Master Keaton - Blood and Dust (Vol. 5)

Rating:
Summary: The globe-trotting hero has some of his best adventures yet
Review: "Master Keaton, Vol. 5" is definitely an above-average volume for fans of this compelling anime series about an insurance investigator/archaeologist traveling the globe solving cases with brains, not brawn. Two of the series' absolute best episodes, in this reviewer's opinion, are found as the first two on this disc (nos. 21 and 22). The first, "The Thistle Emblem," tells a fascinating, beautifully-illustrated tale about a coat-of-arms insignia found in Japan that may have a connection with a 17th century Scotsman who founded a still-thriving distillery but was driven out by the English, sailed away and was never seen again. In an Edinburgh pub, Keaton tells all he's learned to his father, complete with flashbacks showing the historical events, while waiting for a collaborator whom he's never met (and a wonderful twist ending).

The next one, "Chateau Lajonchee 1944," tells of a vineyard in France that managed, in the middle of World War II, to create the perfect wine, and prepares, five decades later, to adapt to market conditions and create a more commercial, mass-marketable wine. One remaining bottle of the 1944 vintage holds the key to the vineyard's fate. As we hear the story of how the perfect wine was created, we can almost smell the grapes and taste the wine ourselves, so powerful are the images and mood created. Of the other stories on the disc, one tells a suspenseful story of survival in the desert while on an archaeological dig in the Taklamakhan desert in China and another tells of Keaton's effort to transport a prisoner through England's Lake District bog country, where the prisoner has lots of friends among the well-armed locals. Finally, there's "The Day the Op was Born," a somewhat implausible murder mystery which is actually a flashback to Keaton's origin story, telling how he went from archaeology student to insurance investigator in one fell swoop.

The better stories are so good they will sustain viewers through the weaker ones (the prisoner and origin episodes). "Master Keaton" remains one of the best non-action anime series in release in the U.S. and a natural for older fans of Japanese animation looking for mature characters, serious storytelling and real-world settings.