Kei Kisaragi is Black Jack's old friend. He used to be Megumi, Black Jack's former love interest who underwent surgery to cure himself of his ovarian cancer (Black Jack performed the surgery). Kei lost his feminine parts (entire female reproductive system), therefore believing he lost his entire female identity with it, and begins to live his life as a man.
Personality[]
He appears to be a kind person who respects Black Jack as a friend but wishes to forget about his past as a woman, having chosen to become a ship's doctor because it was a man's job. Whenever he sees Black Jack he always has a beaming smile, and he is quite expressive. He also seemed to treat Pinoko very well when they first met, and although he did reprimand her, he seems to be responsible as well.
History[]
He was Megumi, and Black Jack's girlfriend before he had surgery due to having ovarian cancer which forced Black Jack to remove his entire female reproductive system, and believing that he was no longer a woman, blocked out the former feelings he had for Black Jack. However, it's shown years after the surgery that they remain good friends, if not more. Kei sent Black Jack a letter about a young sailor who wants to have his enormous back tattoos removed, because he discovered Kei was biologically a woman, and wanted to marry him (as a woman). He has assumed (without basis) that Kei would not marry him if he had the tattoos in The Sea Smells of Romance. Black Jack is addressed very cordially in the letter, indicating they are on good terms and speak occasionally. Although they do not meet again for another five years after Kei's operation, Black Jack and Kei seem to still have feelings for each other.
Gender[]
In the manga, Kei was born female but after an operation that removed his entire female reproductive system, he begins to live as a man. Although the in-story reason is that the loss of his female organs caused him to become more "masculine", this is not totally medically accurate. The surgical procedure is formally called a Hysterosalpingo-oophorectomy and its consequences include premature menopause and lowered libido due to a significant drop in feminizing hormones, but this alone does not necessarily produce virilization or make someone a man. Whether this may have been Tezuka's best guess for the effects of this procedure, or simply an in-story reason to have Kei transition from female to male, the author's original motive is unclear, but it does leave the possibility that Kei decided to transition by choice. It is also possible that the story is a dramatization of the side effects of such a medical procedure, considering Black Jack is a medical drama, though not entirely scientifically accurate. Regardless, Kei is referred to using the pronouns He/Him in the manga post-ovarian cancer and at the very least actively choses to live as a man, so most of the fandom regards him as a transgender man. It cannot be stated enough, however, that it is entirely unclear what the original author intent was behind this decision, and it should be reminded that the manga was drawn in the late 1970's and is therefore a product of its time.
Relationship with Black Jack[]
Due to above column on Kei's gender, Kei will not be referred to as a "she/her" or even "Megumi" when living as a woman, but simply as "Kei", or by "he/him" pronouns. Further note, the kanji for "Kei" and "Megumi" are the same and can be read differently depending on interpretation (apologies for not having the actual kanji).
HISTORY OF: Although Black Jack is almost never depicted reciprocating romantic feelings, he did once have a genuine romance; Back when Black Jack was still studying there was a woman in his same department called Megumi Kisaragi (later known as Kei Kisaragi). He secretly watched over Kei and kept him safe (ie; Kei worked late, so Black Jack would stay late and follow him home to ensure he wasn't assaulted on the streets, etc). After a night where Black Jack fought of these thugs for him on the way home, it left Kei no doubt Black Jack was following him home to keep him safe. Kei slowly developed feelings for Black Jack, but soon fell ill with Uterine Cancer. Due to the advanced nature of the cancer, there was no choice but removes Kei's female reproductive organs completely. Black Jack urged his department to let him take over the surgery for Kei, and even confessed his love to Kei on the operating table, and they share a kiss. After the operation, Kei decided he was "no longer a woman" and decided to live out the rest of his life as a man, eventually getting a job as a ship's doctor.
In story, this is all a flashback where Kei, as a man, is telling Pinoko about a woman, Megumi, that Black Jack has photos of. Kei only refers to the person as "his sister". After the flashback, Black Jack hands Kei this same photo album and says, "Well I... forgot to give you this album... with old photos of you" (Black Jack Vol 1, Ch. 6, Page 135). The chapter ends with two panels of Kei sailing away and Black Jack in his car, both staring out wistfully into the sky. Although never being explicitly stated, it is implied to be romantic longing for a love that was once and can no longer be, due to societal circumstances (Black Jack was written in and takes place in the 70s, leaving no chance for him to be openly dating a man, much less a transgender man). They seem to want to continue their relationship but know they cannot, which calls into question Black Jack's sexuality. They are never seen engaging romantically again but there is subtext that Black Jack still has feelings for Kei as a man, spurring many headcanons, fan fiction and art work of the two together happily. In another chapter "SL Called Life", Kei runs into Black Jack on the train and says to him, "I still love you". Although this is all projected to be a dream sequence in Black Jack's head, he seems to still linger on their romance. Evidently, Black Jack still has feelings for him even if he knows they cannot be together. Kei never explicitly reciprocates these feelings but there is a general assumption based off subtext that he would like to. The author leaves this very vague, most likely on purpose due to attitudes about gay and transgender people at the time, or perhaps it was meant to stay ambiguous
Appearance[]
He is a lean man with short black hair styled in a rather wispy fashion, wearing trim glasses with brown eyes. He wears a suit with a blue button collared shirt underneath and tied with a yellow tie. He seems to smile a lot.
Trivia[]
- Neither Kei nor his previous female indentity, Megumi, appear in the anime (possibly due to controversy over the presentation of his surgery as presented in the manga) but he does appear in the anime in the second opening. He also appears in the first episode of Black Jack 21 as the patient Black Jack treats (though it doesn't explain their history together but does hint at it) by showing Black Jack insisting to operate alone on her, which angers the head doctors at the hospital, who responded by revoking Black Jack's medical license.