Robot Keiji

Great series.  The scene with K and Shiba on the rock surrounded by waves was beautiful

... that's it? I suppose it must have been cancelled. I suspected some trouble when K suddenly became a happy-go-lucky chap in love out of the blue, but, huh. Definitely felt like there was some greater plot that never had the chance to emerge. Well, a shame, but it was interesting.

I dunno if it was canceled. The series is getting a manga remake by the Linebarrels of Iron duo. I know the editor liked the series well enough since the author published a very similar series in the same magazine after that, called Tetsumen Cross. And it even got a sequel, Tetsumen Tantei Gen.

 

Remember, it was written in the early 70's before the rise of personal computers.

Actually, that was what I was commenting on, the age of the whole thing permeates through and through. It wasn't a criticism, just a comment on how its age shows. But old does not mean bad to me. Sure, if the techno errors were less glaring it would be nice, but then if you forget such things, that does give freedom to focus elsewhere too.

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It's not only the art that feels dated in this, its other things as well. Most of the technology shown is not anywhere near of a level that would support robots(power supply being the biggest, and you dont see him plugging in, and AI programming too is not easy) or flying cars. Even the technophob curmudgeon is out of date, railing against the fancy new technology of cars and calling robots manikins. The technology disparity is so great that to say stuff is powered by magic would not be any less unbelievable. It so smacks of that weird thought process back in like the 50s or something where people had strange concepts of how technology would super rapidly advance in some areas, while remaining basic in others. (like,the concept of a rocket that can reach mars or further, but is powered by computers that use tape spools and randomly blinking lights etc. Old Scifi was seriously silly sometimes)

 

But the characters and story are ok so far in these first few chapters. But those detectives would have to be idiots not to have the concept of robots disguised as pets occur to them. I mean if a robotic person can be made, obvious they can shape em into dog and cat form too.

Remember, it was written in the early 70's before the rise of personal computers.  The author had probably never even seen a computer up close.  It was also, I think, deliberately a bit retro, since it's a reference to Asimov's robot series from even earlier.

... that's it? I suppose it must have been cancelled. I suspected some trouble when K suddenly became a happy-go-lucky chap in love out of the blue, but, huh. Definitely felt like there was some greater plot that never had the chance to emerge. Well, a shame, but it was interesting.

I was only pointing out the fairly obvious.

Yeah, sorry about the harshness of my commentary. This series is certainly no hard fiction. Shotaro Ishinomori was a great storyteller and science fiction enthusiast, but he was definitely no scientist. Even so, this is a great series if  you can pass those incongruities. If it's not your thing, you can always go read the awesome Sabu and Ichi series for a more grounded example of Ishinomori's detective fiction.

I was only pointing out the fairly obvious.

It's not only the art that feels dated in this, its other things as well. Most of the technology shown is not anywhere near of a level that would support robots(power supply being the biggest, and you dont see him plugging in, and AI programming too is not easy) or flying cars. Even the technophob curmudgeon is out of date, railing against the fancy new technology of cars and calling robots manikins. The technology disparity is so great that to say stuff is powered by magic would not be any less unbelievable. It so smacks of that weird thought process back in like the 50s or something where people had strange concepts of how technology would super rapidly advance in some areas, while remaining basic in others. (like,the concept of a rocket that can reach mars or further, but is powered by computers that use tape spools and randomly blinking lights etc. Old Scifi was seriously silly sometimes)

 

But the characters and story are ok so far in these first few chapters. But those detectives would have to be idiots not to have the concept of robots disguised as pets occur to them. I mean if a robotic person can be made, obvious they can shape em into dog and cat form too.

Now, your commentary is so relevant that I feel smarter just by reading it. Who would have thought a 70s technology expert would be reading this? Fascinating. 

It's not only the art that feels dated in this, its other things as well. Most of the technology shown is not anywhere near of a level that would support robots(power supply being the biggest, and you dont see him plugging in, and AI programming too is not easy) or flying cars. Even the technophob curmudgeon is out of date, railing against the fancy new technology of cars and calling robots manikins. The technology disparity is so great that to say stuff is powered by magic would not be any less unbelievable. It so smacks of that weird thought process back in like the 50s or something where people had strange concepts of how technology would super rapidly advance in some areas, while remaining basic in others. (like,the concept of a rocket that can reach mars or further, but is powered by computers that use tape spools and randomly blinking lights etc. Old Scifi was seriously silly sometimes)

But the characters and story are ok so far in these first few chapters. But those detectives would have to be idiots not to have the concept of robots disguised as pets occur to them. I mean if a robotic person can be made, obvious they can shape em into dog and cat form too.

Vol 2 Ch 18, last page, hard boiled as fuck.

Wow, talk about bad taste for a door!

This was a pretty common art style in the 70's it's similar to Osamu Tezuka's style.

It's really no coincidence. Shotaro Ishinomori and many of his contemporaries were understudies of Osamu Tezuka.

Sheesh, that art is butt ugly to say the least.

This was a pretty common art style in the 70's it's similar to Osamu Tezuka's style.

Whenever a new chapter comes out, I am compelled to say

RO BOT. KEI JI.

in a really robotic manner.

Sheesh, that art is butt ugly to say the least.

Shiba totally pwned K

I hope the next book comes around soon.  I love this series.

...Oh god, that last page...  It's a Big Daddy!  D:

damn this is good... harsh facts mixed with interesting dialogue... as man and robots show elements of emotion mirroring in loneliness, while both sides try to grasp knowledge of the situation. Plus interesting theme.

Chapter 10 is epic.  Wow.  These kinds of themes are not commonly explored in most media.

Seriously, this is an underrated manga.  The artwork might feel a little "dated", but the plot and themes that are worked on here are excellent.

Chapter 10 is epic.  Wow.  These kinds of themes are not commonly explored in most media.

Every time I see that crusty old fart Daizo's face, I cannot help but think that I am staring at an older, more curmudgeonly version of Iago the Parrot.

Isn't this basically just a manga version of Asimov's Elijah Baley series?

@DingleDorf Actually, yes, it is. Only Q was designed to resemble the character from this series, instead of the other way around.