'City Hunter' manga hero drops the sexism for new live-action film

A person walking under an advertisement for the 3D film 'City Hunter' starring Japanese actor Ryohei Suzuki, in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo. Set in Tokyo's seedy underbelly, 'City Hunter' revolves around assassin and detective Ryo Saeba, tasked with 'sweeping' criminals off the streets. Photo: AFP

Attracting global audiences with a live-action adaptation of a classic Japanese manga can be tough, and even more so when the protagonist is a notorious philanderer.

That was the problem Japanese actor Ryohei Suzuki faced in rendering the elite sniper in the 1980s manga hit City Hunter palatable for the 2020s in Netflix's new live-action film that premiered on Thursday.