City Hunter Shinjuku Private Eyes is awesome. After a long time, City Hunter returns to animation with a brand new original movie by Sunrise (the studio that originally animated City Hunter in the first place). I think it replicates what made City Hunter so awesome in the first place & is a fantastic return to form.

The story really isn’t anything special tbh. It isn’t bad, it’s about our boy Ryo getting hired as a bodyguard (as he usually does in the series) by a famous model & then evolving into a plot about trying to stop a corporation & their super weapon. It’s not a particularly stand out plot, but City Hunter being an episodic series was never known for its plot in the first place, so this is fine. Even as a plot it still brings with it some high stakes, good character moments, & serves as a great driving force for the action set-pieces in this movie. So although nothing too special it’s hard to really complain about this plot that much.

The characters are pretty much exactly what you remember from the series & I wouldn’t have it any other way for what’s supposed to be a standalone, return to form after a long absence City Hunter movie. Ryo is the same perverted yet reliable sweeper you know & love from the original series, although his perverted side has been dialed back a bit for modern sensibilities. I honestly don’t mind this as they really didn’t dial it back as much as my statement would lead you to believe & he’s still the same Ryo Saeba I know & love from the OG so I have no complaints. Kaori is the same trusty sidekick who keeps Ryo in check whenever his antics get too out of hand. Other characters you remember from the series such as Sayako & Umibouzu return as well. While my explanations of these characters make them seem like very simple characters (because they are) I need to bring up that City Hunter’s cast consist of largely comedic characters. Comedic characters don’t necessarily need to have a large amount of depth to them provided they allow for good comedy & can offer good dynamics & I feel as though City Hunter’s characters succeed at both of these as I found myself laughing numerous times throughout this movie. Even when this movie starts getting more serious the characters know how to act in the situation & it never really leads to any tonal whiplash because the movie knows how to balance comedic & serious scenarios.

The artwork in this series is exactly what I would want a modern day interpretation of City Hunter to be. Character designer & animation director from Gundam The Origin, Tsukasa Kotobuki lends his hands on this project & I think it’s a good fit. His character designs achieve that right balance of old school but modern. These characters look & feel like the characters I loved in the original anime from 1987 so I have to give big credit. The art design generally speaking is pretty spectacular too, it’s got bright colors, detailed backgrounds, action scenes that flow well, & crisp shading. I will say though this movie can be lacking polish at points, I did notice some no-faces & badly drawn background characters in a few scenes. They aren’t riddled throughout the movie enough in order to ruin it for me but I did notice them more times than I would’ve liked to notice them. These mainly come at the beginning of the movie though, by the middle & end it’s pretty polished overall. The movie also has moments of CGI, but I actually don’t mind it because CGI is used the way it was in Gundam The Origin & Gundam Unicorn, mainly used on background objects off in the distance or machinery. I will say the CGI is more noticeable here than it was in either Gundam series I mentioned but I don’t think it’s bad enough to detract unless you just really hate CGI being in anime.

The sound department is pretty crisp with most of the voice actors returning to their roles. Akira Kamiya reprises his role as Ryo Saeba & he’s still got it despite getting up there in age. I will say that if you’re like me & have seen anything City Hunter prior going into this movie you can notice that Kamiya has aged but he still brings a good performance in spite of that so I won’t dock points for it. The music is pretty good with fan favorite tracks returning such as “Footsteps” & ‘Fall in love” returning (I got really giddy when I heard these in the movies). Even the original tracks are really solid too, the opening sequence of this movie has a banging rock piece playing that really gets you in the mood to see this movie. So the returning cast & an OST that keeping with the theme feels retro but brings City Hunter into modern times simultaneously? Sign me up.

This movie is a treat. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end & I really hope Sunrise makes more City Hunter movies like these, I’d be so down for them. Do I think this movie is a great way to see if you’d like City Hunter or not? I think so, the story is pretty simple to understand, & it’s got everything I ever liked about City Hunter crammed into it. I would say you might wanna do some research into who these characters are going into it, but even if you don’t the movie does a great job at introducing you to these characters. It reminds me Cowboy Bebop Knockin on Heaven’s Door(‘s) opening scene in which the animation & directing portrays to the viewer Spike & Jet’s personality, dynamic, & differences all without really needing to tell you about it. I give this movie a 9/10