Welcome to the second article Manga nutcracker with Vivi the manga cracker! Can’t express your protagonist in one line? Want to learnt how to tell your story ? Don’t worry ! This series will give you example of some amazing manga, how to crack them and get their essence! So let’s start cracking some manga together ! Crack 2 !   City Hunter  Creator: Hojo Tsukasa 1985  

A sweeper with a weakness to women, punishes bad people without ever missing a shot!  

          Many crimes go unpunished in the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo. Ryo Saeba, a jack-of-all-trades and our protagonist, also know and the  “City Hunter”, is called upon in the most desperate of situations. By leaving the letters “XYZ” on a message board in Shinjuku train station, potential clients request the services of this highly skilled gunman and his partner, Hideyuki Makimura. Whether it’s a hardened criminal, or a devastatingly beautiful woman, Ryo never misses his target. The  story takes a turn when Ryo’s long time partner is murdered by a criminal organization called ” Union”. With his dying breath, Makimura asks Ryo to care for his sister Kaori. Having a hunt after their heads, Ryo tells  Kaori to run away but is taken by surprise when the tomboyish girl decides to become his new partner and remain in Tokyo. Their relationship is strained however by Ryo philandering ways, constantly earning him a whack from a 100-ton mallet, wielded by a furiously jealous Kaori. The two gradually begin to form a strong, emotional bond, however difficult at times. On the job, Ryo’s goofy personality changes to that of a professional and serious “sweeper”. Our lovable rogue is consistently calm and focused on the case, always two steps ahead of his intended target, gaining the respect from the clients and readers. Considering the nature of this dirty work, you would understandably think this hardboiled sweeper is in it purely for the excitement and money. However, we quickly learn that his mission is one of righting wrongs by the way he treats his clients, even refusing payment in place of a lady’s company.     With an abundance of mean spirited criminals and stock standard cases for our detectives to tackle, City Hunter could have easily been just another detective series. However, with Ryo’s charismatic, if not downright perverted personality and Kaori’s exasperated resilience, this classic detective series embodies the very essence of originality and entertainment! Despite the grim nature of many of the cases, City Hunter always manages to keep an element of comedy embedded in the narrative. With Ryo’s outrageous behavior with members of the opposite sex, the worst of situations we find our protagonists in will guarantee to move from shock to laughter in an instant! In fact, it’s Ryo’s charismatic personality, from lecherous creep to serious “sweeper” that constantly keeps the reader enticed. Much like Kasumi Kenshiro from “Fist of the Blue Sky”, Ryo’s reasoning behind undertaking the dirty work of sweeper is what keeps you turning the page! *** So, what do you think of today’s “Nutcracking” manga City Hunter? Is there a favorite moment in this hardboiled series that sticks in your mind? Let me know, and I will pass on your thoughts directly to Hojo sensei!   Twitter – @SmacViVi Facebook – Vivi Fabbri Smac