City Hunter

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 Kaori Makimura, a tomboyish girl who deals primarily with the business side of the company. The City Hunter team is an underground group available for hire for missions like protection and private investigation. They primarily take on jobs involving beautiful women who contact the team 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.^[1]

The City Hunter franchise

manga

The City Hunter manga, created by Tsukasa Hojo, ran for eight years in Shueisha's Shonen Jump magazine from 1985 to 1992, producing about 35 collected volumes (it varies between editions). It has since been translated into many languages, including Spanish, Italian, French, German and English.

In Japan, the first compiled City Hunter graphic novels were published under the Jump Comics imprint 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.

The English version of the manga, published in North America by Gutsoon! Entertainment and serialized in Raijin Comics^[2] is only available up to volume 5. Gutsoon! ceased operations before completing the series and the current status of the City Hunter manga license is unknown.

Other Books

Hojo Tsukasa Special Illustrations
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1991
  - Contains some City Hunter material.

Hojo Tsukasa 20th Anniversary Illustrations
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1991
  - Contains some City Hunter material.

City Hunter TV Animation Perfect Mook
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 199
  - Guide to the Anime series.

City Hunter
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1993
  - Novel

City Hunter Special - The Secret Service
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1995
  - Novel

City Hunter 2
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1997
  - Novel

City Hunter Special 2 - Live on stage
- Published by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd 1999
  - Novel

Anime

City Hunter was adapted into an anime TV series by Sunrise, with a total of 140 episodes, spanning 4 seasons.

City Hunter (Series 1)
- Directed by: Kenji Kodama
  - Aired 1987-04-06 to 1988-03-28, spanning 51 episodes
    - Opening Theme #1: City Hunter ~Ai yo Kienaide~ (City Hunter "Don't Disappear My Love") by Kahoru Kohiruimaki. Used for episodes 1-25.
    - Opening Theme #2: Go Go Heaven by Yoshiyuki Ohsawa. Used for episodes 26-51.
    - Ending Theme: Get Wild by TM NETWORK. Used for episodes 1-51.

City Hunter (Series 2)
- Directed by: Kanetsugu Kodama
  - Aired 1988-04-02 to 1989-07-14, spanning 63 episodes
    - Opening Theme #1: Angel Night by PSY·S. Used for episodes 1-26.
    - Opening Theme #2: Sara by Fence of Defense. Used for episodes 27-63.
    - Ending Theme #1: Super Girl by Yasuyuki Okamura. Used for episodes 1-37.
    - Ending Theme #2: Still Love Her by TM NETWORK. Used for episodes 38-63.

City Hunter (Series 3)
- Directed by: Kenji Kodama
  - Aired 1989-10-15 to 1990-01-21, spanning 13 episodes
    - Opening Theme: Running To Horizon by Tetsuya Komuro.
    - Ending Theme: Atsuku Naretara ("If I Could Become Passionate") by Kiyomi Suzuki.

City Hunter '91
- Directed by: Kiyoshi Egami
  - Aired 1991-04-28 to 1991-10-10, spanning 13 episodes
    - Opening Theme: Downtown Game by GWINKO.
    - Ending Theme: Smile & Smile by AURA.

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

City Hunter: Magnum of Love and Fate (AKA "City Hunter: .357 Magnum") - 1989
- Directed By Kanetsugu Kodama, 87 mins
  - Animated Theatrical Film
    - Opening Theme: Shuumatsu no Soldier ("Weekend Soldier") by Mika Kaneko.
    - Ending Theme: Juurokuya ("16th Night") by Mariko Takahashi.

City Hunter: Bay City Wars - 1990
- Directed By Kanetsugu Kodama, 45 mins
  - Original Video Animation (OVA)
    - Ending Theme: Rock My Love by Yoko Oginome.

City Hunter: Million Dollar Conspiracy - 1990
- Directed By Kanetsugu Kodama, 45 mins
  - Original Video Animation (OVA)
    - Ending Theme: More, More Shiwase ("More, More Happiness") by Yoko Oginome.

City Hunter: "The Secret Service" - 1996
- Directed By Kenji Kodama, 94 mins
  - TV Special
    - Opening Theme: Otherwise by Konta.
    - Ending Theme: Woman by Ann Louis.

City Hunter: Goodbye My Sweetheart (AKA "City Hunter: The Motion Picture") - 1997
- Directed By Kazuo Yamazaki, 90 mins
  - TV Special
    - Opening Theme: Ride on the Night by Humming Bird.
    - Ending Theme: GET WILD ~City Hunter Special '97 Version~ by Naho.

City Hunter: Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba (AKA 'CH Special 99' - City Hunter Special Urgent Live: The End of Ryo Saeba) - 1999
- Directed By Masaharu Okuwaki, 91 mins
  - TV Special
    - Opening Theme: Illusion City by sexMACHINGUNS
    - Ending Theme: Get Wild by TM NETWORK.

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

Live action films

Live action City Hunter DVD cover

In 1993, a live action City Hunter ( 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 does not carefully adhere to the stories and characters presented in 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, and the movie closes with Kaori delivering her standard punishment to Ryo-a wild smack with a giant mallet. The film is notable for the scene of a fight where a Street Fighter II machine causes the combatants to dress and fight like characters in the game (even down to their special attacks), culminating in Chan dressing like Chun Li by the end.

Mr. Mumble ( 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 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 Yuki (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 Monster (Umibozu).

Saviour of the Soul ( Gauyat sandiu haplui) is another Hong Kong film that takes elements from City Hunter. Although the plot has little in common with City Hunter, the main characters are clearly knockoffs of Ryo, Saeko, Makimura, Kaori, and Silver Fox (whose name is even retained).

[edit] Video Games

City Hunter
- Released 03/02/1990 for Japanese PC-Engine(TurboGrafx-16)

[edit] Angel Heart

Main article: Angel Heart (manga)

In 2001, Tsukasa Hojo began a new series called "Angel Heart".^[3] Though the author has stated that "Angel Heart" takes place in an "alternate universe", some fans consider it a sequel to City Hunter because "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.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

Ryo Saeba

Ryo Saeba ( Saeba Ryō^?): AKA: Joe Saeba [ADV Anime Dub],Koke Saeba [spanish],Maang-Boh [cantonese],Nicky Larson [French].

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 survivor 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 unusual aspects of Saeba's character is his ability to switch from a heroic, intelligent man, into a loony, lecherous pervert within a split second. Whenever Ryo isn't in combat, he lets the little head do the thinking, constantly peeping at panties or patting breasts. Sometimes he even does it in combat: "Nookie never lies!"

This attitude is easily comparable to other over-the-top perverts such as Urusei Yatsura's Ataru Moroboshi or Ranma 1/2's Happosai, except that Ryo is every bit as popular with the ladies as he believes he is - which just makes him even more incorrigible. In the manga his lust is often cued by a large erection (that even draws Kaori's eye, especially when he does things with it most men can't even do with both their arms), but in the TV series it's toned down to cartoon faces and wandering hands. In both venues however, the word "mokkori" (as this is a fictional term to refer to an erection, it is usually translated as "nookie") is considered his playful "battle cry", often compared to Happosai's cry of "Dai ryo ja!" (What a haul!).

Despite his "ecchi" behaviour, he (usually) keeps his harassment to a level which will amuse the woman in particular, and the women he finds most attractive are always powerful and confident - Kaori Makimura in particular, whom he loves deeply. However, he chooses not to show his love for her in order to protect her from those who would use her to get to him.

However, he also has a phobia with a fear of flying. This stems from early in his life when he lost his parents in a plane crash.

Seiyu: Akira Kamiya

Kaori Makimura

Kaori Makimura (Makimura Kaori) Laura Marconi [french]

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 (but rarely unwelcome) 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 pounds), 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 with 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 she displays a very feminine compassion (and a demure sensuality that holds Ryo's attention like a vise). 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 Panda.

Seiyu: Kazue Ikura

[edit] Secondary Characters

Hideyuki Makimura

Hideyuki Makimura (Makimura Hideyuki)

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

Reika Nogami & Umibozu

Umibozu , Umibo: AKA: Falcon [ADV dub uses this name exclusivly, while the Japanese dub uses both "Falcon" and "Umibozu"]

"Umibōzu", (means "sea bonze" (a ghost in Japanese mythology), 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 two weaknesses. He is morbidly afraid of cats, and he is sometimes socially awkward, especially with women. He eventually partners (both in business and in love) with Miki, an orphaned girl he raised in Central America. Miki owns a cafe that Umibozu is somewhat reluctant to help out at.

Umibozu's real name is Hayato Ijuin. He hates being called by this name because, as Ryo puts it, it's much too formal and classy of a name for a lug like Umibozu.

Seiyu: Tessho Genda

Saeko Nogami

Saeko Nogami ( Nogami Saeko): AKA: Sandra Nogami [ADV Anime Dub]

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 private 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

for human only

Senin, 11 Februari 2008

story city hunter

City Hunter

Contents

The City Hunter franchise

manga

Anime

Live action films

[edit] Video Games

[edit] Angel Heart

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

[edit] Secondary Characters

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