Young Black Jack

Young Black Jack was launched in 2011 as a prequel to Osamu Tezuka’s seminal medical manga, Black Jack. Written by Yoshiaki Tabata and illustrated by Yūgo Ōkuma, the series explores the formative years of Kuro Hazama, the enigmatic, unlicensed surgeon who would later become the legendary Black Jack. The narrative is set during the late 1960s, framing the protagonist’s medical education against a backdrop of Vietnam War protests and student activism in Japan, which effectively grounds the character’s emerging cynical worldview in the socio-political turmoil of the era.

The design of the series was intended to pay homage to Tezuka’s original aesthetic while adapting it to a more contemporary, sleek manga art style. By depicting the origin of the titular character's scar and his early encounters with the medical establishment, Tabata and Ōkuma sought to demystify the medical genius. Upon its release, the series was received as a respectful expansion of the Black Jack mythos, eventually gaining enough popularity to be adapted into a television anime series in 2015.