is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series written and illustrated by

Tsukasa Hojo is a Japanese manga artist. He studied technical design while still at Kyushu Sangyo University, where he began to draw manga. He worked on several one-shot stories before releasing his serialized works: '' Cat's Eye'', ''City Hunter'' and ''A ...

. It was serialized in ''

Weekly Shōnen Jump is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the '' Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of the series that ru ...

'' from 1985 to 1991 and collected into 35 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese term for a book that is not part of an anthology or corpus. In modern Japanese, the term is most often used in reference to individual volumes of a manga series: most series first appear as individual chapters in a weekly or ...

'' volumes by its publisher

Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The fol ...

. The manga was adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series by Sunrise Studios in 1987. The anime series was popular in numerous Asian and European countries. ''City Hunter'' spawned a

media franchise A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program ...

consisting of numerous adaptations and spin-offs from several countries. The franchise includes four anime television series, three anime television specials, two

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA ...

s, several animated feature films (including a film released in February 2019 and upcoming one in 2022), several live-action films (including a

Hong Kong film The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former British colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of pol ...

starring

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and a French film), video games, and a live-action Korean TV drama. It also had a spin-off manga, '' Angel Heart'', which in turn spawned its own anime television series and a live-action Japanese TV drama.

Plot

The series follows the exploits of Ryo Saeba, a "sweeper" who is always found chasing beautiful girls and a private detective who works to rid Tokyo of crime, along with his associate or partner, Hideyuki Makimura. Their "City Hunter" business is an underground jack-of-all-trades operation, contacted by writing the letters "XYZ" on a blackboard at

Shinjuku Station is a major railway station in the Shinjuku and Shibuya wards in Tokyo, Japan. In Shinjuku, it is part of the Nishi-Shinjuku and Shinjuku districts. In Shibuya, it is located in the Yoyogi and Sendagaya districts. It is the world's busiest ...

. One day, Hideyuki is murdered, and Ryo must take care of Hideyuki's sister, Kaori, a tomboy who becomes his new partner in the process. However, Kaori is very susceptible and jealous, often hitting Ryo with a giant hammer when he does something perverted. The story also follows the behind-the-scenes romance between Ryo and Kaori and the way they cooperate throughout each mission.

Characters

; : :Ryo is the main protagonist of the series. At the age of three, Ryo was the only survivor of a plane crash in Central America. He was raised as a guerilla fighter and has no knowledge of his prior identity. After the war, Ryo makes his way to the United States, before eventually moving to Tokyo. :In Japan, he forms the "City Hunter" team with Hideyuki Makimura, but after Hideyuki's death, Kaori takes his place as Ryo's new partner. A highly skilled gunman, Ryo is known for executing the "one-hole shot", a series of shots that all land in exactly the same spot on the target. His preferred weapon is the

Colt Python The Colt Python is a .357 Magnum caliber revolver manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut.Dougherty, Martin ''Small Arms: From the Civil War to the Present Day'', New York City: Fall River Press, 2005, page 48. It w ...

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

. :Ryo invented the nickname ''Umibozu'' for his fellow colleague Hayato Ijuin, and he answered giving Ryo his own, (an ironic name, because Ryo is a real pervert who tries to hit on any beautiful woman he meets or sees, failing every time). Ryo is an accomplished marksman with revolvers, semiautomatic guns, machine-pistols, rifles, carbines and crossbows; he knows hand-to-hand combat very well and drives as a real daredevil when needed; his car is a

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

. ; : :Kaori is Ryo Saeba's partner. She is primarily responsible for arranging clients and other managerial tasks. Ryo's skirt-chasing rouses her ire more than once. Though the partners frequently pick on fights or arguments, they actually form a great team together. She is the adoptive Hideyuki's sister, her real name being . ; : :Hideyuki is Kaori's adopted older brother and Ryo's partner at the beginning of the series. Kaori is not related to him by blood, his father had adopted her when she was a child. He's a former police detective with a strong sense of justice. Kaori become Ryo's partner and takes over her brother's role after he is murdered by gangsters. His last wish before he died was for Ryo to take care of his sister. ; : :Umibōzu is another "sweeper" working the rounds in Tokyo. Umibozu is a Special Forces enemy of Ryo's from the Central America conflict. Despite being on opposing forces, the two develop a friendship and mutual respect. Between his jobs, Umibozu works as waiter at the Cat's Eye café, owned by Miki, his former fellow soldier and lover. He goes by the professional name and his real name is ; the kanji ''haya'' in his name can also be read ''hayabusa'' (falcon in Japanese), hence his professional name; the nickname Umibōzu was given by Ryo. His favorite weapons are the S&W M29 .44 Magnum six-inch revolver, the Saco-Defense M60 machine-gun (sometimes he uses the M249) and the M1A6

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

. Despite his fearsome appearance he has a phobia of kittens, he's very shy with women and much more unselfish than Ryo. His vision is very weak because a fight he had with Ryo in Central America, when Ryo was a guerrilla fighter and Umibozu was a mercenary; since then, Umibozu wants a duel with Ryo to close that story; during the series, he will go permanently blind and he'll have to learn how to use the other four senses to move and fight; however, he decides to not retire before finishing their matter. Later Shin Kaibara, Ryo's adoptive father and former guerrilla fighter who became a drug lord, comes in Japan; his drug was tested on Ryo during his youth, causing him to attack Umibozu and his unit; when Umibozu learns this from Bloody Mary, an old acquaintance of Ryo's and daughter of the other Ryo's fatherly figure in the jungle, he joins Ryo and Kaori against Kaibara. During the last story arc he marries Miki, but she's shot by enemy soldiers deployed by a new enemy of Ryo; Umibozu enters the firefight trusting Miki won't die. :The Umibōzu is a ''yokai'' (spirit) from Japanese folklore; he's said to turn ships upside down if someone aboard talks to him; he is portrayed bald as a '' bōzu'' (Buddhist monk); the character ''umi'' means sea. ; : :Miki was a war orphan who Umibozu found in a completely destroyed village. Contrary to her habits, Umibozu decided to take her with him and teach her everything she knew so that she would one day be able to get by on her own. Only when Miki shows her intentions of joining the Umibozu guerrilla squad will she understand that she has radically changed her life, and feeling guilty will he try to make her a "normal" girl again by abandoning her, after making her believe that he would return to the civilized world with her. Miki, however, does not give up and after much research she manages to find her Falcon and make him accept a pact: if she manages to kill Ryo Saeba, Umibozu will agree to marry her. To do this Miki will become the owner of the Cat's Eye, where Ryo will begin to go more and more often attracted by the beauty of the woman. In the end Miki will not kill Ryo, but thanks to Kaori's complicity and that of Ryo himself, she will still be able to have him next to her in the Cat's Eye, until they get married. The Cat's Eye will become a staple of the anime and a favorite bar for the two sweepers, as that's where they will always take their customers and give rise to the most spectacular fights. ; ; :Saeko is a Tokyo police detective and Reika's older sister who often outsources certain tasks to the City Hunter team. Ryo keeps a long and detailed list of what Saeko owes him for the various favours he's done for her, which she always manages to avoid paying. ; ; :Reika is Saeko's younger sister.

Media

Manga

The series ran in the ''shōnen'' manga anthology ''

'' from 1985's 13th issue until 1990. The series was printed in 35 collected volumes by

under the ''Jump Comics'' range between January 15, 1986, and April 15, 1992. In these volumes the series is grouped into 55 different stories or "episodes" instead of as their original individual chapters. Each story is centred on a different female character or "heroine". The series was an 18 volume edition by Shueisha from June 18, 1996, to October 17, 1997. A third edition of 32 volumes was published by

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...

from December 16, 2003, to April 15, 2005. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series, a fourth edition ''City Hunter XYZ edition'' is being published by Tokuma Shoten across twelve volumes. The first volume was published on July 18, 2015. The eighth volume was published on October 20, 2015.

Takehiko Inoue is a Japanese manga artist. He is best known for the basketball series ''Slam Dunk'' (1990–1996), and the ''jidaigeki'' manga ''Vagabond'', which are two of the best-selling manga series in history. Many of his works are about basketball, In ...

was an assistant on the series. Attempts were made to license the series for the American comic market during the 1980s; however, Hojo insisted the manga should be released in the right-to-left format. In 2002

Coamix Coamix Co., Ltd. is a Japanese manga and anime production company headquartered in the in Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo.事� ...

created an American subsidiary,

Gutsoon! Entertainment Gutsoon! Entertainment, Inc. is a now defunct publisher of English translated manga. The company, headquartered in Encino, Los Angeles,

. ''City Hunter'' was a flagship title in their '' Raijin Comics'' anthology. ''Raijin'' switched from a weekly format to a monthly format before being cancelled after 46 issues. In 2012, the series was available to read in Japanese as an iPhone application by Rainbow Apps. However, by October 31, 2016, the service was officially terminated. In 2001, Hojo started a spin-off series titled '' Angel Heart''. The series takes place in a universe parallel to ''City Hunter'', where the character of Kaori Makimura is killed and her heart transplanted into Xiang-Ying, ''Angel Hearts protagonist. A spin-off manga titled ''Kyō Kara City Hunter'' was launched July 25, 2017, in

's ''

Monthly Comic Zenon is a Japanese manga anthology. It is marketed to ''seinen'' public (young adult men), edited and published monthly by Coamix. From 2010 to 2020, it was formerly published by North Stars Pictures and Tokuma Shoten. It was produced as a replacemen ...

'' magazine. It is centered around a 40-year-old unmarried woman who is a fan of Ryō Saeba and the City Hunter manga, and suddenly dies in a train accident and is reincarnated into the world of City Hunter. In 2022, Coamix's Mangahot service publishes ''City Hunter'' manga in English. The series are now finally available in English on Mangahot's website.

Anime

The series was adapted into an anime series produced by

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

, directed by Kanetsugu Kodama and broadcast by

Yomiuri Television JOIX-DTV (channel 10), branded as , is the Kansai region flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned by the subsidiary of the eponymous Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerat ...

. ''City Hunter'' was broadcast for 51 episodes between April 6, 1987, and March 28, 1988, and released on 10 VHS cassettes between December 1987 and July 1988. ''City Hunter 2'' was broadcast for 63 episodes between April 8 and July 14 and released on 10 VHS cassettes between August 1988 and March 1990. ''City Hunter 3'' was broadcast for 13 episodes from October 15, 1989, to January 21, 1990, and released on 6 VHS cassettes between November 1990 and April 1991. ''City Hunter '91'' was broadcast between April 28 and October 10, 1991, and released on 6 VHS cassettes between February and July 1992. The series was later reissued as 20 video compilations. A 32-disc DVD boxset, ''City Hunter Complete'', was published by

Aniplex is a Japanese anime, music production and anime licensee company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Established in September 1995, Aniplex has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime series, such as both '' Fullm ...

and released in Japan on August 31, 2005. The set contained all four series, the TV specials and animated movies as well as an art book and figures of Ryo and Kaori. 26 of the discs comprising the four series were then released individually between December 19, 2007, and August 27, 2008. 30,000 box sets were sold, grossing (), in Japan. The series was licensed by

ADV Films A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt G ...

for release in North America; they announced their acquisition in May 1998 at Project A-Kon 9. The first City Hunter series was released on the ''ADV Fansubs'' label in March 2000. The aim of this label was to provide cheaper subtitled-only VHS releases at a faster pace than usual. The series was scheduled for 13 tapes, consisting of four episodes each. The tapes could be ordered individually or as a subscription service. ADV later released the series on DVD. The first series was released as two boxsets of 5 discs on July 29, 2003. City Hunter 2 was released as another two boxsets of five discs on October 28, and November 18, 2003. City Hunter 3 was released as a single boxset on December 2, 2003, and City Hunter '91 was released on December 16, 2003. For the 30th anniversary of the original manga, buyers of all 12 volumes of ''City Hunter XYZ edition'' were entitled receive a "motion graphic anime" DVD. The DVDe adapted a special ''Angel Heart'' chapter entitled ''Ryo's proposal'' and was voiced by the original City Hunter cast. On April 20, 2019,

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retro titles fr ...

announced that they had licensed the entire ''City Hunter'' animated franchise, including the 2019 movie, ''Shinjuku Private Eyes''. The first 26 episodes were released February 25, 2020.

Theatrical movies

Three theatrical movies were released in 1989 and 1990: ''.357 Magnum'' was released on June 17, 1989, ''Bay City Wars'' was released on August 25, 1990, and ''Million Dollar Conspiracy'' was released on August 25, 1990.

released a DVD containing ''Bay City Wars'' and ''Million Dollar Conspiracy'' as well as a bonus television episode on June 3, 2003. A new theatrical movie produced by Aniplex that is set in present-day Shinjuku titled ''City Hunter the Movie: Shinjuku Private Eyes'' premiered in Japan on February 8, 2019, after Sunrise and Kenji Kodama returned to animate and direct the film, respectively. The Kisugi sisters of '' Cat's Eye'' appeared in the film as a crossover. Teruo Satoh and Takahiko Kyōgoku served as episode directors, while Kumiko Takahashi designed the characters and Taku Iwasaki composed the music. The film debuted No. 4 at the Japanese box office, where it has grossed () as of March 17, 2019. The film earned () by April 15, 2019, in two months since its release, becoming the third top-grossing Japanese anime film of 2019 up until then, and it had grossed () in Japan by the end of 2019. ''Shinjuku Private Eyes'' was released in France on June 13, 2019.

Philippe Lacheau Philippe Lacheau (; born 25 June 1980) is a French actor, director and writer. Career From 2002 to 2010, Philippe Lacheau worked on French television for several TV Show like the "Casting Live" (2002), "Total Fun" (2003) and "Pour le meilleur ...

, the director and star of the French live-action film adaptation ''

Nicky Larson et le Parfum de Cupidon ''Nicky Larson et le parfum de Cupidon'' (; ; also known as ''City Hunter'') is a 2018 French action comedy film directed by Philippe Lacheau who also co-wrote the screenplay with Julien Arruti and Pierre Lacheau. It is an adaptation of the Japan ...

'', was involved with the French distribution of ''Shinjuku Private Eyes''. Discotek Media premiered the English dub of the movie at

Otakon Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. It stands for Otaku Convention. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved ...

2019. During their panel at

2022,

announced that they licensed all the previously licensed

film releases and ''City Hunter: Death of the Vicious Ryo Saeba''. A second film was announced in 2022.

Television movies

Three television movies were produced: ''The Secret Service'' was broadcast on January 5, 1996, which was followed by ''Goodbye My Sweetheart'' on April 25, 1997, and ''Death of Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba'' on April 23, 1999.

released ''Goodbye, My Sweetheart'' as ''City Hunter: The Motion Picture'' in North America as their first release from the franchise.

Live action

Hong Kong films

In 1993, a live-action Hong Kong theatrical adaptation of the series was released. The film was directed by

Wong Jing Wong Jing ( born 3 May 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, Film producer, producer, actor, News presenter, presenter, and screenwriter. A prolific filmmaker with strong instincts for crowd-pleasing and publicity, Wong Jing played a prominent ...

and starred

as Ryo Saeba, Wang Zuxian as Kaori, and Japanese idol

Kumiko Goto is a Japanese former singer, actress and Japanese idol active in the 1980s. As an actress, she is known for starring in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films and the Jackie Chan film '' City Hunter''. In 1995, she quit her artistic career and marr ...

. During filming of the movie, Chan dislocated his shoulder. The movie has been criticised by Chan. Fortune Star and

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

later released it on R1 DVD along with other budget classic HK films. ''

Saviour of the Soul ''Saviour of the Soul'' (Chinese: 魔宮奇俠; released in the Philippines as ''The Good and the Bad'') is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts action film, directed by Corey Yuen, and starring Andy Lau, Anita Mui and Aaron Kwok. The film adapts elem ...

'' (九一神鵰俠侶 ''Gauyat sandiu haplui'') is a live-action

from 1991 that uses the characters from ''City Hunter'' but changes the plot. In 1996, ''Mr. Mumble'' kept the concept of ''City Hunter'' but changed the characters' names.

Chinese film

A new Chinese film based on ''City Hunter'' is also in development. It was announced in 2016 that it would be directed by Hong Kong filmmaker

Stanley Tong Stanley Tong () is a Hong Kong film director, producer, stunt choreographer, screenwriter, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Early life Stanley Tong was born on April 7, 1960 in Hong Kong, and he completed his education in Hong Kong and Canada. Fi ...

and is set to star Chinese actor

Huang Xiaoming Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang (, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor, singer, and model. He graduated from the Performance Institute of the Beijing Film Academy in 2000. Huang first rose to prominence in 2001 for playing Emperor Wu of Han in ...

as Ryo Saeba.

French film

A separate

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

action comedy film Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

'' (lit. "Nicky Larson and Cupid's Perfume") was released in France on February 6, 2019. The French adaptation has

as director as well as the star, playing the title character Nicky Larson (as Ryo Saeba is known in the French dubs of the anime series). Elodie Fontan appears beside Lacheau as Laura Marconi (Kaori Makimura), while

Tarek Boudali Tarek Boudali ( ar, link=no, طارق بودالي; born 5 November 1979) is a French actor and humorist of Moroccan origin. Life and career Tarek Boudali, of Moroccan origin, graduated with a Higher Technician Certificate (BTS) Sales Force. ...

, Julien Arruti, and Didier Bourdon also appear in the film as per its initial promotional material.

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Ander ...

also appears in the film.

Netflix film

In December 2022,

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

announced a live-action film adaptation in the works with lead actor

Ryohei Suzuki is a Japanese actor who is represented by the talent agency Horipro. Early life He graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a Bachelor's degree in English Studies in March 2006. When he was a student, he worked part-time in NHK. ...

as Ryo Saeba. Directed by

Yūichi Satō is a Japanese film director. Filmography *''Pray'' (2005) *''Simsons'' ( ja) (2006) *'' Kisaragi'' (2007) *''Guardian Angel'' ( ja) (2009) *''A Man on the Verge at a Black Company'' ( ja) (2009) *''Strawberry Night'' (2013) *'' Poison Berry in M ...

, the film is scheduled for a 2024 release on the streaming service.

Television series

A planned live-action television series of City Hunter was announced in 2008, to be produced and distributed by Fox Television Studios and South Korean media company SSD. Jung Woo-sung, was scheduled to play Ryo alongside Hollywood-based stars, with location filming in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

. In 2011, the series was adapted into a Korean television series of the same name by SBS, starring Lee Min-ho and

Park Min-young Park Min-young (; born March 4, 1986) is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in the historical coming-of-age drama ''Sungkyunkwan Scandal '' (2010) and has since starred in television series '' City Hunter'' (2011), '' Glory Jane'' (2011) ...

. The series is available to watch with English subtitles on the streaming service

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

. In 2014, there was a Chinese television series based on ''City Hunter'', with the title 城市猎人 (''Cheng Shi Lie Ren''). In 2015, the spin-off manga '' Angel Heart'' received its own live-action Japanese TV drama adaptation.

Video games

''City Hunter'' was released by

Sunsoft , stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Sunsoft is the video games division of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sun Corporation. Its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sun Corporation of America, though, a ...

for the

PC Engine The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

in March 1990. Ryo appears as a playable character in the

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining atta ...

Jump Force ''Jump Force'' is a Japanese crossover fighting game developed by Spike Chunsoft and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment featuring characters from various manga series featured in Shueisha's ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' anthology in celebration ...

''.

Reception

Manga

By 2016, the ''City Hunter'' manga series had sold over 50million tankobon volumes worldwide. In addition, the series was circulated in an estimated 900million copies of ''

manga magazine Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

between 1985 and 1991, with those ''Jump'' issues generating an estimated . The series was voted the 19th "Most Powerful" series to have featured in ''Shonen Jump''. In '' Manga: The Complete Guide'', Jason Thompson described the manga stories as "well told and entertaining". Writing for Mania.com, Eduardo M. Chavez describes the series as "funny, sexy, action packed and at times just plain whacked" and praises the mix of action and comedy. Patrick King of Animefringe described the series as "not the most intellectually stimulating piece of fiction I've experienced lately" but called it "a blast to read".

Anime

In a 2005 poll held by

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Comp ...

, ''City Hunter'' was voted No. 66 out of the 100 most popular animated TV series, as voted by TV viewers. A TV Asahi web-poll put ''City Hunter'' at No. 65. The characters Ryo and Kaori proved popular with fans. In the reader voted ''

Animage is a Japanese anime and entertainment magazine which Tokuma Shoten began publishing in July 1978. Hayao Miyazaki's internationally renowned manga, '' Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'', was serialized in ''Animage'' from 1982 through 1994. ...

'' '' Anime Grand Prix'' Saeba Ryo was voted second in the ''Best Male Character'' section in 1988. In 1989, 1990 and 1991 he was first place. In 1992 he was voted sixth place. Kaori Makamura was voted fifteenth in the ''best Female Character'' category in 1988 before climbing to eighth in 1989. Kaori then placed fifth in 1990 before falling to sixth and eleventh in 1991 and 1992 respectively. ''The Motion Picture'' has been praised for the quality of its English dub but criticised for changing the characters names. The first anime ending theme, "Get Wild" by

TM Network TM Network is a Japanese rock/new wave/pop musical band, made up by Tetsuya Komuro (keyboardist), Takashi Utsunomiya (vocalist) and Naoto Kine (guitarist). They became popular in Japan as the "futuristic pop songs with synthesizer" after the r ...

, and a later 1989 remix, sold a combined 515,010 singles in Japan. The anime series was also popular in France, where it was dubbed as ''Nicky Larson'' and 140 episodes aired in the early 1990s.

Box office

Legacy

A replica of Kaori's "100-ton hammer" raised ($17,150) on

Yahoo Auctions Yahoo! Auctions is a service set up by the online search giant Yahoo! in 1998 to compete against eBay. There are currently only two localizations of the service active iTaiwananJapan Yahoo! has already discontinued the service in the United State ...

in 2007. It was the biggest selling charity item of the year for the service. In 2012, the characters of Ryo, Kaori and Umibozu appeared in a video for the virtual musician ''Mana''. Mana is a collaboration between Hojo and

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...

. The cover for the 2015

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to ''Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempor ...

single "

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by Multiplication, multiplying digits to the left of 0 by th ...

" was allegedly copied from one of Hojo's ''City Hunter'' sketches.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{Sunrise OVAs 1987 anime television series debuts 1988 anime television series debuts 1989 anime films 1989 anime television series debuts 1990 anime OVAs 1991 anime television series debuts 1996 anime films 1997 anime films 1999 anime films 2019 anime films Action anime and manga ADV Films Anime films based on manga Anime television films Aniplex Comedy anime and manga Detective anime and manga Discotek Media Manga adapted into films Nippon TV original programming Shōnen manga Shueisha franchises Shueisha manga Sunrise (company) Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation original programming