I again fell out of the loop within anime shows and films, I think I just got a bit too busy to keep track of it all. I've been wanting to get back into it, but again my priorities are all over the place and my patience rather thin, though after the other day's watch of Godzilla Minus One, a film that really didn't leave much of an impact on me, I found myself curious as to what anime series pf yesteryear Japan (Netflix) had been trying to revive and throw out into the world. I came across City Hunter pretty quickly while searching online for something to watch, and it surprised me that Netflix would choose such a niche and older title to consider turning into a film. Let's be real: Netflix doesn't have the greatest history when it comes to adaptations. Their attempts are usually low budget and far from similar to the source material, often changing things up for the pursuit of pleasing investors that seem to love the idea of diversity, and angering fans of these franchises, only really leading to huge blunders that are easily to be considered failures. I have a burning hatred for Netflix and its ways, but I can't deny that sometimes, here and there, they somehow luck into doing something somewhat good or properly.
I'm certainly not the demographic to want live action adaptations of animations, for the most part I just feel they aren't warranted. A lot of the enjoyment of these shows comes from the fact that the animation holds some substance in the world it's presenting, the idea that the way the characters are drawn, their unique styles, and the way in which the world they inhabit looks plays a massive part; and live action is something that can hardly replicate that magic. Perhaps due to the lack of representation in how characters can look as a result of proportions being unrealistic, or the budget just can't accommodate for the use of heavy special effects. But one thing that is often heavily lost in translation is the humour, the whacky nature of jokes that just doesn't quite land properly in reality, weird movements in characters that just don't make sense, ultimately looking more nightmarish than engaging. These are the main problems with these types of films, and it's quite a challenge to not screw this up by sticking too close to the world of animation, or by straying too far from that established source material and style.
City Hunter is an interesting case given it has a bit of all of that, but I think it stands out a bit on its own rather than being a live action adaptation. Still with plenty of flaws, but capable of being a fun, enjoyable experience if you ignore the anime side of things.
City Hunter originally hails from the more golden era of Japanese anime, and with the brand originally getting a few international live action releases, I guess Netflix saw opportunity in bringing a Japanese adaptation to the platform with the interest in its fans constantly ready to eat up whatever anime and live action productions they can throw out. A lot of these, as mentioned before, are inevitably cheap and bad. But given the franchise had international films made, I feel it is only fitting that the Japanese have a go at their own creation in the live action setting. Now, the Japanese aren't known for being super solid filmmakers these days, sure they have their more arthouse side of things that's gaining a bit more interest as of late, but the last few decades have been utter trash; let's be honest about that. City Hunter is a bit different in this regard in that it seems as if it was actually given a decent budget to work with, something a bit unexpected in the Japanese film industry, as most barely can scrape together anything more than 30 million (USD).
One of the first things I noticed with City Hunter was it had quite impressive visuals to it. This was evident in the colours it held, as well as the art direction which boasted quite flashy and interesting settings. A lot of the film felt quite real in the sense that these were not cheap stages, but shot in actual locations where it could. A mixture of special effects here and there connected with the moments of the film that are pulled more from the cartoonish style of the anime, something a bit inevitable in my opinion. And these moments certainly do stand out as something that can be a bit jarring, particularly if you are not familiar with the anime this is pulling influence from. Though I believe it isn't a direct adaptation in that it fully devotes itself to the series. This feels significantly more dark, something a little more adult in its appeal. Though this was also the nature of the anime world back in the 80s and 90s, as anime was still something considered more adult compared to today's odd market where it's certainly more infantile (albeit somewhat suggestive still).
The cinematography was quite fun with the mixture of more darker action that got a bit gory, and the more comedic elements that mixed with the aforementioned action. The slow-motion shots of bullets firing through space as we follow it throughout the scene, or the comedic moments of our protagonist sliding through apartments and jumping through windows. There's a lot of fun in the film that I quite enjoyed. And it rarely felt as if the film couldn't take itself seriously, it was more that the protagonist was someone that is both incredibly silly but also has a lot of serious events that he must deal with at the same time. Again, those darker moments return with gore and hardship, and our protagonist often handles them in a serious manner. The film does this quite well, being able to pace itself nicely without stepping too far in one direction. And this works well in a narrative that is about a detective searching through the chaotic, LED ridden streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo. That contrast between the silliness of night life and the crime that is more underground.
This narrative is quite a simple one as well, a story that goes into a simple detective that teams up with his partner's sister in pursuit of those who killed him. A bit of a crime detective story mixed with revenge. Something that definitely sounds a bit more serious, especially for an anime adaptation, but that's how these older anime shows tend to be. A bit darker, more gritty. The feeling of actual weight to their stories that make the audience quite easy to connect with. Stories like this are often the most fun, especially in an anime. And I feel that this is what makes the film adaptation actually work decently: it has some actual weight to it. It doesn't feel too fake and within a world in which everything is cartoonish. We feel for the characters and see a world that can resemble something we know. Though the film still has some issues, I found some of the pacing a bit odd. One character getting stabbed a ton of times, only for our protagonist to walk up to him next to the person that did it, and hold him in his arms as if nothing was going on. A strange turn of events that didn't quite make sense to me.
And these were the main moments in which the film felt a bit weak. Those times in which the story felt a bit rushed and flawed. Where the action and humour perhaps took a bit too much from the director and scenes felt a bit thrown together without making much sense. Though I found I was able to overlook them. Is it worth watching, though? I'd say just watch the animation instead. Immerse yourself in that beautiful style of hand-drawn animation. Look back at the past and appreciate how simple it really was. In a way, I'd say this film adaptation feels more like Japan's answer to something like Korea's I Saw the Devil.
English
In my case I have seen several netflix live action recently and as a general public because several of them I haven't seen their animes, I have loved them as a child, I read the negative aspects you comment but I am greatly left with the positive and that is that they have entertained me 😃, at least Netflix is trying and from so many attempts some will work out well 😂
EEEEXACT muchachon, the part you mention that it can be a fun and enjoyable experience if the anime aspect is ignored, I agree with that and it just happened to me, I recently watched the legend of aang and obviously they suggested to me to watch the anime that it is the best thing in the world etc etc and I said to myself I WON'T WATCH IT until I watch the live action series first, I did the other way around, I watched the series first and then watched only the first season of its animation and that allowed me to flexibly judge the live action product
I think the thing with live action that is so trashed in critics etc is that they want to be the anime and they never will be, live action is another deformed thing because it is indeed heavy handed haha but from my perspective not knowing anything about the anime they are based on, I have found them just enjoyable, not gems at all, just Fun and Enjoyable which is what you mention.
I just got Netflix so I'll be able to watch City Hunter, I'll definitely have it bookmarked and will continue in my watching structure, I'll watch the Live Action first without knowing nothg at all about the anime haha and after watching the series, if I like it, I'll go to the anime 😃/
Spanish
En mi caso he visto varios live action de netflix recientemente y como publico general porque varios de ellos no he visto sus animes, me han encantado como un niño, leí los aspectos negativos que comentas pero me quedo enormemente con lo positivo y es que me han entretenido 😃, al menos Netflix lo intenta y de tantos intentos alguna le saldrá bien 😂
EEEEXACTO muchachon, la parte que mencionas que puede ser una experiencia divertida y agradable si se ignora el aspecto anime, estoy deacuerdo con eso y justo me ha pasado, hace poco vi la leyenda de aang y obviamente me sugirieron ver el anime que es lo mejor del mundo etc etc y yo me dije NO LO VOY A VER hasta no ver primero la serie live action, hice al revéz, vi primero la serie y luego vi solo la primera temporada de su animación y eso me permitió juzgar con flexibilidad el producto live action
Pienso el detalle con los Live Action que son tan destruidos en critica etc es que se quiere sean el anime y no lo serán nunca, el live action es otra cosa deforme porque en efecto es pesadillezca jaja pero desde mi perspectiva al no conocer nada del anime en que estan basados, me han resultado simplemente disfrutables, para nada joyas, solo Divertida y Agradable que es lo que mencionas
Justo tengo Netflix entonces podré ver City Hunter, definitivamente la tendré anotada y seguiré en mi estructura de observación, veré el Live Action primero sin saber un carajo del anime jaja y luego de ver la serie, si me agrada, iré al anime 😃/
My interest in anime is so sporadic. It's something I want to enjoy but often feel like I'm just not that target demographic anymore. In my cases that is how it is. In others, I feel like it's an industry that has so much potential, and the golden era definitely displayed a close level of perfection. I've seen so few live actions purely because the animation side of things is often where the magic is. It's hard to recreate a world in this highly detailed, digital film industry, when something you previously saw doesn't really exist in any form. With hand-drawn styles and film grain, even down to the special effects.
English
In Netflix there are some anime products whose covers attract my attention, one is Baki and it is precisely because of the exaggerated drawings that looks good haha, Yes, the real magic of such products is the manga-anime, is what they were born for then of course is where all aspects shine to the maximum 😃/
Spanish
En netflix hay algunos productos de anime cuya portadas llaman enormemente mi atención, uno es Baki y es precisamente por lo Exagerado de sus dibujos que queda bien jaja, Si, la verdadera magia de ese tipo de productos es el manga-anime, es para lo que nacieron entonces claro es donde todos sus aspectos brillan al máximo 😃/
I really enjoyed this movie, I had a great time and I think it's because I hadn't seen the anime, I didn't have any reference to that I could criticize if it was the same or they changed a lot, things like that.
As a comedy it works and as an action movie too, but after watching several episodes of the anime, I can say that as a live-action of a manga and anime, it also works and very well; that's because of the good I will say and the performance of its protagonist.
Yeah it sort of stands out on its own, which surprised me quite a bit. Reminds you a lot of an era of film that passed a while ago and never quite returned. It'a a bit of a rarity these days. Whenever I think of live action adaptations I can't help but think of the Cowboy Bebop attempt...
This is an amazing movie. I once watched this movie, but I didn't have the time to finish watching it, but from this review, I will surely complete it.
I've never seen this anime, let alone this adaptation you mention. It's a good option to watch, although I must say that I prefer the original versions of the anime, as in the adaptation we see more of the same, rather than taken to live action.
Cheers.