City Hunter, a manga by Hojo Tsukasa that gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, celebrated its 40th anniversary on February 26th, and it has been announced that a 40th anniversary project will be launched. A commemorative visual newly drawn by Hojo has been released. The visual brings together the main characters, including Saeba Ryo and Kaori Makimura, and is a special piece in which Makimura Hideyuki has been drawn in color for the first time. February 26th, the date the manga began serialization, has been registered as "City Hunter Day" by the Japan Anniversary Association. A special 40th anniversary website has also been opened.
The project will hold a 40th anniversary exhibition of original drawings at the Ueno Royal Museum (Taito-ku, Tokyo) from November 22 to December 28, and will also hold a campaign to solicit "favorite scenes" from fans. The manga app "Manga Hot" is offering 100 episodes of "City Hunter" for free until March 31.
Hojo commented, "Saeba Ryo's catchphrase when picking up girls was, 'Bokuryo-chan I'm 20!!' (lol) ' City Hunter' (where is Ryo???) is celebrating its second Coming of Age Ceremony. At the time I never imagined that people would be reading it 40 years later, so I was free to draw silly things as if I was throwing my shame away. 40 years from now, I'll long be gone, but I wonder if Ryo will still be alive? I hope that Ryo will live a long life, along with all of you."
"City Hunter" is a manga that began serialization in "Weekly Shonen Jump" (Shueisha) in 1985. It depicts the exploits of Ryo Saeba, the number one sweeper in the underworld, set in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The total number of copies of the comics published is about 50 million.
In addition to a TV anime series broadcast from 1987 to 1999, three animated films were produced. In 2018, a French live-action film, "City Hunter: The Movie: The Greatest Mission in History," was released. In 2019, the first animated film in about 29 years, "City City Hunter : Shinjuku Private Eyes," was released and became a hit, grossing over 1.5 billion yen. In 2023, the animated film "City Hunter : Angel Dust" was released. The production of a Netflix film, "City Hunter," starring actor Ryohei Suzuki, also attracted attention.
