Customer Reviews

Black Jack, Vol. 8

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have to admit, I'll be a little sad when Vertical stops releasing the Black Jack series when they reach the last volume. I'm familiar with Tekuza's work for the most part, but I've never actually been able to collect & read his books in the past, so this is really eye opening for me. This is one series where every volume has been just as good as the first. (Although I will admit that I have my preferences for specific stories.)

This volume contains several different stories, all of which can be read individually. Just like the previous volumes, you don't have to have read the previous ones to read this one. The stories range from an incident surrounding Pinoko's attempt to spruce up the home she shares with Black Jack to a story that contains the wonderful Dr. Kiriko. (My 2nd favorite character! Pinoko is my most favorite.)

All of the stories include the wonderful artwork & attention to detail that Tekuza is well known for. It's interesting to read some of the stories to see the references to the time period. There's one story about a mysterious person/thing/force/animal (can't elaborate without spoiling the surprise) that ties in with a nearby military compound, which I found incredibly interesting.

At times I really feel like I could just cut & paste the same review for all of the volumes of this manga that I've purchased. I've yet to see a volume where the story or quality lagged. (Of course I won't- that would be cheating!) Bottom line: if you have been collecting the series so far, don't worry. This volume is worth buying. If you haven't bought any of the volumes, I would suggest buying the first volume just because you'll probably want to get the complete set after reading it & will have to buy the 1st volume anyway.

Black Jack usually doesn't get the due it deserves, and it shocks me to see only 2 reviews on Amazon. Volume 8 was as good as the previous volumes, and Black Jack is as intruging as ever. Black Jack predates HOUSE MD, the widely known medical television drama about a genius, yet offbeat doctor. Even though House is definately inspired by Sherlock Holmes, I feel the show has Black Jack elements too. (Like very rare diseases that only House/BJ could figure out/operate on. A good heart beneath a tough exterior, y'know, that type of thing.)
Okay, so volume 8 has some odd cases, most memorably a novelist whose whose dying before he can complete his series, and needs just a couple more days to live. Sad, and kind of hopeful. Then there's a case involving amnesia, and forgetting the person you loved. Very interesting twist here! Oh yes and there's a plethora of your swapped baby, female histeria, and diverticulitis, and embolism cases. (We all know that Black Jack can cure anything, even cancer, riiight? ;) Sure, okay, we'll go with that.
Off to read volume 9.

"It feels great to be alive!" Those are the last words of a nationally beloved writer in Japan that heroic Dr. Black Jack operates on in one of the grandest stories of this fantastic collection of Black Jack stories. Indeed, it feels great to be alive, when reading these masterpieces by Tezuka, the "god of Manga." The story is partially prescient, as Tezuka reportedly said on his deathbed "I'm begging you, let me work!"

The number 8 is considered good luck in many Asian cultures, and readers of this volume of Black Jack are lucky indeed.

This is the best of the series so far. There are three reasons.

First, in this volume, Pinoko again emerges as a heroic, endearing, lovable character. I'm not sure what Tezuka is saying here; Pinoko is the strange little girl that Black Jack "created" out of body parts. She thinks she's 20 years old and his wife. In some ways she is very smart, beyond her years, but in most ways she is silly like a little girl. Yet she is incredibly loyal to Black Jack. In one story, we learn the great lengths she is willing to go for him. Is she a metaphor for Japan herself? Or some aspect of Japanese culture we don't understand? I don't know, but it's clear that this character has meaning on multiple levels.

Second, Black Jack is revered and called a "lone wolf" many times in this and all other volumes. Why does Tezuka admire him so much? We see his faults and his strengths, but clearly he is heroic. Tezuka uses him often as a way to rail against conventional, often times corrupt, Japanese culture. It is almost shocking that he is able to get away with this. Every hospital has a corrupt, lazy director. Black Jack is always the sympathetic figure, despite being unlicensed. It's amazing how this series was so popular in Japan.

Third, the stories are always entertaining and never formulaic. Sure, many of them follow the plot line of "Black Jack performs amazing surgery that saves the life of someone that no one else can save." But 90% of them have a twist ending, or even more interesting, Black Jack fails. His emotional way of dealing with failure makes him a real, interesting, believable character. He is no comic book character- he is as fully developed as a character in any novel.

Read the entire series in order to experience the gradual development of Black Jack and Pinoko. If you are curious about the series and want to pick up one volume to see if you like it, try Volume 8. You will be hooked.