Best Black Jack Animation

[EnRiN]

It was difficult to choose between the movie and the OVA series. I think I prefer the OAV because there are different stories. They are dark and mysterious and I love the atmosphere.
I really enjoy the TV series too but I haven't seen all the episodes yet. But I think the series is too "disneyian"and not as deep as the manga. Besides the ending is sometimes different, so I am led to think the series is rather meant for children. I confess I enjoy watching it, it's truly pleasant but I definitely prefer the movie and the OVA series.
I can't say anything about BJ 21 since I haven't watched it yet. I've just seen trailers it looks a litlte darker / more serious than the TV series.

[Karmi-Sempai]

Most definitely! This has to be it! Black Jack 21 stuck to the manga's contents, therefore making it closer what what Tezuka wanted to communicate to his audience. Having happy-endings-as-much-as-possible like in Black Jack TV isn't doing it all good.

[pinoko_love~senseii]

I think the best is Black Jack Tv
Umm....actually...Black Jack movie and Black Jack Tv has a same animation...but I think Black Jack Tv better...
Black Jack OVA ??? Not so good....
Black Jack 21 ??? Too detail

[Princess Sapphire]

The only Black Jack animation I've ever seen is the 1990's movie. So naturally I voted for it.

I enjoyed the story though I haven't seen it for a long time. I love little Pinoco.

[F-Man]

I had watched the 90's movie first as well and I must say I had not been that impressed at first. Eventually I got to watching the OVAs and I was simply floored. I was not prepared for this high level of quality. Amrith deserves a trophy for his first post in the thread alone, but let me just mention this other thing: the editing. This was one of the first Osamu Dezaki works I saw, and my breath was constantly taken away by the the use of quick jumps through time, camera moving to objects that are metaphors for what is being said in the dialogue, split-screens, screen turning into animated panels... Every new episode introduced a new element that simply amazed me on a pure technical film level. After this series, I gained a much higher level of appreciation for the movie as well, but it remains one of the weaker "episodes" in the 90's series.

I consider myself a defender of the TV series. Many episodes were absolutely moving. The sheer amount of well-thought out ideas is amazing (all of this is thanks to Tezuka's original stories). But they simply don't and cannot compare to the OVAs. I like them because I can appreciate the importance of a good story. Like you enjoy a campfire story with no visuals, only dialogue. But that's just it, as film there is nothing special to these series. From a visual standpoint, I can only tout the character designs, which are beautiful because they are close to Tezuka's style.

[Princess Sapphire]

It just dawned on me that even though I had already cast my vote a long time ago I had never posted a comment before now. Fancy that.

Anyway I'd love to see the TV series sometime and the OVAs. If I thought the movie was so brilliant I'd certainly be thrilled with more Black Jack I bet.

[madamluna]

F-Man's right, the OVAs are really impressive. I caught them on TV once when I was a kid and was turned off because of the realistic, kind of gritty character designs, but after watching them properly a few months ago, I've had a real appreciation for them. The use of color and editing and texture in those episodes are absolutely incredible. Characterization-wise they might be a little spotty, but I think overall they're a pretty good translation of Tezuka's characters. Certainly they're gorgeously illustrated.

I gotta put in a good word for the writing too. The Anorexia ep was really well done. I was originally worried about how they were going to portray it, but I was pleased. The patient in that had a great support network and it was clear that everyone really wanted her to get better, instead of her being manipulated and yanked around by the men around her.

[Kirben]

I recently watched through Black Jack (TV), followed by Black Jack 21, and I thoroughly enjoyed both series. The characters and stories were fantastic, and I usually don't like medical dramas. The extra mystery and on-going story of Black Jack 21, makes it my favorite so far. I hope these series get licensed one day, as they could have wide appeal, if given a good English dub.

I was disappointed by the Black Jack OVAs, the stories were decent, but I was turned off by the frequent unneeded nudity, and the women constantly falling for Black Jack.

I have not seen the Black Jack movie.

[Bigdog]

I'm saying the film because that's my first exposure to Tezuka and his mature side after 2003's Astro turned me off. It's like they've said, there's something for everyone.

I don't believe animation will serve the dark doctor well. From what I've heard of House and its similarities , I believe a decent live action TV drama done with Masi Oka as Black Jack would be awesome. He might have to get something done with the hair and makeup prosthetics could do his face but that's something I'd love to see on NBC or on the CW.

I haven't seen the OVAs other than the film , but I have seen bits of the anime and it's not my forte. Probably has to do with the censorship of the themes of the stories, which unnerve me since all my other anime faves haven't been scavenged like that from manga form save for Naruto. Going to check if they sell the OVA series on DVD.

[bobojungle]

I voted for the Black Jack OVAs because they’re really engaging and Black Jack is characterized well. In the OVAs, Black Jack is hard working and although he seems intimidating, he has a good heart. You want to see him succeed. Also the patients are characterized well enough so you want to see them survive.

The direction itself is lovely; Osamu Dezaki’s style benefits the Black Jack OVAs. The atmosphere and the camera angles suit the tone that the OVAs are trying to convey. The solid direction and pacing really make the OVAs work and it wouldn’t be as engaging if these things weren’t done as effectively. However, at the same time I do see why some can be turned off by the style to because Dezaki tends to use freeze frames a lot and it can seem a bit cheesy sometimes.

The T.V. series is okay but it does have its flaws. Unlike the OVAs, it tries to follow the manga, but it feels a bit watered down. However, it’s expected because the anime is aimed at a younger audience. Also the anime is poorly animated. I’m aware that T.V. shows have a much lower budget then movies do, but the animation is still cheap for TV standards. The main flaw here is that it doesn’t really feel like Black Jack is the main character in this adaption. It feels like it focuses more on the side characters than Black Jack himself. Black Jack isn’t as interesting as he could have been and sometimes he feels like a plot device more than an actual character.

Not everything is bad though, some patients are likable and Black Jack does get more focus in the later episodes. Overall the series does pick up later since the situations become more engaging (like the one with the carpenter). It doesn’t reach Black OVAs levels but they’re enjoyable in their own right.

I haven’t watched the Black Jack movies or Black Jack 21, so I don’t have an opinion on those.

[Sevi]

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it, that I haven't commented on this topic until now.

Well, there are a lot of Black Jack animations available these days, but my favorite Black Jack animation are still the OVAs. I got into the fandom because of those (original) 10 episodes, since they are just drop-dead gorgeous. Black Jack's characterisation is nearly perfect (but his appearance is 100% perfect), the moments were he interacts with Pinoco are well chosen & entertaining, the animation itself as well as the visual effects are just smooth & beautiful, the supporting characters are likeable and the stories are interesting & thrilling. The only thing, which you might could criticize about the OVAs, are all those annoying females, who just want to get into Black Jack's pants (but most of them don't survive the episode anyways so it's okay) and that you don't get to know anything about his past (like why he actually has the facial scar and so on). I'm also really keen on Black Jack - The Movie (1996), since it contains the same style & quality as the OVAs. It might be not very impressive at first, if you haven't already watched the OVAs, but it's still one of the better Black Jack animations.

I find it kind of difficult to add the new Black Jack OVAs (Black Jack Final, OVA 11 & 12) to the other OVAs. Sure, I always love it to see new Black Jack animations, otherwise I wouldn't have brought the DVD from Japan, but it feels kind of different, if you compare them to the original OVAs. They do have a completely different feel to it, since they used modern CGI in the new OVAs. At the beginning of OVA 12, the modern CGI was kind of horrible (even when the OVA is much better then OVA 11 since it is Osamu Dezaki's final chapter), that I actually went to check, if I didn't accidentally started to watch the "Black Jack and the two Doctors of Darkness" movie. Another point which is (especially for me as one of the hardcore fangirls) rather annoying, is the lack of consistency, again mostly in OVA 11. Black Jack's face just looks kind of weird in some of the shots and they couldn't really decided, if they should rather stick to a hard, flat cell-shade or went nuts with the airbrush tool on his face. In the original OVAs, his face always looks appealing, not matter from which angle and even in complex shots.

Please, don't get me wrong. The new OVAs are still great but I wouldn't directly compare them to the old OVAs. I think, it kind of would have been better, to sell them as some sort of new Black Jack animation, rather then label them with the huge OVA label. Even if they tried it quite hard, to be at least equal (or might even superior), they just can't entirely live up to the huge legacy of the original OVAs.

After the OVAs, there's kind of a pendant between the 4 Miracle of Life Special (2003) & the Black Jack ONAs (2001). The ONAs are besides 'The Boy Who came from the Sky' (143. 空からきた子ども) as close as a Black Jack animation could possibly get to the manga. The stories are 100% adapted from the manga, so you don't get to see any kind of silly or unnecessary plot alterings, not to mention some palliated endings. Sure, the animation isn't that great since all those episodes have been made for streaming over the internet, but I can overlook the kind of cheap animation of those in favor of a good story. The four episodes of the 4 Miracle of Life Special are great and do have a better animation then the ONAs. I kind of wish, that they would have continued with the quality of those four episodes in the 2004 Black Jack TV series.

Next on my very long list is the Black Jack 21 series (2006), I guess. The main difference between the 2004 TV series and the Black Jack 21 series is, that you do get a gripping plot over 17 episodes, which makes you want to know what happens in the next episode. Compared to some other anime shows, the plot is rather thick and doesn't contains much filler episodes. I mean, I really love the series and have to admit, as I watched it for the first time, that I had to watch all 17 episodes in a row, or otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get some sleep at all. The only thing which kind of annoys me in Black Jack 21 is, that he's wearing that silly hat all the time. Tezuka Pro, why did you have to do this?! I mean, Black Jack has such a pretty haircut (a panda haircut), so there's no need to hide it at all. Besides, he tries to hide himself and travel around the globe unnoticed, but that stupid hat is (proverbially) just yelling 'HERE I AM'. It gets even more ridiculous, when he jumps off a train, where he had to leave all his luggage and that stupid hat behind, comes into a town, where he finds a bar to stay for the night, still with no luggage at all, but suddenly (magically) wears that stupid hat... AGAIN.

I still do feel incredibly bad for him, every time I watch the Black Jack 21 series because of the way he gets treated by everyone (I know, that he's used to it but it still pains me). I'm just glad, that he's way too stubborn to die. If I would get a buck every time I start to hum "" while he gets beaten up, shoot or nearly dies in this series, I would be rich.



Well, I have to admit that I do like some of the Black Jack TV (2004) series episodes, mainly those episodes which haven't been altered to death in order to be somewhat child-friendly. Black Jack just isn't a happy or extremely friendly character, he's complicated, shady and mysterious. They did destroy his (brilliant) characterisation in the anime and I think, that this is a point, were we don't need to argue about it. It even gets worse, if you know the original manga chapters. People who haven't read the manga might be okay with this series, since they don't know the original stories but for me, some of the episodes are just rather depressing. I'm not saying, that the entire anime is bad, because it still does have its strong and good episodes (especially after the first 25-30 episodes).

I can understand, that you need to fill 25 minutes, and that you just simply can't fill them entirely with a 20 page manga chapter. For example, the manga doesn't even have that much Pinoco in it as the anime has, and I really adore every single Black Jack/Pinoco moment in the manga, since the are both brilliant when they have some sort of argument or other daily problems. I can't say the same about the anime. There's just too much Pinoco in the anime, which wouldn't even be that bad, if it wasn't mostly random or kind of pointless scenes. Sometimes, I even wonder why the named that anime 'Black Jack' after all, since I do get the feeling, that it is more a show about the secondary characters and some random guys rather then about Black Jack and his marvelous skills. "Insert title here feat. Black Jack" or "Pinoco And Her Grumpy Doctor" would have been a much better names for the anime.

What also makes me kind of unhappy about the anime is the rather cheap animation. As some of you might know, Black Jack also makes a cameo appearance in 'Ray the Animation' and they really have been drawing his house from the outside, which looks sooo neat. So, why can't we have something similar to this in the Black Jack anime? I don't understand it, why they had to use all those really cheap CGI animations, which stick out entirely from the rest of the anime? Okay, the animation of the outside of his house might be still debatable but all those CGI cars really look awful.

Well, I also watched the "Black Jack and the two Doctors of Darkness" movie, which was okay... well until they made Black Jack kill that bad guy at the end of the movie, because that is so totally OOC.

Oh yeah, I also watched "Black Jack: Capital Transfer to Heian" (based on manga chapter 089. Granny/おばあちゃん), which is only a bit less then 11 minutes long but actually pretty good, concerning the quality of the animation, characterisation and adaptation.