001: Is there a Doctor? (Manga)
Reckless driving
Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 001 ‘Is There a Doctor?’ (医者はどこだ!), sometimes also referred to as ‘Where is the Doctor?’, was originally published on November 11, 1973 in Weekly Shonen Champion.
What it’s about?
Mr. Nikula arrives shortly thereafter, horrified to see the extent of his comatose son’s injuries. He offers to pay the attending surgeon enough money to rebuild the entire hospital if his son can be saved, but if Akudo should die he promises to kill the doctor as well. Explaining the extent of Akudo‘s injuries, the attending surgeon objects that a patient in such critical condition would be lucky to last three days. Mr. Nikula, however, refuses to accept that his son cannot be saved. He launches a world-wide search for a doctor who can guarantee that he or she can save Akudo‘s life.
Black Jack takes the case
Many doctors refuse. Others are willing to make the attempt, but will not give Mr. Nikula the guarantees he requires. Finally, Mr. Nikula‘s staff locate a mysterious doctor in Japan, known only as Black Jack. Although his true name is a mystery, and Mr. Nikula finds him “creepy”, his reputation for surgical brilliance gets him the job. Black Jack examines the patient, and declares that he can save Akudo‘s life, but he will need another person to donate replacement body parts for anything that has been irreparably damaged.
Without delay, Mr. Nikula uses his influence with the police to have an innocent bystander, the tailor Davy, accused of causing Akudo‘s accident. When Davy objects that no one but Akudo was at fault for the crash, the police remind him that they’re aware of his long-standing hatred for Akudo. Davy protests that everyone knows he considered Akudo nothing more than a delinquent, as did most others who were simply too scared to say it. The police arrest Davy for attempted murder despite his innocence, and prepare him for a speedy trial.
Prepping for surgery
Although Davy assures his mother that the courts will find him innocent, Mr. Nikula also holds sway over the judge and the rest of the court. He demands that they convict Davy by the end of the day, as he intends to use legal means to have Davy put to death so that his body can be used to save Akudo‘s life. After bribing the judge and having witnesses who support Davy hushed during proceedings, Mr. Nikula tells Black Jack that he knows about his son’s bad behavior, but will nevertheless save him by any means necessary. Black Jack confirms that he could use Davy’s body to save Akudo, but objects to sacrificing a good person for a bad one.
Mr. Nikula is not swayed for a moment. He believes that bad people have as much right to life as good people, and wishes to save his son at any cost. He then reveals that he investigated Black Jack, and is aware that he must practice secretly because, despite his miraculous skill, he has no medical license. After Davy is convicted, Black Jack comes to his cell to prepare him for surgery. Davy accuses him of serving a demon, but Black Jack only asks him if he’s said his prayers as he anesthetizes the tailor and sends him to the operating room.
A happy reunion
After telling Mr. Nikula that he will save Akudo‘s life, but will take no responsibility for Akudo‘s behavior after that, Black Jack asks everyone to leave the operating room so that he can perform the surgery alone. Five hours later, Black Jack emerges, saying that the surgery was a success. Akudo will be able to remove the bandages in two months. Davy’s body, he says, is now no more than assorted pieces due to the number of parts he’d needed for the surgery. Black Jack explains that his payment should go to the hotel, and he will wait until Akudo‘s recovery is complete before he leaves.
Davy reveals that Black Jack performed plastic surgery on him in order to make him look exactly like Akudo, since the doctor believed it was pointless to operate on a person whose body and soul were as “rotten” as Akudo‘s. Black Jack also gave Davy a large sum of money to allow him and his mother to escape to a country where Mr. Nikula would never find them. Exclaiming that Black Jack must be an angel, the two drive away. Black Jack watches their taxi from a high window.
The final narration explains that, although Black Jack‘s background is mysterious, his surgical genius is considered divine, and surely somewhere he is performing a miracle with his scalpel even now.
Who’s in it?
As with most Black Jack (1973-83) chapters, ‘Is there a Doctor?’ (1973) features several of Tezuka’s Star System players.
as the prosecutor
as witness on the stand
as crooked cop
as henchman
as motorcycle cop “B”
as Mr. Nikula
as doctor on the phone “B”
as the hospital director
as Mr. Nikula’s assistant
as doctor on the phone “A”
as motorcyle cop “A”
as Akudo Nikula
Where you can find it?
Black Jack (1973-83), Chapter 001 ‘Is There a Doctor?’ has notably been collected in the original Japanese in: Black Jack Vol. 1 (Akita Shoten 1987), Black Jack Vol. 19 (Tezuka Pro Electronic Editions 2014) and Black Jack Vol. 19 [MT-366] (Kodansha 1995).
However, English-speakers can find it in Black Jack Vol. 1 (Vertical 2008).
