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REVIEW: Master Keaton DVD 4




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therealmogwai



Joined: 19 Jan 2007
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 2:07 pm Reply with quote
Its a funny thing anime. We have countless repeative formulative shows about tiny teens with super powers, a new ninja or samurai every week, yet the first anime we have that deals with a different subject matter gets labelled "boring" and "dull".

Master Keaton is one anime that i use as a bench mark. From the opening theme, which may not be everyones cup of tea, none-the less, sets the tone with National Geographic inspired visuals. Keaton globe trots solving issues such as land desputes to homecomings of long lost war veterans.

Thing is this show oozes culture and if your a person that regards themselves as one who dables in a bit of everything, from wine tasting to art, espionage to nationalism.. this is a show for you.

without a doubt an A.
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DKL



Joined: 08 May 2005
Posts: 1933
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 10:49 am Reply with quote
Next to Monster (and Kaleido Star), this was the best thing I saw Last year.

But yeah... this was very interesting in that it dealt with a lot of issues that happened in Europe back then (somewhere after the collapse of the Berlin wall) and even touched upon some stuff having to do with insurance scandals...

It's incredibly relevant, if anything.
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:05 pm Reply with quote
Master Keaton is one of the series that manages to do nearly completely episodic content and yet still feel like there is a great story. In the sense that you really get that feeling of Europe shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall. I hope more people have had a chance to see this series since the Rightstuf Geneon sale.
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Tempest
I Run this place.
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Joined: 29 Dec 2001
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 1:47 pm Reply with quote
I find it funny that conversation about this review, which is almost three years old, is just starting now.

Master Keaton was one of my favorite shows of 2004. I enjoyed its slow, methodical pace.

But I can definitely see how many people, not just young anime fans, would find this show "boring." It certainly wasn't "exciting" but rather, it was interesting and intelligent.

Even many fans of intelligent programming want some excitement mixed in with their intelligence. Shows that keep them thinking at a rapid pace. Master Keaton just wasn't that sort of show.

Which is fine with me, and obviously it was fine with the reviewer.

-t
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Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 3:44 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:
I find it funny that conversation about this review, which is almost three years old, is just starting now.


I think it's because a lot people were finally able to get this series last year during the Geneon sale at Rightstuf. I mean I wouldn't of check this show out has it not been for Naoki Urasawa involvement in the manga. Also it could be that this series is across 8 dvds, I was hoping that Geneon would eventually release a thin-pack. But I know a lot of folks saw this series thanks to the Rightstuf sale.

tempest wrote:
But I can definitely see how many people, not just young anime fans, would find this show "boring." It certainly wasn't "exciting" but rather, it was interesting and intelligent.


I could see how people would think this show is boring, the original trailer on the pioneer dvds made this show seem very uninteresting. But once you set that first dvd in (or actually any dvd, you could watch this show out of order) your instantly drawed to this world with interesting characters. And also I like how the dub did go for that European feeling,even with the opening song. It's has a very European feel to the series.

Delta
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 4:39 am Reply with quote
I love the spectrum of the series, and found that the Pioneer trailer didn't represent the series very well. I will say that the trailer turned me off to the series, which I might have bought have I heard nothing about it. Fortunately I bought this series during the big Geneon sale. This along with Requiem From the Darkness are the best series that I bought out of the 100 DVDs. Many of the others like Melody of Oblivion and Cybuster were as bad as many have said.

I actually like the episodes that deal with Keaton's dad and Yuriko the best. The episode with his teacher Yuri might be my favorite.
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DKL



Joined: 08 May 2005
Posts: 1933
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 4:44 am Reply with quote
I think I liked "The Red Wind" the best... I also really liked the episode with the IRA bomber guy ("A peaceful death").

Well, and the last two episodes as well (which had such a great fight sequence in the end that was totally well-animated).

I also liked "Love in May," since it was really touching and Yuriko got to take the spotlight... and there was something incredibly symbolic about a Japanese carp banner hanging from one of the tall buildings in Buckinghamshire (I think it was there...)

And "Kaliman of the desert" was such a great show of manliness/badass-ness. Can't go wrong with the ending for that one.

Anyway... actually, per volume, there's like one REALLY good episode, which I found to be pretty neat.
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DKL



Joined: 08 May 2005
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 1:42 am Reply with quote
WAIT!

You know.. I keep forgetting to ask this...

But does anyone have a vague idea as to how many volumes of the manga that Madhouse actually adapted into animation?

I'm under the impresion that they didn't do all of it...

But yeah... enlighten me.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:25 pm Reply with quote
tempest wrote:
I find it funny that conversation about this review, which is almost three years old, is just starting now.

Better late than never. That's why I left this thread in particular alone, even if it is really old Razz.

Needless to say, I was captivated by the series for its ability of episodic storytelling and quality execution overall. It's an extremely underrated series, which is a shame. Any fans of the episodic mystery/drama/adventure titles like Detective Conan or Mushishi will enjoy this. And while it's said that a lot of the writing isn't by Urasawa himself, the artwork should have obvious references to his particular style. So if you're looking for a stylistically similar, yet atmospherically lighter alternative to his most famous work, Monster, MK might be a good watch for you as well.

Feel free to revive my old Master Keaton thread I made a while back that got a surprising amount of replies. Actually, 11 is pretty big considering this series got next to nothing in terms of promotion. But it's a diamond in the rough, nonetheless, and I recommend it to everyone. Pretty good dub too, which should mean a lot coming from me, as I wholeheartedly support Ocean (in Vancouver) for this one, minus a few Japanese pronunciations, but they always seem to mess those up anyway.
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