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<\/a>The story begins for exhibition visitors as the neon nightscape of Shinjuku gives way to a bulletin board where the letters \u201cXYZ\u201d glow into view. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n
An Immersive Dive into the City Hunter World<\/p>\n Prospective clients in the original work contact the City Hunter agency, which takes on everything from bodyguarding and private investigations to outright assassinations, by writing \u201cXYZ\u201d on the message board at Shinjuku Station\u2019s East Exit. The code conveys a plea of desperation: a signal that the requester has run out of options, \u201creaching the end of the alphabet,\u201d so to speak, and has nowhere else to turn.<\/p>\n Despite this hard-boiled premise, the series is also rich with humor. Ry\u014d, a notorious womanizer, is regularly punished by his partner Makimura Kaori, who swings a comically oversized 100-ton hammer whenever he gets out of line. This blend of grit and comedy helped the series win fans across all generations. The exhibition includes photo spots such as a reconstruction of the Shinjuku Station message board and the Caf\u00e9 Cat\u2019s Eye, run by Ry\u014d\u2019s roguish friend Umib\u014dzu. Visitors can fully immerse themselves in the world of City Hunter.<\/p>\n Saeba Ry\u014d: A Hero Beloved Around the World<\/p>\n The appeal of City Hunter extends far beyond Japan. In 1993, Jackie Chan starred in a Hong Kong live-action adaptation. The anime aired across Europe in the 1990s, and the series gained a particularly strong following in France, where it was broadcast under the title Nicky Larson (Saeba Ry\u014d\u2019s localized name). A French live-action film released in 2019 became a hit, proof that the franchise still enjoys enduring popularity. Most recently, a Japanese live-action version starring Suzuki Ry\u014dhei premiered worldwide on Netflix in 2024, generating considerable buzz.<\/p>\n Although the original City Hunter manga wrapped up after roughly six and a half years and cannot exactly be called a decades-spanning saga, the charm of Ry\u014d and Kaori, who continually come to the rescue of clients trapped in desperate, no-way-out situations, remains as strong as ever, even 40 years later. The exhibition offers a wide range of exclusive merchandise available only on-site, making it an event fans won\u2019t want to miss.<\/p>\n City Hunter Grand Art Exhibition: Forever, City Hunter! (Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: A panel from the City Hunter Grand Art Exhibition at the Ueno Royal Museum, and the \u201cXYZ\u201d call for help on a giant message board outside the venue. \u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A top manga and anime hit from Japan\u2019s bubble era, City Hunter maintains its hold on fans\u2019 hearts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[23303,442,498,499,500,501,156,58154,109584,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-168861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-anime","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-artsdesign","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-manga","16":"tag-manga-and-anime-in-japan","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
The exhibition opens with rare original manuscript pages from Episode 1 and full-color frontispiece art. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
A must-see highlight is pages from the original manuscript with pasted-on phototypesetting, now rarely seen in the industry. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
Early storyboards created before manuscript drafting, an irresistible sight for H\u014dj\u014d Tsukasa fans. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
A massive \u201cXYZ\u201d message board recreated along the museum wall. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
Kaori\u2019s signature \u201c100-ton Hammer\u201d greets visitors at the entrance as the first photo spot. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
At Caf\u00e9 Cat\u2019s Eye, guests can take commemorative photos alongside Ry\u014d and Umib\u014dzu. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
Clockwise from top: Draft artwork for a poster used in an anime special; original poster art for the 2024 Netflix film; the illustration for the poster of the 2019 City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes, a Japanese anime feature. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
A photo spot re-creating the underground shooting range beneath Ry\u014d\u2019s apartment. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
The \u201cgraveyard duel\u201d corner with Umib\u014dzu delivers an intense, larger-than-life experience based on a famed scene from the original anime. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n<\/a>
Clockwise from top left: A three-page replica manuscript set priced at \u00a54,620; the \u201cKiss Behind Glass\u201d snow globe, \u00a57,700), available exclusively at the venue; stacks of the exhibition catalog awaiting visitors. (\u00a9\u00a0Nippon.com)<\/p>\n
\n
\nVenue: Ueno Royal Museum (1-2 Uenok\u014den, Tait\u014d-ku, Tokyo)
\nExhibition dates: November 22, 2025\u2013December 28, 2025
\nHours: 10:00 am\u20135:00 pm (Admission allowed until 4:30 pm.)
\nAdmission fees: Adults \u00a52,900; elementary and junior high school students \u00a51,100. Tickets are not available at the venue and must be purchased in advance online at the JRE Mall <\/a>or Eplus<\/a> websites, or at a Family Mart ticketing machine.
<\/p>\n