30+ years after this shows release and the great Shinjuku Sweeper is still teaching people like me how to Get Wild and Tough My first exposure to City Hunter came in perhaps one of the most fitting ways possible by stumbling across it while channel surfing in my then Tokyo residency with Shinjuku a short train ride away. I have always possessed a great interest in popculture such as music television video games anime etc. from the 1970s and 80s so seeing a show as old as City Hunter appear in the TV guide came as quite the pleasant surprise. Needless to say my curiousity led to watching the entire 1st season on BluRay. I will be the first to admit that my love for 70s and 80s popculture especially from that of Japan often leaves me looking at stuff like City Hunter in the deepest of rosetinted glasses but after watching the entire 1st season I can safely say that this show has something for every fan of action TV not just anime. Perhaps the biggest aspect of the show that came as a pleasant refresher was the age range of the main cast of characters. City Hunter does an incredible job of marketing itself as a show to which adults can relate understand and appreciate. Nearly every main character is over the age of 20 while a host of the antagonists are middleaged and even older. The cast of characters and even the soundtrack humor and satirical undertones paint a picture of Shinjukus criminal underworld something that fans of crime/law TV shows can appreciate. Despite City Hunters mature themes it does a wonderful job of implementing comic relief on an episodic basis. Ryo Saeba is this incredibly tough hardened and talented hitman who gets the dirty work done but his constant lecherous behavior towards the women of Shinjuku shows the duality of his character an ace shot who defies the laws of physics but often becomes the butt of all the jokes. His relationship to his partnerincrime Kaori Makimura is one of the most enjoyable manwoman duos I have ever seen in television. Seeing them lock heads on a regular basis always seemed to make me smile no matter what they were doing or whose skirt Ryo was chasing. Even if you arent a fan of 80s music there is at least one song from City Hunters discography that you will want to hear on repeat. For me that song would be Footsteps or Want Your Love by Momoko Kitadai two allEnglish songs with some truly groovy lyrics. For others it may be the shows OP Love Dont Leave Me by Kahoru Kohiruimaki or the ending Get Wild by TM Network. Its an incredible OST that matches the actionpacked urbanized life of Ryos wild lifestyle. Personal Ratings 1. Music: 95/100 There are very few songs from City Hunter that fail to get your feet tapping and your head bopping. Its an 80s soundtrack that matches the fastpaced bright lifestyle of 1980s urban Japan perfectly theres nothing more to be said. 2. Plot: 66/100 You could probably watch the first five episodes of City Hunters 1st season and then jump around to any other episode. It establishes its plot very early on and repeats it for the entire season a factor that can get stale especially if you have little patience. With that being said the concept may remain the same but the specific themes and side characters do differ across each episode. The plot itself is incredibly fun and enjoyable but very little changes across all 50+ episodes if you dont like the story well it aint gonna change that much. 3. Characters: 90/100 In my opinion City Hunter does a great job of establishing a set number of main characters and giving them the most time in the spotlight. Ryo and Kaori are both incredibly enjoyable characters that form one of the best partnerships in television that Ive ever seen while characters like Umibozu and Saeko make multiple appearances to support Ryo. Ryo and Kaori are enjoyable enough by themselves but by adding other great supporting characters the cast gets that much better. 4. Art Animations: 88/100 City Hunter is a classic personification of how incredible anime from the 1980s looked. When you see anime like City Hunter you immediately know when it was made a factor that I believe is attributed to how well the art style has aged. In terms of this classic style of animation few anime of the time capture it as well as City Hunter. Conclusions City Hunter first tapped into my love for Japanese popculture from the 1980s and did not disappoint. While the plot did eventually get a bit repetitive I always found each episode to have something unique to it whether it was a new sidecharacter or whatever new antics Ryo got himself into. The music and animations gave me the most enjoyment and I would highly recommend anyone give them a quick Google search. Or better yet watch the 1st season for yourself Who knows maybe in the process of learning how to Get Wild and Tough youll learn a thing or two about marksmanship from Mr. Saeba just dont follow his example when trying to pick up women