Parents' Guide to City Hunter

Movie NR 2024 102 minutes
City Hunter movie poster: Japanese man in tan coat, red shirt, holds gun in one hand in front of skyscrapers in background

Common Sense Media Review

JK Sooja By JK Sooja , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 15+

Violent manga adaptation has language, sexist behavior.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 15+?

Any Positive Content?

  • City Hunter movie: Japanese man in red shirt right bursts through window, jump kicks man in head on left
  • City Hunter movie: Japanese men sit in front seats of red car while driving
  • City Hunter movie: Japanese man in tan coat, black shirt stands in front of chalkboard with Japanese writing on it in columns

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What's the Story?

In CITY HUNTER, ex-assassin detective Ryo (Ryohei Suzuki) hunts around the city solving random requests that are posted on an anonymous "board." But when his partner is killed, Ryo uncovers a dangerous conspiracy that involves his partner's sister.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

This Japanese action comedy suffers from being an adaptation of a manga from the 1980s that hasn't aged well. In order to adapt this manga for a modern audience, City Hunter tries to reduce the original's sexism and main character's sexualization and objectification of women, but there's still plenty of it. For some viewers, this may not offend at all, and the film's well-done action sequences will thrill and excite. But for many, the frequent camera shots of women's cleavage and butts, jokes about "boners" and "erections," and laughing off the way men objectify women will be too much to suffer through. While the film tries to playfully shame this behavior sometimes, it's always admonished only through the voice of women characters.

It'd be one thing to poke fun at the main character for his sexist behavior, but he's also by far the hero of the story, the "cool" guy, the best fighter, and "the savior" of the two other main women characters in the story, who have little to do except be victims. They have little agency, can't fight, don't help to solve the crime, and only "mess things up," get in the way, and make mistakes. To make matters worse, one of them is a cosplayer who makes her way by dressing up in sexualized costumes and posting them on social media. The danger here is that these narratives of "masculine" heroism and passive "femininity" normalize unequal and sexist behavior and beliefs about both genders.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in action comedies. Did any of the violence in City Hunter surprise you, given the comedic theme of movie?

  • How did you feel about Ryo's overt sexualization and objectification of women? While his character was clearly meant to be funny, did you find him funny? Why or why not?

  • How do you feel about Kaori and Kurumi? Do you feel they have enough agency or things to do in the film?

Movie Details

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City Hunter movie poster: Japanese man in tan coat, red shirt, holds gun in one hand in front of skyscrapers in background

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