City Hunter Special: The Death of Vicious Criminal Saeba Ryo (1999)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

City Hunter has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I used to watch the subtitled TV series on a local station around midnight in middle school, and years later I discovered Tsukasa Hojo's manga. When I finally found a fansubbed copy of this special - considered to be "lost" in North America (since ADV never released it on video with the rest of the series) - I was super excited to finally watch what so many people had promised me to be the best City Hunter special of all time.I've never seen something this bad. I had to force myself to finish the movie...if this movie weren't City Hunter, I would have shut it off and deleted it. The plot is that Ryo needs to protect a newscaster when the company she works for begins killing off its management. This could've fit into a 45-minute OVA, but it's padded out to 91 minutes through the use of lengthy, pointless scenes. I have so many problems with this movie, starting with: 1) The timing is so bad. At least two action sequences could have been way cooler if they were faster-paced; hell, a final showdown that's intended to be an intense life-or-death situation actually takes place during slow, sombre music. I was bored against my will.2) Ryo is completely out of character. Now, originally he was a slick detective/sweeper first, a pervy frat boy second, but now he's a complete sex freak who just so happens to know how to shoot a gun. Akira Yamada is practically screaming his dialogue throughout most of the movie, and his sharp, gravelly wail gets on your nerves within seconds of first hearing it. It wasn't until well over halfway into the movie when Ryo's calculating side finally showed. And, hell, the scene he finally behaves in - it's when he and Sayaka are in the boat - is actually really well done! Where the hell was this quality 48 minutes before?! Not to mention that Kaori was turned into a total brat with no redeeming abilities, and at one point pulls off all her clothes for no reason other than to show the audience her underwear.3) Why were all the TV employees being killed off? Was it just part of the plan to kill Ryo? Who was Mad Dog if he were so important? Why couldn't Sayaka just take off the poison ring? Who the hell were Jack and Sayuri? Why are they on the covers of most releases of this movie if they don't appear until the last ten minutes? Why was Ryo waving at news cameras instead of hiding for his life like the real Ryo would? Was Sayuri really alive and pretending to be the Sayaka that Ryo was protecting? Why did the plot focus more on Ryo trying to get laid instead of actually developing the villains or the plot?4) There is so much random padding in this film that I could cry. There's a running "gag" involving two characters being handcuffed. You literally watch Ryo take a dump. There's a scene at a noodle bar. Ryo gets drunk with some drag queens and dances naked with them on stage. Everybody points out how bald Umibozu is. Ryo and Umibozu duel? Absolutely none of this furthers the plot.5) I have no idea of who Sayuri was or if she's even a character by Tsukasa Hojo, but she's made out to be Ryo's one true love that even Kaori seems to recognize. It totally throws away the bizarre but interesting relationship Kaori and Ryo have.6) Not necessarily the movie's fault, but...the English fansubs. They're the only ones available, and they contain the weirdest phrases like, "Stop talking like a f*g!", "What the homie!", and "I got skillz." At one point "mokkori" is even translated as "SUCK ME, BEAUTIFUL" in a way that doesn't fit in with the rest of Ryo's dialogue.I could write an essay on why this movie was a disappointment. There is no way in hell someone, let alone a City Hunter fan, could enjoy this movie without it being heavily edited beforehand. Maybe the Italian or French versions of this are funnier or something. This was a clustered mess of a movie, and I'm only glad I watched it so that the next time I watch a bad movie, I can say, "Well, at least it's not "The Death of Evil Saeba Ryo". The only two things I liked about this movie were TM Network's "Get Wild", and the animation. The animation was actually really good. If only the rest of the movie was up to that standard...

City Hunter Special '99: Live On Stage is the best of the City Hunter's movies !There's a great plot that works very well, Ryô is as good as usual as a hero and as funny as usual with his "Mokkori" when he sees a hot girl, there is every character (Kaori, Umibozu, Saeko, Miki) and every place (Ryô's place, Shinjuku, the Cat's Eye, the Police Prefecture) that makes the success of this manga, the movie is graphically a great deal better than the TV series of 1987 and the music by sexMACHINEGUNS ("Illusion City" and "Magnum Fire") is fantastic ! That's why it's the best City Hunter ! Mr Hojo, you can be proud of this movie based on your work !So, I'll never say enough that every City Hunter's fan should watch this wonderful movie !

So far, this is my only exposure to the City Hunter series, but I can already say I like it. Kamiya Akira-san is hilarious as Ryo, who is sort of a lecherous version of Magnum, P.I. The scenes with him and Kaoru are wonderful, especially when she pulls out a never-ending arsenal of hammers to bash Ryo with. Then there's the plot. The film is extremely tight in its plotting and manages to balance the action and tension of neo-film noir with the lunacy of Ranma 1/2. I can't recommend this one enough.