Format

VHS

Released in North America by

ADV Films

Length

80 Minutes

English Dubbed Version Reviewed

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City Hunter: .357 Magnum

Score: 8.2 / 10

city hunter review

Having never seen any other episodes of City Hunter before this one, .357 Magnum wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Somehow I was expecting Saeba to be a lot more suave and debonair, but that only seems to be the case when he’s holding a gun and it’s time to take out the bad guys. That’s alright though, because his hilarious girl chasing ways made this movie so much fun. The way the serious action and comedy play off one another in this installment of City Hunter makes the show a blast to watch.

It’s just the boisterous, energetic attitude of Joe Saeba that goes a long way to carry the story here. If it weren’t for him what’s left in this film would have been a mere shell of what it is. The plot follows Joe, Falcon, Mickey, and Kaori as they help a foreign pianist, Nina Shuttenburg, find her long lost father. At the same time a foreign dignitary, also from Nina’s homeland, is assassinated as he’s about to pass some very important info to the police. Of course these to situations’ paths criss-cross one another through the duration of the show. For the most part the story is very run of the mill how things unfold, with a few interesting plot twists to keep things going. But its Joe’s attempts to swoon Nina that really carry the film, not to mention Kaori’s thwarting Joe’s attempts with gigantic hammers. These attempts are a laugh riot, and with a couple of good action themes thrown in for good measure .357 Magnum rolls along at a good, steady pace.

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To compliment the story is some very suitable voice acting for the main characters of the show. The entire crew of the PI firm has a lot of personality in their voices and does a very good job of bringing a lot of the life into the show. However, all of the supporting cast and their bad German accents are a big draw back. Sorry but talking like "Vat vuz zat over zair" does not a German accent make.

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At least the characters are really interesting though. Joe's endless search for nookie (his words, not mine) make him a laugh to watch, not to mention his demeanor while he's doing his job and must be serious. Kaori adds to the comedy with her antics as she tries to contain Joe's lecherous ways. Falcon and Mickey don't do a whole lot in 357 Magnum, but Falcon does have a few moments. Nina and her grandfather, not to mention the diplomats involved in the conspiracy tie things up nicely with their serious behavior.

But as far as the art is concerned the visuals are above average relative to the average TV anime, but not terribly so. The character design is decent, with very really realistic characters. The character design is really quite surprising actually. Unlike a lot of anime where the women are toothpicks, here they have meat on their bones. The again we have Falcon on the other end of the spectrum whose a lumbering giant if there ever was one. Architecturally speaking the film has plenty of detail and locales with a lot of life in them. The animation itself is also good, with Kaori’s hammer-to-the-head antics coming off great.

City Hunter .357 Magnum is very much worth checking out. It’s interesting mix of humor and serious action makes the film a great way to spend an evening.

Reviewed by Mr. Nash