anime reboot

Black Jack episodes 5 and 6

2007-01-30T04:44:16Z

Ugh, the beginning of this semester has been unexpectedly crazy, so sorry about the delay. There's only two more posts after this one, so hopefully I can get those done before too long.

Hope you guys are enjoying these! More medical action and tons of screencaps behind the cut. These were tough, especially episode 5, which is full of cute so I had to restrain myself from posting caps of things like Black Jack brushing his teeth. XP

Clinical Chart 05: The Owl of San Merida

A young man named Leslie Harris is suffering from extreme anxiety and depression, manifesting most prominently in recurring nightmares and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness. He goes to a doctor, but just as he guesses the man simply sends him off with a prescription for sedatives to help him sleep. Feeling hopeless, he leaves.

Pinoko gets a present every year from Black Jack, and this time she's asked for a trip to Europe so they can both relax. On a passenger train, the two bump into Leslie (literally in Pinoko's case). That night, as Pinoko tries, apparently unsuccessfully, to fleece Black Jack in a poker game, they're interrupted by a loud scream. Leslie's having his usual nightmare, in which a woman is shot by a military helicopter—but rather than simply freaking out, he actually has gunshot wounds in his back! Black Jack and Pinoko rush in, somewhat confused at seeing such clear gunshots when there was no sound of gunfire, not to mention the fact that the wounds look old but are still bleeding freely. Moments afterward, they look on shocked as the holes close up by themselves and Leslie wakes; he apologizes for the disturbance and explains that it always happens like that. Black Jack is obviously intrigued by the case.

Two days later, the train passengers have a stopover at a small port town. Black Jack and Pinoko relax and tour the area, while Pinoko nurtures a growing crush on handsome young Leslie. That night, at the hotel, Leslie has a hallucination featuring a sad woman and child in tattered clothes, walking along and singing a haunting song about San Merida, along with a snow white owl; freaked, Leslie draws his pistol and rushes after them, bursting through a door and seeing himself shot by the same military helicopter from his other nightmares. Apparently he's burst into Black Jack's room and proceeds to seize, but the doctor and Pinoko keep him as stable as possible throughout. Black Jack takes photographs of Leslie while he's out and notices something amazing under magnification—Leslie underwent extensive skin grafting surgery years ago which is so finely done, no scarring is visible to the naked eye. Black Jack desperately wants to know who this miraculous surgeon is, but after waking Leslie informs him he doesn't remember any surgery, and both his parents are dead so no information can be gotten from them.

Back on the train again, Leslie learns about Black Jack's identity from Pinoko and asks the doctor to treat his strange illness. He accepts Black Jack's initial charge of one million dollars, but Black Jack decides instead that all he wants is Leslie's cooperation in tracking down the amazing surgeon who operated on him. Of course, he agrees.

Another layover finds Black Jack acquiring use of a couple of hospital rooms to check Leslie over and perform surgery. Once they get Leslie under the anesthesia, he begins to dream about the woman and child yet again as snow slowly covers him. Black Jack gets him open, where he sees evidence of old gunshot wounds below the skin. As Leslie's dream reaches the point where the woman is shot yet again, an artery opens up and proceeds to spray blood, but as usual it stops soon afterward. Black Jack puts some stitches in just to ensure it stays closed, but can't do much more than that.

Pinoko picks up the "San Merida" song from Leslie and is singing it in front of the doctor; when she tells him it's in Leslie's recurring nightmare, Black Jack checks it out on a long shot. Amazingly, he locates a small village named San Merida in the Republic of El Garnia, a country ravaged by civil war for over a decade (though it's ended now and a unified government established), which Leslie says he's never even heard of, let alone been to. Intrigued, they travel there in hopes of finding some answers.

They arrive in the largely demolished nation and get transportation to San Merida; the village was the location of a major battle, and housed a headquarters for the anti-government faction. As they near the village, Leslie begins to hallucinate the woman and child once again and has them stop the car. Despite never having been here that he can remember, he vividly remembers one particular house and the surroundings. He even begins to remember playing in the area as a child and planting roses in the back garden there. Leslie is incredibly confused, feeling and remembering things that he shouldn't be able to. Rushing into one of the rooms, he finds a framed photograph of the exact woman and child he's been dreaming about for years. He begins to hallucinate once again, running the same path the woman ran, up to the door of the town church, but this time Black Jack's stitches manage to hold back the bleeding. Leslie is beginning to break down completely, and a priest from the church hears and tries to help. Black Jack asks about a doctor from years ago, and the priest directs him to an old man named Ernesto who's lived in the village his whole life.

Ernesto is the only surviving inhabitant of San Merida from before the war. Everyone else was massacred, and the village has since been populated by people from the winning faction; furious, Ernesto spends most of his time in the cemetery talking to his former neighbors and resents the newer people who moved in. Black Jack asks about the doctor, but Ernesto refuses to speak to them until he shows the photo of the woman and child from Leslie's dreams, and Leslie and Pinoko sing the song (an old lullaby passed down specifically in this village); perhaps Ernesto isn't the only one left who remembers the people here.

Ernesto invites them to his home and explains that there was no hospital or registered doctors in the village at that time, though there was a surgery performed here. One man in the village studied medicine overseas, but left before he graduated and obtained his license when he learned about the civil war breaking out in his homeland. Horrified by the brutality of the battle being waged between the anti-government headquarters here and the opposing army, the man gathered medical supplies and began treating the wounded despite his lack of experience. Maybe some were worse off due to inexperienced treatment, but many seemed to be helped so the man felt obligated to do his best. Black Jack, noticing iodine stains on Ernesto's hands, surmises that he was the "doctor."

Meanwhile, the priest from earlier puts in a call to the government Special Forces to reveal that he's ferreted out a remaining member of the anti-government group in San Merida and has solid proof.

Back at Ernesto's home, he recounts that on one particularly bad day of fighting, the young woman Sandra and her daughter, Anita, were shot in front of the village church. Anita died instantly, but Sandra was still barely alive. As she lay bandaged and weakening, a very young baby was brought in with severe burns and many broken bones. Both seeming close to death, and Sandra feeling the loss of her daughter, the baby was placed with Sandra for the end of their lives. The child was hungry and crying, and despite her injuries Sandra tried to nurse the baby herself, but the last of her energy gave out and she finally passed away. Moved by the dying woman's attempts to nurture the child, which some saw as a miracle given the extent of her injuries, Ernesto decided to try a drastic surgical attempt to heal the baby. Discovering that Sandra shared the baby Leslie's blood type (also perhaps a miracle, since it was different than the one previously documented for her), Ernesto performed surgery to repair the baby's wounds, taking skin grafts and other necessary parts from Sandra. The surgery was far out of Ernesto's league, but he says that God seemed to work through him and he accomplished it perfectly. Somehow, perhaps Sandra's memory went to Leslie along with her flesh, reminding him of where he came from and the woman who saved his life. Shortly afterwards, an English reporter covering the war adopted the young orphan.

Black Jack states that maybe there was a miracle, but if so it was due to Ernesto's medical genius at being able to use such rudimentary equipment to perform such an amazing operation. He asks to see Ernesto's skill for himself, as another renegade doctor and an admirer of such medical genius. But the two disagree completely, Ernesto insisting God was responsible and Black Jack continuing to refuse that option.

The group is set upon by the priest and several soldiers there to arrest the "Owl of San Merida," the doctor working for the anti-government organization. Ernesto is taken out, but rather than arrest him the soldiers outside merely shoot him down. The priest is horrified that they'd execute him rather than try him, given that they're a democracy now, but the Commander merely drives off and leaves the priest to dispose of the body. Black Jack checks Ernesto and finds that he's still got a pulse; he has the priest get blood for a transfusion and begins surgery. But Ernesto was old and weak, and even after removing the bullets Black Jack can't manage to save him.

Leslie parts ways with Black Jack and Pinoko, saying that he's no longer afraid of the visions. Black Jack thinks that he still doesn't believe in miracles, but it would have been nice if God had lent him the power to save Ernesto.

This story is inspired by the manga story "A Passed Moment."

Clinical Chart 06: Tale of a Snowy Night: The Lovelorn Princess

Black Jack and Pinoko drive out, through the heavy snow, to meet with a mysterious client; Black Jack muses about being confronted with things that modern science doesn't know how to explain, and flashes back to how this started. A while ago, a large ratty package arrived at our good doctor's residence, filled to the brim with very old money along with a letter and map. A man named Taneda Saburo writes that his wife is very ill, and they need Black Jack's services immediately. But the package was apparently sent two years ago! Worried about the woman, they hustle out to see her.

Their destination is a small village buried in the mountains, and the snow is coming early and heavy, making the trip slow. Worse, they can't seem to actually find the places marked on the map. Cold, hungry and a bit lost, Black Jack decides to look for a temple that's supposed to be nearby, only to get his car stuck in the snow. He decides to huddle in and wait for someone, and dozes off; upon waking up, he notices the temple right by their car—now, why didn't they see that before? But what's a little strangeness compared to freezing to death? Into the temple to meet sort of creepy Buddhist Nun, who takes in Pinoko and directs Black Jack towards his destination. Oh, and then she talks to a ninja. Hmmm.

Speaking of Japanese historical classes, Black Jack gets picked up by his mysterious letter-writer, who just so happens to be a full on samurai on horseback. They get attacked by soldiers, but Saburo cuts 'em down and they continue on to the village.

Enter our patient, a Princess; she asks for her medicinal Yura leaves, but Saburo says he's got even better, a doctor. She wants the leaves though, and proceeds to go into a fit. Mad with pain, she freaks out and attacks Saburo before finally settling down and collapsing. Saburo explains that four years ago, the Kyoto official Rokujoji-dono decided he wanted the Princess, who wanted nothing to do with him. But their clan isn't nearly powerful enough to refuse him, so the Princess ate a poisonous fruit to escape through death; she was saved, though, and has been afflicted with a fever and sporadic violent fits ever since. The only thing that eases her condition is to chew Yura leaves, which are very hard to come by and are running out. Also, in retribution for her defiance and to put more pressure on her, Rokujoji-dono has been attacking her clan.

During the course of his examination, Black Jack notices something very odd—a long, shining mark that looks like the coils of a snake wound around the Princess' body. Black Jack opens his medical kit to continue the exam, but oh no! His medical instruments have been stolen! Who could have done such a thing? Maybe the Buddhist Nun, since we see her buddy flinging the instruments into the snow as he leads a troop toward the Princess' village. Buddy's name is apparently Abumaru, and he works for Kaoru, the Nun from earlier, who just happens to be Rokujoji-dono's wife! Abumaru sneaks into the house where the Princess is resting, and upon discovery delivers Kaoru's ultimatum: bring the Princess in her wedding dress if she's alive, and if not then bring her in her funeral gear. Needless to say Saburo's not too happy with this, and attacks Abumaru, who quickly disappears.

Black Jack treks through the snow back to the car in order to pick up his spare medical kit. Along the way, he falls through a snowdrift and underground into a cavern where he finds Abumaru waiting for him. Kaoru wants a word with him. She's got Pinoko, and plans to keep her as a ploy to regain Rokujoji's attention! Black Jack tries to jump the bitch for messing with his little girl, but Abumaru easily tosses him out of the temple. Sorry Doctor, you may be able to perform surgery on yourself while fending off dingoes in the middle of the outback (yes, that really did happen in the manga), but you're not taking down a ninja. If he can't get Pinoko back now, he can at least keep trying to help his patient, so Black Jack nabs the extra kit and slogs back to the Princess.

The Princess has another fit, whaling on Saburo for a bit before collapsing again. She asks sadly why Saburo wouldn't marry her when she confessed her love; Saburo states that he's just a simple servant, and could never put himself on the same level as her and relate to her that way. She says that she wanted to go to Heaven when she took the poison, and that maybe they could have been together there, and expresses sadness and anger over the pain and death that her refusal of Rokujoji-dono has caused. Furious and desperate, she tries to kill herself again, but yet again Saburo stops her.

Kaoru takes Pinoko and Abumaru to meet with her husband, who's come to get the Princess. She asks him to forget about the Princess, but he's still determined and tells her to go back to being a Priestess. Abumaru moves to draw his sword on Rokujoji, but Kaoru calls him off.

Back with Black Jack, it's time to operate on the patient! Her heart seems to be causing a lot of the problems, so that's where Black Jack's going to dive in. He anaesthetizes her, but it doesn't seem to work at all! The Princess asks for a Yura leaf, and Saburo gives it to her, which helps to finally knock her out. The operation begins. But what's this? As Black Jack starts opening the patient, Kaoru staggers on her way back to the temple and needs to be helped by Abumaru. When they get back, Kaoru starts chanting and is surrounded by blue flames; back with the Princess, Black Jack begins seeing a similar blue glow around the Princess' heart, only to have it move out and coalesce into a giant blue snake! The serpent attacks and is cut down by Saburo; as it dissipates, Kaoru's prayer beads shatter, puncturing her throat and killing her. The Princess, however, seems to be doing all right now.

Rokujoji, tired of waiting and being denied, sends his soldiers to bring the Princess to him. Saburo straps the Princess to his back and fights his way out, as Black Jack remains behind.

Abumaru carries Kaoru's body to Rokujoji and declares that he'll carry out her last wish. He draws his sword and rushes the lord, but is taken out by the guards. Before he dies, though, he raises his sword just a bit and presses a hidden switch, shooting the blade out and stabbing Rokujoji in the gut, killing him.

Saburo and the Princess escape on horseback. Saburo promises that they'll run to anywhere she wishes, and that this time he'll defy his position and marry her. The Princess is deeply happy, but the escape seems to have ripped her stitches open, and she dies as he speaks to her. When Saburo stops to check on her, they're caught by Rokujoji's men and Saburo is finally killed.

As Black Jack and Pinoko watch the aftermath, Pinoko begins to cry, flinging herself onto the ground. Black Jack begins to comfort her, only to suddenly wake up sitting inside his car, 15 minutes after they got stuck! He knows he's been dreaming, but he can't quite remember what it was about.

A man finds the two of them—it's Taneda Saburo, who looks just like the samurai Saburo just seen in the dream. He tells Black Jack that they're still in time, and guides them to his house and his wife, who looks just like the Princess. Black Jack quickly examines her, discovering that she's got a tumor on her heart. He'll need to take her to the hospital right away so they can get an operation. Black Jack looks around for her husband to give him the news, but can't find him anywhere. Shocked, his wife informs Black Jack that her husband died two years ago in a construction accident. Pinoko tells her that Saburo guided them here to the house, and she thanks her husband's spirit for watching over her. Saburo saved up little by little, working hard at a construction job, which is why the money was all in small bills. Pinoko, hearing about this and realizing what's happened, begins to cry.

Black Jack and Pinoko take their patient out the next morning for a trip to the nearest hospital. They run into the neighbor and her son—Kaoru and Abumaru from Black Jack's dream. Apparently non-evil Kaoru and her son have been looking after Mrs. Taneda since her husband died.

As they leave, Pinoko asks Black Jack whether the operation needed is very difficult. He replies that it is, and that the patient usually only has a 50% chance of survival. But somehow, he feels like this patient is guaranteed to do well.

There is a manga story titled "Tale of a Snowy Night," but it has nothing to do with this storyline.

I'm probably going to stop doing the episode downloads from now. Between the summaries and the previously uploaded episodes, I think y'all can probably get an idea of whether you like it or not. They're all available on DVD, and the price is pretty reasonable. And since it's all episodic, there's no cliffhangers if I leave you guys after the last post.

RECAP: Fushigi Yuugi episodes 7-10!

2007-01-08T18:24:50Z

Here it is! Episodes 7-10 of Fushigi Yuugi, with some extra songs and images in the goodies section. I apologize for the lack of screencaps in this recap. I have no DVD burner, and thus no access to easy capping software. I've had to make do with what I had on my hard drive and what I've gleaned from the net over 7 years of FY fandom. Hopefully the goodies and summaries will make up for it. XD

In this part, Chichiri appears, saving Miaka from certain death about two or three times while Miaka is her usual clueless self. Also we get to see Keisuke, Miaka's brother, in action, and we witness the first appearance of everyone's favorite villain, Nakago.

CHARACTERS

Suzaku

夕城美朱 Yuuki Miaka (Suzaku no Miko) seiyuu: 荒木香恵 Araki Kae	鬼宿 Tamahome("Ogre") real name: Sou Kishuku seiyuu: 緑川光 Midorikawa Hikaru	星宿 Hotohori ("Star") real name: Sai Heitei seiyuu: 子安武人 Koyasu Takehito ~~NOOOOO~~	柳宿 Nuriko ("Willow") real name: Cho Ryuuen seiyuu: 坂本千夏 Sakamoto Chika
井宿 Chichiri ("Well") real name: Li Houjun seiyuu: 関智一 Seki Tomokazu

Seiryuu

本郷唯 Hongou Yui
(Seiryuu no Miko)

seiyuu: 冬馬由美
Touma Yumi

心宿 Nakago ("Heart")
real name: Ayuru

seiyuu: 古澤徹
Furusawa Tohru

Other

太一君 Taiitsu-kun
Ruler of the World

seiyuu: 京田尚子
Kyouda Hisako

夕城奎介 Yuuki Keisuke
Miaka's brother

seiyuu: 三木眞一郎
Shinichiro Miki

Tamahome's family
Father
Chuei, Gyokuran,
Shunkei, Yuiren

EPISODE 7
帰りたい… [I WANT TO GO HOME...]

Miaka, wounded by her evil!Miaka shadow in a test by the ruler of the world Taiitsukun, passes. Taiitsukun takes pity on the Suzaku no Miko and her ragtag gang and summons them to her mountain with a poof. Miaka and the rest are a bit stunned at being taken out of the middle of the forest and confronted by the ugly old woman that is Taiitsukun's current form. The old lady's super hyper crew of Nyan-nyan sprites, however, prepare to heal all their wounds and they are as good as new and ready to send Miaka back to her world.

Yui, still reading in the library, realizes that Miaka and she are somehow connected through the book, which is why she's been experiencing all Miaka's injuries (duh). Miaka objects when the Nyan-nyans approach her, telling them to heal her seishi first. Taiitsukun notes that Miaka is very pale and says that with her loss of blood, she won't survive the trip back to her world. The solution, apparently, is ~~the world's first blood transfusion~~ using magic orbs to transfer Tamahome and Hotohori's blood to Miaka's body (apparently blood type and all that doesn't matter then). As they do so, Yui is healed along with Miaka.

Taiitsukun reveals to Miaka that the object connecting Yui to Miaka through the two worlds is their school uniforms. They begin the ceremony, but Miaka is distraught at leaving Tamahome and this world that she has come to know. Yui yells at her through the mental connection that the three seishi and Taiitsukun have formed, telling her that she needs to come back because her family will be frantic, and aren't they best friends? In a swirl of red light and special effects to rival any Hollywood blockbuster, Miaka reappears in the restricted room in the library.

An announcement over the speakers says that is is almost time for the library to close. Miaka runs out of the library, looking for Yui, but instead runs into two of her friends from school. She is overjoyed to see them and almost bowls them over, but they look at her rather strangely, saying they just saw her a few hours ago at school.

EPISODE 8
逢いたい… [I WANT TO SEE YOU...]

Miaka is puzzled and a little worried that Yui isn't there to welcome her home, since her friend worked so hard to bring her back. She goes home and calls Yui's house, but her mother answers and says that Yui isn't back yet. Depressed, Miaka goes to her older brother Keisuke and confesses everything that happened in the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho and now Yui's disappearance, but like all practical older brothers, he's pretty skeptical (after all, he knows his little sis already has a vivid imagination) She accuses him of not believing her, so he plays along and tells her that the book is dangerous and she shouldn't have anything to do with it any longer.

None of this helps Miaka, who is told by her mother, who arrives home a bit later, not to kill herself over the Jonan entrance exams. She falls asleep while studying and dreams about Tamahome and Yui. Waking up, she calls Yui again, but the other girl has still not come home, and Miaka suddenly remembers what Taiitsukun said about the uniforms. She realizes that Yui was sucked into the book in her place during the ceremony.

Keisuke, hitching a ride home, spots Miaka dashing along the street to the library and yells at her to stop, but to no avail. Miaka says she is determined to go back to the book world to rescue Yui. She opens the book and begins reading as Keisuke watches her in horror, and vanishes in another flash of red light.

Hotohori is stunned and pleased when Miaka appears back in their world. She greets him and he embraces her, telling her that he is so happy that she is back. Miaka is a bit confused as to why he's so ecstatic when she's only been gone a few hours, but he tells her that three months have passed in the book world. She flashes back to the girls she met when she returned from the book and realizes time must pass much slower in the real world. She asks Hotohori eagerly about Yui and is disappointed that he's never seen this girl that she's speaking of.

Hotohori says it's time to assemble all the Suzaku seishi, but Nuriko reveals that Tamahome, depressed at Miaka's departure, has apparently returned to his village to earn more money. Determined to see him and saying she'll start the quest after she finds him, Miaka takes Nuriko along as bodyguard. They enter the outskirts of Tamahome's village and are suddenly confronted by a band of brigands. After a moment, however, she and Tamahome recognize each other and everything is right with the world, at least for the ten seconds of

Tamahome: Miaka.
Miaka: Tamahome.

The scene flashes to Keisuke, now reading the book on the floor of the library room. Tamahome reveals he's been working for this gang as a bodyguard, but before the pair can exchange anymore sappy moments together, Miaka is snatched away into the night...

EPISODE 9
見えざる敵 [INVISIBLE ENEMIES]

Miaka bites her attacker and he lets go, releasing her back to Tamahome, who confronts her abductor, a strange looking monk [CHICHIRI] who tells her that she's being targeted by assassins and then disappears into a big straw hat (kasa). They run back to the clearing that they had left only to find their group dead, except for Nuriko, pinned to a tree. Nuriko tells them that right after Miaka was grabbed by the strange monk, arrows flew into the spot where she had been standing. The group moves quickly back to the nearby village.

Finding no use in being morose about the situation, Miaka digs into a big meal. Tamahome is called away on guide duty and counts the money he'll earn so gleefully that it upsets Miaka, who accuses him of loving money more than he loves her. Nuriko agrees with her (he would!) and the two of them sneak out to follow Tamahome when he leaves with his hard-earned money. They tail him to his own village the next morning, where Miaka discovers that he's been saving all this money to care for his little family of chibi brothers and sisters and his disabled father.

everyone: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Apparently, Chuei, the oldest brother next to Tamahome, takes care of the family while Tamahome is away, but he looks like he's about ten. The family has a joyful reunion, and then Yuiren, the youngest sister, falls ill and Miaka and Nuriko burst in from their hiding place outside the door to help her. ~~bad plot device: HI!~~ Miaka gets all authoritative, yelling at everyone to get Yuiren to bed, and blankets and medicine. When things calm down, Tamahome accuses her of following him, but only jokingly. The family teases Miaka a little bit about her and Tamahome, and she drifts off into her little dream world where she daydreams about being his wife.

Going off to the river to get water for Yuiren, Miaka is attacked by an assassin (to the horror of Keisuke, who's still reading). Tamahome shows up in time to defend her, and the strange monk emerges from his kasa again, berating them for not sensing the enemy's presence after his warning to Miaka the day before. He tells Miaka to be more responsible, or else there will be victims because of her. They run back to Tamahome's house to see his family being held hostage by another assassin, who demands their lives in return for the children's and Tamahome's father.

Before any of them can do anything, the strange monk attacks the assassin and reveals that he is a Suzaku seishi! (oh surprise). The weird looking face is revealed to just be a mask, of which Chichiri carries many spares. They try to hold the assassin and extract information from him, but he is pierced to death by arrows before he can tell them anything important, revealing only that Kutou is looking for the Seiryuu no Miko. Miaka immediately thinks of Yui and decides that she won't let her friend be forced into becoming the miko for Kutou. She slips off by herself, determined to go to Kutou to search for Yui.

EPISODE 10
囚われの少女 [CAPTURED GIRL]

Miaka runs into the woods by herself, deciding to go to Kutou and rescue Yui. She realizes what a foolhardy venture this is when she is attacked by a tiger, but Tamahome magically comes to her rescue and says he's going with her because he wants to be with her. Miaka is touched and pretends to accept his offer, but tricks him and runs off by herself again, convinced that she can't take anyone with her to Kutou. After he realizes he has been tricked, Tamahome sends Nuriko back to the capital to inform Hotohori of what's going on, and takes Chichiri with him to Kutou to look for Miaka. He tells Nuriko that he's lived only for his family up till now, but he has realized that he loves Miaka and would give his life for her.

everyone: AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Miaka hitchhikes to the Kutou-Konan border and tells the guard there that she's the Seiryuu no Miko. The ruse doesn't quite work, and they are ready to detain her, when suddenly a handsome, blond, blue-eyed man [NAKAGO] appears, who the guards call "Shogun." Chichiri, who has secretly been following her, immobilizes the guards with a wave of his hand. Nakago tells Miaka that he's been searching for her and says he'll bring her to the emperor. Miaka realizes that she's in way over her head and tries to back out, but it's too late. Tamahome and Chichiri, showing up at the gate just after Miaka and Nakago leave, are also detained. Tamahome is determined to just break in, but Chichiri stops him, saying they need a plan.

Miaka is brought before the Kutou emperor by Nakago. He is nothing like Hotohori - in fact, he looks very evil. She's intimidated, but plays the part after Nakago introduces her as the possible Seiryuu no Miko. The emperor is impresed, but then Nakago says there's someone else he's been waiting for him to meet....and brings out Yui.

The two girls have a joyful reunion and Miaka tells Yui that she's been searching for her all this time, and that she came back to find her. Yui looks a little worse for wear, but happy to see Miaka. As they hug, Miaka's copy of Konan Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho drops out of her bag, and Nakago picks it up, then turns back to the emperor and says that Miaka is really Suzaku no Miko.

GOODIES

Some more mp3s, all image songs. I haven't uploaded all the image songs that everyone sings, due to limits on bandwidth and server space. Also, I'm sorry about the crappy quality of Kaze no Uta. I've had this mp3 since the beginning of time, and I think it's a rip from the actual animated PV of the song. If someone has a better version of it, feel free to upload and share ^_^

Kaze no Uta: Nuriko image song #1
Otome Ranman: Nuriko image song #2
Dengon: Hotohori image song #1
Boku no uchuu ni kimi ga iru: Hotohori image song #2
Kachou Fuugetsu: Chichiri image song #1
Ochanoko Saisai Hengan Jizai: Chichiri image song #2

Artbook images

[admin] next signup date

2007-01-08T17:12:38Z

Both Tin and I totally forgot to post signups for January, and we have more than enough ongoing series at the moment, anyway. So the next set of recap signsup are going to be for FEBRUARY 2007, and that sign up list will be up on the 15th.

Sorry about that, and again thanks to all the wonderful people who are doing recaps!

[recap] JoJo's Bizarre Adventure OVA, eps 6-7

2007-01-08T07:37:34Z

Dear mod: I know this is totally late, so if you want, you can remove it. I admit I'm a bad person. -_- There are 6 eps remaining, which I've started on, but clearly I am busier than I thought so I won't lie and say I know when they'll be done. If you want, I'll either finish them and just post links when they're all done, or not post them here at all, or post them normally. Lemme know. I'm sorry! Argh. ^^;;

I know, I suck. Even before New Years, which I spent being humourously drunk and acting brainless, I was forced to socialize and stuff for days!! It's as if my friends wanted to hang out with me in person or something!! However, don't ask me what I was doing this entire last week. I really don't know. Seriously. What the fuck WAS I doing?! I'm sorry I didn't finish these earlier, I have no excuse.

Anyhow, here we are with eps 6&7 of the Jojo OVA! This marks the end of the "new" OVA series (animated in 2001). MOAR SPOILERS ENSUE. Seiyuu list once more, if you need it. Also beware about 70 screencaps under the cuts.

EPISODE 6: THE MIST OF VENGEANCE

So if you recall, last time the episode ended with Enya feeling the death of her son, J. Geil, and swearing vengeance. Let us also recall that Enya is the hot young tarot-reading wench with two right hands. Lastly, our favorite three letter acronym, ITM, means "In The Manga," remember? Okay, let's get this party started!

Oh hey, Hol Horse, what's up wit' yo bad self? A flashback dream, you say?

Oh, a visit to the lair of Dio-sama, eh? Hol's a little perturbed when Dio gets a book off the top shelf without actually using the ladder, but as soon as Dio-sama returns to earth, Hol gives him a report about what's up with the Joestars.

Dio-sama doesn't really give a shit. BTW, I think his voice is actually WAY better in English, because they actually picked someone who SOUNDS YOUNG. I actually like his voice best of all the dub voices thus far, though that isn't saying much. The Japanese voice actor sounds like an older man and has a rather mushy way of speaking; it would be fine if Dio were supposed to sound 100 years old, I guess, but the thing is--DIO IS A VAMPIRE. He stopped aging when he was 21 or so. He should sound and look YOUNG. Geez.

Dio-sama is all "stop wasting my time and go shoot someone or something" and promptly ignores Hol Horse in favor of this book, which I'm sure is some sort of ancient book of erotica or something, but it looks classy since we can't read it.

This cavalier treatment pisses Hol off. He's got no loyalty to Dio-sama... what's so great about the guy? He can't even go outside during the day! Fucker needs a bullet in the brain! No stand's gonna stop a bullet at point-blank range, right? Hol steps up behind Dio and silently summons the Emperor. He pulls the trigger...

...Only to find that Dio's somehow not in the chair anymore. Dio is, in fact, standing behind him. How the fuck did he get there?! Hol Horse is painfully aware that Dio could have smashed his head in... but Dio seems amused rather than angry. How cute! Someone tried to attack him! That is just too adorable. This is an important scene, in that the audience now has the first clue as to the function of Dio's stand, the World. (Although I suspect /b/ has pretty much spoiled that particular secret for most people. Just PRETEND you don't know what it does, okay?)

While Hol Horse is dreaming of Dio-sama, the Joestar party is fueling up at a gas station. Joseph's having a mysterious conversation on the pay phone while Kakyouin checks out a map.

In case you wonder where they are. The plan is to get to the Red Sea and cross over into Egypt. Thanks, ~~Captain Exposition~~ Kakyouin!

Oh hey, haven't we seen this hot young thing before? Yes, it's Enya, hanging out alone in a dimly-lit bar. Well, she's alone until Hol Horse comes in to chat her up, since he heard she's finally gonna go after the Joestars herself. Hey baby. Let's work together. Say, if I told you you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?

Apparently the answer to that question is "No, but let me introduce you to my icepick!"

Enya's sort of mad that Hol Horse ran off and left her poor, innocent, helpless son J. Geil to get his ass killed. She feels that Hol Horse should also be, you know, dead. She generously decides to show Hol Horse her stand, Justice.

Holy shit! Bitch is crazy!

Enya holds out a hand and summons a strange mist, which quickly fills the room...

When the mist touches Hol Horse's arm, the wound explodes, leaving a big hole in his arm. EWWW!

Inexplicably, having a gigantic hole in his wrist doesn't stop Hol Horse from summoning the Emperor. I guess I can understand that he doesn't really need to physically pull the trigger of his stand, but how the hell is he moving his fingers? More medical mysteries of Jojo. XD

Oh, by the way, Justice doesn't just turn little wounds into big holes... The mist can enter the hole and control the person like a puppet. Bad luck, Hol Horse! That probably wasn't the arm you wanted to lose control over. BANG.

Our heroes have run into a mysterious fog.

Are we there yet?? Even though it's only midafternoon, the road's barely visible because of the fog, and it's kind of dark... they decide to stop at the next town until the fog clears.

This charming town is conveniently just ahead. Once inside the town, our heroes get out of the truck and start walking around, looking for a place to stay... but they can't help but notice that the town is extremely weird. Rotting dog corpses in alleys... ruined buildings... and no people, anywhere. Polnareff is beginning to despair of ever finding a hotel with clean bathrooms when he spots a guy sitting against a light pole. Hurrah! Surely this local will know where some good sanitary facilities are! However, upon investigation... turns out the guy is dead. Why the hell is there a dead guy just sitting in the street?! What kind of town is this?!

Jotato recommends taking a closer look at the dead guy. It's hard to believe, but this might not be natural causes. Polnareff pushes the corpse over and the guy's arm flops out... he's holding a pistol, and it's still warm. There's a big round hole in his neck... but where's the blood?

LET ME SEE YOU STRIPPED!! Something is terribly wrong about this.

WOW that random dead guy was fucking RIPPED. Er, I mean, holy shit his torso is full of freaky bloodless holes!! That can't be natural.

EWWW! GROSS!

Kakyouin spots a woman with a baby. Finally, a living person! Kakyouin runs up to her, asking her to fetch the police as there's a dead body in the street... she turns around and slowly repeats his words, scratching her pus-squirting boils all the while.

EWWW! GROSS!

After the woman shambles off, presumably to fetch the cops, Jotaro points out that finding such a freaky corpse is a good indicator that an enemy stand user is around. Kakyoin agrees and immediately starts fighting with Polnareff about what they should do next... the fight is broken up by three people appearing out of the mist: an old woman, and two silent men dressed as police officers. Polnareff is overjoyed to finally see normal people.

The old lady directs the two policemen to take away the body, and they place it on a stretcher and slowly take it away. She also says that she runs a nearby hotel.

PolPol flips out with excitement. ZOMG A HOTEL!!!

It doesn't seem like there are any better options, so they follow the old woman back to her hotel. It turns out to be a pretty fancy place. Prospects are definitely looking good in the clean bathroom department!!

At the reception desk, the old woman asks Mr. Joestar to fill out the guest ledger... Jotaro is curious as to how she might know Joseph's last name. She laughs nervously and says she heard Polnareff say it earlier. Polnareff can't recall if he said it or not. The old lady berates him for being sucky. Polnareff, who actually really likes old ladies and is clearly the sort of guy who is totally a squishy mess for his granny, apologizes and agrees that he must have said it.

She looks even hotter when you can see her properly, eh? Joseph gets back to signing the guestbook and notices that the last guest is a woman, someone named "Enya Egypt." (The subtitles say her name is "N-Yah" even though the book clearly says "Enya"... yay for copyright lawyers!) The old lady says that Enya is a lovely young woman who's also staying at the hotel. Polnareff also notices that her left hand is all bandaged up; she tells him that she burned herself.

Hmm. Polnareff decides he needs a drink and heads downstairs to the hotel's bar. Upon entering... HELLO, NURSE. Enya's alone at the bar. Hmm, I'm getting a strange feeling of deja vu... have we seen a scene like this one before? Up in the rooms, Joseph tries to make a phone call... but the phone's dead. Kakyouin still feels like something is watching him. And Jotaro is stretched out in a rather disturbingly hot manner on his bed, but I didn't screencap it because I was too lazy. MWAHAHA.

Down in the bar, Polnareff's too distracted by Enya's sexiness to notice that the bartender is decidedly freaky. PolPol is just getting started with his mack when--Hey, is that Hol Horse in your closet, or are you just happy to see me?! Hol Horse warns Polnareff to run away. (ITM, Hol Horse was fine, since he isn't a moron and got rid of his own stand bullet before it could do more than graze him. Hol told Polnareff the truth about Enya and wanted his help... but Polnareff pointed out that Hol Horse is still an evil motherfucker and refused to help him. PWNZD.) Enya summons a bunch of zombies and advises PolPol he's due for an asskicking for murdering her son. Uh-oh.

______________________________________________________________________

EPISODE 7: JUSTICE

The drama and tension are so high that the normal opening credits have been removed; that precious time is needed to tell the tale of Justice! Okay not really. Why is this fight two episodes when others are just one, or skipped altogether? Who knows. I think the animators were just excited to have an actual hot woman to animate (especially since the later eps totally skip the Mariah and Midler fights), so they kept her around as long as possible.

Enya has summoned the zombie townspeople, who are animated by her malicious fog of death... apparently the fog also makes you have Crazy Zombie Gene Simmons Tongue (tm). Hol Horse, still lying on the floor, tries to warn Polnareff that even the smallest wound will let Justice take control of you...

As you can see, Enya's actually very hot when she's not looking all psycho.

PolPol flees the bar and winds up... in the bathroom. WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE BATHROOM?! He waits for the zombies to try to break in... but outside, all is mysteriously silent. PolPol wants to leave the tiny room, but he's afraid, so he crouches down to look through the keyhole. A zombie eye looks back at him.

Polnareff quickly backs off from the door with a yelp -- but he shouldn't have opened his mouth. The zombie's freaky snakelike tongue zips in through the keyhole and cuts Polnareff on the tongue. Oh shit. This can't lead anywhere good.

The cut in Polnareff's tongue explodes into a hole. Enya's fog quickly enters the hole and Polnareff finds himself dragged out into the hallway by the tongue, where Enya mocks him and then slams him into the ceiling. How his tongue can support his entire body I have no idea. That is one manly tongue.

Hey, Polnareff, I hear you don't like dirty toilets! So, how about cleaning this one? WITH YOUR TONGUE??

Jotaro comes downstairs to find... Enya sitting alone at the bar. Haven't we seen this scene a few times now? He wants to know where Polnareff is, and Enya tell him (truthfully!) that Polnareff is in the bathroom. She says Jotaro's name, and Jotaro is quite curious as to how she knows it; she explains that Polnareff told her. Jotato says that's pretty interesting, since he specifically told everyone not to say it--even Polnareff. (ITM, she says she got it from the hotel's guestbook... and then Jotaro pulls out the guestbook and points out that they all signed it with fake names. OOPS.)

Caught lying, Enya tells Jotaro that she's gonna finish him off with her stand, Justice. Haha, sure you are.

Before

After

Hey, 'sup, zombies? Jotaro's not too impressed with the wave of zombies.

Jotaro looks pretty cheery, for him. I suspect it's because Jotaro, like Star Platinum, just loves to administer beatdowns, and nothing says "kick my ass" like a big crowd of zombies! Jotaro summons StarPla, and ORAORAORAORA!! (I still think it sounds lame in the anime. It's better in the game.)

Upstairs, Joseph visits Kakyouin's room. He's looking for Jotaro. OF COURSE YOU'D CHECK KAKYOUIN'S ROOM FIRST.

A zombie bellhop tries to stab Joseph in the back, but Kakyoin kicks his ass with Hierophant Green. Joseph and Kakyouin flee the scene, while downstairs, Jotaro and Polnareff do the same.

Kakyouin spies the old hotel-owner being menaced by zombies and goes to her rescue; being the nice, sweet little bishounen that he is, he even offers her a ride on his back. Awww.

Everyone gathers outside, including all the zombies in town; Justice manifests itself as a huge skeletal form made of fog. Conveniently, there are a bunch of tall towers for everyone to stand on top of in a Sailor Moon-like fashion. IN THE NAME OF THE MOON, WE'LL PUNISH YOU!

Various zombies try to attack our heroes, but they defend themselves with their stands; Kakyouin (who still has the old lady on his back) tries to use Emerald Splash on Justice, but the attack passes right through it; you can't hit fog. Crap, what are they gonna do? Fog rolls over Polnareff, and Justice picks him up, crushing him in one massive misty hand...

WHOOSH! Fire erupts all around our heroes, a roar of flames headed for Justice...

Justice drops Polnareff, who looks up to see his savior... a giant ankh of fire burning the fog away. Wait a minute... didn't we once know someone who fought with giant flaming ankhs?

ABDUL!! :D :D :D LOOKING AWESOME, BUDDY.

Abdul...! ...Weren't you um. You know. Dead?

Abdul merely gives Polnareff a meaningful look.

Everyone welcomes Abdul back. Only Polnareff seems surprised by Abdul's, er, vivacity. Unfortunately there's no time to explain, because fire might have knocked Justice back, but it certainly didn't do any permanent damage. Polnareff is sure Enya is hiding in the hotel someplace, laughing at them... how can they find her?

In times of stress such as these, Jotaro feels the need for a cigarette. He asks Abdul for a light. Abdul's a bit confused, but hey--this is Jotaro.

Once his cigarette is lit, Jotaro ponders Justice for a moment and then leaps over to Kakyoin's pillar... but he's not there to chat with Kakyouin. He came to talk to the old lady... or should I call you ENYA?? PolPol points out that Enya is a sexy young wench, not a 3-foot-tall granny, but Jotaro says that in all his battles he's come to notice something about all stand users: when they smell tobacco smoke, a vein pops up on their noses! Of course everyone is shocked to hear this and since they can all smell Jotaro's cigarette, they immediately touch their noses. Polnareff asks Jotaro if he's joking, and Jotaro replies that, in fact, he is--but all the stand users just touched their noses, didn't they? Including the old lady on Kakyouin's back! OOPS.

EWWW! GROSS! D: Stop touching Kakyouin!

Enya's been found out, but it's too late now... a zombie baby has crawled up onto Jotaro while he was distracted and used its Crazy Zombie Tongue (tm) to gouge a big hole in his leg. OH FUCK!! Jotaro announces that he's tired of all this nonsense and that he's gonna end the battle; Enya rattles off a lengthy bitchfest at him (funnier in English! XD) before suddenly keeling over, clutching at her throat and frothing at the mouth. What the hell?!

StarPla is inhaling Justice's head; being a stand of fog, its physical manifestation is basically damp air, and StarPla has the lungs of a champion. Clearly could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. Er, not that anyone would ever ask StarPla to do such a thing. Since her Stand's head is inside StarPla, Enya passes out, unable to breathe. Whee! (ITM, there was no Young Enya; she only exists in the anime. Also, Jotaro's cigarette trick happened during the Deep Blue Moon fight, not this one. However, the stuff about PolPol licking the toilet and Jotaro cheerfully suffocating old ladies is all in there!)

ABDUL I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE ALIVE!! WAAAAAAH

MANHUG!!!!!1

Awww. Kakyouin and Jotaro certainly understand the nature of Passionate Male Friendship! So Abdul... how is it that YOU AREN'T FUCKING DEAD?? Oh right. Well, you see, when Abdul was shot, he was stabbed at the same time, right? This caused him to bend back as the bullet hit him, and thus the bullet merely grazed him and left a groove in his skull. (Yeah, it's totally bullshit.) Oh, and how come nobody was surprised? Well, you see, they all knew he wasn't dead... they just didn't tell Polnareff because he's got a big mouth. (ITM, Abdul's return is about a billion times more cruel to poor Polnareff, although it's still kind of gay. XD)

EWWW! GROSS!!

Enya's head explodes with tentacles; it's one of those "buds of flesh" again. Dio's not gonna give our heroes a chance to question her. Sadly, Enya remains loyal to Dio even though he just betrayed her and asploded her head--that's the charisma of Dio. When Enya dies, the town fades away, and our heroes find themselves in a ruined city (this really makes no sense but whatever, anime, I guess it's pretty). Hol Horse's body is lying in the sand; he's still alive, so they just leave him there. (ITM, Hol Horse stole their jeep and escaped, and our heroes ended up moving on from zombietown in a horse-drawn carriage and taking the unconscious Enya with them; when they arrive in the next town, Steely Dan shows up and asplodes Enya's head.)

Jojo is coming to rape you, Dio! YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!

________________________________________________________________________

PREVIEW FOR NEXT TIME:

Polnareff gets pwnz3d by an extremely fugly Boston Terrier. DON'T MISS IT.

EPISODES FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE! As usual, these are hosted by me, so please, PLEASE do not repost or share these links around. Thanks!

* Episode 6
* Episode 7

Okay, doing some fic/art stuff tonight, and then tomorrow I'll start eps 8-9! We'll see how long they take. >_>; Crossposted to hail2jojo.

Later. "Let me occupy your mind, as you do mine..."

Black Jack episodes 3 and 4

2006-12-27T22:54:54Z

Next two episodes!

Episode downloads are a bit behind, but I wanted to get the recaps up. Check back later for the episode links.

Clinical Chart 03: The Decoration of Maria and Her Comrades

The episode opens with a man driving a truck through the country, when he's suddenly flown over by armed helicopters. It switches to a news brief announcing that the Federal Unites Air Force has officially invaded a country called the Ortega Republic and arrested their Prime Minister, General Cruz. This is a breach of diplomatic protocol, and other countries aren't too happy about it. But President Kelley of the Federal Unites holds a press conference to announce that Cruz is a glorified drug mogul and the Federal Unites is justified in bringing him to punishment.

Cruz is being held in a cell, and collapses in pain. He's obviously seriously ill.

At the Great Falls, near the Federal Unites northern border, Black Jack meets with a female client, Maria. She brings the $500,000 he asked for and tells him to wait for the patient a week from now. If she and the patient don't show, Black Jack gets to keep the money anyway.

As General Cruz is being relocated, Maria and a group of armed men attack the motorcade and break Cruz out, though Maria gets shot in the eye during the battle. One of the injured F.U. (haha) personnel gets a call out to the President, informing him of Cruz's escape.

Black Jack's decided to wait for Maria, figuring that half a mil for sitting around isn't so bad. Just as the time is up, Maria rushes in to get the doctor. He wants to treat her eye injury, but she tells him to leave it and come see the real patient, who's in much greater need. He tries to insist, but she takes her shirt off to reveal that she's covered in scars; they're her decoration as a soldier, and she wants them to demonstrate to Black Jack how serious she and her platoon are about fighting for their country. She takes him to the patient, General Cruz, and tells him that Cruz has cancer, with only one month left. They want Black Jack to keep Cruz alive long enough to get back to his country, so that he won't die as a criminal in captivity.

They arrive at the platoon's camp and Black Jack examines Cruz. Without proper equipment a proper examination is impossible, but Black Jack can tell that Cruz is close to the end of his rope and isn't sure that he'll survive the stress of being smuggled out of the country. He gives some morphine to Cruz for the pain, but knows that even that can't help much.

Everyone settles in for the night, and Maria strips down and heads into Black Jack's cot. The doctor protests and looks uncomfortable, but since she's been ordered to guard him he won't kick her out entirely. Maria says that this entire move to arrest Cruz is so the Federal Unites can start a civil war in Ortega, then move in and take control of the country's oil supply; Black Jack says he doesn't buy it, and Maria laughs at his aloof act.

The next morning, Maria leaves him her handgun for protection. The group gets ready to leave, but the outlook people are picking up some strange readings heading for them (no radar, but some noises). A F.U. helicopter unit flies in and drops grenades and soldiers on the camp. The fight is mostly one sided, since the F.U. guys have better equipment; Maria, Black Jack, Cruz, Col. Estephan and a few other men barely manage to escape.

Cruz is slipping fast, and he knows it. Black Jack thinks the only thing that might help is to remove the thyroid, though he's not sure how long that might keep him going, and he has no real facilities to perform the surgery. The soldiers beg him to help their General return home, and Black Jack decides to take a shot. He gets his equipment and some military first aid kits from the Ortegans' vehicles, and sets to work by moonlight. Maria offers her blood for transfusion, since she's the General's daughter and has the same blood type; Black Jack wants to avoid it if possible, since even heavy bleeding replaced by transfusion will stress the patient's health, but it's good fortune to have. The doctor sets to work but F.U. troops are closing in on their location. Estephan takes the other men and heads off to divert the enemy, leaving Maria, Black Jack and Cruz with a vehicle that they can use to escape on their own. Estephan's men soon split themselves, and he reminds them that anyone to get over the border will meet at the church in Kamale. After the others leave, Estephan is killed by the F.U. soldiers. While the enemy is preoccupied, Black Jack finishes the surgery and the three of them head out.

Back at the F.U. government, President Kelley is called in. They've found a murderer and drug addict who resembles Cruz and altered his face enough to increase the resemblance. The guy is completely out of it, and they plan to state that Cruz lost it in captivity and was addicted to drugs, while the fake sits quietly in court to be sentenced. Thus they can execute Cruz as soon as they find him, and still appear to have given a fair trial.

As they drive, Maria asks Black Jack why he wouldn't sleep with her. He claims not to remember, but she calls him on it, saying that he obviously has tragedy from years ago that he remembers well enough. Black Jack says he tries to forget the good things that happen to him in order to hold on to the rest; Maria is happy that he enjoyed being with her even if they didn't have sex, and feels that it reminds her that she's alive. She compares Black Jack to her father, being so focused and obsessed, even more so than herself. They're soon set upon by more F.U. helicopters, though, and Maria gets out with a rocket launcher to take them down, leaving Black Jack to leave with the General. She manages to blow up the low-flying helicopters, but gets shot and killed herself. Now it's up to Black Jack alone to finish his job and get Cruz the rest of the way.

The doctor and General finally reach the border, but find government officials waiting for them, including President Kelly's special aide. Cruz has Black Jack put him down and walks toward the border fence; he reveals explosives strapped to his chest, warning them not to shoot since they'll only blow themselves up as well. Cruz tries to climb the fence, seeing in his mind the sunflower fields of his country and waving to his people. The soldiers raise their guns, and Black Jack puts Maria's gun to the back of the President's aide's head, warning them not to shoot. The order is given anyway, and Cruz is blown apart by the ensuing explosion. Enraged, Black Jack finds himself unable to shoot, but does punch the aide out.

Black Jack travels to the church in Kamale, though he doesn't believe anyone will show. Sure enough, he waits for three days but none of the soldiers turn up. He fires Maria's pistol into the air in tribute before finally leaving.

Back at home, Pinoko finds Maria's dog tags in Black Jack's desk and asks about them. She wonders if it's a charm, and Black Jack says it is. But when asked, he says he hasn't quite figured out exactly what sort of charm it is.

This episode is inspired by the manga story "Promise."

Clinical Chart 04: Anorexia, the Two Dark Doctors

Black Jack drives along at night, thinking about the role of a doctor. He believes that patients want to live, and it's the doctor's duty to try their best to save them. However, sometimes patients lose the will to fight.

Elsewhere, a lean man with gray hair and an eye patch enters a large house from the rain. He sets up his case by a frail old man in bed, who thanks him for helping to end his suffering. The man says he's just going to help a little bit. He places some headphones onto the man's ears, playing Beethoven, and then hooks up an IV from his case, telling the old man that he'll simply fall asleep peacefully, listening to music.

As this other doctor leaves, Black Jack pulls up to the same house. They run into one another, and the man with the eye patch greets Black Jack (by name) and asks if the man was one of his patients. Black Jack is shocked to see Dr. Kiriko at his patient's house, and asks what he's doing there. Kiriko tells Black Jack his patient just died of natural causes before riding off on his motorcycle. Nearly panicked, Black Jack rushes into the house and asks what's going on, since they were scheduled for an operation soon; the family apologizes and says that their father was tired and had enough.

Michelle, a young actress, sits on a set, looking tired. She's called off to shoot, as her manager fends off a sleazy reporter (played by Tezuka's regular toady character Ham Egg). The reporter asks why a respectable director like Alex is casting some porn actress in a real movie, and whether she slept her way into the part or not; the man, infuriated, punches the reporter. Over on the set, they begin shooting the wedding scene, but Michelle collapses partway down the aisle; everyone rushes to help, and the reporter sees it all from the sidelines. A doctor finds that Michelle is suffering from stress and malnutrition, and the director gives her a week break to rest.

Michelle's manager reprimands her for not eating, but later when she attempts to eat an orange she is violently sick. The next day when her manager, who we learn is named Patrick, comes to pick her up, he finds a note from Michelle saying that she promises to call, so he shouldn't come looking for her.

Black Jack is taking a break for once, and getting a bit of sun at the pool, when Pinoko calls him up to fuss at him for leaving her at home waiting (and accuse him of being with some "cake face hussy" XD), and to tell him that somebody called about a job in France. It's only for $200,000, not much by Black Jack's usual standards, but he goes to check it out anyway. Sadly, another vacation cut woefully short. He arrives to meet up with Michelle's uncle, a local doctor named Armand Rochass, who called on behalf of Michelle. She's suffering from anorexia, but it appears to have happened quite suddenly and seems like it might not be due to body dysmorphia, but to another medical cause which Armand can't figure out.

Black Jack meets Michelle Rochass (stage name Michelle Petit), who confesses that she can't pay the full amount unless she gets last payment from her movie job, which she can't finish unless she gets better. Black Jack agrees to allow her to finish payment later, and begins the examination. Michelle talks a bit about her history and explains that she initially lost 10lbs for the movie, but soon afterward she began losing her appetite more and became unable to keep food down. Black Jack develops a few theories, but more examinations at a better facility are needed.

Meanwhile, Patrick and Alex discuss the fact that Michelle's been missing for 10 days with no word, but Alex has managed to extend shooting a bit longer to wait. Patrick wonders why he's so focused on Michelle, but Alex just plays it off.

Michelle dreams about growing up with her friend Catina. They held mock funeral performances where they buried stray or wild animals who had died, and pretended to be the relative and priest. The two of them also supported one another in their dreams, Michelle to be an actress and Catina to be an author.

Armand's friend, who has pull at a nearby hospital, gets them in and Black Jack performs all the tests he can think of needing in the amount of time they have. Michelle is getting worse, but she endures all the tests without complaining, indicating that she definitely wants to recover and finish the movie. As they return from the hospital, Michelle says she wants to go visit Catina's grave, but Armand says they can't get there easily and will go next time. He explains to Black Jack about the two friends, and that Catina died young of an illness, which he heard was pneumonia. That night, Black Jack starts a marathon session of reviewing the test results, but isn't seeing anything wrong that could cause this. During Black Jack's work, Michelle asks for food and hobbles down the stairs to try eating once again, but as usual she almost instantly throws up the small amount she had tried eating.

The sleazy reporter from before meets with Patrick and Alex at a restaurant, revealing that he found Michelle at a certain hospital. He offers to tell them where, but wants payment in turn. Wanting to find their leading lady, the two agree.

Michelle finds herself thinking about Catina still, and is getting more and more depressed about her apparently hopeless condition. Armand goes to check on her and sees large pink splotches appearing on Michelle's forehead. Michelle panics and gets into Armand's car, driving off (almost running Black Jack over in the process) to go visit her friend's grave. Black Jack thinks he's seen that erythema on the girl's face before, but can't quite place where, as he and Armand try to borrow a car and go after their patient. It's raining heavily, and Michelle eventually runs off the road.

Michelle wakes up some time later to find herself in a tent with none other than Dr. Kiriko from the beginning of the episode. She asks if he's a doctor, and he says that he used to be, but now he's a drifter who only practices occasionally by request. She asks about the classical music he's playing, which he says he composed himself; she calls him a musician, which he seems to find highly amusing. Her car is totaled, and he can tell that she's very ill, so Kiriko offers to bring her home. Michelle says she'd rather die and collapses, just as Black Jack and Armand pull up. Black Jack is surprised and unhappy to see Kiriko with another one of his patients. They get Michelle home and the 'two dark doctors' have a tense face off. Kiriko says he's seen that erythema before, but Black Jack wants him away from his patient and kicks him out. Kiriko agrees to leave, introducing himself to Armand only as Mozart as he goes.

Later, Michelle prepares for her bath. She's skeletal and becoming covered in the erythema, and seeing herself like this breaks the last of her resolve. Black Jack goes to check on Michelle and just manages to stop her from slitting her wrists. Outside, Patrick, Alex and the reporter arrive at Armand's place but are turned away. Before they leave, Alex asks whether Michelle is covered in red sores, which shocks Armand. He reveals that Catina was his younger sister, and before her death she was covered with the same sores. Michelle didn't recognize him because he was away at boarding school during the time she and Catina were together, but Alex heard about Michelle in his sister's letters, though he didn't realize who she was until after the audition. Nobody knew what Catina's illness was, but now at least Black Jack has a connection between two victims who were in the same place; he heads off to their old village in order to investigate.

Kiriko was apparently headed in the direction of Armand's place, and turns around to follow Black Jack. Stopping Black Jack and pulling up to him, Kiriko gives him an old text on chemical and biological weapons banned after WWI. Kiriko's an expert on toxicology, and eventually he remembered seeing those erythema in older texts, in an entry about a parasite designed as a bioweapon. He also tells Black Jack that near Anjou, where Michelle and Catina lived, there's a military dump site that holds biological weapons. Leaving Black Jack with the knowledge he needs, Kiriko turns back and goes on his way.

Arriving at Armand's place, Kiriko comes in to give Michelle flowers. Desperate, she asks whether he knows about the underground euthanasia doctor and how to contact him. Kiriko turns away, reminding her that doctor charges a fee, and Michelle remembers that she has no money to pay with—it's all gone to Black Jack. Kiriko leaves, never telling Michelle that he's the killing doctor she wanted.

At Anjou, Black Jack finds the dump site. He collects enough material to study and help cure Michelle, then torches the rest. Black Jack studies what he came back with, and discovers that Michelle had visited Catina's grave before the movie and was bitten by a rat. Feeling sure that he's figured out her illness and knowing how to fix it, he takes her in to operate and remove the parasite.

Cured now, Michelle finally finishes her movie and launches her career as a legitimate actress. Black Jack takes Pinoko to see the finished film; Pinoko gets all teary over the love story, but Black Jack has just fallen asleep in his seat.

This episode is inspired by two stories, "Black Mirror Image" and "Death of a Movie Star."

[Unfortunately, Dr. Kiriko only appears in one episode of this OVA series. However, he's a reoccurring character in the original series, appearing more than most other supporting cast members. Kiriko is sometimes referred to as "Black Jack's dark mirror" because the two are very similar in personality, MO and to some extent appearance (they're both obviously maimed and look rather dour) but with a key difference in their view of medical ethics. Kiriko served as a doctor during war time, and saw such horrendous suffering that he came to believe that sometimes ending a patient's life of pain is the best one can do. Black Jack, however, believes that a doctor should fight to save their patient until the very end, and euthanasia is a complete betrayal of that. Most of the time they're going against one another, and they each rarely become bigger assholes than when in one another's presence. However, occasionally they end up working together and when that happens, they tend to make the best team ever since they're both medical geniuses.]

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Clinical Chart 03
Clinical Chart 04