Crying Freeman is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Crying Freeman follows a Japanese assassin hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia to serve as its agent, and covered in a vast and complex dragon tattoo. A quiet but complicated killer, Freeman reflexively sheds tears after every killing as a sign of regret. The manga was originally serialized by Shogakukan on its magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1986 to 1988. It was first published in North America by Viz Media in comic book form. Viz later republished the series in graphic novel form in two versions: an initial set and longer volumes that combined the initial volumes together, dubbed "Perfect Collections." From 2006 to 2007, the manga was republished by Dark Horse Comics in five volumes. The story was adapted into an animeOVA by Toei Animation, released from 1988 to 1994. Crying Freeman has also been adapted into three live-action films: two in Hong Kong in Cantonese and a French-Canadian production in English.
Plot
Yō Hinomura, a Japanese potter, comes into the possession of some film showing an assassination by an agent of the 108 Dragons, a powerful Chinese mafia. Seeking its return, they kidnap him. Subjected to forced hypnosis, Yo is effectively brainwashed into acting as the 108 Dragons' principal assassin yet - cruelly - is permitted to remember his innocent past at the moment he kills, shedding a tear unconsciously each time that he does so. He is given the codename "Crying Freeman" as a result. One of his killings is witnessed by Emu Hino, a lonely and beautiful Japanese artist. Knowing he must kill her, she paints his portrait and waits for him to come. When he does so, she tells him that she is tired of being alone and wishes to end her life. She asks for a favor before he kills her - to make love to her, so that she will not die as a virgin. He grants her wish, but finds he cannot kill her and they fall in love. The killing she witnessed was of a yakuza boss, however, so the yakuza want to find her so that they can find the killer. One of the yakuza attempts to enter Emu's home and force her to disclose the name of the killer, critically injuring her. Freeman takes her to the hospital and tells her to meet him at Hinomura Kiln, where he intends to part with her. Instead, she accompanies him back to the 108 Dragons, where he tattoos her with tigers and they marry. The heads of the 108 Dragons decide to name Freeman as their heir. He is given the Chinese name Lóng Tài-Yáng, and Emu is renamed Hǔ Qīng-Lán, as both pass the tests given to them. It proves not as easy as that, however, as they must contend with challenges to the leadership from Bái-Yá Shàn, the granddaughter of the leaders of the 108 Dragons, and attempts to destroy the Dragons from other underground organizations.
Characters
108 Dragons
The is a Chinese Mafia that rose to prominence in the 1970s. It holds numerous assets around the world, including its own nuclear submarine. As a rule in the organization, succession by blood inheritance is prohibited. ; / / ; / ; /
The manga was adapted into a six-part anime OVA series by Toei Animation that was released from September 1988 to January 1994. The first five episodes of the Crying Freeman OVA were dubbed in English by Streamline Pictures ane released on VHS from January 1994 to February 1995. Following the demise of Streamline Pictures, the series was re-released on DVD by A.D. Vision in 2003. The Complete Collectionboxed set, released on January 27, 2004, includes episode 6, which features a new English dub featuring the original Streamline cast. Discotek Media reissued the Complete Collection boxed set on February 22, 2011.
