Netflix making first Japanese live-action City Hunter film

As Netflix continues to grow its Japanese content slate, the streamer has announced that it'll be working on a live-action movie adaption of the classic manga City Hunter.

The project will see Ryohei Suzuki (Segodon, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room) take on the iconic role of protagonist Ryo Saeba, with filmmaker Yuichi Sato (Kisaragi, Strawberry Nights) in the director's seat.

While there have been adaptations made in Hong Kong, France, and China, this marks the first time that the property is adapted as a Japanese live-action movie. Details are sparse for now, but Netflix describes it to be "a modern-day updated version of the manga, set in the bustling streets of Shinjuku".

The longline adds, "When Ryo's partner Makimura is killed, he and Makimura's sister Kaori team up to find out the truth, thus forming a new duo." The project is expected to premiere sometime in 2024.

Fans will recognise that Suzuki is wearing Saeba's long coat from the manga instead of the jacket seen in the anime adaptations in the official image, which lends credibility to Netflix's manga-focused approach.

Tatsuhiro Mishima, who scripted several episodes of Netflix's live-action Yu Yu Hakusho adaption, has been tapped to write the screenplay.

Tsukasa Tojo's City Hunter was serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1985 to 1991 and collected into 35 volumes by its publisher Shueisha.

The manga inspired four television anime series, several video and television specials, and a 2019 anime movie titled City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes. A synopsis of the original story reads:

"Ryo Saeba, a.k.a. City Hunter. A sweeper who fulfills all his client's needs. He'll do anything from bodyguarding to contract killing, but he'll only take the job if a pretty woman is involved, or the client's sincerity makes his heart tremble.

"Together with his partner Kaori Makimura, the kid sister of his late best friend, Ryo fights the evil haunting the shadows of the city!"

ALSO READ: Netflix courts another Death Note live-action series, with the Duffer Brothers helming

This article was first published in Geek Culture.