ONE OUTS ANIME REVIEW

 

ONE OUTS ANIME REVIEW
-SHINOBU KAITANI
(DECEMBER 02 2020)

In a battle where strength comes first, how will you outwit your enemy? If all the disadvantages are thrown at you, can you still react and think calmly? Critical thinking is always a part of the game. It is and will always be. When it comes to a sports anime, there's always that one person who doesn't stand out most of the time. He's not good, he's an amateur, but he's always trying his best. He's not talented, but he has that will and faith that everything will be alright. Through hard work, he will achieve his goal. Well, doesn't that sound familiar? But really, we always come to love this kind of series. On the other hand, characters who can decide for themselves, who can think logically, who you can depend on without hesitation is kinda rare. It's a treasure. 

The series is about our protagonist "Tokuchi Toua" being an unbeatable pitcher in a game called One Outs. To make it simple, the game is all about a duel between a pitcher and batter with rules taken from the game Baseball. Along the way, he will step on the stage of being a professional Baseball player, helping a losing team to survive and climb higher, crushing those in the way. If you think that it will be a simple game of baseball, think again. The rules of other sports genre anime will not be applicable on this series. If you're a beginner or completely clueless on how the game works, you can learn on this. However, the other terms or rules will be confusing. That's because the main focus of this story is not the game itself, it's how you can manipulate people the way you want to. And that's the specialty of Toua. Mind Game. He won't try competing strength with strength. The way he overcomes the odds through his completely advanced plan is amazing. Who says you can't apply any mental pressure on a game? Mental Health is important in every game; it's the core of all the decisions a player make, but what if someone ruins it? What if he's completely in control of your thinking, that will be really hard. 

Tokuchi Toua is not a genius, he's a man of risk. A gambler. He doesn't possess that incredible super fast pitches. He gets tired and his stamina are average. What he has is that way of thinking and that face which no one successfully decipher. That's what makes him adorable. He doesn't have those hot-cravings abs, or heart throb looks as most of the sports anime have now, but the character he has will make you satisfied. In every game he participated in, it's not as if he won't lose. It's 50 50 like what most gamble is. But those tricks and traps he laid is really fascinating when time needs to. Well, that is for the main character. How about the others? Most of the other characters are your typical, annoying, useless, braindead, or bad people figures. They are the representation of people today. Procrastinator, negative thinker, a lapdog or someone who thinks that money is equal to being intelligent. There are those whose kind, but that kindness is also their weakness. And there are those who don't use their brain at all. Whatever they may be, they play a specific role on Toua's plan. They are just pawns ready to serve their King. 

The animation is not that great since it's adaptation is way back 2008, but to be honest, I love the animation on this series. Yes, there will be times that it seems off or disproportionate. To recuperate on that loss, the animation when the characters expression or face was focused was always a good shot. Adding up the change of color theme from a normal one to either blue or red ones made it more convincing. Well, I did enjoy this series a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean it. Sadly, anime like this is really hard to find, especially now when the trend is looks and body. I do hope for a next season but expecting it is like you wanting to go on a diet with tons of food in front of you, it just won't work! Guess that would be a goodbye.