Oldie but Goldie - My favorite manga
Submitted by Suzu on Tue, 06/28/2016 - 09:01
正義か そんなもんはこの世の中にありはしない
(There’s no such thing as justice in this world) (正義 (seigi) -> justice)Growing up in New York, I didn't have as many opportunities to buy and read new mangas compared to those in Japan, as obvious that may seem. Before we were able to read mangas on our computer screens, there were some Japanese bookstores near where I lived that offered new mangas and such, but they were a little pricey since they were imported, and it would be released much later in America. Because my manga resource wasn’t as abundant, I would often read my mom’s old manga she brought to America from Japan. One manga I particularly liked as a kid was called “Black Jack” by Tezuka Osamu.
Even if you don’t know who Tezuka is, you may know some of his world renowned works, such as Astro Boy (鉄腕アトム Tetsuwan Atomu), and Kimba the White Lion (ジャングル大帝 janguru taitei), which is “coincidentally” extremely similar to Disney’s blockbuster hit The Lion King
Black Jack was first released in 1973, and this was what my mother used to read when she was a child, and it was passed down to me and my sister. This manga follows the the extremely talented, yet unlicensed surgeon who goes by the name of Black Jack.
One of the reasons why I love this manga is for its dark plot; though each story consists of a different medical adventure Black Jack goes through, it is revealed that when Black Jack was a young, happy child, he and his beloved mother stepped on an undisposed land mine from World War II, critically injuring themselves. After many surgeries, which gave Black Jack his signature scar on his face and left his hair half white, he was able to miraculously recover, however his mother didn’t survive. While she was dying, Black Jack’s father left his injured family and the country for a lover, and since then, Black Jack promised to avenge his dead mother by becoming a doctor, and to find and confront his father and those who failed to properly dispose the land mines.
Due to his dark past, Black Jack is kind of a jerk; he’s rude, pessimistic, and charges ridiculous amounts of money to perform surgery, even from those who clearly need his help. But at the end of the day (or story), he ends up revealing his humanistic side he once had when he was a child, and is frequently portrayed as a vigilante, helping those in need.
What’s really intriguing to me about this manga is its medical (in)accuracy. Though the story is obviously fiction, with fantastical plots including monsters and ghosts, (here, Black Jack is going to perform surgery on an alien) a lot of Black Jack’s medical performances are based off of actual medical practices. That is because Tezuka was a non-practicing, but a licensed doctor, kind of the opposite of Black Jack.
Now of course, I’m not saying that if you want to be a surgeon, you should read and follow Black Jack because if you do I’m not sure anyone in medical school will take you seriously. But Tezuka does introduce a lot of medicine, tools, and procedures to the general public. Again, Tezuka was a non-practicing doctor, and some of things he wrote happened to be inaccurate and apparently he used to get complaints from medical students. But nonetheless, he still introduced the medical field to the young people of Japan.
For example in this particular story, Tezuka introduces a disease called Echinococcosis, which is apparently a real, scary thing.
So obviously, when Black Jack became infected with it, he casually performed surgery on himself, just like everyone else does… No?
Jokes aside, and leaving the fact that a lot of this content is exaggerated and everything should be taken as purely fiction, it still became one of Tezuka’s most successful mangas, so popular that “medical mangas” became a new genre. Even while covering dark, sensitive topics, many young people were inspired by Black Jack, including my mother and myself, because ultimately, Black Jack was a genius who helped restore humanity.
Though this is an old manga, with quite a different style compared to many of today’s mangas, it continues to be a popular piece, surprisingly for all ages. Black Jack can make you uncomfortable, both from the graphic drawings and the depth of the story itself, but nonetheless, your adventure with Black Jack will leave you satisfied, and wanting for more.
- Suzu's blog
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