City Hunter
City Hunter ( Japanese シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー shitī hantā ) is a manga series by Tsukasa Hojo that was published from 1985 to 1991 in around 6,500 pages. The manga was implemented several times as an anime and as a real film and translated into several languages. The film version City Hunter is based on the comic.
The work is drawn for a young, male target group, so it can be assigned to the Shōnen genre. The focus of the plot is the private detective Ryo Saeba.
action
Tokyo detective Ryo Saeba ( 冴 羽 獠 ) solves criminal cases together with his partner Hideyuki Makimura ( 槇 村 秀 幸 ). Ryo is a womanizer and macho and usually only accepts orders from women in need. Hideyuki's step-sister Kaori Makumura ( 槇 村 香 ) also interferes in the investigation of a girl trafficker , as her friend has been kidnapped. But although Ryo was able to bring down the criminal, his partner dies in the process.
Now he teams up with Kaori, although they don't get along well at first. But over time, Kaori falls in love with Ryo, which creates further tension in his behavior. So they go about the tasks together, mostly as personal protection. So they get orders from Hayato Ijuin Meeresgeist ( 海 坊 主 , Umibōzu , in the anime: Water Soul ) or Falke (フ ア ル コ ン) called. Ryo always addresses him in the original as Umi -chan. Falke and Ryo know each other from the time when both were at war and fought against each other. Now he runs the Cafe "Cat's Eye" with Miki , an orphan he took in with him (an allusion to another work by Tsukasa Hojo Cat’s Eye ). Ryo and Falke have not overcome their differences, but mostly work together. Another person who gives Ryo assignments is Saeko Nogami ( 野 上 冴 子 ), a policewoman and daughter of the Tokyo Police Commissioner. Furthermore, both had a relationship with each other. This collaboration between Ryo and Saeko is not welcomed by Kaori, as it often puts both of them in awkward positions and promises Ryo sexual acts as payment, but never redeems them. Nevertheless, City Hunter and Saeko often worked together.
Publications
The manga was published weekly in Japan from 1985 to 1991 in individual chapters in Shōnen Jump , the manga magazine with the highest circulation at the time . After the first publication in the magazine, the Shūeisha publishing house also published these individual chapters in a total of 35 anthologies. Later new editions of these volumes came out, for example in 18 volumes in bunko format . City Hunter's anthologies have sold over 35 million copies in Japan.
City Hunter has appeared in several countries and has been translated into English, German, French, Spanish and Italian, among others. The German version of the first ten of the 35 volumes was published by Egmont Manga & Anime from August 2001 to May 2002. It was planned to publish more volumes, but the publisher had to discontinue the manga due to licensing problems.
Adaptations
Anime
| Television series | |
|---|---|
| German title | City Hunter - A case for Ryo Saeba |
| Original title | City Hunter |
 | |
| Country of production | Japan |
| original language | Japanese |
| Year (s) | 1987-1988 |
| length | 25 minutes |
| Episodes | 140 in 4 seasons |
| genre | Action , comedy , crime series |
| idea | Tsukasa Hōjō |
| production | Masuo Ueda, Michihiko Suwa |
| music | Ryōichi Kuniyoshi , Tatsumi Yano |
| First broadcast | April 6, 1987 - March 28, 1988 on NTV |
| German-language first broadcast |
October 2, 1998 on K-Toon |
The animation studio Sunrise filmed the manga several times. It started with a 51-episode television series directed by Kenji Kodamas between April 6, 1987 and March 28, 1988 . Although it was co-produced by Yomiuri TV , it was broadcast by NTV, which is also part of the Yomiuri Shimbun . The character design was done by Sachiko Kamimura and the artistic directors were Junichi Higashi and Mitsuharu Miyamae.
From April 2, 1988 to July 14, 1989, the 63-part television series City Hunter 2 ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー 2) was created.
On June 17, 1989 came under the title City Hunter : Ai to Shukumei no Magnum ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー と と の の マ グ ナ ム ) an 87 minute long film for the television series in Japanese cinemas.
From October 15, 1989 to January 21, 1990, the 13-part television series City Hunter 3 ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー 3) was broadcast.
On 25 August 1990, a publication was followed by two 45-minute special episode called City Hunter: Bay City Wars ( シティーハンターベイシティウォーズ) and City Hunter: Hyakuman dollars no IMBO ( シティーハンター百万ドルの陰謀) as original video animation (OVA) on VHS .
All productions so far have been directed by Kenji Kodama, this time Kiyoshi Egami was involved in the 13-part television series City Hunter '91 ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー '91) from April 28 to October 10, 1991.
On January 5, 1996, the television special City Hunter: The Secret Service ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー ザ ・ シ ー ク レ ッ ト ト ・ サ ー ビ ス ) directed by Kenji Kodama aired. Further specials followed on April 25, 1997 with City Hunter: Good-bye My Sweetheart ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー グ ッ ド ・ バ イ ・ マ イ ・ ス イ ー ト ・ ハ ー ト ) directed by Kazuo Yamazaki and on April 23, 1999 City Hunter: Kazuo Yamazaki ? Kyōakuhan Saeba Ryō no Saigo ( シ テ ィ ー ハ ン タ ー 緊急 生 中 継!? 凶 悪 犯 冴 羽 獠 の 最 期 ) directed by Masaharu Okuwaki .
The series was broadcast on television in French, Spanish and Italian. The first two series, the first 114 episodes, were broadcast from October 2, 1998 on the German pay station K-Toon and from December 11, 2001 to March 30, 2002 the first 22 episodes were broadcast on free TV on MTV .
The anime label Kazé Germany released the films and specials for City Hunter in German on DVD.
synchronization
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) | German speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Ryo Saeba | Akira Kamiya | Michael Pan |
| Kaori Makimura | Kazue Ikura | Nadja Reichardt |
| Sea spirit | Tessho Genda | Karl Schulz |
| Saeko Nogami | Yōko Asagami | Liane Rudolph |
| Reika Nogami | Yoshino Takamori | Heath Domanowski |
| Miki | Mommy Koyama | Maud Ackermann |
| Hideyuki Makimura | Hideyuki Tanaka | Axel Lutter |
music
The music in the series was composed by Ryōichi Kuniyoshi and Tatsumi Yano . Biasing titles are City Hunter - Ai yo kienaide of Kahoru Kohiruimaki and Go Go Heaven by Toshiyuki Osawa. As the credits song was GetWild used by TM Network.
Real films
In Hong Kong , based on the manga, the real film City Hunter was made with Jackie Chan in the lead role of the private detective. The martial arts film was released in 1993 and was an attempt to get Japanese audiences even more excited about Hong Kong films.
In 1996 the franchise got a second film adaptation from Hong Kong with Mr. Mumble . This time with Michael Chow Man-Kin in the role of Ryo Saeba . Although the content of the film remains more true to its original than the Jackie Chan film, this film remained largely unknown in both Hong Kong and Japan.
In 2011, a TV series for City Hunter with 20 episodes was made in South Korea .
For February 2019, a real film adaptation by director Philippe Lacheau is planned, who will also play the leading role.
Novels
In Shueisha published four novels to manga from 1993 to 1999th
continuation
Since 2001 Tsukasa Hojo has been working with Angel Heart on a manga that tells an alternative story about Ryo Saeba. In this he has a woman at his side who had her heart implanted after Kaori's death. Angel Heart appears in the Comic Bunch magazine and is designed as his manga, i.e. for an adult readership. The 33 anthologies so far published by Shinchosha Verlag have been commercially successful in Japan.
reception
According to a survey by TV Asahi , the list of the most popular animes ranked 66 in 2005 and 35 in 2006.
The online magazine Animepro describes the anime as a successful mixture of exciting cases and humor. The 80s flair is iconic and Ryo's style is unmistakable. However, some of the episodes are quite bloody and not suitable for younger viewers. According to Splashcomics, the work is a classic. The plot is full of humor and tension, the manga offers great artwork and the characters are versatile.
Web links
- Website for a DVD release of the anime (Japanese)
- Anime News Network about the manga and the first television series (English)
- Comparison of the cut versions FSK 18 - BBFC 12 , HK theatrical version - Japan LD , FSK 16 VHS - FSK 12 DVD by City Hunter at Schnittberichte.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Review at AnimePro , by Robin Schmerer
- ↑ Shounen Jump Manga Circulation Numbers , ComiPress, June 1, 2006
- ↑ City Hunter Manga Gets French Live-Action Film by Philippe Lacheau (Updated). Anime News Network, July 14, 2017, accessed June 4, 2018 .
- ↑ Anime News Network on the 2005 and 2006 poll
- ↑ Review at splashcomics for volume 1, by Mario Vulk
- ↑ Review by splashcomics on volume 6, by Jana Mengel