City Hunter


City Hunter is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1985 to 1991, with its chapters collected in 35 volumes. The manga was adapted into an anime television series by Sunrise Studios in 1987. The anime series was popular in numerous Asian and European countries.
City Hunter spawned a media franchise consisting of numerous adaptations and spin-offs from several countries. The franchise includes four anime television series, three anime television specials, three made-for-television animated films, two animated feature films for theatrical release, several live-action films, 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 communal at Shinjuku Station.
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

;Kaori Makimura
;Hideyuki Makimura
;Umibōzu
;Miki
;Saeko Nogami
;Reika Nogami
;Kasumi Asou
;Shin Kaibara

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tsukasa Hojo, City Hunter started in Shueisha's manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 26, 1985, and ran until the December 2, 1991, issue. Its chapters were collected by Shueisha in 35 volumes, under the Jump Comics imprint, 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". An 18-volume edition was released by Shueisha from June 18, 1996, to October 17, 1997. A third edition City Hunter Complete Edition of 32 volumes was published by Tokuma Shoten from December 16, 2003, to April 15, 2005. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series, a fourth edition, City Hunter XYZ edition, was published by Tokuma Shoten across twelve volumes from July 18 to December 19, 2015. In 2019, a fifth edition, City Hunter Zenon Selection, was released in 29 volumes by Coamix to coincide with the French live-action adaptation of City Hunter, Nicky Larson et le parfum de Cupidon.
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 created an American subsidiary, Gutsoon! Entertainment. 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 2022, Coamix's MangaHot service began publishing City Hunter manga in English digitally. In April 2025, Abrams ComicArts announced that it will start releasing the manga in an omnibus edition in print under its Kana imprint on September 9 of the same year. Kana is using a new English translation for the release.

Spin-offs

From 2001 to 2017, Hojo serialized 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 by Sokura Nishiki, City Hunter Rebirth, was launched in Tokuma Shoten's Monthly Comic Zenon magazine on July 25, 2017. 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.
A spin-off manga by Est Em, City Hunter Gaiden: Mr. Hayato Ijuin's Not Peaceful Life, was serialized in Monthly Comic Zenon from April 29, 2019, to August 27, 2021, and compiled into five volumes.

Anime

The series was adapted into an anime series produced by Sunrise, directed by Kanetsugu Kodama and broadcast by Yomiuri Television.
  • City Hunter was broadcast for 51 episodes between April 6, 1987, and March 28, 1988, and released on ten VHS cassettes between December 1987 and July 1988.
  • City Hunter 2 was broadcast for 63 episodes between April 8, 1988, and July 14, 1989, and released on ten 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 six VHS cassettes between November 1990 and April 1991.
  • City Hunter '91 was broadcast between April 28 and October 10, 1991, and released on six 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 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.
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.
The series was licensed by ADV Films 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 five 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.
On April 20, 2019, Discotek Media announced that they had licensed the entire City Hunter animated franchise, including the 2019 movie, Shinjuku Private Eyes. The first 26 episodes of the first series were released on Blu-ray on February 25, 2020, and City Hunter '91 was released on April 26, 2022.

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.
ADV released .357 Magnum on VHS on August 10, 1999, and on DVD on April 8, 2003. They released Bay City Wars and Million Dollar Conspiracy on VHS on October 12, 1999, and January 25, 2000, respectively, and later released a DVD containing them as well as a bonus television episode, "The Lady Vanishes", on June 3, 2003. During their panel at Otakon 2022, Discotek Media announced that they licensed all the previously licensed ADV film releases and Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba television movie, and released them in a Blu-ray collection on January 31, 2023.
A theatrical movie produced by Aniplex, titled City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes, set in present-day Shinjuku, 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. Discotek Media premiered the English dub of the movie at Otakon 2019, and released it on Blu-ray on May 26, 2020.
Another film, City Hunter: Angel Dust, was released on September 8, 2023.

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.
ADV released Goodbye, My Sweetheart as City Hunter: The Motion Picture in North America on VHS on November 18, 1998, as their first release from the franchise, later releasing it on DVD on July 23, 2002. They released The Secret Service on VHS on December 5, 2000, and on DVD on June 25, 2002. Discotek Media released Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba with all films previously licensed by ADV in a Blu-ray collection on January 31, 2023.

Live action

Hong Kong films

Saviour of the Soul is a live-action Hong Kong film 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.
In 1993, a live-action Hong Kong theatrical adaptation of the series was released. The film was directed by Wong Jing and starred Jackie Chan as Ryo Saeba, Wang Zuxian as Kaori, and Japanese idol Kumiko Goto. During filming of the movie, Chan dislocated his shoulder. The movie has been criticised by Chan. Fortune Star and 20th Century Fox later released it on R1 DVD along with other budget classic HK films.