Master Keaton, Vol. 1

Master Keaton: Kanzenban #1

by Hokusei Katsushika (Creator), Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki

Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, the son of a Japanese zoologist and an English noblewoman, is an insurance investigator educated in archaeology and a former member of the SAS. When a life insurance policy worth one million pounds takes Master Keaton to the Dodecanese islands of Greece, what will he discover amidst his scuffles with bloodthirsty thieves and assassins?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Mystery, Fiction, Seinen, Adventure

321 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[First Second Books]

This manga series is like mild-mannered Indiana Jones goes to work in White Collar.

You guys: it’s pretty awesome.

[Randy Lander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a *ton* of manga, but I have read everything translated from Naoki Urasawa, and Master Keaton will definitely keep me on-board as well. Urasawa seems to have co-writers (or maybe he only does the art?) on this one, Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki, but it still has a lot of what I like about Urasawa's projects, notably interesting characters, clever moments and compelling stories.

Master Keaton is a mix of Indiana Jones, Sherlock and MacGyver, a former SAS survival expert who is now a part-time archaeology lecturer and part-time field investigator for Lloyd's of London. This is more episodic than Urasawa's robot war epic Pluto or suspense-horror Monster, but it has some running threads with Keaton's relationship with his daughter, father and ex-wife. The stories take him around the world, investigating insurance claims, which sounds kind of boring except that he gets involved in dangerous digs in China, or a drug-running syndicate, government agents and a lot more on those cases.

Keaton will often spot objects or environmental factors that he later uses to battle his attackers or, in this book's two-part (and maybe best) story, survive a deadly desert trek while keeping some fellow archaeologists alive. There's an element of quirky humor to Keaton, not unlike how Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock has trouble relating to the world around him, but there are also lots of great moments of suspense and pathos. Definitely worth a read.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite manga, about one of my favorite detectives in comics. Taichi Hiraga-Keaton wants to be an archaeologist. Since that hasn't worked out full time, he takes side jobs as an insurance investigator on suspicious cases. He seems like a gentle, affable fellow, and he is. But he's also a former member of the British Army's SAS special forces. The Master Keaton series tells various tales about his cases, adventures, and family stories about his relationships with his teenage daughter and elderly father.

What I love about this series is that while Taichi is smart, skilled, and deadly, there is absolutely no machismo about him. He's refreshingly different from the stereotypical action hero. And he's so nerdy and passionate about archaeology! You just want to make him a cup of tea (his mom's British, after all) and help him brush up his cover letter applying for another teaching position.

After a good number of volumes in this long series (12 volumes total), I felt like it lost its focus on the combination I liked, which is Taichi's investigative brain + action + occasional bits of his family life. YMMV, and it's definitely worth reading at least the first handful of books.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the artwork but the story not so much. Kind of an Indiana Jones mixed with MacGyver. The chapters just seem to be a little haphazard without any flowing narrative. Just a bunch of shorter stories with a weak tie in.

[Subashini · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, to be exact! I found this absorbing and fun; the artwork is detailed and gorgeous, the stories compelling. The main character is an archaeology lecturer who moonlights as an insurance investigator. His previous training with the British SAS stands him in good stead in his adventures, but the history presented is thankfully not pro-empire (so far). Think a more taciturn, less annoying, scholarly MacGyver.

[Noninuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.87 stars

This manga has me curious for quite sometime, it just that I cant seem to find it anywhere until now. The drawing is just okay. The characters are really strong in my opinion, really distinctive in terms of characterization. Although the story got me praising left and right about how diverse it goes without being disrespect because the story deals with all sort of different ethnicity from different part of the world, there's no an overarch storyline in this volume. We got short stories from various timeline to answer all the 4W1H questions about the main character, Mr Taichi Hiraga Keaton. It got me confused a few times when the shift of timeline happened. The short stories themselves are quite good because they explains a lot. However, I will definitely continue with the series.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archaeology lecturer Taichi Hiraga-Keaton has a unique combination of skills that he puts into unusual use in his frequent sabbaticals from teaching. Called on as an insurance investigator when circumstances are suspicious and extraordinary, his encyclopedic knowledge is almost as useful during his adventures as his past training as a SAS survivalist.

As a big fan of Urasawa's manga I was excited to try out this work from earlier in his career. The story from Hokusei Katsushika has a similar feel to Urasawa's own writing in his later works. This is a dense read, with a lot of text and details about ancient art, history, and legends. It done well though and is well worth the effort. The blending of seemingly disparate professions and topics is fascinating, and the stories somehow manage a light touch despite heavy material. Keaton has an aloof exterior hiding competence and adaptability, which is used to good effect in driving the stories along. His daughter and other supporting cast members are well developed and fill out the world nicely.

The art is of course Urasawa's usual high quality.

As odd as Indiana Jones as an insurance investigator might sound, it really works and Master Keaton is a great, compelling read.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Master Keaton series, and not only because I seem to reliably enjoy seinen (older teen/adult male) series and empathize with the characters even though I'm not the target demographic at all. The character of Keaton has the skills of James bond and MacGyver, but he has the stereotypical affable, sometimes spacey demeanor of an academic. Keaton is definitely a Gary Sue, and it seems like an archaeology professor/father/former SAS member might be too much, but it works, and it works well. Because Keaton is all of these things, as well as a father, the series bounces through different "types" of stories: historical, spy, slice-of-life family, and others, while containing information about archaeology, current (as of thet time the manga was written) events, and politics, while being fast-paced/entertaining to read because of the action.

[Jason]

Sherlock Holmes, MacGuyver, and Indiana Jones starring a guy with less ego than any of them. Plus, you learn stuff!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un clásico de Urasawa que por fin ve la luz en nuestro país de la mano de Planeta DeAgostini, en una edición que en nada desmerece la original japonesa, respetando todos sus detalles y su elegancia.

Presentación aparte, la lectura es absolutamente deliciosa. Más de trescientas páginas que convierten este manga en una auténtica novela de aventuras. Keaton es un profesor de arqueología que trabaja como detective de seguros para poder vivir. Su aspecto sereno, anodino, a veces hasta despistado, oculta un pasado misterioso. Keaton es más de lo que parece... y lo mismo podría decirse de este manga.

Aventuras sin la espectacularidad de Indiana Jones sino mucho más "reales", más creíbles. Análisis de la historia, de la sociedad. Pese a que Urasawa creó Master Keaton a finales de los ochenta, asusta ver que algunos hechos y malestares sociales reflejados en el manga (guerras, enfrentamientos políticos y religiosos, explotaciones económicas, robos del estado) pueden aplicarse a nuestra actual crisis.

En resumen, que me ha encantado y lo recomiendo encarecidamente.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you like history, archaeology, or mystery? What if all 3 were blended together into a wild tale of life insurance claims gone wrong? Does that sound bizarrely interesting to you too? Cool, cuz that's why I picked up this book from my local library!

I really enjoyed all of Keaton's adventures and seeing how he managed to get himself into and out of sticky situations! All the chapters have a very episodic vibe to them from what I can tell and the art is honestly wonderful! Already checking out the second volume from the library to continue the adventures!

[Yaroslav Chernovol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Так. Це одна з перших робіт Урасави. Але вже тут прослідковується неймовірна виразність та детальність до персонажів та зображення їх емоцій.

Перший том загалом розказує про Тайто Кітона лектор в університеті, який також підробляє інспектором в страховій компанії Ллойдс, а також має досвід інструктора з виживання S.A.S. (Спецслужба). Такий собі симбіоз Індіани Джонса, Макгайвера та Команди А. Цільного сюжету тут як такого немає. Точніше він є. Це стосунки Кітона з його дочкою та його розведеною дружиною. Інша ж частина тому розповідає про деякі замовлення-розслідування чи то допомога зниклому археологу, чи то виживання в пустелі, чи то епізод побудови вітряка, чи пошуку свого старого ментора, якого звинувачують у наркотрафіку (насправді шикарна арка в дусі фільму професіонал)

P.S. Щодо назви у вас могло виникнути питання чому майстер. Це пояснюється в кінці тому. Під час флешбеків з ментором. Який каже що на жаль Тайто не зможе бути професіоналом, а може бути лише майстром, бо йому не вистачає рішучості та твердості.

Загалом цікаво куди це далі вийде. Бо події відбуваються в різних куточках світу. Манґа налічує 18 томів. Також є 1 том ремастеру, який вийшов у 12 році. А також має аніме адаптацію майже на 40 серій.

Ще один цікавий факт. Що питання сценариста під питанням. Бо після смерті Хокусея Кацухіки, Урасава розповів що з якогось моменту він писав історії та малював одночасно. З іншого боку друзі померлого кажуть що це не так. Саме тому ім'я Урасави трохи більшим шрифтом.

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, kind, and a kleptomaniac-Master Keaton is on the job.

Drawn to this book due to the artistic talent of Naoki Urasawa I found a strange series that may have potential as I hope for the best. Honestly when I started the book I was not super stoked seeing as the "hero" of the story comes off as a a goofy barely responsive (and even more barely working) teacher who has a job as an insurance investigator. It is this side job that many of the stories revolve around if not matters of Master Keaton's family and/or past relations. What I have found is Master Keaton is a good man trained to survive in unusual situation with a passion for history. He is not just a dull witted lazy man as he goes day by day but instead he is more introspective and almost Sherlockian in not responding uselessly with subjective information as he handles every situation that comes his way as only he can. I am hopeful that the series will continue to get better now that basic characters are introduced. However not being a like many of the mangka's other series where you get a longer running story this series so far feels more like a series of mini episodes so we'll have to see how things turn out in the end.

[Mook Woramon · Rating 4 out of 5]

เราติดตามผลงานของนักเขียนท่านนี้เพราะติดใจจากเรื่อง monster เล่มนั้นดาร์ค หนักหน่วง เล่นประเด็นกับจิตใจมาก ไม่ใช่การ์ตูนอ่านง่ายๆชิลล์เลย

Master keaton นี่เราว่ากำลังดี อ่านง่าย สนุก ตลก แฝงความรู้

คีตันเป็นตัวละครที่มีเสน่ห์ เขาเป็นลูกครึ่งอังกฤษ-ญี่ปุ่น เป็นอาจารย์สอนโบราณคดีและผู้ตรวจสอบประกันภัยอิสระ เคยเป็นผู้บังคับบัญชาหน่วย SAS และได้รับยกย่องว่าเป็นผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้าน survival คือสามารถประยุกต์สิ่งของใกล้ตัวมาใ้ช้เอาตัวรอดในทุกสถานการณ์

เสน่ห์ของคีตันคือภายนอกดูเป็นอาจารย์เนิร์ดๆ ขี้ตืด ไม่มีพิษมีภัย แต่เวลาต้องทำงานไปตรวจสอบประกัน ข้องเกี่ยวกับมาเฟีย เรื่องยุ่งยาก กลับเก่งกาจและเอาตัวรอดได้อย่างไม่น่าเชื่อ

ส่วนชีวิตครอบครัวคีตันคือลุ่มๆดอนๆแบบอบอุ่น บางทีก็ตลก คีตันมีพ่อที่รักกับแม่คีตันมาก แต่ก็แยกทางกัน ส่วนตัวคีตันเองก็มีภรรยาที่รักกันมากเช่นกันแต่ก็อยู่ร่วมกันไม่ได้ ทั้งคู่มีลูกสาววัยมัธยมต้น้นคอยเป็นกาวใจอยู่ ลุ้นต่อว่าเล่มต่อไปเป็นยังไง

[Steve Chaput · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taichi Keaton is an Oxford educated archaeologist working as a part-time lecturer at a university. He also works as an insurance investigator for Lloyd’s of London. He is also a former member of Special Forces where he taught survival techniques.

His Lloyd assignments take him all around the world, often investigating thefts and even murders. One of the nice things is that Urasawa will take a break from those cases to deal with Keaton’s domestic life or even crimes involving former Army team members.

[Elinor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suuuper sympa ! Vraiment dans l'esprit Blake et Mortimer je trouve, on a des aventures toutes plus intéressantes, prenantes et cool les unes que les autres. Dessin un chouille vieillot (mais alors vraiment un chouille) MAIS il est aussi très soigné donc ça passe comme une lettre à la poste. Une très bonne lecture, je recommande.

[Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, when I started to read this book, I was a bit disappointed because the story wasn’t captivating enough. I even had to pause and wait a whole day before I picked up this book again. However, as the story progressed, it became intriguing and addictive. I’m super hyped about this series now!

[Andrea Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son varias historias cortas, algunas relacionadas entre sí, otras no. Van desde resolución de casos policiales, algunos relacionados a seguros de vida, de arquitectura a temas familiares del protagonista. Es muy entretenido e igual se aprende de diversos temas. Me gustó harto.

[Tar Buendía · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues me ha encantado. Esperaba que me gustase y aún así me ha sorprendido para bien.

(Aunque aviso de que tiene clichés de mal gusto sobre prostitución)

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories are too short to be satisfyingly solved, so most of them just kind of end.

[Aoi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but not very engrossing. This was one of Urasawa's earliest works, but I plan on reading all of his better known ones this year

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up with a little trepidation. I love the work of Naoki Urasawa (having read the series Pluto, Monster, and 20th Century Boys), but the description of the volume said Urasawa only did the art. (Apparently, there is some dispute about who exactly did what.)

While the volume starts slow, either I got used to the pace or the appeal factors I expected started appearing, and I liked it by the end. You see a lot of what I expect from an Urasawa work --- the international focus, the interesting secondary characters, and issues of betrayal and honor. Our titular protagonist is a sometimes archaeology lecturer and sometimes insurance investigator with a background in combat survival from the British Army. While that type of background could indicate a rough and tumble hero, we get instead a gentle man in the absent-minded-but-effective role. We even get small bits of domestic drama amidst the tales of intrigue and potential fraud. Since the beginning of the volume is mostly short stories with different settings, there is a ton of exposition, some of it awkward. However, the end of the volume has some longer tales where the drama isn't crowded out by the words.

While there isn't the tension I associate with Urasawa's other works, I am planning on picking up future volumes.

[KW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended if you like: vignette manga, low-key protagonists, trivia, detective stories, well-researched fiction

Triggers: Divorce, kidnapping, racial tension, real-life national strifes, murder, extortion, etc, abrupt endings

I'll just let this review stand for the series. First of all, pick up anything by Naoki Urasawa and you will come away enlightened: maybe about humanity, maybe just about how Cornwall smells like mint, or how archaeology and insurance and military survival tactics go hand-in-hand. It also helps that Urasawa has such a sense of presence in his style. His characters come from a wide array of races--and these aren't beautiful faces in a glossy sense, but in a very human sense. Moles, crooked noses, particular forehead wrinkles, period-style hair, carefully rendered clothing. Urasawa uses the power of visual details to pack as many quirks and tics in as he can--like a glum insurance agent idly licking ice cream during work. Moments such as these are a breath of fresh air. The only thing I can nip at the series for is pacing; each vignette is so short that it often feels like it hits its conclusion too soon, but only because the stories are so packed with good ideas. I know Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki are responsible for the stories here, and commended they should be, but Urasawa is just as brilliant in his other series (see Pluto, Monster), which I highly recommend you visit as well.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Master Keaton appears to be a cram-school teacher with no ambition and even less attention span... so why, one wonders, does he get hired for these globe-trotting art insurance investigations? As the series progresses we see that his childish exterior hides a lot of skill and experience, not just in the arts, but survival, resourcefulness, and ingenuity as well.

He's more complex than that simple twist, though -- as the series progresses, we find out that he does have a genuinely childish, charming, and occasionally bumbling side, particularly as we learn more about his family and his background. When this volume gets into multi-chapter story lines and introduces his daughter, father, and other recurring characters, it really starts to shine, moreso than some of the early single-chapter stories in the volume.

The art is rather well done, especially the background, landscape, and artwork drawings. The artwork does have the occasional abrupt transitions that I tend to associate with manga, but here it is jarring in some places where a visual cue doesn't quite explain to me what happened or what the author is trying to say/focus on.

I'm looking forward to reading future volumes to learn more about this unique character, his family, and see how he handles further adventures.

[Jesus Flores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Master Keaton 1

Drawing by Uruzawa but written by Hokusei Katsushita.
Mister Keaton is an archeology professor who has a second job as an insurance agent for Lloyds, and before was a survival instructor for the elite army forces in Britain. So in this book he goes around solving cases for the insurance company, from finding out if a person commit suicide or was killed, find the missing beneficiary of a will, evaluate an archeological site insurance value and rescue the archeology team, also some non-job cases like stopping a former soldier who has killed a criminal, helping an old lady cross the german border, go a week on vacation with his dad and daughter.
Some of the cases are interesting, and how he uses things around him for survival is good. What is missing is a sense of a large story-arc that makes you need to read the next one. As separate adventures work great.
Nice reading and nice book edition.

3 stars

[Patrizia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un archeologo che svolge indagini di vario tipo? Non potevo certo perdermelo! In più, leggendo questo primo volume, mi sono accorta che è una specie di McGiver (uno dei miei telefilm preferiti da ragazza) e quindi sono stata conquistata.
Oltretto, spesso i singoli capitoli contengono storie autoconclusive, anche se non sempre, quindi possono essere letti nei ritagli di tempo, come ho fatto io.
Ho già acquistato il secondo volume; ora dovrò svenarmi per prendere gli altri...

[Kayt O'Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full 12-volume series review
Imagine Indiana Jones meets James Bond. A struggling professor of archaeology who moonlights as an insurance investigator and gets out of tight situations using his past experience as a former Special Forces military member, Taichi Hiraga-Keaton would like nothing more than to teach students and excavate ruins, hoping to discover the location of a theoretical Danube civilization in Europe. Unfortunately for him, his kind nature and need for money mean his teaching chances are frequently sabotaged by investigations arising.

Keaton is a likeable dork, though one whose genial, besuited exterior hides a badass proficient in weapons and survival. A running theme through the series is how he's caught between two worlds: biracial Keaton left Japan as a child when his parents divorced and his English mother took him back with her; now he has his own divorce to a Japanese woman and a teenage daughter who lives in Japan. His love is archaeology, particularly a theoretical civilization near the Danube in Europe, but teaching jobs are hard to come by and the insurance company is in London. He left the military, but those same skills save his life, and others', over and over again. Insurance investigation pays the bills, but he's liable to get distracted by fossil and rocks at the drop of a hat.

I have no idea what an actual insurance investigator does, but it's safe to assume the story plays pretty loose with realism. Sure, sometimes Keaton is sent out to confirm that someone died from an accident and not suicide, or that a relic is genuine, but sometimes he's also sent to be a hostage negotiator or to stop a poisoning. As the series goes on, it's clear (or perhaps the writer subtlety added this in a bit later) that Keaton is basically a private detective who gets hired by the insurance company--and sometimes by other people.

The series is fairly episodic, though many stories take several chapters. I enjoyed the character designs, men in particular were usually very easy to tell apart, with distinctive facial features and face shapes.

Though recently released in America, the series was originally released in the late 80s-early 90s in Japan, and was set then. You get a real sense of time and place: not ludicrous designs, but fashions like big shoulder pads for women, boxy cars, etc. The setting also means that Keaton can't rely on modern conveniences like cell phones or even convenient computers all the time. Tracking someone down? You better have maps and hope you run into strangers who don't mind answering a few questions. It adds to the story, of course, but it works well--the story itself doesn't feel old or musty.

Overall, an thoroughly enjoyable series, even if the adventures Keaton was getting into got steadily...not ridiculous, but more high-stakes, as the series went on. I enjoyed the episodic nature because while stories were exciting, it was nice to have a natural stopping point (prime bedtime reading material, but also perfect for when you only have a short/limited time for reading, because you don't have to stop in the middle of a scene).

[Aleister · Rating 4 out of 5]

Master Keaton es la muestra del primer esbozo de lo que sería más adelante Monster.

En sus páginas seguimos la historia del profesor Keaton, quien vive muchas vidas en paralelo, todas las cuales se conectan en estos pequeños relatos hilados por la acción del protagonista. Pese a lo interesante que era cada capítulo, que cuenta historias desde los exiliados chilenos que dejó la Dictadura de Pinochet, las disputas del Ejército Republicano Irlandés o los primeros conflictos de migración que se esbozaban ya décadas antes de la crisis actual, creo que la obra peca de lo que Monster, Billy Bat, Pluto y 20th Century Boys sí tenían: una historia que corra en paralelo.

Es decir, siento que le falta una trama más grande que solo la familia que acompañe estas pequeñas historias. Por supuesto, tengo claro que es una técnica muy común en el tiempo en que se publicó Master Keaton, pero eso diferencia este tipo de trabajos a las grandes obras que terminó publicando años después.

Perdón la comparación, pero me parece un poco inevitable viniendo del mejor mangaka de Japón.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Master Keaton uses his background in archaeology and S.A.S. training to investigate insurance claims and find the truth.

Just after I lost hope that I’d find a manga series I would like to read past the first volume, I read Master Keaton! Thanks to my colleague, an ardent manga reader, who turned me in this direction! Master Keaton is a quirky and intriguing character. While I wish that an investigation lasted longer than one chapter (a few did stretch over 2 or 3 chapters), I was interested enough to want to see more of him. This was extremely enjoyable – and I already put the next two volumes on hold at my library.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keaton is a special detective: an insurance investigator educated in archaeology and a former member of the SAS, he has an interesting background that enriches the stories. He gets into all kinds of situations as he investigates various cases.
He combines clever tricks like a Japanese Sherlock Holmes, and also has some special behavior traits.
There's also humor in the stories, and we get to know some of his family background, especially his daughter.
On almost every double page, you have one panel that is beautifully drawn with lots of details.
A neat detective series in manga format, nice if you need something light for a break.