Anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD have announced the upcoming home media Blu-ray release of Black Jack – The Complete OVA Series on December 16th.
A riveting “Dr. House meets the X-Files” style medical drama based on the bestselling 1970s manga series by Osamu Tezuka, the Black Jack OVAs depict the adventures of a mysterious but extraordinarily talented physician who solves the most challenging medical cases…for a price. These episodes expanded the popular Black Jack anime franchise and were directed by the legendary Osamu Dezaki, a cofounder of Studio Madhouse. The OVAs were celebrated for breathtaking animation, drama, and use of innovative directing techniques. Unavailable for nearly 20 years, the new AnimEigo release presents all 12 OVA episodes in crisp 1080p HD for the first time in this comprehensive Blu-ray home media release.
Pre-orders are available now at: https://www.mediaocd.com/product-page/black-jack-the-complete-ova-series-blu-ray
When mysterious medical ailments strike, there is only one person to call: the mysterious Black Jack – an unlicensed doctor who can solve any malady… for a price. Aided by his zesty little companion Pinoko, Dr. Black Jack travels the world, curing diseases that, at times, seem almost supernatural. But there is always a cure… or is there?
Director Osamu Dezaki had a tremendous impact on the anime industry over his nearly 50-year career. His distinct visual style made use of methods such as split-screen and stark lighting, and he developed several proprietary techniques such as “pastel freeze frames” and the “tripe swish pan.” Pastel freeze frames, which he called “postcard memories,” featured a scene fading into an identical image that mimicked a detailed “painting” of the shot, and the “triple swish pan” that repeated quick cuts of a climactic moment in rapid succession to emphasize a very dramatic scene. These became signature techniques Dezaki used frequently throughout Black Jack.
In 1963, Dezaki joined Osamu Tezuka’s animation studio, Mushi Production, and made his directorial debut in 1970 with the boxing drama, Ashita no Joe (Tomorrow’s Joe). In 1972, he co-founded the legendary anime studio, Madhouse. Dezaki’s other notable credits included Astro Boy, Space Cobra, Rose of Versailles and Nobody’s Boy Remi (also available on Blu-ray from AnimEigo).
In 1977, the Black Jack manga won the first Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category. It has since become one of Osamu Tezuka’s bestselling manga with over 47 million copies sold in Japan. Osamu Dezaki’s anime film adaptation, Black Jack: The Movie, won Best Animation Film at the 1996 Mainichi Film Awards.
Source: Press Release
