City Hunter Film Review

City Hunter - from Japan - in Japanese

City Hunter began as a manga in the mid-1980s and ran till the early 1990s from Tsukasa Hojo. From there it spread like a brain eating virus all over the world. Animated TV series and films have been produced on a regular basis, there has been a spin off series in a parallel universe called Angel Heart and of course that popularity led to a few live versions. The most famous being the Jackie Chan film in which he portrayed City Hunter along with Joey Wong as Kaori, Chingmy Yau as Saeko and Gotoh Kumiko as Kiyoko - all characters in the manga series. A lot of people dislike that film - but its silliness won me over. Another Hong Kong film titled Mr. Mumbles followed that was also based on City Hunter. A bit of a slog for me. And what do you know, there is a French version Nicky Larson et le Perfum de Cupidon. Ryo Saeba is known as Nicky Larson in France. That might be fun to come across. There is also a Korean TV series titled City Hunter that is solid fun, but the character isn't really the City Hunter of the manga - but he is called that by the public for his exploits. And now there is this one from Netflix.

The City Hunter of the manga has a lot of background to the character which might help in understanding this film but is not really necessary. His name is Ryo Saeba and he is called a Sweeper. He cleans up the vermin in the city of Tokyo and has a public board in which people can leave messages if they need his help. He is a master shot. Before this, I began watching one of the recent animations and had to turn it off after about five minutes. It was too juvenile even for me and I can sink to juvenile faster than a comet. The thing about Ryo that goes against the grain of being your typical hero is that he is one horny bastard. A pervert or hentai. His answering message is "I'm nursing a boner and can't answer the phone right now". He has a large collection of porno in video and magazine form. A woman's cleavage will make him lose his train of thought and common sense. In the animation this is accentuated with eyes popping out and trying to peek in on naked women. This aspect of his character is kept much more in check here. It is Netflix with a worldwide audience and that doesn't fly so well in some places. Though the horse head as an appendage from his crotch is a little pervy. Oh, and he is a male stripper in his time off from being a hero.

Ryo's (Ryohei Suzuki) partner is Makimura (Masanobu Ando) who does the business part of the duo - finding jobs but also at times has to get involved in the action. His sister is Kaori (Misato Morito) who was adopted by Makimura's father. Their latest case was brought to them by a well-endowed female that Ryo calls Miss Sweater Melons. She wants them to find her lost sister Kurumi (Asuka Hanamura) who is a well-known internet cosplay celebrity named Milk. But they aren't the only ones looking for Kurumi - the Yakuza is but also a shadowy organization that calls themselves the Union. When Makimura is killed by one of them (as he was in the manga) his sister takes his place.

This is comic book fun with a few good over the top action set-pieces, beautiful woman everywhere, a cosplay convention that could make me take it up, bright eye-popping colors, comic book villains, a nefarious organization that we never learn much about (perhaps a set up for a sequel) and a sense of humor brimming throughout. None of it is to be taken seriously for a nanosecond - but that is the fun of it. Put your brain into reverse and enjoy the visuals.