The series follows the exploits of Ryo Saeba, a "sweeper" or private detective who works to rid Tokyo of crime, and Kaori Makimura, a tomboyish girl who manages Ryo's business affairs. Their "City Hunter" business is an underground jack-of-all-trades operation, contacted by writing the letters "XYZ" on a blackboard at Shinjuku Station. One day, his associate, Hideyuki Makimura, is murdered. Ryô has to take care of Hideyuki's sister, Kaori, who becomes his new partner. However, Kaori is much more jealous and often hits him with a giant hammer.

Ryo Saeba (冴羽獠, Saeba Ryo)

The series' titular character and main protagonist. He was raised in a civil war-torn village somewhere in Central America. As a result, he has little information regarding his true identity. After the war, Ryo makes his way to the United States, before moving to Tokyo. In Japan, he forms the "City Hunter" team with Hideyuki Makimura. A highly-skilled gunman, Ryo is known for executing the "one-hole shot": a series of shots that land in the exact same spot of the target repeatedly. His preferred weapon is the Colt Python .357 Magnum. The most frequent running gag about Ryo's character is that he is extremely lecherous. His clients are almost exclusively beautiful young women, with whom he constantly seeks "mokkori chance". When not working, he can often be found hitting on random young women on the streets of Tokyo. His constant womanizing often leads to violent repercussions from his partner Kaori. Voiced by: Akira Kamiya (Japanese), Martin Blacker (English)

Kaori Makimura (槇村香, Makimura Kaori)

Ryo Saeba's tomboyish partner. She is primarily responsible for arranging clients and other managerial tasks. She is in love with Ryo, although in the beginning it seems that he has no feelings towards her, as the series progresses there are multiple hints about Ryo having feelings for Kaori. Ryo's skirt-chasing rouses her ire more than once. Her favorite weapon is a bazooka or a mallet (labelled 100 tonnes or 100 gigatonnes) to punish Ryo after his womanizing escapades. A running gag is that she is frequently mistaken for a bishōnen-looking man. In the end of the manga it is hinted they got married. Voiced by: Kazue Ikura (Japanese), Pamela Ribon (English)

Hideyuki Makimura (槇村秀幸, Makimura Hideyuki)

Kaori's older brother and Ryo's partner at the start of the series. He's a former police detective with a strong sense of justice. Kaori takes over his role as Ryo's partner after he is murdered by gangsters. His dying request was that Ryo take care of his sister. Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka

Umibōzu (海坊主)

Another "sweeper" working the rounds in Tokyo, he and Ryo have a history dating back to the civil war in Central America. He goes by the professional name Falcon and his real name is Hayato Ijuin (伊集院隼人). Despite his fearsome appearance he has a phobia of kittens. Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (Japanese), Lou Perryman (English)

Saeko Nogami (野上冴子, Nogami Saeko)

She is a Tokyo police detective who often outsources certain tasks to the City Hunter team. The daughter of the chief of police, she was once closely related to Kaori's brother, Hideyuki. Ryo keeps a long-detailed list where Saeko owes him for the various favours he's done for her, which she always manages to get out of because Ryo demands a mokkori chance with her for each item. Voiced by: Yōko Asagami (Japanese), Jana Brockman (English)

Reika Nogami (野上 麗香, Nogami Reika)

Introduced halfway through the manga and the first season, Reika is Saeko Nogami's younger sibling, but proves to be just as feisty as her in rejecting Ryo's advances. She runs the "RN Detective Agency" (RN being her initials), right next to Ryo's apartment. It is hinted a few times that she has a little crush on Ryo but knows about Kaori's feelings for him and will not stand in her way. Voiced by: Yoshino Takamori (Japanese), Katherine Catmull (English)

Miki

A former mercenary, she was raised as an orphan by Umibozu in the battlefield and falls in love with him. She runs a Coffee shop named "Cat's Eye" (homage to Tsukasa's previous manga) along with Umibozu. She is battle hardened and also is a master of hypnosis. Voiced by: Mami Koyama, Miki Ito (Japanese), Amalia Stifter, Johanna Mckeon (English)

Kasumi Asou

A member of a proud clan of noble Robin Hood-like thieves, she initially meets with Ryo early on in the manga before returning to him halfway through the manga. She eventually falls in love with Ryo and makes brief appearances thereafter as a part-time employee at Cat's Eye. Voiced by: Miina Tominaga

Manga-only characters

Professor/Doc

A former medic at the Mercenary camp that Ryo was stationed in during the civil war, he is the source of much of Ryo's underground information and also shares his interests in young women. Appears only in the manga series.

Kazue Nattori

A former scientist whose unintended acquaintance with Ryo results in her falling for him. She eventually becomes an assistant to the Professor in his lab, hoping she will have the opportunity to win his heart.

Mick Angel

Ryo's former partner during his stay in the United States, he is Ryo's in terms of both skills and his womanizing nature. Introduced 3/4 of the way throughout the manga, he plays a big role in major story arcs thereafter.

Manga

In Japan, the City Hunter manga ran for six years in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from Issue 13 of 1985 to Issue 50 of 1991. The first compiled City Hunter collections were published under the Jump Comics imprint from 1985 to 1992, and totaled 35 volumes. The second edition was from Shueisha Editions, who published an 18 book version between 1996 and 1997. Bunch World published a 39 volume edition between 2001 and 2002. Most recently, Tokuma Comics published a "Complete Edition" of 32 books, each with bonus material between 2004 and early 2005.

The North American version of the manga, published by Gutsoon! Entertainment and serialized in Raijin Comics, is only available up to volume 5. The series has also been translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Vietnamese, Spanish, and Indonesian.

Spin-off

In 2001, Hojo started a follow-up series titled Angel Heart manga. The series takes place in a universe parallel to City Hunter, where the character of Kaori Makimura is killed and her heart transplanted into Li Xiang Ying, Angel Heart's protagonist.

Anime

The manga was adapted into an animated television series by Sunrise Studios in 1987. The first series lasted for 51 episodes, followed by three further series; City Hunter 2 (63 episodes); City Hunter 3 (13 episodes); and City Hunter '91 (13 episodes).

Along with the four television series, the City Hunter animated franchise spans three television specials, two original video animations and one feature film. ADV initially had the rights to most of the series, with the exception of the last film. However, it went out of print quickly, and, possibly due to a lack of popularity, has not yet been re-released.

Opening/Ending Themes

City Hunter

Opening:

• "Ai yo Kienaide" by Kahoru Kohirumaki (Episodes 1 - 26)
• "Go Go Heaven" by Yoshiyuki Osawa (Episodes 27 - 51)

Ending:

• "Get Wild" by TM Network (Episodes 1 - 51)

City Hunter 2

Opening:

• "Angel Night" by PSY-S (Episodes 1 - 26)
• "SARA" by FENCE OF DEFENSE (Episodes 27 - 63)

Ending:

• "Super Girl" by Yasuyuki Okamura (Episodes 1 - 37)
• "Still Love Her" by TM Network (Episodes 38 - 63)

City Hunter 3

Opening:

• "Running to Horizon" by Tetsuya Komuro (Episodes 1 - 13)

Ending:

• "Atsuku Naretara" by Kiyomi Suzuki (Episodes 1 - 13)

City Hunter '91

Opening:

• "Downtown Game" by Gwinko (Episodes 1 - 13)

Ending:

• "Smile & Smile" by Aura (Episodes 1 - 13)

Movies/TV Specials

• Film

357 Magnum a.k.a. A Magnum of Love's Destination - Ryo and Kaori are hired to protect Nina Shutenburg, a beautiful pianist, from mercenaries and diplomats.

• OVAs

Bay City Wars - Ryo and Umibozu fight an evil dictator and his group terrorists hijacking the Bay City hotel.

Million Dollar Conspiracy a.k.a. Plot of a $1,000,000 - When a mysterious (and gorgeous) stranger shows up needing protection, the City Hunter team leap at the million-dollar offer.

• Specials

Secret Service - Faced with delinquent rental bills, Ryo and Kaori accept a new assignment from James McGuire, a man from the fictional South American country of Guinam who aims to dislodge its military junta as a presidential candidate. McGuire wants the two to protect his long-lost daughter, who leads the Japanese secret service detail guarding him during his trip to Japan. However, when unknown forces attack McGuire, he is forced to come clean with Ryo and Kaori about his dark past as a rebel fighter to face his tormentors.

The Motion Picture a.k.a. Goodbye, My Sweetheart - Ryo reluctantly takes up a popular stage actress' assignment to find her long-lost brother. Ryo and Kaori discover that the man is actually "The Professor," a former soldier-turned-terrorist who now plans to detonate bombs all over Shinjuku as revenge for a betrayal at the hands of the Japanese government.

Death of the Vicious Criminal Ryo Saeba a.k.a. Death of Evil Ryo Saeba - Sexy newscaster Sayaka Asagiri appears at the City Hunter offices and hires Ryo and Kaori for a new assignment - their first contract in over four months, with Sayaka promising to spend one night with Ryo thrown in for good measure. The three investigate the disappearance and murder of a TV news network president that has been covered up through staged appearances and heavy editing. The conspirators use the same tricks on Ryo to frame him for "kidnapping" Sayaka.

Live action

In 1993, Golden Harvest produced a live action City Hunter (城市獵人) film directed by Wong Jing and starring Jackie Chan. Fortune Star and 20th Century Fox later released it on R1 DVD along with other budget classic HK films. Chan was not fond of the work, and allegedly criticized it in one of his books.

Mr. Mumble (孟波 Meng bo) is another live action version of City Hunter. Despite the fact the names have been changed, this 1996 movie is considered to be a bit more faithful to the original material than the earlier film. Michael Chow plays Maang Boh (Mr. Mumble, the Cantonese version of Ryo) who takes on a job to guard Sharon (Pauline Suen), the daughter of a mafioso. The film also stars Francoise Yip as Yachi (Saeko), Jessica Hester Hsuan as Lao Tang (Kaori) and Eric Kei as Chi (Umibozu).

Saviour of the Soul (九一神鵰俠侶 Gauyat sandiu haplui) is a Hong Kong film from 1991 that takes elements from City Hunter. Although the plot has little in common with City Hunter, the characters of Ryo, Saeko, Makimura, Kaori, and Silver Fox appear.

A new live-action version of City Hunter has recently been announced, to be produced and distributed by Fox Television Studios and South Korean media company SSD.Jung Woo-sung has been cast as Ryo, and that other Hollywood-based stars will be cast alongside, with filming being done in Seoul and Tokyo.

In 2011, the series was adapted into a Korean television series of the same name by SBS, starring Lee Min Ho, Park Min-Young, and Lee Joon Hyuk.

Novels

• City Hunter. Novel. Published by Shueisha in 1993.
• City Hunter Special: The Secret Service. Novel. Published by Shueisha in 1995
• City Hunter 2. Novel. Published by Shueisha in 1997.
• City Hunter Special: Live on Stage. Novel. Published by Shueisha in 1999.

In a 2005 poll held by TV Asahi, City Hunter was voted #66 out of the 100 most popular animated TV series, as voted by TV viewers. A TV Asahi web-poll put City Hunter at #65.