City Hunter: Watch This Movie if You Like John Wick | Video Essay 

By the way, the 80s is forty years ago. Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this video.

Not only City Hunter. Lupin III and Golgo 13 are also recommended.

City Hunter was my friend throughout one of my worst phases of life. The film took me back to those good memories, like meeting an old friend after years.

Best live-action City Hunter of all time. Japan's adaptation is really for the 80s fans. btw Jackie Chan's version didn't happen.

Regarding the gun sounds, it's always welcome to hear somebody talk about the sound design in movies. Unfortunately, good sound design goes unnoticed by design, the audience should feel it but not stop to notice it. Thus, it takes a determined critic to remember to focus on it, and be aware of its details, it's much like editing that way, it makes or breaks a movie, but the audience rarely understands it in the experience. They just remember feeling satisfied, or dissatisfied, but don't know why. So I appreciate the work here, and say thank you.

Many might wonder why the he'll there was a French adaptation. City Hunter was dubbed in French and was part of the insanely popular Club Dorothee line up. Club Dorothee launched a LOT of anime into the French cultural Zeitgeist. Dragonball ( original, Z, subsequent), city hunter, captain sutsuba... I knew them in French first. And City Hunter captured enough of French culture to appropriate a genuine French live action version. Which is hilarious.

I agree that the kickback is something I miss from John Wick... but hearing the backstory makes that make sense to me. The director was on set when Brandon Lee was killed while filming the Crow. He will never have actual live ammunition when they can use cgi for all the needed sparks, not after what happened. ... they could use a little more choreographed kickback tho haha

I agree with your points on sound in gunfights. Most of the time the sounds of gunfights is anemic ADR sounds that are purely functional to make sure the audience doesn't lose the suspension of disbelief. When a movie leans into how gunfights should sound, it makes for a much more visceral experience. The Michael Mann classic "Heat" is another supremely good example of the overpowering use of sound, as the used the raw audio of the blanks as they reverberated through the city.

I knew nothing of City Hunter until this video and I am so glad that I've watched it now. The combination of action and silliness is so unique and fun and the lead actor pulls it off so well. Loved it

I adored this film. As you stated, it takes the aesthetic of the 80s and applies that to modern day. Plus that Gun Fu scene at the lair lives in my head rent free! Daym. Ryohei Suzuki is spectacular as Ryo, dude brings the character to life through his performance.

Watched this on your recommendation - what an absolute gem. Perfect for some feel-good, not-too-deep viewing.

This was a decent live action movie of city hunter. Would like to see this turn into a series.

After watching this movie and recently been into binge watching the original City Hunter anime I can confidently say that this adaptation is truly a love letter to the fans and huge welcoming introduction to the new ones and Ryohei Suzuki the actor who portrayed Ryo Saeba on the movie nailed everything he is like Ryo Saeba straight out of the comics and at times his high pitches sounds much liked Akira Kamiya (The voice actor of Ryo Saeba anime) which is like WOW! and knowing that Ryohei is also a big fan of the series he also serves as a consultant on the set which really helped the quality of the movie overall, and I am already seated for a sequel really hoped that UMIBOZU (fellow Sweeper and Frienemy of Ryo Saeba) will make his appearance and with him I thinked the action will amped up more.

City hunter is an emotion... thank you for covering it

At first you had my curiosity when he used a speed loader on a revolver, but now you have my full attention

It's great to see this franchise is still alive and well. City Hunter is one of the quintessential 80s anime (which also ran into the 90s) Wonderful mix of action and comedy with a sprinkle of romance. I wish more 80s anime franchises were in such a healthy state. I still dream of a Bubblegum Crisis revival.

Slowly and surely, youve become my favorite movie related video essay creator - love from Singapore. Kudos and God bless.

City Hunter is my introduction to classic Anime ❤

I'm happy this movie is great, City Hunter is one of the many anime/manga I believe can work in live action

Thank you so much for spreading the word of this. As a longtime fan of the series I was so hyped to see Japan finally take it on and it delivered. Ryohei Suzuki was perfect as Ryo, he is a huge fan of the manga and it shows in his performance. I loved past movies like the Mr. Mumble from 96 and the French movie (I love Jackie but his movie is barely city Hunter), but this set a new standard for live action manga adaptations.

In a year full of great movies, City Hunter stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best

7:42 - *FreddieW has entered the chat.* Taticool Reloads.

Needed Jackie Chan in Chun Li drag

Woah, I did not know we had a new City Hunter! I am so on that.

I kind of died inside when Jump Force had Ryu Saeba and reactors didnt know who he was

same actor who also did with Hentai Kamen way back XD

I'm glad you're covering this adaptation! I loved it, and the song from the anime they used here was the topping to a very delicious cake (it gave me goosebumps). And you're spot on about Shinjuku. This film made me miss that city. Such a fun movie!

Great video Yang. City Hunter is one of my favorite films of 2024. Your thoughts about the sound design, production design and lighting were so spot on.

The only nitpick i had with the Japanese netflix version is the lack of Ryu's signature light blue blazer and red shirt underneath. Other than that, the movie is brilliant, one of the best anime adaptation to live action around! Most importantly, I had a lot of fun watching this. Highly recommended even u r not familiar with the original source.

I went into this blind after the first 10s of your video. And absolutely blown away. It definitely had the feeling of an adaptation in that the world/lore seemed so fleshed out. I wish there were more actions scenes just because they were so well done. But I thought the pacing was okay and the simple plot worked in the movie's favour. It made it feel like the movie really knew what its identity was.

thank you so much!! greetings from Argentina! i love your channel!! the 89 and 90 movies were the only city hunter material that we got 24 years ago in a tv channel called Locomotion!

Great analysis, realized that the gun sfx & the cinematography does sell each scene well. This newest adaptation is a great rendition for newcomers & old fans alike. High recommend, especially watching without prior knowledge of the franchise. Besides that, props to the leading cast. They've really expressed the emotions & character traits from the source material. I really love the final shooting scene because it really sells the emotion buildup from the early scenes.

The sound design alone is amazing.

You always do such an amazing job at getting me to watch flicks I'd never heard of.

Great recommendation, thanks. I had no prior knowledge of this series and was pleasantly surprised by the blend of humor with action.

I watched this movie today - it's an excellent adaptation of the manga. As someone who was more familiar with the humour of the source material, the movie's action sequences caught me off-guard, and their caliber was a very pleasant surprise.

Thanks so much for bringing more attention to this amazing movie

When I was watching the original anime back in the 90's. Ryo's constant womanizing used to feel pretty tacky if not repetitive. Until I realize that it's really his coping mechanism for his own trauma from his youth. That he's actually a very tragic character instead of just a goofball.

My wife and I just watched it yesterday, and hot damn, this movie was FANTASTIC!!!

❤ i didn't know you release your videos in night time , i always watch your videos during my lunch time ,your video is always very informative 👏

I grew up watching the anime series over and over on french television and was a bit reluctant to give this movie a try, but now I'm hyped, thanks!

I love your videos because you convince me to check on movies I would rarely want to watch by myself❤ keep it up!

I just watched this yesterday and again today with my roommate. The best action film I’ve seen in years!

What great timing! I just finished the movie! I loved it. This was my first experience with City Hunter and I think I'm hooked!

love your vids! your my favourite! Love all your action analysis videos

Live-action movie adaptations of beloved animé and manga series are sometimes a hit or miss thing in Japan. I'm glad to know about the recommendation of this film since I never knew about it.

Another good video AC! Keep up the good work

I saw that you did a video on the new City Hunter and I watched it right away and came back to your video.

You got me! Thank you, I laughed so hard when the "Sponsored by Squarespace" happened! Really enjoy your videos, and it's little touches that make them Soar.

I loved this live action adaption of City Hunter, and like you pointed out, despite being set in out modern time, they did a really good job keeping a lot of modern 21st century tech and plot contrivances out of the film and gave it a more old school 80s feel as much as a modern setting would allow 👍🏽

I loved this movie, so goofy but visceral

Thanks for the amazing recommendation. That was very fun to watch 😄

Japan showing Disney how to make enjoyable movies without crazy budgets

fun fact : ryohei suzuki, the actor that portrayed ryo saeba also portrayed takeo from my love story aka ore monogatari live action movie. dude has range

I actually started this video and stopped it to watch it last night. Really fun adaption of a series I’ve only heard about. One thing I will say the opening hallway fight scene did not have very impactful sound mixing…maybe that’s because it was not a gun fight,which seems to be the real highlight for City Hunter, but I’m used to hand to hand combat being mixed similarly to a gun fight.

As always, an excellent video essay.

I was not aware of City Hunter until I watched this series. I loved it! I don't know how well they adapted the anime, but I can tell they did it with love to the original material and not trying to push any agenda. It was just plain fun! It did remind me a bit of Jackie Chan, buddy cop movies, but it also reminded me a lot of Cowboy Bebop in so many ways. (aaaand i just found out that Watanabe worked on City Hunter early in his career, so I guess we can assume he was atleast inspired by it)

As a City Hunter anime fan since the mid 90s, I am eager to see this adaptation. Even the weird Jackie Chan version had its moments.

The french movie wasn't bad at all and quite faithful.

I never read the manga nor watched the anime and any other film adaptations, I only discovered this movie in Original Netflix Movie chart in Wikipedia to keep track on some good movies to share. I was certainly pleased and entertained to have watched this 2024 stream able movie.

nice to see that it's partially set in Shinjuku's Kabukicho red-light district, which many people will be intimately familiar with from Sega's Yakuza series.

Wondering if Sanji's character in One Piece is inspired from him.

I never watched City Hunter the anime but was aware of it. This movie made me want to watch it. Great movie and surprised how the filmmakers pulled it off.

French City Hunter movie is a perfect adaptation, as far as I'm concerned

haha your segue into your sponsor is getting better and funnier each time.

THIS MODERNIZED YET NOSTALGIC NETFLIX LIVE-ACTION ANIMÉ FILM ADAPTATION PAY HOMAGE TO TSUKASA HOJO'S ORIGINAL MANGA, THE CLASSIC ANIMÉ FRANCHISE & JOHN WOO'S GUN-FU OR GUN-KATA FILMS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO REWATCH IT AGAIN & AGAIN, LOL! 🕵️🔫🥋📺🎞️🎬🎥👍🤣

The Netflix movie had some great moments, but I still think that the french adaptation is the best live action CH movie. Lacheau's version was able to strike a better balance between action, comedy AND mokkori.

City Hunter and Angel Heart mangas were my jam back in early 2000s. Tsukasa Hojo took that classic 80s style and kept on perfecting it through the years without deviating wildly like may others have. And this is without a doubt the best adaptation. I have gsped and squealed like a little kid at some of the clever ways they have recreated some of the panels from the manga almost 1 to 1. It's just phenominal. Though, I still have some love for the Jackie Chan's City Hunter. but I found it is better to just imagine it has nothing to do with the source material and is entirely its own thing to truly enjoy it.

Ryo may be sleazy but he loves his revolver like a man loves his wife.

I did watch it tonight. Enjoyed it! Wish there was just one more action scene somewhere in the middle, not necessarily a violent one.

Great movie. I really liked the Anime convention and how they got add in Kaori's signature weapon.

Honestly it was not priority in my list until your video. Thanks.

I watched the film thanks to your reccomendation and it really is a blast!

Damn you convinced me to watch it now.

The movie was awesome, was waiting for this video as well

IMHO, City Hunter 2024 delivered a lot....Saeba-san being the loveable perv, combining the gritty action of John Wick with the balletic tongue-in-cheek of the Peter Sellers Pink Panthers This version also keeps with the visual tropes of the franchise - whether it is the Mr Bean style Mini Cooper Ryu rises around in or the inevitable "Hammer time" moments

This looks like it'd scratch the itch for the atmosphere of the Yakuza games.

There was also an unofficial adaptation called Mr. Mumble after the Jackie Chan film. I guess due to it being unofficial it has never received a HD release.

I really liked how they handled Makimura in this version. I was really worried they'd speed past the start and gloss over him and Ryo's relationship in favor of giving the fans the status quo with Kaori. Him and Ryo have such an effortless and cool dynamic. You could easily see them carrying a whole series of adventures before this story. Really makes that early turn hit like a brick.

Loved this adaptation for a number of reasons. Ryohei Suzuki is a inspired choice, able to portray a multi faceted role. More than John Wick, he is Clint Eastwood and Jim Carrey at the same time. The excellent Japanese humour and cartoon feel packaged in a high quality package… Rollicking fun!

After watch part three, i hope like a dragon live action will have the same style as city hunter as both are technically on the same era

Once again, my man acts cultured but IS cultured.

Rather interesting that you say that the movie captures the 80s Shinjuku in the film. I get that it means the aesthetic and I agree to a point but when they show off a very VERY recent and modern shinjuko (and Kabukicho in particular) it kinda yanks you back into the present.

Wow this looks fucking amazing. Downloading the movie rn while finishing your vid. Thanks for the rec.

Modern adaptation that stick to the old feels..job done right 🎉

This looks fun.

Saw this movie last night… it was good and made me wish that Japan make more movies like this.

Somehow your summary made me think of the first dead or alive movie. I wonder if Miike was inspired by City Hunter.

This and the French Nicky Larson film are the best live action iterations of City Hunter.

If ever Netflix somehow does a western adaptation of City Hunter, I'm hoping they do something that fans can be satisfied... like if it's set in a place in Canada with a sizeable Japanese population like Vancouver, and that Ryo and Makimura (Kaori's big brother) are ex-RCMP officers turned private eyes.

You forgot the HK film, Savior of the Soul aka 1991 Condor Heroes, which took liberties on some City Hunter character names, story arc, and 90s aesthetics.

I agree was a great bit of fun, I converted it to 3D and it added another level of awesomeness - GREAT recommendation

To those who don't know: not there is only Jackie Chan's version of City Hunter, also famous Korean actor Lee Min-Ho's version, but more serious and is not filled with humor, and also a TV series. (I know this is not related to the video)

if this is what I think it is... I have only heard of this from the 1992 film "Gameboy Kids" so thanks for talking about it

Thanks, I watched it tonight.

I'm still sad that no one's rebooted the City Hunter anime.

I've never heard of this franchise, but I enjoyed the Netflix movie for its style and campiness.

I've only read a bit of the manga and watched the jackie chan movie. It's my favourite jackie chan movie but even i knew it wasn't a faithful adaptation. Netflix city hunter is fun, but only if you're familiar with the original city hunter, or 80s manga in general.

I actually watched the movie because the 80s animation is so stylish and fun.

I watched this on Netflix recently and really enjoyed it