Manga like One Outs

LIAR GAME

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological

Wishing she would live up to the ideal, Kanzaki Nao's father named her thusly for “honesty”. Nao has more than lived up to her father's wishes--even exceeding them and earning the label of "a foolishly honest girl". This makes Nao the least qualified candidate for the high stakes 'Liar Game', where winning requires deceiving the opponent out of their money and losing means receiving massive debt. However, that doesn't stop a box containing a hundred million yen in cash and a card informing her of her participation in the game from arriving at her doorstep, nor does it stop her from being promptly tricked out of the entire sum of money. Upon hearing that a genius swindler, responsible for the bankruptcy of a major corporation, is being released from jail, Nao goes to the swindler, Shinichi Akiyama, to enlist his help. With that, the two are drawn into the dark, greed-filled, and deceptive world of the Liar Game.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Cult , Ensemble Cast , Death Game , Transgender , Bullying , Conspiracy , Coming of Age

Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji

Also known as Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Thriller

Ne'er-do-well Kaiji Itou's shiftless existence is suddenly rattled by a visit from the yakuza. Burdened by debt and resentment, Kaiji is coerced into gambling for his worthless life. As the stakes grow higher and the rules become increasingly more bizarre, Kaiji must finally take the future into his own hands!



Note: Won the 22nd Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 1998.

Tags: Gambling , Seinen , Survival , Primarily Adult Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Death Game , Card Battle , Yakuza , Class Struggle , Tragedy , Nudity

Usogui

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Psychological , Thriller

There are gamblers out there who even bet their lives as ante. But to secure the integrity of these life-threatening gambles, a violent and powerful organization by the name of "Kakerou" referees these games as a neutral party. Follow Baku Madarame a.k.a. Usogui (The Lie Eater) as he gambles against maniacal opponents at games—such as Escape the Abandoned Building, Old Maid, and Hangman—to ultimately "out-gamble" and control the neutral organization of Kakerou itself.

Tags: Gambling , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Crime , Anti-Hero , Death Game , Martial Arts , Philosophy , Memory Manipulation , Amnesia , Poker , Mafia , Tragedy , Gore , Terrorism , Fairy Tale , Guns

DEATH NOTE

Also known as Death Note.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Supernatural , Thriller

When Light Yagami finds a notebook giving him power over death, will he use it for good—or evil?

Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects—and he’s bored out of his mind. But all that changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue Shinigami death god. Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil. But will Light succeed in his noble goal, or will the Death Note turn him into the very thing he fights against?



Tags: Detective , Tragedy , Anti-Hero , Police , Urban Fantasy , Crime , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Gods , Espionage , Primarily Male Cast , Time Skip , Shounen , Demons , Memory Manipulation , Amnesia , Politics

Akagi: Yami ni Oritatta Tensai

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Psychological

While mahjong is a game that is often played with family and friends, it is also a game that is played in the darkest corners of society. Nangou is a compulsive gambler who has accumulated debt over three million yen. In a last ditch attempt to clear his record, he decides to wager his life on a game of mahjong with the mafia. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, Nangou only moves further from the prize and closer to death.

When all hope seems lost, the game parlor is suddenly intruded upon by Shigeru Akagi, a young boy on the run from the police. Desperate to turn the game around, Nangou hands the game over to Akagi after teaching him a few of the rules. The mafia can only smirk as Akagi sits down to play. However, they soon come to learn that Akagi is a natural born gambler. An imposing figure who does not fear death. One who is destined to become a legend.



Tags: Gambling , Mahjong , Death Game , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , Kaiju , Anti-Hero , Yakuza , Tsundere , Time Skip , Historical , Afterlife , Gods , Demons , Board Game

GIANT KILLING

Also known as Giant Killing.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

A truly great coach makes the game of soccer interesting! Tatsumi Takeshi is 35 and has spent the last few years coaching in England before being brought back to Japan to coach his old team. His favorite pastime? Causing giant upsets—aka Giant Killing!



Tags: Football , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Ensemble Cast

Last Inning

Status: Finished
Genres: Sports

Hatogaya, a man who used to love baseball and gave up on it, gets set up to take the fall for his company and gets sent to prison. A high school principal and his former coach, who's school is about to lose its baseball program bails Hatogaya out, but in exchange for getting him out of jail, he has to coach the school's "not-so-great" baseball team.

Tags: Seinen , Baseball , Male Protagonist , Teacher

Blue Lock

Also known as Blue Lock.

Status: Releasing
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?



Note: Winner of the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the Shounen Category in 2021.

Tags: Football , Battle Royale , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Athletics , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Shounen , Fitness , Foreign , Super Power , Augmented Reality , Language Barrier , Tragedy , LGBTQ+ Themes , Suicide

Tetsuwan Girl

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sports

The year is 1949. Japan had been defeated in World War II and was occupied by Allied Forces consisting of American, Australian, British, Indian and New Zealander troops.

A young woman meets a young man. Both have lost everything because of the war. Tome Kano, a barmaid, and Katsuya Ranzaki, a wealthy investor. The two are fed up with their lives and want to live "real lives" for once. Katsuya's starting up an all-girls baseball team with Tome on it allows them to do this. In this dramatic story, the dreams of a nation come alive. Through the determination and strength of Katsuya and Tome, girls baseball becomes a sensation, and Tome a superstar.

Tags: Baseball , Seinen , Historical , Female Protagonist , Nudity

MONSTER

Also known as Monster.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Psychological , Thriller

Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there’s no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples’ lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension.

Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer’s identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer’s twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the “Monster.”



Tags: Seinen , Conspiracy , Tragedy , Philosophy , Twins , Amnesia , Fugitive , Noir , Foreign , Male Protagonist , Memory Manipulation , Primarily Adult Cast , Historical , Detective , Ensemble Cast , Police , Medicine , Time Skip , Crossdressing , Orphan , Adoption , Suicide , Torture , Gore , Achronological Order , Assassins