What do you think?
Rate this book
Master Keaton: Kanzenban #9
Master Keaton, Vol. 9
Constantly flying around England, Japan and Europe, Taichi Hiraga Keaton is one busy insurance investigator! With a gentle heart and an abundance of combat and survival skills gained from his days with the SAS, Keaton solves numerous difficult cases even while his love of archaeology calls to him…
322 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1999
1 person is currently reading
76 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 1, 2018
I'm continuing to enjoy this series, but in going through this volume, I couldn't help but think of a comment I made regarding an earlier one: my bristling at some of the stories' sentimentality. There are occasions in the Master Keaton series where the protagonist encounters someone in a bind that too overtly tugs on the heartstrings. Or the way that the characters are presented, even down to the detail of the facial visuals, are a little too saccharine for my tastes. For me, at least, the strongest Keaton stories are those that involve a starker reality, especially those where Urasawa is commenting on or highlighting a historical or political dilemma.
December 23, 2020
The chapter about Celtic god Hili was absolutely the best.
March 29, 2020
Encore un tome très sympa avec de bonnes histoires ! La 1re particulièrement m'a beaucoup plu, avec l'attitude de Keaton qui prend les choses comme elles viennent et qui essaie toujours de voir le positif de chaque situation !
January 1, 2017
For the most part, this is a fairly standard volume of Master Keaton; you have a lot of slightly thrilling and somewhat sentimental stories where Keaton comes to save the day. Except, there's a two-parter with a stand-in for Richard Branson running a global news organization (ENN) attempting to expose the three British lords who conspired to start the Falklands War for economic reasons. It's as if all of a sudden the book lurches into global thriller mode (somewhat similar to portions of Urasawa's Monster) and then lurches back out again.
April 23, 2017
The stories in this volume were particularly bland. Without the occasional archeology angle, this could be any one of a number of mid-80s private investigator TV shows. I expect better of Urasawa.
March 1, 2017
In Summary
A mixed bag of stories and story quality. Keaton gets portrayed as archeologist, bodyguard, detective, and long-suffering son, but while some plots are rock-solid, others are shaky, and two arcs don’t seem to go anywhere at all. As such, every Master Keaton fan will probably find a chapter to like and another to dislike in this installment.
The Review
Keaton doesn’t seem to get academic gigs anymore. But though his dream of a university position has turned into a running joke, Volume 9 does give him one chance to help on yet another colleague’s dig. Those who prefer Keaton as archaeologist will enjoy the ancient Celtic setting of “The Forest Where A God Lives.” As with so many digs, Keaton’s friend faces an adversary out to sabotage his excavation. However, the creators do an excellent job weaving the local legend into the excavation mystery, and the end does have a truly unexpected twist.
Aside from that chapter, Keaton doesn’t handle artifacts much. Just as his academic opportunities have dried up, his investigative assignments have less of an archeological angle. Out of the five jobs he gets, two of them (“A Gift from the Dead” and “House of Roses”) read like standard murder-mysteries. A third (“The Heart’s Walls”) is mostly social and political commentary on East Germany. The remaining two, “Tom Bower” and “Knight of the Lions,” have historical components, but they are literary and not archeological. I should mention that “Knight of the Lions,” which is the only two-chapter arc in the volume, had a disappointingly weak plot. The creators do a nice job of setting the stage with shadowy enemies, but the Don Quixote clue used by the kidnapping victim seems too vague for Keaton to draw any kind of conclusion. However, this story is unusual in that Keaton and his allies do not claim complete victory over their adversaries. In addition, those more interested in Keaton’s SAS skills will get to see them at work.
He also leaps into action against gun-toting bad guys in “Twilight of the Migratory Birds,” ”Island of the Coward,” and “Interview Day.” Interestingly, all these stories involve attacks by various Mafia during Keaton’s time off. The tone ranges widely, however. The hostages and wounded detective keep the tension high in “Island of the Coward.” On the other hand, the blithe attitude of Keaton’s womanizing dad in “Interview Day” turns a run-in with the Chinese mafia into a comedy. “Twilight of the Migratory Birds” also has light moments but blends in a healthy amount of introspection.
The remaining two stories in this set seem like filler, quite frankly. “The Legendary Faint Smile” follows a lonely Japanese housewife, and “Man of the Tower” is about a businessman friend of Keaton’s. While the characters suffer personal pain and loss, their tragedies are more mundane than earth-shattering, and they don’t stick around long enough for us to really care about them. On top of that, Keaton’s unique abilities don’t come into play, making those chapters a tiresome read.
Extras include the first four pages in color, twelve pages partly in color, and a sound effects glossary.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
A mixed bag of stories and story quality. Keaton gets portrayed as archeologist, bodyguard, detective, and long-suffering son, but while some plots are rock-solid, others are shaky, and two arcs don’t seem to go anywhere at all. As such, every Master Keaton fan will probably find a chapter to like and another to dislike in this installment.
The Review
Keaton doesn’t seem to get academic gigs anymore. But though his dream of a university position has turned into a running joke, Volume 9 does give him one chance to help on yet another colleague’s dig. Those who prefer Keaton as archaeologist will enjoy the ancient Celtic setting of “The Forest Where A God Lives.” As with so many digs, Keaton’s friend faces an adversary out to sabotage his excavation. However, the creators do an excellent job weaving the local legend into the excavation mystery, and the end does have a truly unexpected twist.
Aside from that chapter, Keaton doesn’t handle artifacts much. Just as his academic opportunities have dried up, his investigative assignments have less of an archeological angle. Out of the five jobs he gets, two of them (“A Gift from the Dead” and “House of Roses”) read like standard murder-mysteries. A third (“The Heart’s Walls”) is mostly social and political commentary on East Germany. The remaining two, “Tom Bower” and “Knight of the Lions,” have historical components, but they are literary and not archeological. I should mention that “Knight of the Lions,” which is the only two-chapter arc in the volume, had a disappointingly weak plot. The creators do a nice job of setting the stage with shadowy enemies, but the Don Quixote clue used by the kidnapping victim seems too vague for Keaton to draw any kind of conclusion. However, this story is unusual in that Keaton and his allies do not claim complete victory over their adversaries. In addition, those more interested in Keaton’s SAS skills will get to see them at work.
He also leaps into action against gun-toting bad guys in “Twilight of the Migratory Birds,” ”Island of the Coward,” and “Interview Day.” Interestingly, all these stories involve attacks by various Mafia during Keaton’s time off. The tone ranges widely, however. The hostages and wounded detective keep the tension high in “Island of the Coward.” On the other hand, the blithe attitude of Keaton’s womanizing dad in “Interview Day” turns a run-in with the Chinese mafia into a comedy. “Twilight of the Migratory Birds” also has light moments but blends in a healthy amount of introspection.
The remaining two stories in this set seem like filler, quite frankly. “The Legendary Faint Smile” follows a lonely Japanese housewife, and “Man of the Tower” is about a businessman friend of Keaton’s. While the characters suffer personal pain and loss, their tragedies are more mundane than earth-shattering, and they don’t stick around long enough for us to really care about them. On top of that, Keaton’s unique abilities don’t come into play, making those chapters a tiresome read.
Extras include the first four pages in color, twelve pages partly in color, and a sound effects glossary.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2019
Really enjoyed the shorts in this one, one of them in particular reminds me of Urasawa’s next work - Monster.
April 8, 2021
ยังมีครบทุกรสชาติ ตลก บู๊ สุข เศร้า, โลกสวย
คีตันนี่ขยันหาเรื่องใส่ตัวจริงๆเล้ย มีความคล้ายๆโคนันที่ไปไหนก็เจอแต่ปัญหา
คีตันนี่ขยันหาเรื่องใส่ตัวจริงๆเล้ย มีความคล้ายๆโคนันที่ไปไหนก็เจอแต่ปัญหา
March 28, 2023
One of the weakest volumes of the series in my opinion. It took me a while to finish it.
February 23, 2017
This is the 9th volume of "Master Keaton" and while I have read them all so far, this is the first I have reviewed -- but my review applies to all of the volumes. I adore this manga series! Imagine a cross between MacGyver, Indiana Jones, and Jason Bourne, with a dash of Neville Longbottom, and you will have Taichi Hiraga Keaton.
He is half-Japanese, Half-English, and wholly original. Keaton is employed as an insurance investigator but dreams of a career within Archaeology. His SAS background gives him the training he needs to handle any situation and his quiet, personable charm allows him to connect with almost everyone he meets. Like MacGyver, Keaton often uses everyday objects in unusual ways to defeat his enemies. He has a healthy obsession with European prehistory and can more than hold his own in hand to hand combat. But while he is tough, smart, and highly trained, he also has an eye for observing everything around him and for taking a slow, subtle approach to problems.
Keaton sees himself as no hero, however. He is plagued by thoughts of inadequacy because of his failed marriage to an Englishwoman and his inability to hold a university position. Keaton's father figures frequently in the stories as a man with a wandering eye for both women and the animals he is always trying to save. He provides a great contrast with Keaton as a man who may not be successful in society's terms but is perfectly happy with himself. Keaton's daughter also appears occasionally, usually serving to ground him in the real world of relationships and familial ties.
The art is clear, realistic (not stylized), and very effective at showing the story that is being told. Action is particularly well conveyed throughout, but I find it is often the scenes of Keaton interacting with other characters that are the most interesting and illuminating.
"Master Keaton" is essentially a mystery series. Each storyline involves a conundrum that must be solved. If you like mysteries, adventure, and action with a good dose of sensitive introspection, you may well enjoy this manga.
He is half-Japanese, Half-English, and wholly original. Keaton is employed as an insurance investigator but dreams of a career within Archaeology. His SAS background gives him the training he needs to handle any situation and his quiet, personable charm allows him to connect with almost everyone he meets. Like MacGyver, Keaton often uses everyday objects in unusual ways to defeat his enemies. He has a healthy obsession with European prehistory and can more than hold his own in hand to hand combat. But while he is tough, smart, and highly trained, he also has an eye for observing everything around him and for taking a slow, subtle approach to problems.
Keaton sees himself as no hero, however. He is plagued by thoughts of inadequacy because of his failed marriage to an Englishwoman and his inability to hold a university position. Keaton's father figures frequently in the stories as a man with a wandering eye for both women and the animals he is always trying to save. He provides a great contrast with Keaton as a man who may not be successful in society's terms but is perfectly happy with himself. Keaton's daughter also appears occasionally, usually serving to ground him in the real world of relationships and familial ties.
The art is clear, realistic (not stylized), and very effective at showing the story that is being told. Action is particularly well conveyed throughout, but I find it is often the scenes of Keaton interacting with other characters that are the most interesting and illuminating.
"Master Keaton" is essentially a mystery series. Each storyline involves a conundrum that must be solved. If you like mysteries, adventure, and action with a good dose of sensitive introspection, you may well enjoy this manga.
January 3, 2017
My favorite current manga. Even though it is 25 years old, it still holds up. I really enjoy the short vignette style, although you have to suspend your belief a little bit to accept that Keaton is always in the right place at the right time.
February 19, 2017
Here's my review on NerdSpan.com:
http://www.nerdspan.com/manga-review-...
http://www.nerdspan.com/manga-review-...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews