Master Keaton
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese manga
series created by Hokusei Katsushika and Naoki Urasawa
. It was serialized in Big Comic Original
between 1988 and 1994 and ran for 18 volumes (144 chapters in total). An anime
adaptation of the series aired between 1998 and 1999 in Japan on Nippon Television
. A total of 39 anime episodes were produced.
Though the manga series has not been translated into English, the anime series was dubbed into English and dual-language DVDs were available for English-language markets, but are now out of print. The manga's target audience was Japanese men in their 20's and 30's, a comparatively older target audience than is common for most anime series.
At Oxford, Keaton met and later married his wife, who was a mathematics student at Somerville College. The couple later divorced, with Keaton leaving his five-year-old daughter in her mother's care. After leaving Oxford, Keaton joined the British Army and became a member of the SAS
, reaching the rank of master sergeant and seeing combat in the Falklands War
and as one of the team members that responded to the Iranian Embassy incident
. His combat training serves him in good stead as an insurance investigator for the prestigious Lloyd's of London
where he is known for his abilities and his unorthodox methods of investigation.
In addition to his work for Lloyd's, Keaton and his friend Daniel O'Connell operate their own insurance investigation agency headquartered in London
. Even though Keaton is fairly successful as an insurance investigator, his dream is to continue his archaeological research into the possible origins of an ancient European civilization in the Danube
River basin.
Ending Theme Song
in association with The Ocean Group
. The first 4 DVDs were released prior to Pioneer's switch to Geneon. Each DVD had 5 episodes, except the last one, which had 4, and all included an English translated dialog along with the original Japanese dialog. The DVD volumes and their US release dates are:
. It had been generally believed that Kimura created the story, while Urasawa did the artwork. After Kimura died of cancer in December 2004, however, Urasawa claimed in an interview with weekly magazine Shuukan Bunshun in May 2005 that Kimura stopped to work as a story writer due to a personal conflict with Urasawa at one point during series, after which Urasawa alone created both story and art. Because of this, Urasawa demanded that the fonts of the name Katsushika appear smaller than Urasawa on the comic's cover. A manga story writer Kariya Tetsu who was a close friend of Kimura and an influential figure in Shogakukan
opposed this action vehemently, which resulted in the discontinuation of the further publication of the comics as of July 2005.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series created by Hokusei Katsushika and Naoki Urasawa
Naoki Urasawa
is a Japanese manga artist.-Early life:He graduated from Meisei University with a degree in economics. In 2008, Urasawa had a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University, where he taught classes on manga.-Manga career:...
. It was serialized in Big Comic Original
Big Comic Original
is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Shogakukan, aimed at an older adult and mostly male audience. It is a sister magazine to Big Comic, the biggest difference being that it goes on sale twice a month in the weeks Big Comic doesn't. Cover artwork usually features a dog or cat, and a haiku...
between 1988 and 1994 and ran for 18 volumes (144 chapters in total). An anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
adaptation of the series aired between 1998 and 1999 in Japan on Nippon Television
Nippon Television
is a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
. A total of 39 anime episodes were produced.
Though the manga series has not been translated into English, the anime series was dubbed into English and dual-language DVDs were available for English-language markets, but are now out of print. The manga's target audience was Japanese men in their 20's and 30's, a comparatively older target audience than is common for most anime series.
Story
The story revolves around , the son of Japanese zoologist and well-born Englishwoman Patricia Keaton. Keaton's parents separated when he was five, and young Taichi moved back to England with his mother. As an adult, he studied archeology at Oxford University, in part under the tutelage of Professor Yuri Scott.At Oxford, Keaton met and later married his wife, who was a mathematics student at Somerville College. The couple later divorced, with Keaton leaving his five-year-old daughter in her mother's care. After leaving Oxford, Keaton joined the British Army and became a member of the SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
, reaching the rank of master sergeant and seeing combat in the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and as one of the team members that responded to the Iranian Embassy incident
Iranian Embassy Siege
The Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London. The gunmen took 26 people hostage—mostly embassy staff, but several visitors and a police officer, who had been guarding the embassy, were also...
. His combat training serves him in good stead as an insurance investigator for the prestigious Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
where he is known for his abilities and his unorthodox methods of investigation.
In addition to his work for Lloyd's, Keaton and his friend Daniel O'Connell operate their own insurance investigation agency headquartered in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Even though Keaton is fairly successful as an insurance investigator, his dream is to continue his archaeological research into the possible origins of an ancient European civilization in the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
River basin.
Characters
- Taichi Hiraga-Keaton: Norihiro InoueNorihiro Inoueis a Japanese actor and voice actor.-Biography:He graduated from Hosei University in 1982, and soon after in 1985, began acting in numerous TV dramas, TV anime series, and stage plays.-TV drama:...
- Taihei Hiraga: Ichirō NagaiIchiro Nagaiis a male seiyū from Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. He was formerly represented by Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society, but is now represented by Aoni Production.-Television animation:*Akuma-kun *Bikkuriman...
- Yuriko Hiraga: Houko KuwashimaHouko Kuwashimais a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is capable of playing a variety of roles, ranging from young boys to feminine women. Kuwashima is currently affiliated with Aoni Production. Her given name, , is sometimes misread as Noriko, even in Japan...
- Charlie ChapmanCharlie ChapmanCharles "Charlie" Chapman was an Australian rules footballer who played with Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League ....
: Masashi SugawaraMasashi Sugawarais a Japanese voice actor who voiced Vigoro in Skies of Arcadia and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables: Shōjo Cosette.-External links:... - Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847; often referred to as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century...
: Shinpachi TsujiShinpachi Tsujiis a Japanese voice actor.-Anime:*Arc the Lad *Berserk *Brain Powered *Code Geass *Digimon Tamers *Fairy Tail *Fantastic Children... - Hudson:
- Narrator: Keaton YamadaKeaton Yamadais a Japanese voice actor. He switched from going by his real name, Shunji Yamada, to going by Keaton Yamada in the 1980s. He is currently represented by Remax.- Voice Roles :*Attacker You! *Bonobono...
Episode list
| Episode | Japanese title | English title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case 01 | 迷宮の男 | Man in a Maze | The mysterious death of a soldier in Greece causes suspicion. Lloyd's sends Keaton as an insurance investigator. |
| Case 02 | 小さな巨人 | Little Giant | Bounty hunters stakes out a former German Red Army member, Rosa. Keaton is hired by her wealthy family to protect her. |
| Case 03 | ラザーニェ奇譚 | Strange Tale of Lasagna | Keaton is hired to retrieve nine year old Flora from Italy. They flee for France where her mother waits. |
| Case 04 | 不死身の男 | Immortal Man | Keaton saves the "immortal man" from the Russian Mafia. The man reveals the secret of the "Romanov Treasures. |
| Case 05 | 屋根の下の巴里 | Paris under the Roof | After being fired from a college in Tokyo, Keaton finds a job as an instructor at an adult education center in France. There he meets... |
| Case 06 | 白い女神 | White Goddess | Keaton meets Anna in Scilly Islands in England, who is protecting an archaeological site all by herself. |
| Case 07 | 遥かなるサマープディング | Memories of Summer Pudding | Keaton, hoping to spend the summer vacation alone with Yuriko, heads for a farmhouse where he spent summers as a boy. |
| Case 08 | 交渉人のルール | Negotiator's Rule | Keaton heads for the countryside in England to rescue a kidnapped manager of a Japanese electronics corporation. |
| Case 09 | 貴婦人との旅 | Journey with a Lady | Keaton meets an arrogant old lady on a train from Germany to Switzerland who claims to be pursued by the Czech Secret Service. |
| Case 10 | チャーリー | Charlie | Keaton helps a childhood friend Charlie Chapman, also a world-renowned detective, with the murder case of an art dealer. |
| Case 11 | 特別なメニュー | Special Menu | Keaton assists an Englishman to become a Chinese chef with the help of a secret recipe. |
| Case 12 | 御婦人たちの事件 | A Case for Ladies | Keaton and an elderly woman who loves detective movies pursue the truth behind a high-profile murder case. |
| Case 13 | 穏やかな死 | A Peaceful Death | A terrorist finds his conscience and seeks Keaton's help to locate and defuse two IRA bombs in a crowded London shopping mall. |
| Case 14 | 心の壁 | Wall in One's Heart | Keaton helps a German businessman to locate his long-lost daughter while she seeks to avenge her mother's death in a labor camp in East Germany. |
| Case 15 | 長く暑い日 | Long Hot Day | An attack dog ruthlessly stalks Keaton deep in the mountains of Spain. |
| Case 16 | 永遠の楡の木 | The Elm Tree Forever | Earl Fenders' bankruptcy leaves him a broken man, but his son, Robert, needs his fathers overbearing personality to inspire his music - can Keaton restore the father's domineering arrogance? |
| Case 17 | バラの館 | A Mansion of Roses | Edmond Layman was found murdered in his rose garden and his widow fears for her life. Their gardener, Eric, disappeared and is the chief suspect but Keaton soon unburies a thorny secret! |
| Case 18 | フェイカーの誤算 | Faker's Miscalculation | Professor Bennington runs for Chancellor to save the college only to be targeted by a team of con men. But will the con men's professional pride lead them to change their minds? |
| Case 19 | 空へ… | Into the Vast Sky | Keaton's daughter meets a childhood friend who wants to free a hawk. Keaton and the boy's father secretly follow out of concern for the boy who also desperately wants to be free. |
| Case 20 | 臆病者の島 | The Island of Coward | The Polish Mafia takes over Keaton's hotel in a blaze of gunfire. Although accused of being cowards for their inaction, Keaton and a secret legend use their experience to win despite the terrible odds. |
| Case 21 | アザミの紋章 | The Thistle Emblem | Keaton flies to Scotland to investigate a watch preserved in a shrine in Japan. |
| Case 22 | シャトー•ラジョンシュ1944 | Chateau Lajonchee 1944 | Keaton visits Burgundy to insure the extraordinary vintage wine Chateau Lajonchee 1944. |
| Case 23 | 出口なし | No Way Out | Keaton must escort a fugitive through a perilous road across a bottomless swamp. |
| Case 24 | オプの生まれた日 | The Day the Op Was Born | Keaton recalls the first time he met Daniel and became the insurance investigator 10 years ago... |
| Case 25 | 砂漠のカーリマン | Kalihman of the Desert | Keaton and the excavation team are left for dead in the Taklimakan Desert. |
| Case 26 | 家族 | Family | Keaton, asked to recruit a former East German Olympic swimmer, but first Keaton must deal with the swimmer's depression and face off against a group of skinheads. |
| Case 27 | 赤い風 | The Red Wind | Razin left Russia to attend an air show in the UK, but after his two bodyguards are murdered, Keaton finds himself between Razin and a killer KGB agent. |
| Case 28 | アレクセイエフからの伝言 | A Message from Alexeyev | While visiting a resort on a Spanish island, Keaton meets Sendel who reveals a tale of passion and betrayal between Russian agents and locals the Spanish Civil War 50 years ago. |
| Case 29 | 禁断の実 | The Forbidden Fruit | Keaton crashes a party for the newest board member of the premiere accounting firm in the UK after he suspects the board member of murdering his way to the top! |
| Case 30 | 瞳の中のハイランド | The Highlands in Your Eyes | Keaton attempts to rescue an artist forced to paint forgeries who has been held hostage in a house by his extreme shortsightedness and his shattered confidence. |
| Case 31 | 匂いの鍵 | The Scent is the Key | A man requests Keaton to investigate the untimely death of his friend who lacked a "scent of death." |
| Case 32 | 背中の裏街 | The Back Street | A reluctant Keaton believes he is handing enticement money to a woman on behalf of her father, but soon discovers quite a different story. |
| Case 33 | 天使のような悪魔 | Devil like an Angel | Keaton searches for a Japanese art student in Italy only to discover the student has become involved with a terrorist group! |
| Case 34 | 瑪瑙色の時間 | The Agate Color of Time | Keaton shares stories of his youth in Cornwall with his daughter, Yuriko. |
| Case 35 | 五月の恋 | Love in May | Keaton's daughter becomes involved in a purse-snatching investigation in London while her father rests his broken leg in the hospital. |
| Case 36 | ブルーフライデー | Blue Friday | While Keaton chases after an elusive insurance beneficiary, his partner Daniel pursues a new beauty. |
| Case 37 | 面接の日 | Interview Day | Keaton, unsure about pursuing a career as an archaeologist, allows himself to be distracted by his father on his way to an interview at Tozai University. |
| Case 38 | 狩人の季節(前編) | Hunting Season Part 1 | Two knife murders in London drags Keaton into a chase tying the SAS to a vicious drug ring. |
| Case 39 | 狩人の季節(後編) | Hunting Season Part 2 | Two knife murders in London drags Keaton into a chase tying the SAS to a vicious drug ring. |
Theme songs
Opening Theme Song- Opening Theme music by Kuniaki HaishimaKuniaki HaishimaKuniaki Haishima is a Japanese musician and composer.-Overview:Haishima is known for his music in several animated and Tokusatsu shows...
Ending Theme Song
- "eternal wind" - Performed by BLÜE (Episodes 1 - )
- "A Sigh" (ため息, Tameiki) - Performed by KneuKid Romance (Episodes - 25)
- "From Beginning" - Music by Kuniaki Haishima (Episodes 26 - 39)
DVD
The English version DVDs were released by Pioneer Entertainment/Geneon Entertainment IncGeneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
in association with The Ocean Group
The Ocean Group
Ocean Productions Inc. is a voice-recording production company located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. There services include localizing foreign animation into English, as well as translation, script writing, original music scores, sound FX and video production.Their most prolific clients...
. The first 4 DVDs were released prior to Pioneer's switch to Geneon. Each DVD had 5 episodes, except the last one, which had 4, and all included an English translated dialog along with the original Japanese dialog. The DVD volumes and their US release dates are:
- Master Keaton - Excavation I (DVD 1) 2003-06-10
- Master Keaton - Excavation II (DVD 2) 2003-08-12
- Master Keaton - Killer Conscience (DVD 3) 2003-10-14
- Master Keaton - Blood & Bullets (DVD 4) 2003-12-09
- Master Keaton - Blood & Dust (DVD 5) 2004-02-10
- Master Keaton - Fakers & Friends (DVD 6) 2004-04-13
- Master Keaton - Life & Death (DVD 7) 2004-06-08
- Master Keaton - Passion Games (DVD 8) 2004-08-10
Controversy over the "true" creator
Hokusei Katsushika is a pseudonym for Japanese comic story writer (not an artist) Hajime Kimura, who was a co-writer of manga Golgo 13Golgo 13
is a manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine since January 1969. In 1976, the manga won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga...
. It had been generally believed that Kimura created the story, while Urasawa did the artwork. After Kimura died of cancer in December 2004, however, Urasawa claimed in an interview with weekly magazine Shuukan Bunshun in May 2005 that Kimura stopped to work as a story writer due to a personal conflict with Urasawa at one point during series, after which Urasawa alone created both story and art. Because of this, Urasawa demanded that the fonts of the name Katsushika appear smaller than Urasawa on the comic's cover. A manga story writer Kariya Tetsu who was a close friend of Kimura and an influential figure in Shogakukan
Shogakukan
is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
opposed this action vehemently, which resulted in the discontinuation of the further publication of the comics as of July 2005.