I adored the anime series about this mild-mannered but very resourceful professor/hostage-negotiator/archaeologist, and was delighted when the manga became available in English. I bought this volume at a local Barnes and Noble.

This volume opens with a story set in a remote Scottish village, the same story that inspired the opening sequence and music of the anime - a really lovely Celtic-sounding theme, with wild animals (and the main character) gathering around ruined buildings to gaze in awe at the northern lights... [I really love that opening sequence, but always wondered why that was chosen to represent a half-Japanese insurance-investigator/hostage-negotiator {wry grin}.] Turns out he's there to appraise an ancient structure that's at risk of being damaged or destroyed by new development, but things don't work out in the obvious way; from the opening (and in color!) pages where he meets an injured hare on the way to the site to the discovery of a runaway boy, to the eventual - and stunning - aurora scene, it's unusual and charming.

Another story shows Keaton in full "hostage negotiation" mode, and includes lots of all-too-believable details about real-world hostage negotiation. This often comes across as pretty cold, what with the whole "dickering over a dollar amount when a human life is on the line" bit, but Keaton's tactics do seem to be effective.

There's a story set in Wales and involving an old army buddy of Keaton's - and a local legend about a man who found a way to fly. This one's rather cute and romantic, though at first it seems it isn't going to work out very well for the lover!

Keaton's army experience shows up again when he confronts an IRA agent who really wants to stop killing - but who's responsible for bombs that have been planted in a busy shopping mall. He asks Keaton to help him defuse them, and things get very tense indeed...

Then there's the one where Keaton's visiting a remote house to try and get a man to return insurance money that was fraudulently claimed. This takes place during a heat wave, and Urasawa's artwork really makes you feel it. It also involves a trained, deadly attack dog, who gives our hero quite a run for his money - with some flashbacks to a childhood loss that still touches him.

In another tale, Keaton visits his father - a rather randy old charmer who likes to harrass his son, while pursuing various interests of his own on the side. Keaton's daughter Yuriko is there too, and she's really a delight - as smart as her Dad and perhaps a bit wiser, though still with the exuberance of youth. There's a really charming quiet family moment at the end of this tale that sums up the appeal of the series for me.

And there's more: the one with an old childhood rival-turned-friend of Keaton's, now a detective, and the murder case they compete to solve; an intriguing look at a tragedy that turns out to have a very different cause than anyone believed; a holiday truce (complete with snowball fight) among high-powered and very much at odds businessmen.

[There's a TV Tropes page on the series.]

See also: Volume One

I'm sending this to BCer HI77 in Florida as part of the US/Canada wishlist-tag game. Hope you enjoy it!

*** Released as part of the 2015 TICK TOCK release challenge, for the embedded "AT" in the title. ***

*** Released as part of the 2015 TV Series release challenge. ***