Ex-SAS, Archeologist, part time lecturer, traveler, historian, Insurance agent; Taichi Hiragi Keaton is a Jack of all trades and a “master of life”. He is simple, intelligent, humble, and a moralistic goody-two shoes infused with the love of life and the possibilities it brings.
The show itself is an exact mirror reflection of its main character; a “Jack-of-all-trades” in that it touches a wide variety of genres and themes, from slice-of-life, romance, mystery to historical, war drama, thriller. It dips into almost everything an anime of its premise possibly can. And the result is a flawed masterpiece packed with enough surprises to make it an easy recommend for old-school anime fans.
For people who are on a lookout for episodic shows that are relaxing and can be watched slowly over time, Master Keaton could be a good choice. But the show can appear to be a bit too bland or simplistic for some, especially anime fans who prefer currently airing or recent anime; the reason for that is that Master Keaton is an old school “realistic” seinen, a genre that is largely ignored by a majority of anime viewers, and its animation is barely decent, even for an anime of its time. The show also lacks the bombast or extravagance of recent anime, which could be a good or a bad thing depending on what kind of a viewer you are.
On a related point, some of the sensibilities the show displays are quite simple at times, such as the mostly black-and-white morality, or the importance of bonds or friendship (a favorite theme in anime), or the single dimensional personalities of some supporting characters, but these characteristics are more preference based rather than something that could be singled out as a flaw; indeed, these “sensibilities” are a part of the show’s personality and make thematic sense, despite the fact that they result in simplistic cliche's at times.
On the flip side the anime is quite intelligent, in a sense that it is set in a real world setting, though stylized to suit the anime medium, and grapples with story concepts that haven’t been seen in any anime. Despite some episodes being predictable, and a few bearing clichés, most of the stories are very engaging. In fact, there are at least a handful of stories that I can safely say are among the most unique and well written in any medium of entertainment, and the show is well worth the watch for these few episodes alone.
Its greatest strength, though, is its simple yet charming personality, and the staggering variety of stories that it tells. The writers have made excellent use of the standalone format to give some of the best variety in episodic anime/manga yet.
For instance, in one episode we see Keaton in Burgandy as an insurance agent to investigate one of the most expensive wine bottles in the world, and in the next he is escorting a fugitive through swamps while his criminal buddies attempt to rescue their leader from his clutches. Another episode sees him deep in the mountains of Spain being hunted by a highly trained K9. And in yet another episode we see him spending summer vacations in Japan with his dysfunctional family.
Any other show with such a variety would either fall from the burden of its own elephantine ambition, or succumb to acute schizophrenia. But not so Master Keaton. Its stories are never convoluted or over-ambitious, and it never forgets its identity. Diversity may be the key here, but the aesthetic values remain the same.
In the sound department, the use of music is not always perfect but it’s quite fitting. The overall OST is among the more memorable ones I have heard yet and suits the series perfectly. The dub version does a good job of making the anime feel “global”, as different characters have accents that correspond to their backgrounds, which obviously could not have been done in Japanese. But the English VA direction falters at times, and the overall delivery is not always convincing. The Japanese voice acting, by contrast, is pretty solid.
Lacking in budget, the animation is not as great as some anime from the same period, but it is very much passable. The basic art style is very similar to Monster, which is not the only solid proof of Naoki Urasawa’s involvement in the project. The anime has a strong European feel to it, as the stories take place all over the world, especially that particular part. The art style, music and writing suits this well, and helps create the right European feel, without sacrificing the anime-specific elements.
Despite the flaws, "Master Keaton" delivers something unique that you will not find anywhere in the medium. Its niche oriented content might drive away some people, but its worth checking out for fans of 90s anime and episodic shows, and anime fans who are looking for stories that are more grounded in the world we actually live in.
