One of Japan’s most popular shounen anime and manga franchises returns to the big screen with a daring new animated movie that opens up the final chapter of the City Hunter saga. City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust is finally showing in local theaters courtesy of the folks at SM Cinema – and I was among the lucky few to see it in a special preview screening earlier this week at the Warner Bros. Philippines office. As a longtime fan of the series, the new animated film goes back to what made the 1987 anime so near and dear to my heart – a carefree and perverted mercenary named Ryo Saeba, his partner Kaori Makimura, and their friends are drawn to a case that is more than meets the eye, and it opens up another tangled web of mystery as it has connections to Ryo’s mysterious past.
Following in the footsteps of the previous film special Shinjuku Private Eyes, City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust is a beautifully animated film that blends traditional anime 2D art with the power of CG and digital techniques used today. The movie opens with yet another anime crossover team-up that sees the trio of thieves called Cat’s Eye working together with Ryo and his friend Umibozu as they infiltrate a building to steal a hidden painting inside a vault. However, a mysterious cloaked figure appears and beats them to the prize – with the painting housing a vial that contain a nanomachine drug called “Angel Dust” that has the power to enhance an individual to superhuman peak levels.
Meanwhile, Ryo and Kaori take on a new foreign client named Angie who is searching for her missing cat. Being a tall and beautiful woman, it only activates Ryo’s “Mokkori” instincts which lead to funny and insane scenes that only sees Mr. Saeba incur Kaori’s wrath and divine punishment. As the movie progresses it becomes clear that there is more to Angie than meets the eye, and as a pair of mysterious assassins arrive and seek the location of Angel Dust – Ryo shows off why he is the best sweeper and mercenary in the game to earn the title and codename of “City Hunter”.
Much like the action oriented anime shows that came before or after it, City Hunter is finally getting its long elusive “Final Chapter” saga told in the form of new animated film adventures that adapts the final story arc of the manga series. Fans who have long followed the series have seen the many layers and intricacies of Ryo Saeba’s character, but Angel Dust provides yet another big look into the sweeper’s past – especially his relationship with his mysterious adopted father who trained him in the art of war and survival overseas. That plays into the plot of this film as well as its connection to Angie, and the big twist that should be saved for those who want to walk into this with fresh eyes.
Being a hard-boiled and action oriented anime, City Hunter has always proven to be a go to series for those who love a great blend of action, romance, slice of life moments, and the hero doing his best to save the day despite having his flaws. Ryo and Kaori’s relationship as partners and love interests continues to be the focal point of the franchise, and Angel Dust sets the stage for the final chapter of the series to be told. Sunrise and The Answer Studio Co., Ltd. have produced one heck of a feature – and it even has some surprising cameos from other popular franchises that anime fans will get a kick out of seeing. This movie is one for the books, and you’ll be digging the soundtrack as well as bopping down to the series’ signature ending theme in TM Network’s “Get Wild” once the credits roll.
City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust is now showing exclusively on SM Cinemas.
