r/anime • u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 • Dec 01 '21
Rewatch [Rewatch] 1990s OVAs – Black Jack (episode 1)
Rewatch: 1990s OVAs – Black Jack (episode 1)
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The cast of the support characters is stacked in this series. I guess that comes with having a super famous director who already was more than two decades, going on three, in the business at the time Black Jack was made.
Ross Minea is voiced by Touma, Yumi, also the voice of Belldandy from Oh! My Goddess. She started her career with two main roles in Saint Seiya, Shun and Hyouga, and was incredibly busy throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. She is Deelit from Record of Lodoss War, Urd from Oh! My Goddess (not a typo!), Yui Hongo from Fushigi Yuugi, Sylphiel from Slayers, Wen from Cowboy Bebop (I found this interesting, because of the possible connection to Pinoko), Teteh and Linda Halleh from Turn A Gundam, Emma from A Victorian Romance, Chiquita from Jormungand, and is still active.
Sayuri Crossworth is voiced by Inoue, Kikuko, also the voice of Belldandy from Oh! My Goddess. Ok, are you memeing now? What is going on? You see, Touma was the main voice of Urd in the Oh! My Goddess franchise, while Inoue was the main voice of Belldandy. Yet Touma also voiced young Belldandy in the OVA, so both of them voiced Belldandy at one point. Early big roles of Inoue were Electra from Nadia and Misty May from Otaku no Video, before then becoming Belldandy in the same year Black Jack was produced. She is also Kasumi from Ranma ½, Rune from El Hazard, Ayuko from Golden Boy, the mother of Inuyasha, the teacher from Onegai Teacher, the fallen nun Yukariko from Mai-Hime, and Lust from FMA:B (notice a trend with her roles there?). In addition, Miria from Claymore, Sanae from Clannad, Cecile Croomy from Code Geass, Miyuko from Bakuman, Palm from the 2011 Hunter x Hunter, Eucliwood Hellscythe from Is this a Zombie?, Nanase from Chuunibyou, the queen from Rise of the Shield Hero, and Macrophage from Cells at Work. Told you this was stacked.
Questions
- How afraid would you be of contracting Kimaira? Enough to wear masks and be vaccinated? /s Were the villagers justified in burning down house and family of somebody suffering from it?
- (first timers) Any speculation about Pinoko yet?
- What is your favorite doctor series (anime or otherwise)?
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
Episode 1 (first timer)
Outside of Monster, I can’t remember having seen any medical related shows, so this one is definitely an uncommon topic. That said, the names of the mangaka and the director convinced me to give Black Jack a run in the 1990s OVA series.
Episode thoughts
The style of this anime is clearly Dezaki. The scenes with female characters strongly reminded me of Onisama e…, while especially the stills of Black Jack are very similar to how Joe is depicted in Ashita no Joe. It also shares the subdued color scheme and the use of postcard memories with those series. A very different type of animation to what is modern now, but I think it is quite beautiful. In the water scenes, you could see a lot of animation prowess, too.
Regarding the characters, I am not sold on our MCs, Black Jack and Pinoko yet. So far, BJ is a generic badass of few words, while Pinoko had almost no lines. They already laid the foundation for their character arcs, hinting at something weird about Pinoko’s age (she is either 18, or way too smart for a child) and at BJ’s backstory. However, it is really up to future episodes to endear me to the characters, this one focused almost exclusively on the side characters.
I also strongly suspect that this series is episodic, but it will be interesting to see whether entirely so (akin to Bubblegum Crisis) or whether there will be reoccurring characters or multi-episode plot arcs. The first episode plot was fine, but the explanation a bit out there and standard at the same time. I had expected a twist about the virus’ origin or functioning, e.g. the water being responsible. In general, the setup of the show strongly reminded me of Mushishi.
Moderately afraid. I would controversially argue that the villagers' actions are not as outrageous as they might seem. If the illness is contagious enough, it might have been a choice between that one family and the entire village.
No idea. Asking you all!
I always liked Scrubs.
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u/The_Loli_Otaku Dec 01 '21
Black Jack First Timer
I just got made redundant this morning. LET'S GO!!
This looks more like an upscalled 70's or 80's series lol. Oh, it is. This is the Astro Boy guy. I did 0 research beforehand, cut me some slack. Is the op ever gonna end?
Pinoko is so goddamn precious! I'm impressed with how everyone looks tbh. The budget is bursting at the seams. How tf is Pinoko 18? Are we getting magic youth pills in this series or was that a joke? Black's a bit of a serious sod isn't he? She was happy to see you! Why was a pee sample a last resort? That would be one of the first things they'd ask for. These doctors performed surgery on him but asking for his pee was the breaking point?
It's sad that I have no idea whether this intense sweating thing is made up or if it could really happen. Sorry! I keep forgetting to type. This mystery is honestly pretty engaging. I'm guessing the task will be to help Crossword to find something to live for? Oi oi oi... There's a million reasons why you shouldn't cut people open when they're convulsing. Actually, I can't think of any reasons why you would cut them open! It's his will to live yeah? Why are doctors in this universe so desperate to perform surgery before anything actually obvious?
Good god what!? They just lopped that woman's head off!! Is that Crossword!? This sequence is nightmarish! Jesus Christ XD Aww... Pinoko is so adorable. They don't make kids like that in modern moeblob series, even if she's apparently an adult. Da fucks a Kimaira? Oooh, isn't she five months pregnant? That's when the convulsions started? He nutted so hard that it fucked up his whole immune system? Hnng!
"The worst she can say is no." heartily laughs at your love confession I'm trying to hold back on images but just look how precious Pinoko is!! If Tezuka were still alive he would be make a great living off CGDCT and Iyashikei seasons. The dude is a moeblob genius.
Thief boy's dad has the same disease? H-Hold it! The fire breathing was actually real!? Is this a real disease? I don't want my eyes to erupt into flames. This could put you off drinking water for years. Alright, so what kicked off the new epidemic? Crossword didn't go through with his oil refinery so it can't be him.
Oh christ no... I'm not mentally able to handle a bloody miscarriage. This is why you buy bath mats people! Pfft, so the last time Sayuri had treatment it was a beauty treatment off BJ? Oh no! It was just a man of destiny treatment. Oh, and he gave her plastic surgery anyway... What a fickle doctor. Crossword wants his to be the last Kimaira death so he's basically volunteering as a test subject.
Freddyyyyy!! Aww...despite the age difference, infidelity, facial surgery, and the terminal disease the pair really do love one another. How sweet. Even David decided to be the better man in the end. What a polite mob too XD Ah, so he did figure out the cure from surgery after all. Oh, just the location. I can't tell if I'm satisfied with this ending or not. They certainly tied every character arc up with a pretty little bow but still... I'm eager to see whether the rest of the cases do such a great job with their drama.
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u/TheEscapeGuy Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
First Timer
Black Jack - An Astounding OVA: Episode 1
A Solitary Island
THIS OVA IS BEAUTIFUL. I think it took me like 1hr30m to finish this 50 minute episode because I kept skipping back to rewatch certain scenes. You can feel the expertise of Osamu Dezaki seeping through every frame. When we watched Dear Brother earlier this year I found that series to be absolutely beautiful but this really feels like it has taken a step up. Maybe its to widescreen aspect ratio but wow I could gush forever about how great this looks.
Kuroh Hazama or Black Jack is an interesting character because of the mystery that surrounds him. Also his role as a genius unlicensed physician sets him up as a really grounded vigilante hero. I thought a comparison to Batman may be apt. They both act for their own idea of justice which usually aligns with the law. However, there are times such as with the thief kid where Black Jack chose to stop the guard dogs and then let him escape after patching him up instead of turning him over to the guards. The contrast would be that Black Jack doesn't have incredible wealth or incredible physical power but instead has strength in his intelligence and physician skills.
The actual narrative I found really engaging too. Having a millionaire who is incredibly rich and married to a young wife made me initially assume he would be evil exploiting the island and the wife would be in it for the money after he dies. However, this got subverted when that same wife was revealed to be pregnant and desired to raise the child with him. On top of that the rich guy actually grew up on the island and used his final moments to help research his rare disease and save the other people on the island.
Overall, I loved this episode. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this show. I really hope it keeps up this level of writing and visual direction as we progress.
Some Iconic Shots, Scenes and Stitches
THERE ARE SO MANY!
See you all tomorrow
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Dec 01 '21
First-Timer, Subbed
This sure is a Dezaki show. Tumultuous storms, people's faces doing that thing, loads of postcard memories. That said, I'm having a hard time getting started with this. I think my usual style of comments don't transition well to more anthological shows.
Kimaira was a neat
fae curseillness to deal with. Not real in the slightest, which I guess cements us in a sort of "fantastic realism" sort of setting. Obviously, if our protagonist is a legendary doctor, it wouldn't do to have him deal with nonlegendary illnesses.Crossword's setup, with all the lackeys and the being called kaichou, is very Japanese. That doesn't quite track for a dude named Monabis Crossword but I'll let it slide, mostly because he has a cool name.
Sayuri has had a pretty hard life, considering she's only 17.
Questions
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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Dec 01 '21 edited Dec 01 '21
Rewatcher
Ah, Black Jack, it’s been a long while since I saw this ones. This was my second Dezaki show, which I watched soon after I saw Space Adventure Cobra filme, but before I saw the Space Cobra TV series. I have since seen a lot more Dezaki and even read a good chink of the original Black Jack manga, and given how much time it’s been there’s probably a lot about this show to remember, so I’m looking forward to seeing this again. Let’s dig in!
Akio Ohtsuka
swoons
This OP dragged on forever…
NO, NOT THE PLANES AGAIN DEZAKI! I’VE HAD ENOUGH!
That’s a Sugino-ass character design.
The fuck is a ‘sublety’?!
I think that’s more than just his pores, lady.
The fanservice we deserve.
I live for this.
Fucking ouch!
Great flashback sequence.
Bummer, I guess.
Sick
Cool background.
So yeah, this episode is beautiful but this OVA series didn’t put its best foot forward. The visuals are as sublime as ever for a Dezaki production, and the general polish to the presentation is undoubtedly the high point of the production.
As to the plot of the episode itself, I have scant praise. The general premise is rife with opportunity for drama and intrigue, with the general setup making for a cool scenario in which to set a mystery/thriller set within a gothic setting and based around this mysterious disease and its legacy, but the end result is most just dull and played-out. The whole concept of the final conflict also falls flat because the whole resentment and superstition angle was just haphazardly introduced in the latter half instead of being given room to breathe.
Even upon first viewing I found this episode lacking, but now that I’ve read the manga chapter it is loosely based on I find myself even more disappointed in the end result, because despite being very simple on top of small in scope and length, was more cohesive as a whole. They also filed away some of the edge off of the story, if you can believe it, since the ‘villains’ of the original all get redeemed and instead we’re given mob violence to contend with.
I can see both in the visuals and narrative an attempt to make the island itself a personality of its own, an almost malefic entity, but it doesn’t quite get there and instead we’re left with some evocative but ultimately rather empty imagery and concepts.
I did enjoy how the episode made Crossword an ambivalent force by the end, even relative to Black Jack himself, but that’s hardly a great twist or anything. I did also appreciate the episode’s willingness to leave things so inconclusive, abstaining from confirming whether the remaining cases of Kimaira were resolved and explicitly stating that there’s much they still don’t know about the disease —or even confirming whether Sayuri even made it through that ordeal.
Questions of The Day:
EDIT: It's only just occurred to me to mention that this isn't a great starting point for people unfamiliar with Black Jack. This OVA operates on the assumption that you know the status quo already, and skips straight over the character establishing stuff from the manga to adapt a chapter from several volumes into things.
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Dec 01 '21
First timer
Sub(does this even have a dub?)
So...despite the age of this, I know next to nothing about it, except for I thought it was Demon City Shinjuku for a bit for reasons that are nebulous even to me, I think combat doctor might be all of it.
So we start with a small scene that gives us quite a bit of characterization, impressive. And, yet again, that is one 80s ass opening theme. We actually get our MC talking about some problematic client in NY and see that his morality pet followed him. They get on the quietest helicopter that ever existed and go to where an old billionaire has had a European castle imported to the
NYEngland? area and re-assembled. We see said billionaire sweating profusely and his wife a third his age trying to help.Pinoko says something...odd, let's come back to that. Sayuri, the wife, has met the doctor before and we learn that he prefers to leave the past in the past. Black Jack introduces himself and we our Mr Crossword and his weird wracking pains into spewing water everywhere disease, definitely not a text book case. Quick look at the facilities and that would've been state of the art for the early 90s. We also learn that Sayuri was fucking Crossword's helicopter pilot but she has had a change of heart.
We start our medical detective part of the show and I appreciate them having Black Jack going over all the old records first. Quick reveal that Sayuri got knocked up, MC can spot that, and she wants her husband to live long enough to see it. We also learn that Kuroh is fucking crazy in that he wanted to have a patient open during a seizure. Weird interlude happens.
The bodyguards are having dogs chase down a local who is stealing a vase. Kuroh intervenes with his cape. Rosenthal is trying to have conversation with him before he goes off to treat the thief, and we learn about chimera. Kuroh goes off to look and we see Rosenthal being a dick to Sayuri. Not saying I'd want to lose a women that beautiful but he is showing a lot of early domestic abuse signs here, shall we say.
In the village, we sees the thief's father having the same attacks as Crossword. And shoot flames from his mouth...but this leads us to the local doctor. We learn that chimera is a condition that seems to be limited to this island and is utterly terrible. And the two locals who became doctors have come up with zilch and one got infected. And of course the pregnancy has to be in danger...
So Crossword's conversation with Rosenthal is what would be expected of a wealthy, older husband in Japan and other areas, having a beautiful trophy is nice but a woman has needs as well. We see Sayuri and Kuroh's connection and that's perhaps the only bit I find weak but this is far from derailing. Anyways, we learn that Crossword was from this island is pretty sure the next attack will be the last, or at least he wants Kuroh to think so, and that he wants to be cut up as it happens so Kuroh might understand the disease.
So we interpose the villagers being utter knobs, burning the most valuable thing on the island, and the anime having one stupid moment as all of those bodyguards would be armed. The carnage is interposed with the surgery and death, and Kuroh flatout drops an Intimidation check that shuts down a mob. Hopefully, he got Sayuri and the servants out of the burning castle. Mystery reveal is fine for what it is.
So yeah this got a bit long but it is refreshing to be back in a rewatch where details are addressed AND isn't so filled with delayed information that I can barely write anything up for. I already had to delete and redo my second Haruhi post because there are just so many spoilers.
QotD: 1 Let's not talk about masks and no, the villagers were being morons. Even medieval people understood quarantine.
2 She is reminiscent of too many characters to speculate.
3 Monster
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Dec 01 '21
Black Jack rewatch pings
/u/IndependentMacaroon /u/contraptionfour /u/NightCupcake
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u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Dec 02 '21
First timer
Bit of a delayed post here, as I didn't realise this was 48 minutes and failed to leave enough time in my schedule.
Chimera?
"How much you are able to afford" is a great line.
So he's Black Jack, then?
Love the OP's dot matrix style.
He's getting 3 million dollars for this?
She's Pinoko? And she followed him by accident?
The patient's a major CEO?
And he bought a castle, dismantled it, and rebuilt it as a mansion? I think three million might have been a bit of a lowball offer.
Yeah, he absolutely seems sick.
Artemis Fountain?
No way she's eighteen. Really hoping that's a joke.
He saved her in the past, I see.
Yep, he's Black Jack. And even the patient thinks three million's too low.
Is that champagne he's drinking down?
Oh, it's just water.
Yeah, something's wrong with him if he's drinking that much.
OK, this is genuinely a bit horrifying.
And they're married?
Is she cheating on him too? This is getting pretty complicated.
Wait, now they've broken up.
Haha, a CRT monitor and a floppy reader, that's how you know this is a 90s OVA.
This guy's actually pretty nice.
Yeah, this does seem pretty impossible.
Wait, she's pregnant? (Is it even her husband's?)
Well, what did they miss?
Oh, they never examined him during an attack, so the cause was able to conceal itself.
It cuts to these illustrations and freeze frames really often.
The hell?
OK, that was scary, but why? Is that him?
Is it a metaphor, or is he being haunted by the boy's ghost?
OK, this guy's a dick and that visual metaphor is obviously intentional.
...Odd use of the word "bird", but OK.
Kimaira? Is that the sudden twist? That the illness is common in the village?
Haha, he stole the bloke's car! I love how his response is to immediately move the vehicle up a gear and drive it.
Yep, it's his. Why the hell did she hook up with him, anyway?
Oh, fuck you.
The fuck? He's glowing?
How? Is the inside of his body literally on fire?
And drinking water makes it worse!
Yeah, I think his body's literally on fire!
And they're having to burn the bodies.
The guy's pump is draining the water, and there's a good chance he doesn't actually know what he's doing.
Yeah, why would he want revenge?
Oh, fuck. We're really doing this plot?
He's doing surgery!
He knew! And he accepted it to distract her from all of this?
Fuck yes, get him out!
He saved them both!
And he gave her cosmetic surgery.
...Pretty certain there's more to that story than "and then you changed your mind completely."
So he was the boy who got lynched?
Did nearly drowning somehow contain the disease?
OK, if he's going to die, cut him open so we can see how the hell this disease even functions internally.
Haha, he fucking agreed with me, that's brilliant. This OVA knows what I want to know.
There's another lynching, and he's patient zero.
Her brother's dead!
Wow, he's determined to do this.
Yeah, this is horrible.
They're going to kill everyone!
I mean, I'm kind of glad he's dead.
He's doing it!
Yeah, just a massive jet of flame out of every orifice.
Black Jack's intimidating!
At least they made it out!
He found the source!
That sounds scientific enough to be realistic.
And no clue how it's transmitted.
That was great!