Overview
FormatTV
AniList Score67%
StatusFINISHED
Characters
Ryou Saebamain
Xiang Ying Limain
Jian Qiang Limain
Kaori Makimurasupporting
Hideyuki Makimurasupporting
Hayato Ijuuinsupporting
Saeko Nogamisupporting
Yume Kayanosupporting
Yuji Fukutomesupporting
Xin Hong Liusupporting
Docsupporting
Yan Fanyuisupporting
Hideo Mochiyamasupporting
Shin-Chansupporting
Tanyasupporting
Irinasupporting
Mikisupporting
Souchinsupporting
Souchin's Momsupporting
Shougo Shimazusupporting
Staff
Tsukasa HoujouOriginal Creator
Toshiki HiranoDirector
Sumio UetakeSeries Composition
Osamu HondaArt Director
Hiromu SatouArt Director
Yukio NagasakiSound Director
Taku IwasakiMusic
KanonTheme Song Performance
Hajime KamegakiStoryboard
Takashi SaijouCharacter Design (eps 1-24)
SoweluTheme Song Performance (OP1)
Sumio UetakeScript (eps 1-2, 6, 8, 11, 20, 23-24, 26, 31-32, 35, 40, 5)
Masashi SuzukiScript (eps 15, 16, 21, 22, 33, 34)
Yasuichirou YamamotoEpisode Director (eps 33, 41)
Kousuke KobayashiEpisode Director (eps 16, 21)
Seimei KidokoroEpisode Director (eps 34, 39, 45)
Shigenori KageyamaStoryboard (eps 5, 17, 40)
Takashi SaijouChief Animation Director (eps 1-24)
Kazuaki ImaiKey Animation (ep 24)
Risako YoshidaKey Animation (eps 34, 39, 45)
Other Details
Native Titleエンジェル・ハート
Aired Year2005 (FALL)
Source MaterialMANGA
Genres
ActionRomance
Angel Heart
2005TVFINISHED67% Score
Synopsis
EP 1
Glass Heart
14 year old assassin code named Glass Heart from the Suzacu unit doesn't want to kill anymore. Every time she kills her heart breaks and all she wants is to break free. Will her answer to her problems be the right one and solve all her problems like she wants. She’s not a lost cause yet and one year later Glass Heart is about to learn what her heart truly wants. Meanwhile somewhere else another broken heart wonders the streets. After an accident his fiance was involved in one year ago he wonders if his life will ever be the same.
EP 2
Kaori has Returned
Given a new chance to live Glass Heart escapes from the surgery and decides to seek the meanings of her visions. She must find Saeba Ryo but when she gets to Shinjuku she finds it hard to leave old habits like killing behind as her heart is not made of glass anymore. Will she find what she is seeking without losing herself in memories that dont belong to her and the places which are familiar to a part of her but she has never been to.
EP 5
Farewell...Kaori
Li Jian Qiang, the boss of Zheng Dao Hui, was critically wounded in the assassination attempt. Saeko, the superintendent of Shinjuku West police station, sets up an emergency response headquarters because of the potential power vacuum in the Shinjuku gangland if Li dies. Glass Heart, who is assumed to be the assassin, becomes the prime target of the Zheng Dao Hui, who aggressively search for her in the streets of Shinjuku. Meanwhile, Glass Heart, has lost her identity and reason to live, and prepares to shoot herself in her heart, but Kaori's influence stops her from pulling the trigger. Me awhile, Master Li visits Umibozu's café and appears before Ryo who realizes that the person shot was Li's secret double, his twin brother, Li Qian De.
EP 25
A Client With a Death Wish
Yusuke Fukutome wants City Hunter to kill him and his twin brother Yuji. Yusuke tells Ryo and Xiang Ying that they were abandoned, but then adopted by the couple who run the restaurant. Yuji became frustrated with their poor situation and joined the yakuza to make quick money and support his parents. However, they rejected his financial offerings and they eventually died in a traffic accident. To Xiang Ying’s horror, Ryo accepts the job, but he decides they should investigate the brothers first. Xiang Ying and Xin Hong go to Yuji's office and steal all Yuji's money and drugs from a vault, including a small box containing photographs of his family. Xiang Ying then demands a ransom from Yuji and threatens to kill him, but he insists that she give everything to his brother on his death. He reveals that he really did care about his brother and parents, but chose the wrong way to help them. She returns his money and tells him to give it to his brother himself.
EP 3
City of XYZ
Upon hearing Umibozu's statement that Kaori has returned, Saeba Ryo prowls the streets of Shinjuku, aimlessly looking for Kaori. At the same time, Glass Heart, with a whole-hearted desire to meet Ryo, uncovers clues about the secret message board code "XYZ" to contact City Hunter. She goes to the location of the message board at Shinjuku Station guided by visions of Kaori, however the board has been removed because it is no longer used. Glass Heart loses hope of meeting City Hunter and faints, but before she hits the ground, Ryo arrives and catches her, then takes her to a local clinic.
EP 4
Wavering Heart
After recovering consciousness in the clinic, Glass Heart has an encounter with Kaori in a mirror, which sparks a feeling in Glass Heart that her mind and body are being usurped by Kaori, creating hostility towards her heart donor. Witnessing this, Doc, the doctor, goes to Umibozu's cafe where he tells Ryo, Umibozu and Superintendent Saeko Nogami that the girl with Kaori's heart also has her memories. Meanwhile, Li Jian Qiang, the boss of Zheng Dao Hui has secretly arrived Japan and is being briefed by Mochiyama on Glass Heart's appearance in Shinjuku when Li is shot in the head by a sniper. Mochiyama recalls that Glass Heart was searching for City Hunter and meets him to warn him that the assassin is after him, hoping for them to eliminate each other. However, after seeing her photo, Ryo realizes that Glass Heart is the one with Kaori's transplanted heart. Meanwhile Glass Heart retrieves a weapons cache.
EP 6
Reunion
Ryo recalls the time, 22 years ago, when he rescued Li Qian De from a country's guerrillas on the request of his twin brother Li Jian Qiang. Ryo visits the Zheng Dao Hui medical facility where he recognizes Qian De and says goodbye to him as he takes his last breath. Back in Umibozu's café, Li Jian Qiang, explains to Ryo that Glass Heart is his long lost daughter Xiang-Ying who had attempted suicide, and confesses that Kaori's Heart was stolen in order to save her without him knowing its origin. Later, Glass Heart finds her way to the café, and emotionally meets Ryo, face-to-face for the first time.
EP 7
My Beloved Town
Glass Heart becomes acquainted with Ryo in Umibozu's café, but the Qing Long, the infantry branch of Zheng Dao Hui led by Zhao, are close behind. The two manage to escape and lead the soldiers of Qing Long through the locked down the streets of Kabukichou area in Shinjuku. As they are chased, Glass Heart tells Ryo to save himself and kill her, but he replies that she has been given a second chance to live which she should cherish. Ryo communicates with Saeko through the city surveillance system and offers to lead the pursuers to a hotel in a deserted area where the Special Assault Team (SAT) can engages them without endangering the citizens.
EP 8
True Friends
In preparation for the gunfight with Qing Long, Ryo takes Glass Heart into a district that is blockaded off, and they finally reached the Hotel Kojyo. Waiting for them there is a large group of Ryo's friends including Umibozu, Saeko and Doc in the midst of a party. They intended to fight along Ryo against Qing Long which Glass Heart cannot comprehend, as she was trained to never rely on anyone. As the showdown draws near they all drink a toast to Kaori. Meanwhile a scout from Qing Long has infiltrated the building, and Glass Heart goes to engage him by herself. However the man turns out to be Liu Xin Hong who she knew only as Number 36, and she was known as Number 27, while training for Zheng Dao Hui. He was her only friend, but she thought she had killed him in the final trials for the Suzaka Unit. After declaring his love for her, Xin Hong leaves to set off a massive explosion in the Qing Long headquarters to protect her, but he is saved from death by Ryo.
EP 9
Shan-In~Lost Name~
While unconscious, Liu Xin Hong recalls his training days, when he and Number 27 trusted and supported each other, but they were forced to fight to the death in the final test when Number 27 thought that she had killed him. When he regains consciousness, he reveals that he was the sniper who had shot Master Li, but he only stayed alive to see Number 27 again. Meanwhile, another branch of Zheng Dao Hui fills the area with sleeping gas, and abducts Xin Hong. Barely awake, Glass Heart stabs herself to keep awake and goes after Xin Hong's captors. Master Li questions Xin Hong who says the was hired to assassinate Li by Zhao and that he chose to leave his unit and join Glass Heart because he owes her his life, unaware that she is Li’s daughter. Li ritually "executes" him for his rebellious action and then allows Xin Hong to leave the organization. Master Li's personal bodyguard, the Genbu unit, are sent to finish off the traitorous Zhau and Qing Long. Glass Heart finds Xin Hong just before falling unconscious, but he leave for some unfinished business while Master Li has a tearful reunion with his daughter, Xiang Ying.
EP 10
Angel Smile
Master Li is reunited with his unconscious daughter Xing Hong, now known as Glass Heart. Li decides to liquidate Cho, one of his ambitious lieutenants, who was behind the assassination attempt and who ordered the Qing Long unit to kill Glass Heart. Genbu and Xin Hong race to kill Cho but Xin Hong is stopped by Grand Chamberlain Chen, Master Li's right-hand man to allow Genbu to punish Cho, however he is sniped first by Ryo. Ryo reveals Glass Heart's real name, Xiang Ying, to Xin Hong and suggests that Xin Hong should be the one to tell her. Xin Hong later finds out that she is also Master Li's daughter. While unconscious, Glass Heart again communicates with Kaori about her relationship with Ryo whom she sees as a father figure. When Glass Heart awakes, she calls Ryo "papa" and later asks him to be her father. Ryo accepts, realizing that she is the child that he and Kaori could never have.
EP 11
Family Time
Xin Hong loses his confidence at the last second and decides not to tell Glass Heart her real name, but he accidentally says "Xiang Ying". Embarrassed, he tells her that Ryo made up the name and she accepts it. Ryo arranges for Xiang Ying to show Master Li around Shinjuku, without revealing that Li is her father. Li and Xiang Ying ended up taking pictures together at a photo booth, and when the photos are printed out, they realize they are both wearing the same expression.
EP 12
Encounter and Separation On Board The Ship
Ryo and Xiang Ying attended the funeral of Qian De, who was her uncle. Jian Qiang tells Ryo how he met Xiang Ying's mother, Lin Xiang Ping, and how it was his caring brother Qian De who brought them together and encouraged him to have children. Although he lived in his brother's shadow Qian De was happy to be out of the limelight, and especially enjoyed that Xiang Ying thought that she had two fathers. As Qian De's ashes are scattered on the ocean, Xiang Ying asks Ryo to scatter her ashes on the ocean if she dies before him.
EP 13
Present from Master Li
Ryo and Xiang Ying adjust to life together and she insists that Ryo undergo a medical exam and he is pronounced healthy. When Xiang Ying also undergoes an examination, it is discovered that there is an unusually high level of compatibility between her and Kaori indicating that her heart is unlikely to be rejected and that she may outlive Ryo, to her great relief. Later, Chen, Master Li's right hand man, shows Ryo a new ornate message board in Shinjuku Station with the words "XYZ: Be a good father - Li" and Ryo decides to start up his City Hunter business again.
EP 14
Revival, City Hunter!
Xiang Ying has trouble adapting to normal life away from the battlefield while Ryo accepts his first City Hunter job since coming out of retirement. His first client is Nagisa, a high school drop-out who carried out a "roofie robbery" on a member of the yakuza. Ryo assigns Xiang Ying to take her to their apartment for protection, but there is considerable friction as Xiang Ying is only focussed on the mission and Nagisa wants to have fun. A crisis presents itself when the yakuza find them and grab Nagisa, but Xiang Ying doesn't believe protecting her is part of the mission. Eventually Xiang Ying intervenes, sending the yakuza to hospital. Later, a grateful Nagisa decides to return to school and asks Xiang Ying to be her friend, but the ex-assassin doesn't know how to react.
EP 15
Find Papa!
A little girl, Tanya, leaves a message for City Hunter and Xiang Ying decides to take the job herself without telling Ryo. Tanya wants to find her father "Shinjuku's One-Shot Wolf" and her description matches Ryo. Ryo and Xiang Ying find that her mother Irina was engaged to Katsumi Kurahashi, however he was framed for the activities of Kishimoto, a corrupt politician, and went into hiding to protect his family. Xiang Ying's solution is to kill Kishimoto and she begins to scout sniping locations.
EP 16
City Hunter's Qualifications
Xiang Ying prepares to snipe Kishimoto, the man responsible for framing Tanya's father, Kurahashi. Meanwhile, Ryo finds that Kurahashi is working as Mr. Bear, a mascot handing out balloons to children in a playground were Tanya plays. He then leaks information from Kurahashi about Kishimoto to the Taiwan media exposing Kishimoto's corruption. Meanwhile, Xiang Ying is unable to pull the trigger to kill Kishimoto. After the family are reunited, Xiang Ying is distraught at not being able to pull the trigger but Ryo the qualifications for being a City Hunter means more than just killing. Ryo realizes that it is her growing awareness of her new life and the influence of Kaori's heart in her body is slowly changing her.
EP 17
Encounter in a Dream
Xiang Ying has a recurring dream in which she is a child and cannot find Ryo. Ryo suggests that she tells Doc about it when she goes for her periodic physical check-up. When she arrives, Doc mistakes her for Kaori because of her similar manner. While waiting for Ryo, Xiang Ying drifts off again and experiences visions from Kaori's past where Kaori goes to Ryo's aid. She then sees Kaori at home with her brother Hideyuki Makimura, a police detective, who criticizes her for pursuing a nursing job. Then, she sees an injured Ryo whom Hideyuki insists is a "stray dog" who should be handed over to the police as all his identity documents are fake, but Kaori argues that he is a patient. That night, Ryo, fearing that he will be arrested, prepares to kill Kaori when he thinks she notices that he has regained consciousness.
EP 18
Familial Ties
Xiang Ying continues seeing visions from Kaori's past and hears Kaori tell the semi-conscious Ryo that she also sees herself as a "stray dog", having been adopted by the Makimura family, and Ryo refrains from killing her. Ryo discharges himself from the clinic and encounters Hideyuki who allows Ryo to pass instead of arresting him. Ryo suggests that Hideyuki is the original City Hunter and warns him that s life is in danger. Later, Ryo saved Hideyuki from an ambush and tells the detective that his true mission was to kill Hideyuki, but he abandoned the mission after meeting Kaori. Ryo also decides to join Hideyuki as a "sweeper". Xiang Ying's vision continues to where Kaori selects the name "Ryo Saeba" for him from his list of fake identities and Xiang Ying is accepted as their daughter. Xiang Ying finally awakes from her reverie, and tells Ryo that she had a dream about "Kaori-mama".
EP 19
Old Man Chen's Place
Chen opens a Chinese restaurant called Genbumon, a reference to his former, Genbu unit of Zeng Dao Hui. Ryo volunteers Xiang Ying and Xin Hong to be his waiters since there aren't any requests on the message board. The two ex-assassins initially have difficulty understanding the process of serving others or the reason for dining out, because previously they always ate alone and quickly to minimize their vulnerability to attack. However, Xiang Ying and Xin Hong easily defend the restaurant from disruptive yakuza, especially after they realize the staff are ex Zeng Dao Hui operatives. The yakuza boss even leaves Mochiyama to assist in the restaurant. Later, Ryo teaches them about the enjoyment of eating slowly together with your loved ones.
EP 20
Fated Prelude
Xiang Ying sees a newspaper article about the young violinist, Yume Kayano, and realizes she is the daughter of her last assassination target for Zheng Dao Hui. Xiang Ying meets Yume and finds that she has requested City Hunter to investigate her father's death. Yume tells Ryo that all evidence of her father's existence has been destroyed, and that her father was smiling when he died. Ryo learns from Chen that her father was and assassin called Mad Dog who used bombs to kill his targets, often catching others in the blast. When Yume's teacher, Haruka Takanami, is shot at, Ryo suspects that Mad Dog's former partner Dog Walker is responsible.
EP 21
Sorrowful Guardian
Yume invites Xiang Ying to one of her violin concerts. Chen reveals that Mad Dog killed a family nine years ago, but the 2-year-old daughter was never found and he suspects that the girl is Yume. At the concert they meet Masaomi Kazama, world renowned violinist and Haruka's boyfriend. To draw Dog Walker's attention onto herself, Xiang Ying exudes her killer's Qi, and when Xiang Ying detects his presence, she jumps on the stage to shield Yume from Walker's bombs. Yume is saved, but Xiang Ying is knocked unconscious and taken to Doc's clinic. While there, Yume is contacted by Dog Walker who provides a gun for her to kill Glass Heart who is Xiang Ying.
EP 22
Unfair Happiness
Yume points the gun provide by Dog Walker at Xiang Ying, but she cannot not pull the trigger. She leaves the clinic with her teacher, Haruka, and Walker's gun. Separately, Ryo and Xiang Ying deduce that Dog Walker is Haruka's boyfriend, the famous violinist Masaomi Kazama also named "Slow Finger". Meanwhile, Masaomi enters Yume's house and tells her how Mad Dog raised her as his own child, however Yume already knew this. Dog Walker prepares to kill Yume and Haruka, but Ryo and Chen's Genbu unit are waiting outside to attack. Suddenly, Xiang Ying arrives and she drives her car into the house and disarms Dog Walker. Seeking revenge, Yume points Walker's gun at Xiang Ying's heart, prepared to kill her.
EP 23
Melody of Departure
Yume cannot bring herself to shoot Ryo or Xiang Ying, and the Genbu unit disposes of Walker. Haruka decides to adopt Yume and they prepare to leave for Vienna to continue her violin lessons. Xiang Ying feels awkward about her relationship with Yume, but they share a happy farewell at the airport after Yume plays her violin. Later Xiang Ying begins to relax and enjoy life, such as travelling with Ryo on the Tamanote train line around Tokyo. She even peacefully falls asleep on his shoulder, something that she would have never done as an assassin.