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City Hunter

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|} City Hunter is a popular Japanese anime and manga franchise that began in the mid 1980's by author Tsukasa Hojo. It's an action-adventure comedy that is reminiscent of Lupin III, yet it has its own unique charm.

The franchise primarily follows the exploits of Ryo Saeba, who works as a "sweeper" (He "sweeps" crime off the streets) and is one half of the City Hunter team. The other half is young Kaori Makimura, a tomboyish girl who deals primarily with business side of the company. The City Hunter is a covert, independent group who can be hired for missions like bodyguarding and private investigation. They primarily take on jobs involving pretty women, who get the firm's attention by writing the letters XYZ on a blackboard at Shinjuku Station (in Tokyo, Japan).

Over the course of the manga and TV series, other characters such as police detective Saeko Nogami (and her family) and tough guy Umibozu are introduced. City Hunter also occasionally explores the pasts of its characters, often with Saeba & Umibozu's long histories coming back to haunt them.

In a 2005 poll held by Japan's TV Asahi, City Hunter was voted #66 out of the 100 most popular animated TV series, as voted by TV viewers. A second TV Asahi poll, held on the internet, put City Hunter at #65.

Contents

The City Hunter franchise

Manga

In the Japan, the first compiled City Hunter graphic novels were published by Jump Comics from 1986 to 1992, and totaled 35 volumes. The second edition was from Shueisha Editions, who published an 18 book version between 1996 and 1997. Bunch World published a 39 volume edition between 2001 & 2002. Most recently, Tokuma Comics published a "Complete Edition" of 32 books, each with bonus material between 2004 and early 2005.

Other Books

Anime

Like many popular manga, City Hunter was turned into an animated TV series, with a total of 140 episodes. There are actually 4 different series, each with a different creative staff, and each having a slightly different style. However, the main characters remain more or less the same, and the same voice actors are used through each series.

The TV series was followed by one theatrical film, two OVAs and three TV specials:

All of the series, the movie, the OVAs, and the TV Specials are available from ADV Films in North America, except for "City Hunter: Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba". These DVDs all have English subtitles, but the TV series DVDs do not have an English Dub. On the discs were the dubs exists, Ryo Saeba is referred to as Joe Saeba, Saeko Nogami is renamed Sandra Nogami, and Umibozu is called Falcon. However the subtitles still use the original Japanese names.

Beez - Seven 7 has released the first 3 City Hunter series under the name "Nicky Larson" in France. They all contain the original French dub, which of course uses the name Nicky Larson rather than Ryo Saeba. It is interesting to note that the original French dub, as is the case with Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star), has gained cult status due to its notable goofiness and sometimes approximative translations.

Live action City Hunter DVD cover
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Live action City Hunter DVD cover

Live Action Films

In 1993, a live action City Hunter[link] (Sing si lip yan) film was made by Golden Harvest and Paragon Films. The film was directed by Wong Jing and starred an international cast that included Hong Kong super star Jackie Chan as Ryo Saeba. The film's plot saw Ryo and Kaori (Joey Wong) accepting a job to find the run away daughter of a businessman. The girl, named Shizuko (Kumiko Goto), escapes onto a cruise ship with Ryo, Kaori and Saeko (Chingmy Yau) on her tail. The ship is then hijacked, and it's up to Ryo and the girls to free the ship.

The film is not really faithful to the anime or the manga. However there is a brief intro that has the death of Hideyuki Makimura (Michael Wong) and explains why Ryo can't take advantage of Kaori. The film is most notable for the infamous scene of a fight where a Street Fighter machine causes the combatants to dress and fight like characters in the game, culminating in Chan dressing like Chun Li by the end.

Mr. Mumble[link] (Meng bo) is another live action version of City Hunter. Despite the fact the names have been changed, this 1996 movie is considered to be a bit more faithful to the original material than the earlier film. Michael Chow plays Maang Boh (Mr. Mumble, the Cantonese version of Ryo) who takes on a job to guard Sharon (Pauline Suen), the daughter of a mafioso. The film also stars Francoise Yip as Yachi (Saeko), Jessica Hester as Lao Tang (Kaori) and Eric Kei as Chi (Umibozu).

Angel Heart

In 2001, Tsukasa Hojo began a new series called "Angel Heart". Though the author has stated that "Angel Heart" takes place in an "alternate universe", some fans consider it a sequel to City Hunter, because indeed, "Angel Heart" features many of the City Hunter characters. Yet, since the storyline is supposed to take place in an alternate universe, fans will find that some characters that exist in the City Hunter universe will not exist in the Angel Heart universe, and vice versa. This might create some confusion and inconsistencies for fans who are trying to link the storyline between the two series.

In "Angel Heart",Kaori Makimura is hit by a car and dies while on her way to take wedding pictures with Ryo. However, as she was an organ donor, her heart lives on - literally - in a young Taiwanese assassin named Lǐ Xiāng-Yíng (李香瑩), codenamed "Glass Heart". She's a young girl with a dark past and high level of combat skills-much like Ryo. This, and the fact that Kaori literally lives in her, lead to Shan-in being "adopted" by Ryo Saeba, who was deeply saddened by Kaori's death. Umibozu and Saeko also make appearances in the manga. 

Both the "Angel Heart" manga, and an anime adaptation are currently on going in Japan. The manga is also available in France and Italy.


Seiyuu:



City Hunter Characters


Main characters


 
 


Ryo Saeba

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Ryo Saeba







AKA: Joe Saeba [ADV Anime Dub], Nicky Larson [French Manga], Koke [Spanish Dub]




The protagonist of City Hunter. Ryo is a combat expert, having fought as a guerrilla in numerous conflicts alluded to throughout the series, and has a long history of working in the underground. His mysterious past starts with him being the only survior of a plane crash in Central America as a toddler. The crash left him an orphan in a rebel village during a civil war, prompting him to learn to fight at a young age. As a result, he has very little information on his true parentage, or even his birthdate. (Later, Kaori Makimura unilaterally declared March 26 his birthday, as that was they day they first met). After the war he ended up in the United States, where he worked as a hired gun, but eventually he found his way to Tokyo, Japan. There he formed the "City Hunter" team with Hideyuki Makimura (Kaori's brother), and it's sometime after that where the manga/TV series' timeline begins.




Saeba has many skills and talents which help him in his job. He is a highly skilled gunman, who can shoot any gun with great precision, though he usually uses a Colt Python. He expertly drives his classic red Mini Cooper, and uses its small size to his advantage in car chases. Saeba is also an expert in hand-to-hand combat, and his muscular body can withstand a lot of damage.




Though his fighting skills may make him sound like a terrifying man, Ryo is actually quite goofy when he's not in the midst of battle. In fact, one of the most unique aspects of Saeba's character is his ability to switch from a heroic, intelligent man, into a looney, lecherous pervert within a split second. Ryo loves women and he is constantly peeping at panties or patting breasts. In the manga his lust is often visible through his large "mokkori" erection, but in the TV series it's toned down to cartoon faces and wandering hands. Despite his "ecchi" behaviour, he is a caring man who loves Kaori Makimura. However, he chooses not to show his love for her in order to protect her from those who would wish to take advantage of him.




Seiyu: Akira Kamiya




 
 


Kaori Makimura

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Kaori Makimura







AKA: Kreta (Italian Anime Dub), Julia (Spanish Dub), Laura Marconi (French Dub)




The other half of City Hunter, and Ryo Saeba's partner. She is primarily responsible for getting clients, and other managerial tasks. She also cooks and defends Ryo's female clients from his less honorable intentions. Though Kaori's combat skills don't even come close to her partner's, she can stop Ryo cold with one of her hammerspace weapons. Primarily she uses a hammer (usually weighing at least 100 tons), but she uses other objects as well. She also learned how to set traps and plant explosives from Umibozu. Her shooting skills are affected somewhat by Ryo's tampering wiith her gun, meant to ensure that she would always miss and therefore not be able to bloody her hands as Ryo has had to do.




Like Ryo, she has a dual personality. Sometimes she acts (and looks!) like a tomboy, while other times shes displays a very femine compassion. She is very empathetic, and sometimes feels other's pain so acutely that she herself breaks into tears. Another thing that saddens her is her secret love for Ryo, which is unrealized on Ryo's part as he wishes not to jeopardize her life by her association to him. This extended to Ryo's unwillingness to completely honor the final request made him by his partner and her brother, Hideyuki Makimura, after Maki was fatally wounded by a drug syndicate -- that Ryo tell Kaori about her true parentage.




In the manga Kaori drives a Honda Civic, but in the anime she has a green Fiat.




Seiyu: Kazue Ikura




Secondary Characters


 
 


Hideyuki Makimura

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Hideyuki Makimura







AKA: Ernesto (Spanish Dub), Toni Marconi (French Dub), Jeff (Italian Dub)




Hideyuki is Kaori's beloved older brother, and was Ryo's partner in City Hunter before his death. Before he could tell Kaori a secret about her past, namely that she was found abandoned by Hideyuki's father and adopted, he was fatally wounded and later died in Ryo's arms. Hideyuki's final request was for Ryo to take care of Kaori.




Though he's killed off fairly early in the series, he is mentioned often, and his grave stone is even used as a plot twist in the final anime series.




Seiyu: Hideyuki Tanaka




 
 


Umibozu & Miki

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Umibozu & Miki







AKA: Falcon [ADV & Italian Anime Dubs use this name exclusivly, while the Japanese dub uses both "Falcon" and "Umibozu"], Seaghost (Spanish Dub), Mammouth (French Dub), Baldy (Indonesian Manga)




Umibozu, (means "sea monster", real name: Hayato Ijuin) is a "sweeper" in the underground just like Ryo Saeba. With his giant body, and his superb combat skills, he doesn't really need a partner. He is Saeba's equal in most things, and the two have somewhat of a rivalry going.




Umibozu fought against Ryo back in Central America, and had his eyes damaged by Saeba. This should make them enemies, but both men shrug off the past since what happened in the war was not personal. That doesn't mean that they don't fight, though. They often find each other on the same case, but on different sides, and have dueled more than once.




Umibozu has only two weaknesses. He is morbidly afraid of cats, and he is sometimes socially awkward, most especially with women. He eventually partners (both in business & in love) with Miki, an orphened girl he raised in Central America. Miki owns a cafe that Umibozu is somewhat reluctant to help out at.




Seiyu: Tessho Genda




 
 


Saeko Nogami

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Saeko Nogami







AKA: Sandra Nogami [ADV Anime Dub], Selene [Italian Dub], Silvia [Spanish Dub], Hélène Lamberti (French Dub), Keiko (Indonesian Manga)




She is a pretty detective with the Tokyo police, who often uses the City Hunter team to do her job for her. She keeps promising to pay back Ryo with "mokkori" (sex), but always manages to get out of it. Despite her deceptive tendencies, she and Ryo have a considerable history together, and are old friends.




Saeko's father is the chief of police, so she has some leeway in how she does her job. But off the job, her father puts the pressure on her to get married. She also has several siblings: Reika, an ex cop turned detective; Yuka, a highschool student; Two twin sisters that are only mentioned briefly in the manga; and an unborn sibling, also only mentioned in passing in the manga.




Nogami is fairly skilled with a gun, but her weapon of choice is the set of throwing knives she has strapped hidden on her leg. She drives a red Porsche 911 in the anime.




Seiyuu: Yoko Asagami




Trivia

Mokkori (もっこり) - the act of 'pitching a tent' in Japanese can be referred to as "Mokkori!" An expression popularized by the often excitable main character Ryo Saeba in the manga/anime story 'City Hunter', who uses it as his personal word for 'sexy'.



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