Produced by Tezuka Production Black Jack Committee
Slowly, like the wind,
the light flows along,
illuminating the path.
Picking flowers as they go, the children run,
racing each other across the drawbridge.
Love is a smile.
Love is a song.
Slowly, like the...
Lawrence! Lawrence, wait! I said wait!
It's the middle of choir practice!
They can't have their soloist run off! Lawrence!
I can't do it, Big Brother! I... I feel sick!
Really, really sick!
Lawrence, what is this?
What's wrong with your hands?
It was 50 years ago, during a terrible drought in this country.
A huge amount of water gushed from the thick roots of this tree.
Our village was the only one that survived the drought!
Not just that.
There was that big magnitude-seven earthquake twelve years ago.
This tree saved us that time, too.
It had been alive so long...
that its roots held the ground together.
The only damage to the village was the collapse of a garden shed!
Don't you see? This is no ordinary tree.
It holds a vast soul to which we mere humans cannot be compared.
And there's no way this tree can ever be cut down!
But, Mr. Armando...
This is the only route the road from the city can take...
to bypass the ridge.
I'm not talking about building a road!
I'm telling you not to try cutting this tree down!
This tree may be known as The Protector around here...
but the truth is it's also called The Man-Eater.
You see all the ropes still hanging from its branches?
Yes. Those who have grown tired of life and have lost hope...
are all somehow drawn here at the end,
as if by some strange power.
Tell me, Mr. Jones,
have you ever seen the faces...
of those who have hanged themselves here?
N-No.
They all wore a peaceful smile.
As though they died at home, in the arms of their wives.
You see what this tree really is?
If you try to cut it down, it'll resist.
Something terrible will happen.
It has that power.
Dear Mother and Father, How are you?
While I've been here for four years, this is only Lawrence's first.
He's been pretty nervous about all sorts of things,
but I think it's just new-term jitters, and he'll be okay.
At least, I've seen new students who were a lot more nervous than him.
By the way, today, Lawrence...
No...
By the way, today, Lawrence's appetite was as big as ever!
Lawrence!
Even though I didn't tell you to come...
Please describe your symptoms and how much you can pay.
I was twenty, you were nineteen...
Please help me, Doctor. My brother... My little brother is...
You again.
Oh! Welcome home!
Any phone calls? Visitors?
You shouldn't ever, ever depend on me! Whoa!
I just wanna keep doing what I do!
Clinical Chart 8 Green Sentiments
I don't want to hear your sad good-byes.
So, get on with it and leave me!
'Cause this hasn't been the type of love...
where I thought I'd get back everything.
Gave up all I had to be with you.
The least you could do is face me!
As you starve yourself, you waste away...
like you're crucified and dying!
Enrobed in the dark of my heart...
I take the memories we had, and throw them out forever!
Way down deep inside your sober, searching eyes...
emerges a pitch-black shadow that...
reminds me of a god of death.
After all, you never let me see inside...
see inside that heart of yours. Oh...
I must look like I'm a tiny little child...
who buries my head into your lap...
to cry into your waiting arms.
Just before I fell apart was when I saw...
saw the sun peek out of the clouds.
It hasn't even been a week since that phone call brought...
the Doctor and me to the outskirts of London.
The Doctor doesn't usually react so rashly,
without a preliminary investigation.
But the voice on the phone held all he needed to know.
Please help me, Doctor. My brother...
My little brother has something wrong with him!
I try and try, but I can't run!
It started on his palms. Now it's spread to his chest.
More and more sprouts are appearing now!
At this rate, he's going to turn into a plant!
Love is a smile.
Love is a song.
Slowly, like the wind,
love overflows.
Just as God allows...
Doctor, which one has the leaves growing on him?
Are you Andrew?
Yes, sir.
Where is your brother?
He went back to our dorm room.
He said he was tired.
Take me to him. This all starts with an examination.
I'm worried! I don't want the others to see him.
Everyone will talk about him!
You haven't told anyone but the Doctor about it?
I can't go to anyone about this!
There's no way I could!
This is really eating you up.
You're his brother, so...
All right, then bring him to the Persimmon Hotel on Plum Street.
I have a room there.
Yes, sir. I hope you can help.
How did you know about me?
I heard a doctor who visited our home once mention you.
He said there was someone who could cure any illness,
perform any operation.
And that his name was Black Jack.
That's why I was so desperate to find your phone number!
Hello, Lawrence.
H- Hello...
How do you feel?
Who is this? Who are you?
I am your friend.
Who?
I'm sure you'll remember.
Wow, your little brother's cute, too!
Doctor, this is Lawrence.
Please help him.
Doctor? This man's a doctor?
Yeah. This is Dr. Black Jack.
He'll definitely be able to help cure you.
I hate getting shots!
I'm not sick! I'm not sick at all!
Pinoko?
'Kay!
You'll be fine! Just take off your clothes.
The Doctor's just gonna examine you.
Please, please, help my brother!
When I'm 21, I can use my father's fortune to pay your fee!
Just wait till then!
Get me an eye loupe! And some forceps!
Right!
What will you do?
The road's already crossing the Kazura Falls.
They'll be here in a month, at most.
What will you do?
It's no use.
I haven't heard your voice since I was thirteen.
Yes, only one with an unclouded heart can hear your voice.
At sixteen, I became a thief.
I've been in and out of prison since I was eighteen.
I've even killed people.
And committed petty crimes I can't even remember.
I'm human trash.
For over 60 years, I've wandered around.
And somehow, I've ended up back in this village.
I thought I'd borrow one of your branches to hang myself.
And yet here I am, still alive!
Does it hurt?
Not at all.
I keep records of the strange illnesses...
which strike the human body.
For example, mycosis fungoid sarcoma.
Dry, red patches appear on the skin,
spreading, enlarging, and conjoining as the disease progresses,
eventually producing mushroom-like growths.
Something can cause the skin to thicken,
resulting in elephantiasis, which causes elephant-like skin.
Skin can also become remarkably dry,
presenting the fish-scale-like look of ichthyosis.
But those illnesses are explainable by modern medicine.
Some are caused by viruses, others by parasitic toxins.
Cancer can cause the skin to change.
Allergies can also be involved.
But none of those explanations applies to this boy!
The samples I took from his body...
are clearly and undeniably plant tissue of the Fagus Sieboldii.
I'm Pinoko!
Chief assistant to the genius Dr. Black Jack,
and his manager, too!
Pleased to meet you.
There is no precedent of plant life growing on a living animal.
What about the Caterpillar Mushroom?
I checked up on them in the Royal Library.
I was worried about my brother, so...
Caterpillar Mushroom?
It's a type of mushroom that grows on burrowing insects.
Scientific name: Cordyceps Sinensis.
Used as an herbal medicine in China since ancient times.
But mushrooms are fungi, simpler than vegetation.
It's absolutely impossible for anything more complex...
than moss or a fern to grow on an animal.
I need to do a detailed examination.
I'll need until tomorrow to arrange a place with proper equipment.
Understand, Lawrence?
Yes, sir.
Tell me the symptoms you feel.
It's hard to breathe sometimes.
But aside from that, it doesn't really hurt or anything.
But I'm always sleepy.
No matter how much I rest, I can't stay awake for ten minutes.
And your dreams? What do you dream about?
Pinoko, call a taxi.
Right!
I'll take you two back to your dorm.
Thank you very much.
About that trust fund of yours...
Yes, sir?
I'm not interested in an old mars money.
Huh?
You and your brother will grow up, work together, and split the cost.
You'll pay me back on your own.
Yes, sir!
St. Ando scotch with soda, please.
Right. The usual.
What's there to like about it?
The villagers are so damned happy...
that the road from the city's going through here!
Ha! You're so happy about bringing the city closer to us?
The city's got real schools and hospitals.
With the bus coming through, it's less than an hour to get there.
Having to go around the ridge like we always have,
it takes half a day to get there.
Besides, there're jobs in the city.
We can finally stop being poor here!
Listen! All you talk about is going to the city.
What about the people from the city who'll come here?
Those clever foxes will eat you guys alive!
Heh. You won't stand a chance.
They'll take your houses, your land...
At best, you'll wind up as their servants!
You stupid old drunk!
No! Leave him alone!
Let's call it a night. Big day tomorrow.
Does hating to be poor mean it's okay to cut down that tree?
You damned fools!
Dammit! Damn it all.
Assholes.
Mr. Armando.
I'm sorry, but it's no use.
I mean, I agree with what you say.
I called a meeting to see if there was any way...
we could change the road's course without cutting the tree down.
But it was no use.
Changing the plan when it's 80% complete...
was deemed too expensive, so they rejected it.
I see.
May I pay for your drinks tonight?
You really tried.
Yes?
Forgive the intrusion. You have a phone call.
Put it through.
Doctor? Dr. Black Jack?
What's wrong, Andrew?
My brother... He's gone!
I've searched all over school, and he's not here!
I don't know when he left. I was sound asleep!
We gotta go out in the middle of the night?
Go back to sleep. I should be back in the morning.
Of course.
I'm so unlucky.
And my luck's never gonna improve.
Because, no matter how much I care for him,
the Doctor will just never realize it.
Who is it? Who's there?
I... I have to go. Come with me.
Where? Where do you have to go?
To someplace far, far away.
Okay. Let's go.
Hey, look! I've spread a seed.
We're connected now.
Yeah.
Lawrence!
Where are you, Lawrence? Come out! Lawrence!
Lawrence!
Does he know the area outside of the school?
Lawrence is kind of a coward.
He's been here at boarding school for a year,
but he's never left the grounds.
He hasn't even made any friends with his classmates.
He always depends on me.
No. He may have gone outside after all.
It's not here! Lawrence's suitcase is gone!
Underwear and shirts, too. Everything he owned!
He couldn't have. He's never even ridden the bus by himself!
This way?
Yeah, this way.
Where will this way take us?
I dunno, but it's this way.
This way...
Yes.
Tell me about your parents.
Where are your mother and father?
Huh? Oh, s-sure.
They're in the Republic of San Ferna.
The Republic of San Ferna?
Yes. It's a little country in South America.
They're in the village of La Perna, in the mountains.
Father manages UN aid for developing countries.
He's been posted at that village for the last five years.
Lawrence lived in La Perna until last year.
There's no way he'd head back there, is there?
No way. He's never flown on an airplane alone before.
He doesn't have any money!
Besides...
Besides, you haven't told your parents of his illness yet.
Anyway, I should search the nearby area one more time.
And in the morning, I'll check the train stations and taxis.
Yes, sir.
Now, get some sleep. You're close to a nervous collapse.
But...
The missing boy is my patient. Leave this to me.
So pretty...
This feels so good!
Yes... I suddenly realize what I've been looking for...
Warm sunlight,
the scent of a gentle waterside...
I'm so happy!
Here, I can recover. Here, my heart can be at peace.
I don't want anything else anymore.
Welcome back, sir.
Where is my companion?
She's not in our room! Did she say where she went?
Um, no. I have no idea.
Ya big meanie! Bleaugh!
Hey, Sister! Your mobile's ringin'.
Yeah? Hello?
Where are you? What are you doing?
Say, where am I? I wonder what I'm doing.
Lawrence! Is Lawrence with you, by any chance?
Lawrence is sleeping, and I'm sleepy.
We're hitchhiking to the airport.
Airport? Where are you going? Hello?
Pinoko! Hey! Hello?
Mother!
Dear, did you hear that?
Hm? What?
I thought I heard a voice.
I didn't.
Mother!
Mother.
Andrew! Dear, Andrew's here!
Has Lawrence come back here?
Lawrence? What's happened to Lawrence, Andrew?
We tracked him as far as San Ferna International Airport.
It's evident that Lawrence entered this country early this morning.
Who... who are you?
Black Jack. I was hired by your son.
So, now which way?
This way.
Right! Mis-ter Da-ru-ma.
In the col-os-se-um.
Mis-ter Ya-ma-da.
Mo-ving a-way.
Miss Bet-ty.
In the bath-room!
Drink up.
Drink when you're happy...
Drink when you're sad...
Armando...
Leave me alone!
Armando!
I said shut up!
Who's there?
It can't be! I can't hear your voice anymore!
Armando.
It's not true! I can't hear you!
I'm a washed up, worthless, criminal, dirty, rotten thug!
I'm drunk! I'm drunk and hearing things!
I've a favor to ask, Armando.
Will you greet my friends for me?
You're saying Lawrence is ill?
I'm afraid I can't be more precise until I've examined him closely,
but there's a definite abnormality in your son's body.
My initial examination shows it's affecting...
his cardio-pulmonary functions.
It's 80 kilometers from here to the airport.
First of all, we have to find him.
Lawrence!
Wait! I'll go!
Stay here! Wait for Lawrence!
You stay, as well.
I need your phone.
Sure. Go ahead.
Answer it, Pinoko!
You've reached the message center of...
There's two of me,
and only one of you.
I can't... can't see well in front of me.
I'm so happy!
I heard your voice! Just like I did when I was a boy!
Everything's sparkling, just like it did then!
My tired body and soul have been revived!
My soul is on fire!
I'm grateful! I'm so grateful!
Hold it. I smell water!
Oh? Which way now?
It's wonderful! Even the earth is soft and warm.
What are you talking about?
Here will be fine. I'll lie down here.
I'll just let time pass gently, and then I'll put down roots.
I'll become a young sapling here.
Oh, it feels so good!
No! Lawrence, no! Stop it!
Somebody! Somebody, help us!
Hi! Hi! Pinoko here!
Where are you? Pinoko, where are you?
Where on Earth can I be?
Watch where you're driving, ya dumbass!
We used the equipment in the San Ferna University Hospital...
to perform the detailed exam on Lawrence that very day.
Lawrence's father used his connections with the UN...
to get us whatever we needed.
In any case, the Doctor is examining Lawrence with all of his attention.
I was asked to do it.
Do what?
Well, I was asked to meet some friends.
To beat some wrens?
I mean, I was to take you somewhere.
Where? For what? By whom?
Um, well, that's sorta hard to explain.
What are you mumbling about?
Lawrence requires surgery.
I'd like to ask for parental permission.
First of all, look at this.
An unbelievable effect is taking place in Lawrence's body.
That shoots and roots are growing from his body is shocking in itself,
but the parasitic process is truly miraculous.
In short, where these stems and roots directly contact his nervous system,
blood vessels, bones, flesh, and organs,
they cleverly avoid them.
The parasites continue to grow without affecting him much.
As though a world-class surgeon had implanted them.
Meaning what, exactly?
There is an intelligence behind this.
I believe this Fagus Sieboldii possesses...
some form of consciousness,
and has parasitically joined with Lawrence for a reason.
But if we allow it to keep growing inside of him,
there's a high probability that it will sap his strength...
and badly damage his internal organs.
Doctor!
May I have your permission to operate?
I'll operate at once!
What's wrong? Aren't you going to assist me?
Hurry and get changed.
Doctor...
What?
Those sprouts... They're growing on me, too!
What?
Lawrence planted his seeds into me!
Please, operate on me, too!
- Here? - Yeah.
What's so funny?
Yes, you have a sprout, but you can relax.
You have artificial skin. It's quite dead already.
Huh...?
Well, we have to start. What'll you do?
I'll... I'll go change!
Besides me, the doctors and nurses of the university hospital...
all assisted in the operation.
It began well.
As always, the doctor's scalpel work was smooth,
without a wasted incision.
He attacked the thing growing through Lawrence's body,
at times subtly, at others daringly.
Dear, you should sit down.
Papa...
Fagus Sieboldii... That's what Dr. Black Jack said, right?
It can't be.
It can't be, can it, Armando?
Well, I'm not sure.
That tree on the ridge...
That's a Fagus Sieboldii, isn't it?
You're always talking about a curse from that tree!
Is the thing affecting my son supposed to be that curse?
I don't know.
I'll bet you're happy about this!
Damn you!
Papa, stop! Stop it!
It was Mr. Armando who saved Lawrence...
from wandering in the woods, wasn't it?
Lawrence is a good boy.
And I'm not happy about this at all.
I just made up that stuff about a curse.
The Protector would never do something like that.
Excuse me, Mr. Jones. Madam. Andrew.
Where are you going, Mr. Armando?
To the village.
That village is the only place I have to go.
Blood pressure?
100 over 50.
Pulse?
96.
Slowly inject karnigen and Decadron.
Injecting, Doctor.
Pinoko!
Yes?
We have to remove the seed.
Seed?
The acromial region of the right shoulder blade.
I see the shadow of what looks like a seed.
The roots seem to extend through the body from here.
I also see evidence of a bone fracture.
Scalpel.
Scalpel!
The operation stretched into its fifth hour.
When San Ferna City was covered with stars, it ended.
Doctor!
The operation was a huge success!
Good work to everyone who helped!
I'll tentatively say that I've removed...
all foreign substances from his body.
If his recuperation goes well, the bandages can come off...
in ten days.
By the way, Mr. Jones...
This is the seed that caused the problem.
From what I saw, it entered his body about two years ago,
when he broke his shoulder.
I think it was near him when it happened.
The Fagus Sieboldii.
I'd like you to tell me about that accident.
I see... Its seed got into him then.
Two years ago in winter, La Perna was hit by an abnormal cold snap.
The day started out clear,
but by afternoon there was a nasty blizzard.
Lawrence was playing with a friend and disappeared.
According to his friend, who made it home first,
they'd been separated in the blizzard in the mountains.
The entire village searched for him. He was found three days later.
Lawrence had broken his shoulder falling from a cliff,
and we found him, unable to walk, in a hollow in the tree.
It had sheltered him from the cold and the snow.
It was a beech tree. A Fagus Sieboldii.
The tree the villagers call The Protector...
and The Man-Eater!
Once they pave the Tamara Ridge, it's all over.
They'll cross the ridge and be here in a week.
I've decided.
If it's the end for you, then it's the end for me, too.
Now that I've heard your voice again, I have no more regrets.
That time, when I came back to end it all,
when I hanged myself from your branch,
you intentionally broke it and saved my life.
But don't do that this time, old friend!
Anyway, now's the time.
I don't want to see any more sad things.
I make it a policy to get while the getting's good.
Drink when you're happy.
Drink when you're sad.
It's not surprising a plant can demonstrate consciousness.
Humans usually live a century, at most.
But plants can live for millennia.
Man, with logic and brains,
assumes there is nothing in the natural world he doesn't understand.
However! However!
I do not believe in anything unless I see it with my own eyes...
and feel it with my own body!
If you have it, then show me! Demonstrate your consciousness!
Show me your strange power!
You can't force it to do that!
Only those who deserve it can see its power!
It's impossible for an impure man!
I have a passing friendship with it.
Even at my age, it still talks to me a little.
Ordinary people can't do it.
And a man like you can never do it, Black Jack!
I know about you!
You dirty yourself by earning money in the underworld, don't you?
Why didn't you let me die?
I don't want to see them cut this tree down!
Try hanging yourself when I'm gone.
Anyone is free to kill himself as long as I'm not looking.
The cha-me-le-on chan-ges its co-lor!
A-ma-de-us Mo-za-rt!
Pinoko!
Yes? Yes?
Let's go.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
Lawrence's post-op recovery went well,
and soon we were back in the village waiting to remove his bandages.
The Doctor, being the Doctor,
went to the old tree day after day, examining it thoroughly.
Pinoko!
Coming!
I dunno what you're trying to find out,
but a quack like you will never understand the truth of this tree!
Oh, hello, Pops. Haven't hanged yourself yet?
Not quite yet.
Well, everyone's life is precious.
I've got my reasons, so shut up!
Still, it's an amazing tree.
Starting with the Cuscuta Japonica,
there are over ten varieties of parasitic plant.
More than 70 if you count mosses.
I'm guessing this tree is at least 3,500 years old.
You've fallen in love with it!
But in the end, a plant is just a plant.
I don't believe it has the power to become a parasite to human flesh...
You need to study more, ya quack!
...not to mention possess intelligence.
And then, after all this, the final day arrived.
All right, Lawrence. Shall we remove those bandages?
Yeah!
No... It's impossible!
Armando!
I used to be pretty good at fighting UN soldiers in the war!
C'mon! I dare you to try cutting my friend down!
As long as I draw breath, I won't let you do this!
Armando... Stop this, I beg you!
Oh, no! Stay back! Get too close and I'll barbecue you!
I remember now. Yes... I remember my promise!
Promise? To whom? For what?
Lawrence!
That's right. That time, I made a promise!
Where are you going?
The night of the blizzard, I made a promise!
Lawrence! You'll be safe from the blizzard for days...
where you are.
But I'm so hungry!
Eat the seeds you see here.
All the mountain animals store them for the winter.
They're good! Really good! Thank you!
You'll be leaving for London soon, right?
For secondary school. I've decided to join the choir.
Your voice is very beautiful.
I always listen to your voice carried upon the wind.
Then I'll sing for you the next time I'm home!
That would be wonderful! I look forward to it!
I promise!
A promise, then.
You finally came, My end is at hand.
I so wanted to hear you sing...
Then I'll sing to you, with all my heart.
Slowly, like the wind,
the light flows along,
illuminating the path.
Picking flowers as they go, the children run,
racing each other across the drawbridge.
Love is a smile.
Love is a song.
Slowly, like the wind,
love overflows,
You're leaving us? just as God allows.
Hi, Lawrence! How are you?
Oh, good! Your brother's doing well, too!
So, they finished the road through the ridge,
and now the bus comes through.
Hm... Huh?
Your choir won a cash prize in the British Nationals?
Super cool!
So, how's Old Man Armando?
Still drinking and loafing around? Oh, well.
And he cries to himself sometimes?
Guess he's hopeless.
So, anyway...
Black Jack...
I have lived for 4,500 years.
And now, my life begins anew.
Remember when you came to me then,
trying to show me the way that love should be?
You walk alone, step into the street,
keeping an eye looking at me.
Ah, it's so dazzling bright.
I have to shut my eyes.
Ah, in the future facing me,
the sun burns a fire so bright. I just begin to feel its light.
Just persevere, don't shed a tear,
don't give up and fear the worst.
Just trust yourself above all else. Put your intuition first.
You passed along love so strong...
it was bursting powerfully.
Draw it close to comfort me.
Just persevere, don't shed a tear,
don't give up and fear the worst.
Just trust yourself above all else. Put your intuition first.
You passed along love so strong...
it was bursting powerfully.
Draw it close to comfort me.