Black Jack

Based on a manga series by Osamu Tezuka about a mysterious, scarred, extraordinarily gifted surgeon (with a private practice and exorbitant fees), Black Jack finds Dr. Black Jack (née Kuro Hazama) drawn into a bizarre case involving Super-Humans (a growing number of ordinary humans who suddenly began developing astounding athletic or artistic capabilities around the time of the Olympic Games in Atlanta). When his young (assistant? daughter? who knows?) Pinocho is kidnapped by scientist Jo Carol as a means of blackmailing Black Jack into working on Super-Human patients whose organs are aging at a phenomenal rate (leading to emaciation and premature death), the doctor begins to uncover clues to a larger conspiracy involving pharmaceuticals, endorphins, and glowing sand. Easily one of the most stylish and imaginatively drawn anime entries in recent memory, Black Jack also suffers from three key problems: 1) every major plot point is telegraphed to the audience about a half hour in advance, making viewers feel as if they are engaged in the cinematic equivalent of dog paddling, 2) the stylized slo-mo and freeze frames become absolutely tiresome after the first 20 minutes, and 3) it's hard to make heads or tails of Pinocho, who looks and acts about 6-years-old, but is often left by herself at home for days and is present during some should-be-trauma-inducing scenes of graphic violence. All in all, this is an optional purchase. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)