Black Jack Black Jack

[A bad picture of BlackJack]




If they release any more of these, I'll put 'em up a bit after they do, ok? Oh yeah, and be sure to read the manga series of these if you get the chance, marvelous! (Vol. 1 avalible from Viz Communications)

Black Jack is a nameless 'doctor' who has some of the strangest cases you ever saw. Only thing is, he doesn't have a license to practice.
What's with all of those scars/suchers (don't know how the heck to spell it) all over him? And what's with that little kid (Pinoko) who's his 'assistant?' A relatively cool show. Rather deep. A tad on the gory side, but not as much as some.
From Osamu Tezuka, creator of Kimba the White Lion (The lying King) and The Mighty Atom. (See how much Pinoko resembles The Mighty Atom?? No koinkydink, that.)
Some people (not me, but some people) Find this show very depressing, even morbid. I simply must disagree. (Well, I guess it is a little morbid at times.) It can be a very funny show (eh hem, # 2 & 5!!) but it is not for kids under about, oh, ten. They're really deep and cool episodes, methinks. I think they could get it, maybe. As for #3, that's a little more risque, sort of avant guard, doncha know; you be the judge on that one.
Clinical Chart 1: Icebergs, the man with Kimaira
BlackJack is called out to a remote island by a wealthy old man, Mr. Crossword, who is suffering from MAJOR dehydration. This might not seem to odd, except that Crossword drinks 15 litres of water a day! twelve other people in the village already have this mysterious disease, and it could become a full blown epidemic at any moment. Can Black Jack find the cause before the entire population is infected?
Oh, and did I mention that Crossword's wife had a 'relationship' with Black Jack a while back? (And what kind of relationship, one might care to know... and no, it's not what one might think at first.)


Clinical Chart 2: A FUNERAL, The Procession Game
Black Jack gets lost on the road (he's the only man I know who actually asks for directions.) and stops to ask a group of young girls who are ice skating how to get to the airport... (some funny stuff in this one.)
One of them gets injured and he has to quickly stitch her back together.
Six months later, he meets up with the girl... and... she needs his help... (by the by, did I mention she's got a crush on- never mind.)
This one got a big conspiracy in it (and is much better than the first episode.) It's also got a whole lot of drugs and- well, you'll see.


Clinical Chart 3: The Decoration of Maria and Her Comrades
The Prime Minister of Ortega is arrested and is a supposed drug lord, (but you never really find out if he is or not. Judge the guy for yourself.)
He is rescued by the Ortega republic just three days before his trial... and they have to get him back into the country before it is to late and he's captured again.
Only problem is the prime minister has cancer... and guess who's called in to help.
LOTS of sex and violence in this one (lots of shoot 'em up stuff too) but there is one pretty funny part. Has a less thicker plot then the previous two episodes, but still an okay volume.


Clinical Chart 4: ANOREXIA, Two Dark Doctors
A 'french' (doesn't seem french to me) actress comes down with a strange case of mal-nourishment. While she appears to be anorexic on the outside at first, soon it seems there's a much bigger problem with her health... Black Jack has to find the answer before it's too late.
What's the deal with this Kevorkian type-guy (you know, Dr. Kiriko, the one who calls himself 'Mozart') who seems to be exactly the opposite but very much the same as Black Jack?
Also, the actress used to be in 'those' movies. You know, those movies? (you know what I'm talking about. **Nudge nudge, wink wink, chuckle chuckle, nudge nudge**)
They changed the intro and the ending theme song on this one. I really like the new intro, it lets you know a little more about Black Jack's past... (looks like he's had those scars since he was born... {?})


Clinical Chart 5: The Owl of San Merida
Black Jack's on vacation, he's on a three-week tour of Europe with Pinoko (yay!) After all, with such a depressing job, one needs to take some time off for them self, what?
But, it seems that he never does get a break, because while on the train there is an emergency and at first it seems that they may have to preform emergency surgery (on the train no less!)
The young man (named Leslie) who they may have to operate on seems to have been shot in his back in three places. But when they are just about to begin- the wounds mysteriously heal, right before Pinoko and Black Jack's eyes!
This happens several times, too...
What is the source of Leslie's 'illness', and what is the meaning of his strange dreams that always turn into nightmares?
This is by far the best episode yet, and it alone makes the series worth watching. A terrific story and the song on here makes the soundtrack even better than the others!
Unlike the previous episodes where Black Jack sort of narrorates the story, in this one, Pinoko does! I must say, I like her narrations a lot more than his. (They're funnier!)


Clinical Chart 6: Night Time Tale in the Snow "Lovelorn Princess"
Possibly the best episode in the series, and one of the best episodes I've ever seen of any series.
One dark and stormy night (hey! I've taken a creative writing course! ^_^) Anyhoozel, night Black Jack receives a mysterious package, which (luckily) isn't from the organ donor institute. Inside of it, there is yen, Tons of it! Something like 3,120,467!!!! On the lid is taped a note and a map. There is a man in the remote region of Nakasugi in Japan who's wife is deathly ill and he wishes her to hurry, the doctors say she may not last another day.
Pinoko discovers that the post office must've lost the package, because it was sent over two years ago!!!
"Pinoko, the doctors said two years ago that the patient wouldn't live another day, so we'd better hurry!" Grand use of logic there, Doctor B.
When they drive into the mountains, they're car gets stuck in the snow (ohh, that's what you get from drivin' an automatic! 'Say they outta throw some snow under those tires- dohoho! Reverse situation!') Anyway, there's nothing they can do but wait for the storm to stop. Black Jack and Pinoko take a little nap, and they wake up a little while later, mysteriously finding themselves outside of the shrine which was part of the directions on the map.
That's nothing compared to what happens after that, strange occurrence after paranormal happening. Pinoko is kidnapped, and the tenant's illness isn't exactly what you'd expect...
This is an incredible episode, which will keep you guessing, even at the end! With a unique and fascinating plot line and an unexpected twist ending, this is one you simply must not miss.
Only thing I didn't like about this episode was they changed the intro and ending. Again. And it's a really bad intro and ending at that, it's like really really bad japanese alternative. *Oh well.* With this sort of quality stuff, the real A1, cream o' the crop material I am just wishing that they'll release more episodes in USA, I saw another while I was in Japan. It was about a blond woman with these real Charles Manson type eyes who removed a cancerous growth of some kind, I'd love to see what happens. We'll see. We'll see.

Rating: [green][cherry][dark red]

Comments: Strange and very mysterious, very deep and relatively complicated, but you can still understand it. Very interesting, some very humorous stuff (in the second and fifth eps., mostly serious in the rest) Black Jack is cool and kinda' cute, the plot of # five is absolutely stupendous along with #6, some of the other plots are a little weak but still good. A bit of violence, some nudity, lots of operations so there is some blood, but the only time when there's shoot 'em up stuff is in #3 and a bit in #5, but still a good show. I highly reccomend it.

Avalible: Yes
From: Central Park Media
For: $19.95 (per volume US, dubbed. {Don't worry all you pro sub anti dub people, I saw the original Japanese version while I was in Japan, and to be perfectly honest Black Jack was very poorly cast, in my opinion. His voice was waaaaay to deep. I like the dubs a lot better.})
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