Netflix has a messy history with anime and manga adaptations, but their take on City Hunter won’t fix that. The latest take on Tsukasa Hojo’s magnum opus isn’t a disaster on the level of Death Note, but it’s also not as good as One Piece. Part of the problem is the new context of familiar beats. City Hunter is a fun ride with several massive bumps and an incredible sweeper behind the wheel.
Netflix’s City Hunter Delivers Hits and Misses
If you came here looking for a reason to watch Netflix’s City Hunter, his name is Ryohei Suzuki. Suzuki stars as Ryo Saeba, the perfect distillation of the comedic action hero archetype. Saeba is a private detective/mercenary who shoots, fights, and drives like a Terminator. He’s also an unapologetic pervert who leers pitifully at every woman he sees. The film follows Saeba as he investigates a series of violent attacks throughout Shinjuku. While pursuing a missing cosplayer, Saeba’s straight-laced partner dies horribly. This tonal shift leads to a new odd-couple dynamic with his younger sister, Kaori. The action scenes flow beautifully, the characters are entertaining, and Ryohei Suzuki’s performance as Ryo Saeba is masterful. He ties the film together singlehandedly. The plot is a mess, though returning fans will have little trouble understanding the familiar beats. The jokes don’t always land, but it’ll keep your attention for 100 minutes.
Netflix’s take on City Hunter is far from the first. Hong Kong filmmakers have made three adaptations of the classic manga. The best-known example stars Jackie Chan as Ryo Saeba, another flawless casting choice. The film also features Chan, dressed as Chun-li from Street Fighter II, fighting a guy dressed as Ken. A French team produced Nicky Larson et le parfum de Cupidon in 2019, adapting the manga with the title it’s always used in the nation. Netflix’s take likely won’t be the last, either. Interestingly, Hong Kong and France contributed heavily to City Hunter’s current position on Netflix’s worldwide charts. It’s the fourth-most-watched movie in the world the day after it dropped. American viewers didn’t push it to their national top ten. Speaking as an American fan, I saw almost no marketing for this film before I watched it. Perhaps it could lead to greater worldwide recognition.
City Hunter is a fun action comedy with several jokes that aged poorly. The old anime pervert routine gets old in every medium, but it wears thin faster in live-action. The gunfights, fistfights, and stunt driving play extremely well in the film’s cartoony color scheme. It’s a mixed bag, but I’d still say it delivers enough to seek out. Netflix is far from out of the woods when it comes to anime adaptations, but City Hunter marks another mild success.
