Black Jack (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a manga
written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka
in the 1970s, dealing with the medical adventures of the title character, doctor Black Jack
.
Black Jack consists of hundreds of short, self-contained episodes that are typically about 20 pages long. Black Jack has also been animated into an OVA, two television series (directed by Tezuka's son Makoto Tezuka) and two movies. Black Jack is Tezuka's third most famous manga, after Astro Boy
and Kimba the White Lion
. In 1977, it won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award
for shōnen
. About.com
's Deb Aoki lists Black Jack as the best "re-issue of previously released material" of 2008.
Osamu Tezuka drew on his knowledge as a physician in writing Black Jack, and the manga contains frequent medical details. However, Tezuka chose to generally eschew medical plausibility in his manga: Black Jack is superhuman, regularly performing spectacular and impossible feats of surgical virtuosity, such as operating in absolute darkness completely from memory, operating on himself in the middle of the Australian outback surrounded by hungry dingo
es, and transplanting body parts without any risk of rejection
. (However, rejection is accounted for in some anime episodes.) The Black Jack stories also frequently include pseudoscience
and science fiction
elements. The manga also breaks the fourth wall
from time to time; characters will comment that they only have a few pages to work in, or that a problem will be dealt with quickly 'because these stories are only about twenty pages long'. In at least one situation, characters literally run through and shatter several panel borders, and then complain that 'the small panels make it hard to run away'.
Pinoko
Kumiko Honma
Biwamaru
Black Queen
Dr. Kiriko
Vertical Inc. has released translated volumes of the series in the United States, starting with Vol. 1 in September 2008. These collected volumes include a dozen or so stories each in the original unflipped format, and the stories will be published in the same order as the Japanese Black Jack collections. Vertical has also released limited editions of the first three volumes that include bonus stories not printed in any other edition. At the current rate of publication, Vertical is expected to finish the series in 2011.
Two translated volumes had been previously published by Viz Communications, but those editions are now out of print.
Black Jack also made a cameo appearance in the theatrical film Phoenix 2772
as an interstellar prison warden, and is one of the main characters of the TV movie One Million-Year Trip: Bandar Book, in which he plays the role of a space pirate, somehow similar in concept to Leiji Matsumoto
's Captain Harlock
.
In 1992, Tezuka's protege Osamu Dezaki
did the direction for a theatrical movie and an OVA series. Ten OVAs were made (six of which, along with the movie, were originally only available in dub-only VHS form in North America, but all 10 OVAs are now available on bilingual Region 1 DVD).
There is also a four episode TV special from 2003 called Black Jack: The 4 Miracles of Life. Princess Sapphire was in episode 3 of this.
A new TV series was released in fall of 2004 in Japan, and a new film entitled Black Jack: The Two Doctors of Darkness was released in December 2005. While the television series is an adaptation of Tezuka's original manga, the film's storyline is wholly original. The film describes Black Jack's attempts to prevent a group known as the Ghost of Icarus from starting a widespread, biological war which could wipe out humanity, while working alongside the infamous Dr. Kiriko.
In late April 2006, a seventeen-episodes series titled Black Jack 21 premiered. Adapted from standalone manga chapters, Black Jack 21 features an all-new overarching storyline.
Though the 2004 series, nor the Black Jack 21 series, has not yet been licensed in the U.S., there are several fansubs posted on websites such as "Crunchyroll
" and many episodes have been uploaded on "YouTube
" by fans of the anime.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
in the 1970s, dealing with the medical adventures of the title character, doctor Black Jack
Black Jack (character)
is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka, introduced in Weekly Shōnen Champion on November 19, 1973.-Character:Black Jack is a medical mercenary, selling his skills to the highest bidder. He is a shadowy figure, with a black cape, eerie black-and-white hair, and stitched-up scars worming...
.
Black Jack consists of hundreds of short, self-contained episodes that are typically about 20 pages long. Black Jack has also been animated into an OVA, two television series (directed by Tezuka's son Makoto Tezuka) and two movies. Black Jack is Tezuka's third most famous manga, after Astro Boy
Astro Boy (1960s)
is a Japanese manga series first published in 1952 and television program first broadcast in Japan in 1963. The story follows the adventures of a robot named Astro Boy and a selection of other characters along the way....
and Kimba the White Lion
Kimba the White Lion
, known in the United States as Kimba the White Lion, is an anime series from the 1960s. Created by Osamu Tezuka and based on his manga of the same title which began publication in 1950, it was the first color animated television series created in Japan. The manga was first published in serialized...
. In 1977, it won the 1st Kodansha Manga Award
Kodansha Manga Award
is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in four categories: children's, shōnen, shōjo, and general. The awards began in 1977, initially with categories for shōnen and shōjo. The first award for the...
for shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
. About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's Deb Aoki lists Black Jack as the best "re-issue of previously released material" of 2008.
Summary
Most of the episodes involve Black Jack doing some good deed, for which he rarely gets recognition — often curing the poor and destitute for free, or teaching the arrogant a lesson in humility. They sometimes end with a good, humane person enduring hardship, often unavoidable death, to save others.Osamu Tezuka drew on his knowledge as a physician in writing Black Jack, and the manga contains frequent medical details. However, Tezuka chose to generally eschew medical plausibility in his manga: Black Jack is superhuman, regularly performing spectacular and impossible feats of surgical virtuosity, such as operating in absolute darkness completely from memory, operating on himself in the middle of the Australian outback surrounded by hungry dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
es, and transplanting body parts without any risk of rejection
Transplant rejection
Transplant rejection occurs when transplanted tissue is rejected by the recipient's immune system, which destroys the transplanted tissue. Transplant rejection can be lessened by determining the molecular similitude between donor and recipient and by use of immunosuppressant drugs after...
. (However, rejection is accounted for in some anime episodes.) The Black Jack stories also frequently include pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
elements. The manga also breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
from time to time; characters will comment that they only have a few pages to work in, or that a problem will be dealt with quickly 'because these stories are only about twenty pages long'. In at least one situation, characters literally run through and shatter several panel borders, and then complain that 'the small panels make it hard to run away'.
Characters
Black JackBlack Jack (character)
is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka, introduced in Weekly Shōnen Champion on November 19, 1973.-Character:Black Jack is a medical mercenary, selling his skills to the highest bidder. He is a shadowy figure, with a black cape, eerie black-and-white hair, and stitched-up scars worming...
Pinoko
- is Black Jack's sidekick, a little girl who was actually a Teratogenous Cystoma (a growth more commonly known as a teratoma). As seen in "Teratogenous Cystoma", she was a rare type of parasitic twinParasitic twinA parasitic twin is the result of the processes that produce vanishing twins and conjoined twins, and may represent a continuum between the two...
, living in one of Black Jack's patients' bodies for eighteen years until Black Jack extracted her and gave her a real body. He constructed her from the mass of organs included in the growth and provided her a plastic exoskeleton that gives her the appearance of a human child. However, this exoskeleton limits some of her abilities, most notably halting her physical growth and not being able to swim for long durations. She speaks with a strong lisp which may be due to her exoskeletal skull. After being rejected by her twin sister, she started to live with Black Jack as a sort of daughter to him. She always helps the doctor by doing household chores and by even being his assistant in some of his operations. She often acts as comic reliefComic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
in Black Jack, claiming to be a girl of eighteen and married with Black Jack, despite her child's appearance and personality. Her main value is companionship and source of affection for the ordinarily cold-natured doctor. - Pinoko's main form of comic relief in the TV anime is yelling アッチョンブリケ(Acchonburike) — a phrase that has no real meaning but taken as a rough equivalent to "Oh my goodness!" (often spelled "Omigewdness" in fansubs) or "I don't believe it!" (as translated when she appeared in an episode of the Astro Boy 80's series) , in English — while pressing her cheeks together with her hands when something surprising happens.
- Voiced by: Yuko MizutaniYuko Mizutaniis a Japanese voice actress working for Production Baobab.-Notable voice roles:*Alfimi, Katana & Byakuya in Super Robot Wars OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED*Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills, 90210*Anri in Bubblegum Crisis*Apple in Zillion...
- Voiced by: Yuko Mizutani
- A character adapted from The Three-Eyed OneThe Three-Eyed Oneis a romance SF manga by Osamu Tezuka. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 7 July 1974 through 19 March 1978 and was later published into thirteen tankoubon by Kodansha....
, Wato is the captain of kendo club in Ooana Senior High School, and is notorious for her tardiness. With a strong sense of justice, she is an outspoken tomboy, a contrast to her best friend Kumiko. Owing to healing Sharaku's illness in "The Missing Needle", she becomes a positive supporter and friend of Black Jack. Her father, Dr. Kenmochi, is an archeologist who works around Southern Asia.- Voiced by: Ryōko OnoRyoko Onois a female Japanese seiyū from Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.-Anime cast in:*009-1 as Bess *Black Jack as Wato*Black Jack 21 as Wato*Digimon Savers as Nanami*Fairy Tail as Mirajane, Lullaby, Angelica, Zeref...
- Voiced by: Ryōko Ono
Kumiko Honma
- An character from the original manga to the TV series, she is an immigrant from China who transferred to Ooana Senior High School. She is Jotaro Honma’s only daughter and is the waitress at Tom's. Contrary to her best friend Wato, Kumiko holds an introverted and attentive personality. For trying to save her father, healing Tetsu's fingers, and restoring her eyesight, she becomes another close friend of Black Jack.
- Voiced by: Akiko KawaseAkiko Kawaseis a Japanese voice actor.She was born in Tokyo.-Notable voice roles:*Aoi Mishina in Ryusei Sentai Musumet*July in Coyote Ragtime Show*Mai Moritaka in Dear Boys*Mamapatchi in Tamagotchi: The Movie*Maya Matsumoto in Working!!...
- Voiced by: Akiko Kawase
- A character adapted from The Three-Eyed OneThe Three-Eyed Oneis a romance SF manga by Osamu Tezuka. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Magazine from 7 July 1974 through 19 March 1978 and was later published into thirteen tankoubon by Kodansha....
, Sharaku is a schoolboy attending Shiokou Junior High School. He is a gentle boy who takes interest in the supernatural, as seen in "Invaders from Space". Since "The Missing Needle", wherein Black Jack healed him, he has been Pinoko's best friend and her partner-in-crime when it comes to comic relief. He is known to have a limitless memory of random information, yet comically does horrible when it comes to school work.- Voiced by: Yuuko Satou
- Largo was a stray dog found by Pinoko, Wato, and Sharaku during a car accident, in "Thieving Dog". Contrary to the manga, she is saved after an earthquake caused Black Jack's house to collapse on top of her, and she becomes his pet dog. She is named Largo for her lethargic nature, but she compensates with her sharp senses in detecting danger.
- Voiced by: Makoto IshiiMakoto Ishiiis a male Japanese voice actor from Chiba Prefecture. He is currently affiliated with Mausu Promotion.-Television animation:*Black Jack *Fafner in the Azure *Futakoi...
- Voiced by: Makoto Ishii
- A character who plays several roles in the manga, he has a steady role as the owner of Tom's, a coffee shop that Black Jack frequents. Owing his gratitude to Jotaro Honma, he fosters Kumiko and treats her as his daughter. In the past, he was a nameless magician and changed into a pickpocket.
- Tetsu is "played" by Shunsaku Ban, a member of Tezuka's "star systemOsamu Tezuka's Star SystemOver the course of his career, Osamu Tezuka reused the same characters in different roles in different stories. The way that Tezuka used the characters in his "star system" can be seen as somewhat analoguous to a film director frequently casting members of a regular "stable" of actors in different...
" who appears in several manga stories by Tezuka.- Voiced by: Kōsei TomitaKosei Tomitais a Japanese voice actor from Tokyo who is affiliated with Production Baobab. His real name is .- TV :* Matteo in Animation Kikou Marco Polo no Boken* Rumina's grandfather in Tokyo Underground* Bouleuse Gotho in Armored Trooper Votoms* Master in Black Jack...
- Voiced by: Kōsei Tomita
Biwamaru
- is a wandering doctor who specializes in acupuncture. He made his first appearance in episode 51. He is blind, but he can walk on his own to many places, and goes wandering everywhere where his sensitive nose takes him, since he is able to smell out the whereabouts of people who are sick. He cures his patients without accepting any money in return, making him homeless. Biwamaru carries a walking stick and a huge purse-like bag with his medical equipment. He dislikes operations, saying that humans are not supposed to be operated too many times.
- Biwamaru believes that his needle techniques are the perfect solution to any medical problem. He often cures Black Jack's patients, causing Black Jack to feel unhappy and annoyed. One day he found a small kid (who was also Black Jack's patient), but he made a terrible mistake. He had thought that his needle techniques were perfect, but what he didn't know was that the small child had a fear of needles. Her condition became worse. Black Jack was furious and intended to show the proud Biwamaru about his mistake. Biwamaru was grateful when Black Jack saved the child's life. Later on that night, Biwamaru cured Black Jack's large intestine, which Black Jack has attempted to treat through surgery, by piercing a needle into his foot to return his kindness.
- Voiced by: Nachi NozawaNachi Nozawawas a Japanese seiyū, actor, and theatre director from Tokyo. He was affiliated with Office PAC at the time of his death. His real name was...
- Voiced by: Nachi Nozawa
Black Queen
- First making her appearance in "Black Queen", Kuwata Konomi was a doctor specializing in amputations, thought to be heartless by many, earning her the nickname 'Black Queen' in the medical world. She is engaged to Rock (referred to as Makube Rokuro in the TV series, probably to make up for the lack of "Carved Seal" episode), but her being infamous sends troubles for the couple. She met Black Jack, drunk, in a bar, addressing herself as the Black Queen. The former is impressed by their similarities and falls in love. The end was bittersweet as he later discovered that Rock was actually her fiancée.
- Voiced by: Atsuko TanakaAtsuko Tanakais a Japanese voice actress who works for Ezaki Productions. Her deep and sultry voice is often used to portray villainesses and mature female characters.-TV anime:*Angel Links *Black Cat *Berserk *Cowboy Bebop...
, Naoko MatsuiNaoko Matsuiis a Japanese voice actress from Hakodate. Matsui was a member of Production Baobab for 20 years before becoming a freelancer. She is also a voice acting instructor....
- Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka
- Black Jack's tragic love, they met during their internship. She stayed up late at work and cared more about the patients than everyone else. She discovers that Kuroo Hazama has been the one looking after her whenever she walks alone at night. Later, she reveals to have ovarian cancerOvarian cancerOvarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
, and is afraid to tell Black Jack because of her fear that having these parts removed will interfere with their relationship. Nevertheless, the couple confess their love before the operation while Megumi is "still a woman" (In reality, a hysterectomyHysterectomyA hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually performed by a gynecologist. Hysterectomy may be total or partial...
or oophorectomyOophorectomyOophorectomy is the surgical removal of an ovary or ovaries. The surgery is also called ovariectomy, but this term has been traditionally used in basic science research describing the surgical removal of ovaries in laboratory animals...
can affect sexual function, but the side effects associated with these procedures are not as extreme as those depicted in this story). - Afterwards, Megumi changed her name to Kei, a male name, and started living her life as a man, treating sick patients as a ship's doctor.
- The reason why Black Jack pursued the career in medicine, mentor and life-saver, he played as the young boy's father-figure after the tragedy struck. Kagemitsu Hazama, Black Jack's father, flew to MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
with his new wife Renka, abandoning his son Kuro and his first wife (the reasons for Kagemitsu's behavior are later explained in the Black Jack 21 series). The boy suffered from paralysisParalysisParalysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...
in all four limbs and spent many lonely years in a wheelchair until he regained the use of them. Dr. Honma wrote a book about the miracle, as seen in "The Leg of an Ant". - Dr. Honma dies because of old age in the episode four of Black Jack 4 Miracles of Life "Just like a Pearl" after a failed surgical attempt by the man he inspired to revive him. However, he plays an important role in Black Jack 21, since he has once worked at the "Noir Project".
- Dr. Honma is "played" by Saruta, a member of Tezuka's "star systemOsamu Tezuka's Star SystemOver the course of his career, Osamu Tezuka reused the same characters in different roles in different stories. The way that Tezuka used the characters in his "star system" can be seen as somewhat analoguous to a film director frequently casting members of a regular "stable" of actors in different...
" who appears in multiple volumes of Tezuka's PhoenixPhoenix (manga)is a manga series by Osamu Tezuka. Tezuka considered Phoenix his "life's work"; it consists of 12 books, each of which tells a separate, self-contained story and takes place in a different era. The plots go back and forth from the remote future to prehistoric times. The cycle remains unfinished...
and other manga stories by Tezuka.- Voiced by: Osamu SakaOsamu Sakais a Japanese voice actor who works for Aoni Production.He is most known for the roles of Wheeljack in the Japanese dub of , as well as Seitaro Sakaki , Jotaro Honma , and Daisuke Aramaki .-Anime:* Noah Van Hellsing in Blade* Dr...
- Voiced by: Osamu Saka
Dr. Kiriko
- , the "death doctor", is another shadowy doctor, traveling the world like Black Jack. When Kiriko was a war doctor, he saw many patients in great pain, and got into the habit of using euthanasiaEuthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. He often appears in the manga, attempting to kill terminally ill patients which Black Jack wants to save. He is so dedicated to euthanasia that he once attempted to kill himself when he got a rare infectious disease. Though arch-rivals, they have been in situations where they had to cooperate in order to survive or to accomplish a task, and manage to do so with good results. Whenever he is confronted by Black Jack after a successful operation which avoided the death alternative, Kiriko simply replies with something along the lines of "I'm a doctor as well, you know". - In the Clinical Chart OVA series, Dr. Kiriko is introduced only as Mozart, in homage to his affinity for classical music. In this OVA, it is also shown that Kiriko is not greedy for money like Black Jack nor did he consider his style of Euthanasia as a 'Solution to all sicknesses' as demonstrated by his act of charity as he provided basic nutrients and some food to a patient suffering from what appeared to be severe anorexiaAnorexia (symptom)Anorexia is the decreased sensation of appetite...
at one point. - In the same series of OVA, it is shown that he travels by Motorcycle and shows a proficiency in mechanics and music.
- Voiced by: Kazuhiro YamajiKazuhiro Yamajiis a Japanese actor and voice actor from Mie Prefecture affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company.-Television animation:*Case Closed *Geneshaft *Last Exile *Monster...
- Voiced by: Kazuhiro Yamaji
Manga
The manga series was first serialized from 1973 to 1983. The first episode was called "I Need a Doctor!", and the last episode was called "A Question of Priority". Most of the manga series had never been directly adapted into anime form until a Black Jack Special was aired in 2003, thus initiating the Black Jack anime series in 2004, and the Black Jack 21 series in 2006.Vertical Inc. has released translated volumes of the series in the United States, starting with Vol. 1 in September 2008. These collected volumes include a dozen or so stories each in the original unflipped format, and the stories will be published in the same order as the Japanese Black Jack collections. Vertical has also released limited editions of the first three volumes that include bonus stories not printed in any other edition. At the current rate of publication, Vertical is expected to finish the series in 2011.
Two translated volumes had been previously published by Viz Communications, but those editions are now out of print.
Anime
Perhaps the first televised appearance of Black Jack was in the 1980 remake of Tetsuwan Atom. Episode 26 of Astro Boy brought together three separate Tezuka creations, as Astro, Uran, Doctor Roget (Black Jack) and Penny (Pinoko) travel back through time to 15th Century Molavia (Silverland). In this storyline, Black Jack performs a life-saving operation on a critically injured Princess Sapphire (from Ribbon no Kishi), while Astro and Uran fend off Gor, a malevolent magician bent on usurping the throne. Characteristically, Roget/Black Jack refuses to operate until he is offered the key to the treasury vault, but later takes only one commemorative coin from the grateful court (which turns out to be worth $200,000,000 when he returns to Astro's time). Presumably, the name changes were due to Western audiences being unfamiliar with the Black Jack franchise at the time.Black Jack also made a cameo appearance in the theatrical film Phoenix 2772
Phoenix 2772
is an animated feature film directed by Taku Sugiyama and co-scripted by Osamu Tezuka, based on his manga series Hi no Tori. It was then released in the UK in 1980 under the title Space Firebird, and later in the United States in 1983, shortened to 79 minutes and dubbed by British voice-actors...
as an interstellar prison warden, and is one of the main characters of the TV movie One Million-Year Trip: Bandar Book, in which he plays the role of a space pirate, somehow similar in concept to Leiji Matsumoto
Leiji Matsumoto
is a well-known creator of several anime and manga series. His wife is also known as a manga artist.-Space opera:Matsumoto is famous for his space operas such as Space Battleship Yamato...
's Captain Harlock
Captain Harlock
is a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
.
In 1992, Tezuka's protege Osamu Dezaki
Osamu Dezaki
, also known as , , or , was a Japanese director of anime born on November 18, 1943, in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. His older brother, Satoshi Dezaki, is also an anime director....
did the direction for a theatrical movie and an OVA series. Ten OVAs were made (six of which, along with the movie, were originally only available in dub-only VHS form in North America, but all 10 OVAs are now available on bilingual Region 1 DVD).
There is also a four episode TV special from 2003 called Black Jack: The 4 Miracles of Life. Princess Sapphire was in episode 3 of this.
A new TV series was released in fall of 2004 in Japan, and a new film entitled Black Jack: The Two Doctors of Darkness was released in December 2005. While the television series is an adaptation of Tezuka's original manga, the film's storyline is wholly original. The film describes Black Jack's attempts to prevent a group known as the Ghost of Icarus from starting a widespread, biological war which could wipe out humanity, while working alongside the infamous Dr. Kiriko.
In late April 2006, a seventeen-episodes series titled Black Jack 21 premiered. Adapted from standalone manga chapters, Black Jack 21 features an all-new overarching storyline.
Though the 2004 series, nor the Black Jack 21 series, has not yet been licensed in the U.S., there are several fansubs posted on websites such as "Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American website and international online community focused on streaming East Asian media including anime, manga, drama, music, electronic entertainment, and auto racing content...
" and many episodes have been uploaded on "YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
" by fans of the anime.
External links
Official Black Jack TV Site- Official Black Jack Page at publisher Vertical, Inc.
- "Translated Manga Pick of the Month" -(J-pop.com)