Apr 26 2010 12:51 AM (user posted image)
Every so often I've heard an anime called
Black Jack mentioned. I finally gave in to my curiosity and watched an episode.
I have no idea why but I actually like
Black Jack. It has a strange, retro 1980s anime style and Pinoko is a very odd little character but, for some reason, I keep watching and, surprisingly, I have grown quite fond of it. I've now seen 16 episodes and I think that I will probably, eventually, see all 61.
It's an anime that's on my short list of relaxing animes. All the episodes that I've seen so far are self-contained so it's perfect for a quick anime fix at the end of an overly busy day. Perhaps
Black Jack appeals to me because it is so very different from any other recent(ish) animes. The style of animation makes it hard to believe that the original run was from 2004 to 2006. The manga itself was first published in the 1970s and they stayed fairly true to the original style; however, thankfully, it is worlds away from the production style of that era.
The stories are fairly straight forward and almost always involve Dr Black Jack performing some kind of miraculous operation (and charging an outrageous fee). Although the author of the manga, Osamu Tezuka (often called the father of manga), was in fact trained as a doctor, there is a large helping of fantasy with medical facts being tossed out the window if they don't suit the story. Dr Black Jack somewhat frequently performs medically impossible feats!
Although he demands outrageous sums of money, (he often informs Pinoko that he is not a philantropist) Black Jack performs many good deeds which are rarely acknowledged. Ultimately, he does not charge more than can be afforded (if, perhaps, with some difficulty) and sometimes even takes payment in kind. Overall, he has, in his own unique way, quite a holistic approach to medicine healing more than just the body of his patients.
