| Kiriko | ||||||||||||||||
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Kiriko is a doctor who is seen as Black Jack's enemy and a complete antithesis of him. Instead, however, he does not specialize in surgery, but euthanasia. Essentially, he doesn't treat patients, but instead helps them to end their suffering, but with a price, a very hefty fee not unlike Black Jack's.
Personality[]
Younger Self[]
Unlike his older self, Kiriko shares the same ideals as Kuroo Hazama; "to save the patient no matter how impossible." It is shown during Episode 5 of Young Black Jack, that he would go to great lengths to reach a patients, such as going so far as parachuting out of a helicopter into dangerous conditions. He is shown to be quite humorous, amicable, and very ambitious. Brave and willing to take risks (Episode 6), he stakes more on experience than hand-down knowledge, such as using anti-coagulant in amounts more than suggested (as opposed to what Kuroo inquired from textbook-knowledge) for a bullet-wound surgery.
Older Self[]
Kiriko now practices euthanasia, having developed a more cynical attitude towards medicine and adopted the philosophy that a painless death is a better than a painful life, even for himself. Although there have been patients Kiriko has attempted euthanasia on but Black Jack managed to save, including Kiriko’s own father, Kiriko regularly questions Black Jack's views on "fighting death until the end," especially in The Two Doctors of Darkness. His past of being a military doctor is often alluded to as the cause of his change of heart.
It is worth noting that despite Kiriko's general cynicism, he has expressed that he is still a doctor at heart and enjoys saving lives whenever it is possible, especially whenever he works with Black Jack.
Appearance[]
Younger Self[]
Kiriko is shown to have short hair in Episode 5 of Young Black Jack, usually seen in a military staff uniform accompanied with a helmet on his first encounter with the protagonist.
In volume 6 of Young Black Jack, he is seen with a short ponytail when he encounters a Vietnamese girl named Hoa.
Older Self[]
Kiriko has a long white untied hair and has a pale skin. He wears an eye patch on his left eye and always walks with a grim face, just like Black Jack. He also wears a black suit with a pair of black shoes to match. Occasionally, he is shown wearing a maroon coat, pants to match, and a yellow bandana around his neck. He was always seen carrying a large suitcase which is a special device that helps Kiriko with his job to end someone's suffering life. This machine painlessly stops the patients heart and other internal organs, providing a peaceful and pleasurable death on demand. Pinoko mistakes Dr. Kiriko for Black Jack in several occasions.
History[]
Early Life[]
Before he became a “doctor of death“, he used to work as a military doctor. He saw that many of his patients had no chance of surviving and were begging for death, thus he decided to help them die in peace by lethal injection.
Later Life[]
He works as the “doctor of death”, travelling to any parts of the world, helping people to end their suffering.