Osamu Tezuka, often called “The God of Manga” (in many cases by himself), has certainly given us many iconic characters—Astro Boy, Sapphire the princess with two hearts, and his epic Phoenix. Among these is the instantly recognizable Black Jack, a man with mismatched hair and face, the rogue surgeon who will take on almost any case for enough money.

In AnimEigo's Black Jack: The Complete OVA series, produced by MediaOCD, we get to experience some of Black Jack's oddest medical mysteries. These are combined with Tezuka's passionate advocacy against environmental destruction, government corruption, militarism, and other causes in which he so firmly believed. Episodes 1-10 are directed by the equally legendary Head Director Osamu Dezaki, whose visual oeuvre is so strikingly dramatic. Extras on this set include commentary by Dezaki in conversation with Producer Sumio Udagawa, Udagawa interviewing Ep. 11 Director Satoshi Kuwabara, and Ep. 12 Director Masayoshi Nishida, and an interview with voice actors for Black Jack, Akio Ōtsuka, and Pinoko, Yūko Mizutani.

The stories in this collection are memorable chapters from the Black Jack manga. In his commentary, Dezaki discusses how he approached his episodes, since this was his first time working as Head Director on a Tezuka property with Tezuka Pro. His earlier Head Director work with Mushi Pro was on Ashita no Joe, and he had, famously, worked on Riyoko Ikeda's Dear Brother at Tezuka Pro. Dezaki jokes that when he was finally assigned Black Jack, he said, “Finally!”

Producer Udagawa and Dezaki talk in detail about the process of these ten episodes, working on them three episodes at a time, with constant rewrites. Some of the most interesting commentary centers on the characters themselves. Black Jack is, of course, seen as cold and aloof in the beginning of every episode, but as these stories play out, Dezaki and voice actor Otsuka manage to give the titular character emotional depth and humanity. This was especially obvious in Karte 2, “A Funeral, the Procession Game," and 10: "The Sinking Woman." We see a Black Jack who is no less obsessed with finding the cause of a disease, but also able to be kind to a suffering young woman, just to be able to help. Of the episodes, the second, which focused on four teenage girls who accidentally get caught up in a situation much bigger than themselves, is truly the definitive Black Jack episode. Government corruption, criminal cartels, and a girl who has been abandoned by her family and has lost all but one of her friends, with Dezaki's instantly identifiable direction and design, made for an incredible episode.

There is some interesting commentary, too, about Pinoko. My hot take is that she is awful. Dezaki thought he'd cut her initially, but ultimately came to appreciate her as comic relief. In Karte 11: "Visited Memories," we get a glimpse at her backstory, which does add some gravitas to an otherwise hard-to-deal-with character.

Udagawa spoke in the commentary about not making animation too childish, because that underestimates children. It was also interesting to learn that these episodes had Dr. Nagai as a consultant who helped identify the diseases that they wanted to portray. Dezaki says that the motto they used as they made these episodes was to “make the impossible possible.” While many of the diseases were far-fetched, others seem positively mundane, which made for an interesting shift of tension—this is especially true in several of the episodes in which psychological trauma and memory are key to diagnosis.

For episode 10, Dezaki discusses the place of “fictional myth” and why humans create mythological stories. He also talks about the character that drives that episode, who represents a real person whose life was destroyed by industrial waste. The whole episode is both realistic and wholly fictional, so he could tell this story of a girl who is “closer to god” because of her situation. The 6th episode is the rare “even too weird for Black Jack” episode, which includes ghosts, time travel, a blizzard, and an Edo-period cult.

So far, I have spoken about the storytelling and commentary, but of course, the production from MediaOCD is also top-notch. Settings on the menu are customizable – and straightforward to use. The resolution allows us to appreciate when we're told that we are seeing early digital technology or new techniques designed to make the backgrounds and the in-series media look real and rich. Extras include an SD 4x 3 version of several episodes. The voice acting is also excellent; every episode includes at least one name that will make any seiyuu otaku exclaim with joy. I watched a few episodes in dub and found the dub track felt very natural and well-done. I expected no less, but it was nice to actually hear. My only low score is the music, which was very period without being good, but of course, if you love that theme, rock on.

As a set, this is just overall excellent. Great to watch, to listen to, with insightful commentary and interviews. A great gift for the Tezuka, Black Jack, or classic anime fan in your life.