The Continental Op is the character of Dashiell Hammett's stories. He's a nameless detective agency enforcer, who investigates crimes. He makes his first appearance in the 1923 novel Arson Plus.
What Makes Him a Seinen Hero?[]
- Heroic/Anti-Heroic: He investigates countless serious crimes (mostly murders), saving numerous innocent lifes in the process.
- Apathetic: No matter how dangerous are the criminals, he will defeat them.
- Stoical: He little to never is shown to be emotional.
- Realistic: investigating serious crimes forces him to be a realist.
- Strong Sense of Willpower: Never gives up until the criminals her searches are behind the bars or killed.
- Morally Ambiguous: Despite mostly acting as a hero and not being an outright villain, he is constantly seen in arranging the deaths of the criminals, whose fault he cannot prove. While these acts are mostly well-meaning, innocents sometimes also get harmed. Has Killer Instinct: Kills lots of criminals, and not all his murders are justified.
- Has Bloodlust: Is seen pitting criminals against each other, when there are seemingly no legal ways to stop them.
- Lustful: One of his girlfriends is killed and other one is a drug addict.
- Reckless: While he isn't reckless in the classic meaning of this word, his job constantly demands him to put his life in danger.
- Hard-Boiled: Is shown to be as tough as a person with his resources can ever be.