It's back. "City Hunter," the Tsukasa Hojo-penned manga about a crime-solving "sweeper" for hire named Ryo Saeba (Akira Kamiya) was pretty much an anime institution in the 1980s, adapted into a string of anime series and films starting in 1987. It even spawned a live-action version in Hong Kong starring Jackie Chan.
Throughout, the concept stayed largely the same. Those in trouble would write "XYZ" on a signboard at Shinjuku Station to enlist the services of Ryo, who, aside from his skills as a master marksman and all-around badass, was also a creep whose attempts to fondle his inevitably beautiful clients would be comically crushed — literally — by his hammer-wielding partner Kaori (Kazue Ikura).
With its "Miami Vice"-inspired pastel-and-neon depiction of Shinjuku's seedy bubble-era underbelly and danceable synth-pop soundtrack, "City Hunter" definitely captured a cultural moment, but the franchise eventually petered out with a final made-for-TV anime film in 1999.