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Black Jack - The Movie
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Animation - 8.3 |
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Sound - 7.9 |
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Story - 8.4 |
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Character - 8.3 |
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Value - 8.1 |
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Enjoyment - 7.9 |
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Average - 7.9 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Black Jack the Movie is a 105 minute movie released in 1996, adapted from the original psychological drama Black Jack anime, which was never successfully released in the western world.
The quality of graphics and animation in Black Jack the Movie are very high. The amount of detail in medical scenes are most noteworthy, as are the animation of the surgical procedures. The character designs in Black Jack the Movie consists of a nice mix different anime styles, and graphical flaws are not noticeable, if present at all.
Although the music in Black Jack the Movie don't stand out, they do not influence the scenes in any negative way. The quality of the voice acting is good, as are the sound effects.
The storyline of Black Jack the Movie is its best factor. As a computer scientist and not a medic, the professional, or at least professional sounding, phrases used in the movie makes the storyline sound very impressive. A very nice moral message is also carried throughout the storyline until the very last minutes. The one major gripe I have with Black Jack the Movie is how it concludes. The final few minutes seem totally out of place with the rest of the movie, feels rushed, and somewhat replaces the moral of the story with something that has nothing to do with the movie. Nevertheless, Black Jack the Movie keeps its viewers interested and entertained almost from beginning to end.
The cast in Black Jack the Movie are very interesting and professional. The voice acting make the characters believable and adds to the feel of the storyline. Despite that most of the characters, including the main character, are barely developed in the movie, it had no effect on the enjoyment of the movie.
There is no doubt that Black Jack the Movie is fascinating to watch. The pace is good, the storyline and characters are good, and the only slightly disappointing part is the ending. Although not a breakthrough at its time, especially when compared to master pieces such as Ghost in the Shell, Black Jack the Movie is still very entertaining and well worth checking out.
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| To be honest, Black Jack the Movie-1996 was my introduction to the series overall, and quite a random watch in terms of exposure. Granted, I've heard quite a bit about the manga counterpart, but never came to know the characters, storyline or overall franchise for Blackjack up until I saw this movie-and it was one that I quite enjoyed, despite noting quite a few flaws.
I didn't find too much trite about this movie-it was a decently paced medical thriller that certainly did its homework, about a freelance doctor racing to find a cure for a graphically fatal disease, claiming the lives of seemingly superhuman Olympic athletes that were once average in their abilities but suddenly acquired a burst of power in a way that was unknown, but the movie progresses to unravel. Blackjack, the protagonist, comes into the secret facility where the diseased occupants are kept-and finds himself unraveling clue after clue to find the heart of the disease. It has a dark atmosphere coupled with the animation, well suited for the overall thematics in the movie, though it indeed shows its age. BGM and themes were well incorporated into the movie.
I was very surprised at the quality of the English dub for this movie, quite well noted in caliber and the characters seemed to fit their roles quite well-particularly Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Jo Carol-who made her character have a bit more heart, despite a cliched, formulatic construction. The Japanese VA work was also top-notch.
The story for Black Jack the movie was well-conceived for the most part, but even with not being a veteran for the series-the last five minutes of the movie were quite rushed in conclusion, particularly when the doctor finds himself in an almost tragic situation, everything before that point was built up quite well-and had me engaged from the beginning of the movie right up until that point. Black Jack is a good leading character personality-wise, and quite intelligent, yet suffice to say I felt like I never really *knew* him throughout the work nor the secondary characters (save for Jo Carol-hence the limitations a movie provides.
Jo Carol is probably the only other character you can see in terms of the overall progression of the movie-she plays an important role in recruiting Black Jack for the mission to cure the athletes, yet she also has some secrets of her own in terms of her identity and work behind the scenes. I actually did like her character, she probably would have been even more interesting in the role she played if the movie had not taken a rushed route and instead of giving her that final monologue towards the end, shown her backstory within the progression of the movie-then again, you can somewhat predict the role she plays in this movie once certain events come to pass. Unfortunate, because the movie, even with its constrictions in time, could have done much more with her character to make it more interesting.
I think Black Jack the movie isn't something you should have a lot of prior expectations coming in-I imagine if you know a bit more about the series, you may be disappointed with this work, as some of the other stories may have a bit more to offer, yet for me, it was an engaging work, for a film, and one I enjoyed as an introduction into the Black Jack franchise.
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| Average |
5.2 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
5 |
| Character |
5 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| I have always been a fan of Tezuka Osamu's BlackJack series. From manga to the TV series, I've watched each with intense interest and enjoyment. However, while still maintaining somewhat of the same feel, the 1996 movie feels horribly unengaging and tends to feel drawn out towards the last quarter of the movie. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone except for those already familiar and predisposed to this work.
The movie begins with a series of Olympic atheletes who are super-human in physical ability. World record after world record is broken as commentators believe that humans are beginning to evolve. However, deep beneath this seemingly great feat and unknown to the world is that presence of a conspirator who is responsible for the super-human abilities. As this surpassing of human limits is artificial, a variety of fatal side effects occur and BlackJack is called in to help.
One of the main failings of this movie is that it is wholly uninteresting. After we learn the true cause of the super-human phenomenon everything goes down hill as it tries to wrap everything up in some sort of logical manner. This movie unsuccessfully develops an uninteresting and entirely cliche Jo Carol, to which a large chunk of this movie is devoted to - taking the spotlight away from BlackJack himself. The ending is extremely rushed and convenient and even BlackJack's last 30 minutes before potential death feels horribly distant and artificial.
I felt that there was a lot of potential in developing this tragic event. However, there was so much stuff going on that not enough emphasis was put on BlackJack's involvement in everything. A superficial role of the main actor leads to an uninteresting and choppy movie.
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petran79 |
(2006-04-25 08:33:41) 2005-08-31 17:51:06 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
0 |
| Character |
0 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| This anime had some positives features that nearly outweighed the negative ones to make it an enjoyable
watch, if a little dissapointing in the end. Of course the best thing would be to read the manga instead and I hope I'll be able to do so one day. It is one of the best mangas available
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I was a bit skeptic when I first started watching this Black Jack movie, because of its not so Osamu style animation but more of a westernize/realistic anime style that does not appeal to me that much. But boy was I wrong as I keep on watching this movie. The animation style chosen is perfect for its theme and story. The story is dark and gloomy (kind of like Batman) and it is up to Black Jack to race against the clock to find a cure for a deadly disease.
The story is excellent and realistic. This movie reminds me of the Hollywood movie "The Insider" where it investigate the evil corporate world. This movie touches on a lot of contraversial and humanistic view of the modern world and the ending is just absolutely stunning.
You have to give your focus to the movie 100% though as sometimes it gets a bit technical but it is very satisfying watching it. The pacing of this movie is done really well and this is just one of the more satisfying anime movie I have watched in recent times!
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DeathGate |
(2005-05-18 04:30:57) 2004-10-02 13:04:04 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Wow, this one certainly came out of left field. It was just a random decision, since I had never heard of Black Jack before and all I remember involving it was a clip in a music video where there was a surgery. Alright, I thought it would be worth a watch.
I was thoroughly impressed by it, however. The story is suspenseful and gripping – I was watching this movie “as if in a trance� as described by my friends who weren’t paying as much attention. It was surprisingly complex and original – quite a refreshing change from the majority of anime today. I mean, just how many animes can you think of that are about surgery? Monster is the only other one that comes to mind now that I’ve looked into it, and I’ll probably be seeing that one as well. It’s not completely about surgery, though. A fatal and dangerous disease is spreading and it’s up to Black Jack to race against the clock to stop it. There are even themes about our corporate world interwoven into the story. A lot of problems occur because the company attempts to cover everything up and erase all traces of evidence, including Black Jack himself. This means that there’s even a fair amount of action in the movie. Face it, this movie has it all.
Even the characters were well done. The very noble and idealistic Black Jack, unlicensed surgeon but still a caring doctor, was probably the best character. The way he was portrayed was he genuinely cared for his patients…this is best represented near the end of the movie. Jo Carol was also a very good character, making a good antagonist. Her back story even has some sociological elements in regards to effects of parenting on children (and lack thereof).
The animation was only fair, however. Although I liked the style of the characters and how everything was drawn (I’m a fan of the more realistic style), lets face it: the animation of this movie doesn’t compare to current anime movies. I do give them credit for the amount of research they must have had to do – considering all the surgery and anatomy in the movie. Too many stills used.
The sound was only average. I saw the dub, which, was actually not too shabby. The music was slightly older but seemed to fit quite nicely. Still, it was a dub, and a few of the serious dialogues still made me laugh.
Overall, despite a few problems in the fluency of the video (Hinata Apartment) I still was completely drawn into this movie. I could probably watch it again, and will certainly be looking forward to seeing the many sequels and OVA in the Black Jack universe.
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| Average |
9.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| a fairly plausible work of fiction, the story didn't lose its suspense all the way to the end.
I would disagree with the other reviewers regarding not knowing dr. black jack's background. I believe that adds to the overall effect in a positive manner, and doesn't go down the typical anime pattern where in the middle of the plot the tempo is broken by going into the background of the main characters.
The animation was smooth overall, as was the sound quality, but like someonelse mentioned it may be slightly old fashioned for those viewers accustomed to the newer animes. I don't recall any memorable music during the movie, except for the starting and ending themes, which, despite the fact were not my normal listening choices,were not bad at all, adding a melodramatic essense before the story begins and reinforcing it towards the end.
This anime should be watched by all fans, but buy it only after seeing the Subbed version. I believe it will only be of value to those into this particular genre (seinen), while shounen fans may not find it to be a great value.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I really did like this movie, even though it's quite a bit different from what I normally watch. The medical stuff, from what I can tell is fairly accurate, and despite many opportunities the plot did not resort to aliens or other sci-fi things to explain the whole "super-human" thing. The animation (with the exception of a few still-frame things) was very well-done, and I absolutely love Black Jack's character. Beware of the English dub, though: they change around lots of the script to make the words fit the mouth movements and it just irritated me.
I don't know if you would want to *buy* it...but if you are interested in seeing something devoid of aliens, magic, and well-endowed women then here's the movie for you.
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Sinai |
(2005-07-20 05:45:23) 2003-11-05 11:46:50 |
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| Average |
7.3 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Black Jack is pretty cool. Well, ok, he's really cool. It's a damn shame I don't know who he is. My only exposure to this series is this movie, which is a shame because I'm sure the TV series or whatever is a fine work.
Unfortunately, the whole suspenseful dramatic setup isn't really my cup of tea, although I admit the tension is definitely there throughout the movie. The experience is again further marred by not knowing jack shit about Dr. Black Jack. That, and having watched/read Monster, which isn't really all *that* comparable, but how many other dramatic anime pieces about doctors can you name?
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
8.3 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| I really wanted to give animation a 8.5, but since I can't I'll be a lil generous. The plot is what kept me glued to my seat, this a movie for people who likes a good story plot, and doesn't involve DBZ BRAWLS. Characters are just mild since they don't tell you much in the movie about BJ, and his sidekick (heck not even the other series tells you about him either).
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| Average |
8.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
| Blackjack is one of the infamous (well in Japan anyway) creations of "king of manga" Osamu Tezuka. In this film, there appears to be people who are so exceptionally talented in their fields from art to sports, that they are dubbed the new superhumans. However, when these "superhumans" start to become mysteriously ill, the public can only wonder, what made these people transform from their formerly mediocre selves to their new abilities, and finally to their doom? Blackjack the maverick surgeon is forced to investigate and uncover the horror.
The story is definitely unique, and the character designs are an interesting modernization of Tezuka's sugnature "kiddie" style. However, the envirenmental preaching at the end really weakens the film and overall I'd say its an ok title.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Certainly a unique concept. Some very interesting visuals and a good story.
It's unfortunate that Black Jack isn't more well-known. It's not really one of the more prolific anime titles out there, but it should definitely be seen.
I love that little girl's seiyuu, so funny.
Very well done, and it doesn't depend on wicked fight scenes or overdrawn art to be good. This is one of those movies that you love, because everything just 'works'...
Recommended...
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| The storyline to this movie was good and self-contained like the series. The animation was fluid and easy on the eyes. Although I recommend the series over the movie, the movie follows the same pattern of story with a moral effectively. The story looked nice, had its dark moments, and was enjoyable all together.
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