Black Jack

Created by Osamu Tezuka, the legendary cartoonist (or should I say artist) who made Japans comics/animations as it is today, the story revolves around an unlicensed master of surgery who gets unwillingly involved in a superhuman project, who's testsubjects die an agonising death one by one. Alot of philosophical talk about medical ethics and intense medical operations. Oh yeah, and some nicely made animation.

The plot is well made, but at one point the whole plot for a moment turns from believable to just plain silly. I mean, I didn't know there was a whole organisation of guerilla surgeons with guns who are fighting for some cheesy reason! I'll say it again: CHEESE! However, it doesn't essentially ruin the movie, but it does linger around there for the rest of the movie, which is bad. It doesn't make this film unwatchable tho'. (Well, unless you don't like gore - on the table and out of it.)

All-in-all: Good movie, pity about the cheesy surprise.

Highly recommend anyone who loves anime to watch this. Amazing animation, soundtrack, and amazing plot.

I didn't expect to see this as a German title, as I just saw the English version on DVD here in New Zealand. It hadn't occurred to me that the Germans would have it dubbed before the Americans but I guess you learn something new every day.

I think it's a great OAV. It however has an unexplained background that betrays its origins in the manga series. Well worth having a look so long as you are not put off by blood or surgery.

Which brings to me the question of why the director (Osamu Dezaki) has been so much praised over the years as a genius if this and the preceeding OVAs (better than this movie but neither masterpieces) are, together with the second half of the Versailles No Bara series (a bit worse than the first IMHO), an indication of his writing abilities. He might have been a key animator of the timeless masterpiece Kanashimi No Belladonna, but a key animator is not a writer. That said, it was really nice to hear Mai Yamane singing the intro and outro and the seiyuu performances were excellent, especially the one from the woman behind the main antagonist.

If you love anime (like me), chances are you will like this film. If you hate anime (like lots of North Americans), chances are you will dislike this film. Come to think of it, that may be all the review that's required, but I'll keep going anyway.

This film is an exemplary example of one of the things I love about anime: the fact that the scripts are not obsessed with backstory. This film is replete with fascinating points about the characters that are never explained; the hero has a pretty horrible scar/skin graft on his face; he lives with a little girl who may or may not be his daughter, adopted or otherwise; the MSJ (Medical Soldiers for Justice) is a neat concept which is simply taken as part of the story, without any exposition. The list goes on and on.

It's an irritating thing that lots of Western viewers seem so unwilling to use their imaginations or think for themselves, but instead insist on being led by the hand through stories. Lots of anime films are based on huge mangas, however, so Japanese filmmakers have refined techniques of paring the story down only to what's absolutely essential to move the films forward. The resultant films almost always work excellently.

Black Jack is typical anime -- short and concise, unrelentingly urban, occasionally gory and often cynical. It seems to have more heart than some of its brethren at times, what with the daughter subplot and the (rather heavy-handed) environmental moral.

Oh, and for a priceless moment, watch for when Pinoko does the jigsaw puzzle. It's a big picture of Astro-Boy, Osamu Tezuka's most famous creation!