Jas Reviews: Keeper

Hello, my name is Jas. I read a manga in Webkomph and today, I will give you my review and my thoughts and opinions on Golden Agency's Keeper by Akiya Suicideart. I will try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but for those who haven’t read the comic, please be warned that there are spoilers ahead. With that, let’s begin.

Keeper starts with a quick introduction of the client and we are presented with the Power Trio. The protagonist: Saikawa Naitou, and his colleagues Kimiko Aimiya and Asayama Shinichi. I get to see the dynamic character interaction among each character through the dialogue and subtle exposition of the main characters’ ability. This is good writing right here! We are also introduced to the organization, the organization’s mantra, the antagonist of the story, and his motivation why he is doing the things he is doing. The first chapter is a lot to read through for Pinoy comic standards, but it was worth the read. The first chapter acts as a story of its own, with its own beginning, middle, and end, yet it also ended with a good cliff hanger to make you wanting for more.

Then, Chapter 2 follows up neatly from the previous chapter by giving us an in-depth back story for the new character, Harada Saori. It ties up neatly in the story. This chapter presented the power system of ESP or Extra Sensory Perception. In this chapter, Saori was presented to having an interesting ability. But that ability has little implication in the story. This chapter also introduces the protagonist’s ESP ability. It was awesome, and I won’t spoil it. Just go read it! Again, this chapter has all the elements needed to stand on its own without borrowing much from the previous chapter. Chapter 2 ends an arc neatly. The chapter ends with a fight happening outside the story. This sets up the next chapter well.

Chapter 3 starts with the outcome of the fight from the previous chapters. More information about the nature of the organization and a back story for the main character is presented. We get to see a tragic past and a curious character with a really convenient ESP ability. We are also introduced to a new antagonistic group. This chapter felt like a set-up for me. A set-up for more awesome things to come!

Chapter 4 starts with a fight against the two organizations. This fight ends with the antagonist winning. This establishes that the antagonist is a force to be reckoned with and it establishes the array of power and abilities he possesses. We are also introduced to an array of new characters, with unique skills and abilities of their own. The chapter ends with the antagonist having the upper hand.

Chapter 5 is still in the works in the time I am writing this review, so I can’t cover it here.

Here are my thoughts and opinions to the comic. First, let’s assess the comic in terms of story. And after that, let’s assess its art.

I consider a comic having a “good” story if they follow the five (5) elements of a story. These are Character, Setting, Plot, Conflict, and Theme. Using these metrics, I can assure you my dear readers that this manga is a KEEPER~! (Hah!)

The setting is in Japan, the “show, don’t tell” style of world building is spectacular! The theme of Good vs. Evil is well-written. The conflict is well-drawn and full of action. And the plot… The plot is well-written as heck! The Plot and Conflict follow the 5 elements of plot development, these are:

Exposition – Rising Action – Climax – Falling Action – Resolution

Exposition is the introduction of characters and establishing the setting.

Rising Action is the inciting incident that sets the story into motion.

Climax is the actual battle.

Falling Action is the conclusion of the battle. This part resolves some, if not all of the story’s problems.

Resolution is the actual ending of the story.

Golden Agency’s Keeper by Akiya Suicideart is really well-written! However, despite me singing praises to this manga for 602 words (yes, I counted), I noticed some stuff that is… well… let’s talk about it.

3-man structure or Power Trio

The story follows the Power Trio trope. This is a well-established trope with examples like Naruto (Taijutsu/Blonde), Sasuke (Ninjutsu/Brunette), and Sakura (Genjutsu/Redhead or Pink in this case); Harry (Hero), Ron (Lancer), and Hermione (Chick); Asuka (Id), Shinji (Ego), and Rei (Superego). There’s a lot of example in media about the Power Trio. This is because it is a well-balance party. However, the beauty of a Power Trio is in its balance. Once the balance is broken, it loses its purpose. This brings us to the protagonist of the group, Naitou. At first glance, the party is set as a 2 fighter, 1 intel type trio. The two guys are the fighter and the girl is the intel, it sits nicely in the power trio. However, it is established at Chapter 1 that the main character has the smarts that rivals the supposed “brains” of the group. Which begs the question, what’s the use of a balanced trio if one character can fulfill all the roles the trio has? Sure, we can say that the trio is composed of Brain, Brawn, and Balance; but subsequent chapters further buffed Naito that he’s a level above his peers. The power trio trope in this manga is janked, and Naito is imba (imbalance).

Japanese SFX

The use of onomatopoeia or text sound effect in comic is essential in comic making.  This not only set the readers to know certain ambient noise, mood, or sounds that there is in the panel, but it also adds aesthetics to the comic. That said; text sound effects or SFX are most useful if it blends to the art and portray to the readers the sound it must depict. This is one of Keeper’s flaws. Using Japanese SFX in an English manga is not bad, but it defeats the purpose of letting the readers understand. Not all of us can read Japanese, and because of that, a small chunk of information is lost to the readers. It can easily be remedied by using English SFX or including a “Translation Note” at the side of the panels.

The Mary Sue/Gary Stu Syndrome.

Let me start this section by saying that there is no Mary Sue/Gary Stu character in this manga. I repeat, THERE IS NO MARY SUE/GARY STU CHARACTER IN THIS MANGA. However, Saikawa Naitou is walking on the edge of it. Let’s make a list.

He’s stronger, faster, smarter, and better than every established character in the story.

He has an absence of any perceivable flaws in the chapter.

He just doesn’t make mistakes.

He just “knows things” without any explanation.

He has trouble following authority, and has disobeyed rules and regulations several times.

He is not reprimanded for his misconducts.

These are all red flags or pitfalls writers run into when making a compelling story and I cannot fault the author for writing the main character to be more interesting than the rest of the cast. Also, the Mary Sue/Gary Stu syndrome is a subjective topic, and each reader has their own threshold in considering a Mary Sue/Gary Stu. Heck, some readers don’t even know what a Mary Sue/Gary Stu even is.

With all of that, the story is superb! I highly recommend you guys reading this manga! Let’s move on.

I consider a comic having a “good” art if they follow these four (4) aspects of a comic. These are Art Style, Character Design, Composition, and Flow. However, I won’t be as harsh in judging the art as I am judging the story part of the comic. Using these metric, let’s look at the comic.

In terms of art style, Keeper is heavily inspired by Japanese manga. Each panel is shaded and screen-toned well.

In terms of character design, the characters are designed well. Despite the characters having the same clothing, each character had unique designs. Also, each character is drawn beautifully.

In terms of composition; the word bubbles, sound effects, backgrounds, and the characters all stand out. They take up the space of each panel quite well.

In terms of flow, the paneling and the flow of the word bubble is nice and smooth. This makes the story easy to follow. Since Keeper follows a manga format, it uses vertically oriented callouts and reading a page starts at the right instead of the left that we Pinoys are used to. Now, some readers may get confused by this, but the author always place a reminder at the start of every chapter that the reading orientation of the manuscript is read from right to left.

To finish the blog… Golden Agency’s Keeper is an excellent manga with a good story, awesome action, and a great art. It has a superbly well-written story and a cast of interesting characters! I can’t believe this manga has less than 500 views! It’s extremely underrated, and if you read it, I’m sure that you’ll love it! Again, I highly recommend you read Keeper at Webkomph! It’s a KEEPER (I just used the same pun twice, sorry…)

Do you have any comments? Got any suggestions or recommendations? Please, don't be shy and tell us more about it on the comments below.