Crime Hunter

{{Infobox film

| name = Crime Hunter

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| director = {{ill|Shundō Ōkawa|ja|大川俊道}}{{Cite AV media notes

| title= V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal

| last=Thiery

| first=Samuel

| date=29 April 2025

| page=4

| type=Blu-ray booklet

| publisher=Arrow Video

| chapter=Cast and Crew

}}Shundō Ōkawa was previously known as Toshimichi Ōkawa.{{Cite AV media notes

| title= V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal

| last=Jackson

| first=Earl

| date=29 April 2025

| page=12

| type=Blu-ray booklet

| publisher=Arrow Video

| chapter=Mayhem for the Home Screen: Toei V-Cinema

}}

| producer = Kazuo Kato
Tōru Yoshida
Katsuhiko Takei

| writer =

| screenplay =

| story =

| based_on =

| narrator =

| starring =

| music = {{ill|Seiichi Kyōda|ja|京田誠一}}

| cinematography = Yōsuke Mamiya

| editing = Fumio Soda

| studio =

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|1989|3|10|Japan}}

| runtime = 60 minutes

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| budget = {{¥|60 million}} {{US$|460,000}}{{cite book

|last=Mes

|first=Tom

|date=2023

|title=Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video

|url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781003346814/japanese-film-challenge-video-tom-mes

|url-access=subscription

|location=London and New York

|publisher=Routledge

|series=Media, Culture and Social Change in Asia

|page=67

|isbn=978-1-032-38797-0

|access-date=}}

| gross =

}}

{{Nihongo|Crime Hunter|クライムハンター　怒りの銃弾|Kuraimuhanta Ikari no Judan|lead=yes}}, also known as Crimehunter – Bullet of Fury, is a 1989 Japanese original video action film, which was the first in Toei's V-Cinema line.{{cite web |url= http://www.allcinema.net/prog/show_c.php?num_c=87889|script-title=ja:クライムハンター怒りの銃弾 (1989)|access-date= August 31, 2014|work= allcinema|publisher= Stingray|language= Japanese}}{{cite web |url= http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/crime-hunter/|title= Crime Hunter|author= Tom Mes|date= February 7, 2014|access-date= August 31, 2014|work= Midnight Eye}} Directed by Shundō Okawa, it was released on March 10, 1989.

Plot

Joe (Sera) and Ahiru (Takeuchi), police detectives in Little Tokyo, arrive at a scene in order to catch Bruce Yamamoto (Matano), who has stolen five million dollars from a Church. They capture Bruce, but as they are driving back to the station, they are ambushed by a gang. In the ensuing shootout, Joe is injured and hospitalised, Ahiru is killed, and Bruce escapes.

Joe leaves the police in order to pursue Ahiru's killers. After investigating some leads, he meets with Lily (Tanaka), a nun from the church that Bruce robbed, who wants to get the money back.

Later, Bruce kidnaps Lily and tells Joe to meet him in an abandoned warehouse. Bruce retrieves the stolen money, bringing Lily along with him. He then kills two members of the gang that killed Ahiru, and who were also going to kill Bruce in order to take the money for themselves. It transpires that this gang is in fact members of the former police force of Ahiru and Joe. Joe and Bruce then team up to kill the rest of the members. Bruce dies in the shootout.

As Lily and Joe are getting ready to leave, Hunt (Hunt), the police officer who took over the case from Joe, appears and shoots Lily dead. Joe manages to kill Hunt and the film ends as Joe carries Lily's body away from the warehouse.

Cast

Masanori Sera as Joe Kawamura
{{ill|Minako Tanaka|ja|田中美奈子}} as Lily
Riki Takeuchi as Ahiru
{{ill|Ryuji Katagiri|ja|片桐竜次}}
{{ill|Seiji Matano|ja|又野誠治}} as Bruce Yamamoto
{{ill|Keishi Hunt|ja|ハント敬士}} as Hunt
Yoshio Harada

Reception

On Midnight Eye, Tom Mes said that "thanks to giving the Japanese film industry a much-needed shot in the arm by kick-starting the V-cinema movement, [the film] holds undeniable historical value".

Sequels

The film was followed in the same year with {{Nihongo|Crime Hunter 2||Kuraimuhantā 2 uragiri no jūdan|}}, which was also directed by Ōkawa, and {{Nihongo|Crime Hunter 3||Kuraimuhantā 3 minagoroshi no jūdan}} in 1990.{{cite book