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A review by mschlat
Master Keaton, Vol. 1, Volume 1 by Takashi Nagasaki, Naoki Urasawa
4.0
I picked this up with a little trepidation. I love the work of [a:Naoki Urasawa|294649|Naoki Urasawa|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1247717442p2/294649.jpg] (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.
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.