From my point of view Usogui is a jewel in the landscape of gambling manga. It's that manga that allowed us to highlight the great author that is Toshio Sako. We can be very surprised at the beginning because the first tomes are not that transcendent. The drawing style is very average and the story has difficulty to start. But it's totally bluffing to see how much the scenario evolves! As time goes by, we discover a work which appropriates the codes of the yakuza manga but also those of martial arts! Indeed, Usogui is a manga which includes many fights, which are always sublimated by the multiple appearances of charismatic characters, which are for the most part well used and well developed.
Even more amazing with this manga is its graphic evolution over time. Toshio Sako has evolved a lot and this can be felt during the reading, since he changed his drawing style at least 3 times during the adventure. From a very rough and not very elegant style at the beginning of the manga, we arrive at the conclusion with a very personal and inimitable style, which gives an additional strength to the manga.
As for the heart of the manga, namely gambling, it is just as exciting. The games and situations are very exciting, and we always find ourselves in extraordinary situations with a lot of tension. As an example, we could quote the best games of a manga like Kaiji as an equivalent.
To sum up, I think Usogui is an excellent manga. Toshio Sako appropriates and plays with the codes of many genres and uses many references to give a unique identity to his manga. Rarely a manga centered around gambling has been so exciting. The manga is entirely translated into English, which makes it more accessible.
