Catching criminals for money sounds familiar to many Hollywood viewers, Anime also has some daring Bounty Hunters who are not only strong and skilled but also very intelligent.
Bounty hunters travel the land or the galaxy, tracking down criminals or targets, apprehending or killing them, and collecting the bounties placed on their heads.
Bounty hunters in Anime have a cache of awesome weapons, a signature fight style, and a cool ride.
Bounty hunters are destitute at the edge of society with no leaders, guardians, or bosses they work for money and money only. It is solely up to their choice on what task they want to take and how they want it to be executed.
Bounty hunters attract trouble and enjoy it. Which adds some good action sequences and thrill to the anime.
The hard-knocked stories involving the bounty hunters are not many but very few since this topic is seen in different subgenres like shonen, seinen, etc. Here are some of the most iconic ones so far:
Gon Freecs from Hunter x Hunter
Hunter x Hunter has the perfect casting and characters including the main protagonist Gon Freecs.
Gon has too much going on for himself his personality is the most hated yet loved thing among shonen fans. He is an apathetic yet innocent kid who also is a happy-go-lucky yet revengeful person.
He is a complex character who behaves like a simple one. Rarely do you see a kid being apathetic toward the injustice happening in the world but Gon is like, ‘Oh okay?’
Gon is a skilled Bounty Hunter too. Although his main mission is to find his Long lost father, Gon acquires the hunter’s license because he wants to understand the depths of a job that would make a father pick his career above staying with his own son.
Gon was given a lot of acclaim for his insight, agility, and stamina throughout the Hunter Exam.
He is fast to consider any alternate tactics and ideas during combat. His astounding, limitless potential, though, is what makes him most extraordinary.
When they realized the true scope of Gon’s gift, which is sometimes referred to as unlimited, powerful characters like Hisoka, Wing, Biscuit, and Razor were left in awe.
Due to the rarity of someone with his ability, he can learn new things very rapidly, which is true, particularly in the field of Nen. He was able to utilize Zetsu once even before learning how.
Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop
Spike Speigel is one of the most refined characters in Anime. In Cowboy Bebop, Spike plays a Bounty Hunter who along with Jet black, and his partner trek through the space on the Bebop.
As they explore they make new friends like Hacker Ed and Faye Valentine.
He is a quintessential anti-hero who is solely interested in himself and has no desire to save people around him. He does, however, have a tendency to show generosity and charity on occasion.
His easygoing demeanor hides his troubled life and terrible past. Despite his silly outward appearance, Spike is a skilled gunfighter and a Jeet Kune Do expert, and he leverages both of these talents to defeat his bounty hunters and any other opponents he encounters.
He doesn’t seem to be really interested in most things and only tends to get more engaged in life-threatening instances.
Despite this, he is an extremely clever guy with a wide range of skills, including sleight of hand. He has a sarcastic and sardonic personality, yet he also exudes charm, which makes people like him.
Jigo from Princess Mononoke
Jigo is a deceitful character from Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. Unusual in several ways, but nonetheless a bounty hunter, and one of the best-trained and most cunning on the list. Jigo is more than simply a bounty hunter, which is why.
He is also a tracker, an assassin, and a spy. In this film, the self-described Monk has an ambitious reward on his head; the Emperor himself has dispatched him to slay a deity and seize its head.
A challenging request, but one that Jigo doesn’t appear to think odd in the least.
Jigo, who portrays himself as an informed monk and is gloomy about the status of the world, first assisted Ashitaka by providing him with knowledge about the Forest Spirit.
He gives Ashitaka the impression that he is on his side when the latter only has gold to use as payment. When he reappears again, he is in Irontown working with the ambitious Lady Eboshi to perfect the specifics of his hunt, and it is then made plain what his true line of work is.
Kanta Mizuno from Desert Punk
| Title | Desert Punk |
| No. of Episodes | 24 |
| Aired | October 2004 – March 2005 |
| Genre | Post-apocalyptic |
Set in a post-apocalyptic world where lands have dried out, it becomes dangerous for humans to survive, and also a good way to make money by doing some shady jobs. One such professional is Kanta Mizuno, the Sonabouzu, or the Desert Punk.
Infamous for his spirit to take any job and finish it no matter the danger or the nature of the job makes him the face of crude destruction for the inhabitants of the desert.
He is skilled, cunning, and ruthless but he has only one weakness: Attractive women!
Kanta is a very pessimistic individual. He has little regard for human life and doesn’t really care about or like anyone.
Along with his sharp mind and fast instinct, he is quite intelligent and skilled with a variety of weapons, which helps him escape from many sticky situations.
He is highly determined to do any work assigned to him and will use any means necessary to accomplish so, including deceitful methods, abusing others, or betraying allies.
Rebecca Lee From Black Lagoon
| Title | Black Lagoon |
| No. of Seasons | 3 |
| Aired | April 2006 – 2011 |
| Genre | Action, fiction, Comedy, Thriller, Adventure |
Rebecca Lee also known as Revy in the Anime Black Lagoon is a Chinese American assassin and the protagonist of the series. Everything from her wardrobe to her nihilistic persona is considered cool among fans.
As seen in OVA #3, where she murders a wounded FARC officer after offering to drive him to a hospital in return for his revealing Roberta’s whereabouts, Revy is a cold-blooded, heartless murderer who will kill anybody at the least provocation, including innocent bystanders.
She kills anybody she fights or otherwise comes into contact with insane joy and shows no regret for her victims.
Revy’s use of violence as a dysfunctional and harmful coping strategy and outlet for her intensely suppressed emotional and psychological troubles is repeatedly highlighted throughout the series.
Saya Minatsuki from Black Cat
| Title | Black Cat |
| No. of Episodes | 23 |
| Aired | October 2005 – March 2006 |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Drama, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Shounen, Super Power |
Saya is a notorious bounty hunter who has perfected a shot that can reroute itself over time. She achieves this through her profound awareness of geometry, physics, and her surroundings.
She will essentially aim at a very precise target and surprise her opponent by having the bullet rebound at her. Because of her talent, she is able to defeat the powerful criminal Preta Ghoul.
Train Heartnet, known as Black Cat, is a notorious assassin who has proved his ability to eliminate any target. But when he meets Saya Minatsuki. Train’s view of life changes drastically.
She obviously possesses the ability to be a bounty hunter, but more importantly, her spirit is very much in tune with the freedom of choice such a life offers.
She just does what she wants, when she wants, and it is this component that alters Train’s life forever.
Conclusion
- The Anime genre has some pretty good Bounty Hunters who have the brain, skill, and power to do whatever they want.
- Although all the bounty hunters have a similar motive their backstories are what make them interesting.
- All of these bounty hunters were driven by money or their spirit to break free from the shackles of others.
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- Why Should We Watch Anime? (Discussed)
- What Are The Benefits Of Watching Anime? (Answered)
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