City Hunter (1987–1991)

Ryo Saeba calls himself a "sweeper". When you have trouble that needs to be cleaned up, when you need an "equalizer" you can hire the City Hunter by writing "XYZ" on a certain bulletin board in the rough part of town. Ryo will do "hits" or he can provide bodyguard services. He is an expert marksman and is proficient at hand-to-hand combat. His only weakness: pretty girls. Ryo is his own worst enemy when it comes to women. He can't help but act like a playboy. Luckily his partner Kaori is around to keep his lust in check. The series is mostly serious but is broken up by Ryo's inappropriate actions towards females. In situations like that Kaori pulls a giant hammer out of nowhere and smashes Ryo flat. I assume that recurring gag means that she is actually punching him in the face. On rare occasions Ryo did get to meet a pretty woman who wouldn't run away.

This classic was shown at a local anime club and the first TV series is available in the US from ADV. Don't forget to look for the yearly specials that came after the TV show ended. Also check out the live-action Jackie Chan version.