City Hunter - The Motion Picture

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Inspired by the highly popular Jackie Chan vehicle City Hunter (1992) and its 1996 sequel, this action-packed anime borrows liberally from its predecessors (not to mention several American blockbusters, most notably Speed), so it's not going to score any points for originality. What it does offer is energy to spare and a trio of characters who are sure to please adolescent anime fans looking for an outlet for their hormonal overload. That's because ace crimefighter Joe Saeba--a.k.a. "City Hunter"--is at least as interested in "nookie" as he is in busting bad guys, and when he's not trying to score with one of his legion of female admirers, he's getting his skull battered by Kaori, his jealously protective sidekick and would-be girlfriend, who wields a gigantic sledgehammer the way Ken Griffey Jr. swings a Louisville Slugger.

City Hunter's latest object of desire is Amy Makaze, a damsel-in-distress whose brother--now known only as "The Professor"--has turned from military heroism to ruthless terrorism and now plans to destroy several major Japanese cities in revenge against the government that betrayed him. It's up to City Hunter to foil the madman's scheme, and the big showdown involves a bullet train, a series of bombs set to chain-react, and a few well-placed slams of Kaori's massive sledge. It's shamelessly derivative as action plots go, but City Hunter is vibrantly animated with style to spare, and best of all, it doesn't take itself the least bit seriously. Juvenile entertainment with just a hint of "mature content," this is formulaic anime at its most professionally polished. -Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Its ok.......2007-05-24

City Hunter is a decent anime but far from the best. I gave the motion picture a shot because I was a little interested in the series. Well, I have to say that I'm going to leave the series alone. This movie just didn't do it for me. It's very short on action. The little bit of action that there is, is ok at best. Nothing was really too spectacular to me. The comedy wasn't all that funny to me either. Everytime the main character looks at other women his female partner for no reason whatsoever beats his a** with an over sized mallet. It happened so many times it just wasn't funny anymore. As if it ever was funny to begin with.

The overall plot, suspense, and events leading to the end is what saves this from being unwatchable. Well for the cheap prices this is being sold for it is worth a watch. But there is far better secret agent type anime out there. Some may love this but it just wasn't my taste.I dont believe this anime is for kids due to a little bit of profanity and several references to sex.

Great Fun to watch!!!.......2006-02-16

I guess I'm a minority here being a woman, but I just want to say Ryo is totally hilarious and it is fun to watch him get hit with hammer all the time by Karoi. I thoroughly enjoy watching this movie, as it is a good blend of action, suspense, and humor!

Great movie for City Hunter fans.......2002-10-18

... The Jackie Chan movie was inspired by the anime/manga City Hunter, not the other way around. The anime TV series of City Hunter were out in Japan long before the Jackie Chan was made in Hong Kong. That said, this is a great movie with a good story that adds to the original TV series and stands well on its own. Funny and loads of actions, just like all the other City Hunters.

Funny stuff, not much action, though.......2002-04-09

If you like Anime but never watched any "City Hunter" Videos, this would be a good one to start with. It passes itself off as an action flick at first, but its way more comical, with wacky slapstick humor between Joe and his female sidekick. Joe is quite possibly the funniest heroes I've ever seen, and some of the things he does in the film are so brash, they're hilarious!

Essesntially the story is about Joe and his friends trying to stop a madman called The Professor from blowing up Tokyo, but the more memorable parts of the film involve Joe and women...they're too funny to mention without actually spoinilg the best parts of the movie. The action sequences aren't that great, although the climax is kinda cool...If you're a woman though, since a lot of the humor involve Joe's womanizing perverted ways, you may not think it's funny at all.

Slow-paced but still great.......2001-06-20

The characters' names were changed in the English series, which is annoying to some purists, but other than that, City Hunter is a good movie. Surprisingly, the dub is great, save for the scratchy voice of Kaori. Ryo, who is City Hunter, was renamed Joe. His English voice is excellent, but it's hard to surpass that of the original voice actor Akira Kamiya, who played Kenshiro in the Hokuto No Ken (Fist of the North Star) TV Series. Joe himself acts like a demented pervert any time he sees a woman. But when saving lives are involved, he suddenly snaps and becomes serious and dramatic, which is really just odd. The movie full of perverted humor and a bit of mystery, but unfortunately suffers from being a little slow-paced. There is surprisingly little action, but the final fight scene with the Professor almost makes up for everything. The soundtrack is great, but its best song is reserved for this one fight. Definitely see this great movie.

Average customer rating:

City Hunter (3 Pack)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

The Motion Picture - 90 Min .357 Magnum - 80 Min Secret Service - 90 Min

DVD:

DVD

DVD