Black Jack (Excluded Chapters)

Out of the 243 total chapters of the Black Jack manga, there are 22 chapters that have, at one time or another, been excluded from collected editions. While the majority of the excluded chapters have been held back because they were controversial or dealt with sensitive political situations, some of them have been excluded simply because Tezuka wasn’t happy with the end result.

Illegal Black Jack vol. 26

Although most of the excluded chapters have eventually made it back into print in at least one Japanese edition, there are five chapters that have almost never been reprinted since they originally appeared in Weekly Shonen Champion. Three of these chapters are considered “sealed”, and the other two considered “semi-sealed”.

Obviously, despite Tezuka’s wishes, these sealed and semi-sealed chapters are in high demand for anyone wanting to have a “complete” Black Jack (1973-83) collection.  In one particular case the sealed and semi-sealed chapters, as well as three other excluded chapters, were reprinted illegally by a Japanese Tezuka fan in a pirated volume known as “Black Jack 26”.  Printed with a professional-seeming cover, it was made to match the original 25-volume Shōnen Champion edition.  The man who made the edition copied the chapters from his own personal collection of the original serialized issues, and offered the illegal volume for ¥100,000 per copy (roughly $1,000).  He sold two copies before he was caught by the police and fined ¥300,000 by the Tokyo court in March 2003.

Sealed and Semi-Sealed Chapters

Black Jack 028: Finger (Manga)

Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 028 ‘Finger’ (指), was originally published on June 24, 1974 in Weekly Shonen Champion. Please note: this chapter is sealed.

Black Jack 041: Human Vegetable (Manga)

Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 041 ‘Vegetable’ (植物人間), was originally published on September 23, 1974 in Weekly Shonen Champion. Please note: this chapter is sealed.

Black Jack 058: Seat of Pleasure (Manga)

Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 058 ‘Seat of Pleasure’ (快楽の座), was originally published on January 20, 1975 in Weekly Shonen Champion. Please note: this chapter is sealed.

Black Jack 171: The Wall (Manga)

Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 171 ‘The Wall’ (壁), was originally published on May 9, 1977 in Weekly Shonen Champion. Please note: this chapter is sealed.

Black Jack 209: Falling Object (Manga)

Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 209 ‘Falling Object’ (落下物), was originally published on April 3, 1978 in Weekly Shonen Champion. Please note: this chapter is sealed.

Excluded Chapters

While several stories have been excluded from collected editions, they have not (aside from the sealed chapters) all been excluded from all editions at any given time. See below for a list of excluded chapters by edition: