dramatic flair.
@ghostlightning: haha, you should give Kaiji a shot next time, I think you won’t find the “manly tears” as off-putting as I do, so I’m pretty positive you’ll enjoy it more than I.
@Kitsune: wait what, Dali?
You mean this artist? (you made me look up Google lolz)
This show seriously gets me worked up
lol @ “100% testosterone power here”
Like I’d said on asuki, I think it’s pretty messed up how alot of people are hating this series right off the bat based on assumptions and having no actual knowledge of what they’re talking about T_T Unlike you though, whereas you seem to be fond of watching sports, I’ve never really found an interest in such endeavors… I played baseball from maybe 4 years old throughout my high school years as well as basketball and numerous other sports, yet watching sports wasn’t something I would want to do… makes more sense to play them right? Well, I took that mentality to the anime shows I’d watch as well until Major… thanks to that I watched Ookiku Furikabutte… crap I’m rambling… point is… even for someone who may not like “sports anime” this series shouldn’t be lumped as such… it’s alot more then just a sports anime… and the primary focus is on the gambling aspect, not so much the game of baseball.
Hopefully other anime viewers can open up their eyes to how insanely awesome this show is
(I should probably stop trying to discuss things at 6 am 
)
@sho: Most people are jaded towards this anime, it seems, and I think the RL sports knowledge they have is getting in the way of enjoying this? The gambling aspect of this series is really interesting, and I can only hope more people give this one a shot, especially those who constantly complain about cliches and lack of originality in the shows they watch nowadays.
I was searching for some sports anime to watch and came across this and since it actually looks ‘NEW’ or ‘Present Time,’ I gave it a shot and LOVED it..I’m so hoping that the manga is scanlated but I doubt it..I’m looking forward to this sport’s anime show..
I don’t get why some other crapy, out-of-date sports anime gets Eps after Eps but the good ones don’t..
If anyone has any info on this anime/manga or even knows of it’s scanlations,(?) please drop me an email..
Sincerely,
@water: are you referring to Major by any chance? =P
We have different standards for judging whether a sports anime is “good”, so you can’t just say the ones that get lots of sequels/seasons are crappy ^^;
Good to see you hooked on this series nonetheless! I don’t think there are any scanlation groups working on the manga however =/ We just have to be contented with the anime for now, the subbers are catching up after all
i just finished episode 3 and i love it!but i totally agree with Yaku. no one can ever take Hiruma’s place. NO ONE.
@rax: there can only be one Hiruma! That we should know well
If you want to see a good anime about baseball and love, try Princess Nine
@Kitsune: your recommendation is much appreciated!
wow!! those comparisons are really funny!! haha… i happen to watch One Outs by chance and now im LOVIN IT!!!
wasnt into baseball cos i dun really understand the game. but this anime made me wanna know more now =)
GO GO TOAU!!!
@kanalucifer: haha, Toua’s badassness can easily get you hooked into this
Well if you want to know more about baseball, I suggest you also give Ookiku Furikabutte a try :3
You realise that One Outs started before Eyeshield21, right?
Original manga started on 2000.
Anyway, yes, this show is feaking awesome.
@aninari: I never bothered looking up that info
knowing that Toua is the predecessor of Hiruma just made me gain more appreciation for this show.
OO has been out since 1998.
Besides the year of it’d debut.
A LOT of sports manga are alike, even when it comes to character design. It’s pretty common to have a spiky haired male as the protagonist, and blond hair is just an attractive feature to add.