Crying Freeman
Six OVA’s of Death!!
Crying Freeman is a hypersexual, hyper-violent masterpiece written in 1988 by the late Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Crying Freeman was adapted from the manga into a 6 OVA series by Toei Animation, with each episode running at about 52 minutes. Crying Freeman follows the story of a young potter-turned assassin.
The manga was published from 1986 to 1988 was serialized in Big Comic Spirits, which follows the story of Yo Hinamura. Yo, a famous potter, discovered negatives placed in one of his pots while he was in America promoting his art.
The negatives depicted an assassination committed by the 108 Dragons, a mafia organization operating out of China. When asked by the 108 to return the photos, Yo refused and stated he was going to the police. Yo subsequently was set up via the mugger pushing an old man routine, and through the miracle of hypnotizing via acupuncture, Yo was inducted into the 108 Dragons.
Yo or Yoh is trained by Mother Dragon, the female head of the 108 Dragons, to be the ultimate fighting machine, the BMW of fighters. He is swift and decisive. He is tattooed with the Mark of the Dragon, a tattoo that runs the length of his body.
Yo is given the name Crying Freeman. Crying because of the sorrow he feels after he takes the life of his victim and Freeman for his apparent desire to be free from his service to the 108 Dragons.
Crying Freeman is divided into 6 OVA, with the first being his initial backstory and the latter five focusing on attempts to either destroy or control the 108 Dragons. Of the 6 OVA, the first is my favorite as we are introduced to Freeman and other players, including Emu Hina, who would become his wife.
Emu Hina shares a similar backstory with Freeman. Both are artists and the children of successful and wealthy parents. It is mentioned in the manga that while Emu Hina’s father was rich, his wealth disappeared upon his death, except for the mansion in which she resides. A witness to a 108 Dragon assassination Yo would return to end her life. Ironically the two virgins, yes virgins, would fall in love via acupuncture and hypnosis!
Emu Hina would remain a force of will throughout the series. She, like her husband, was handsome and the object of desire and jealousy. No woman, however sexually involved with or desirous of her husband, could take her place and subsequent additions to their harem accepted their place.
In subsequent episodes, Emu Hina would become a swordsmith wielding the katana known as Muramasa. Though a cursed sword, the cursed katana submitted to her will as its owner though women were not allowed to wield swords. Emu was a tactician who eclipsed Freeman in a stratagem.
Yo and Emu are married in the second OVA, and Yo is appointed to be the successor of the 108 Dragons by Grandfather Dragon. Yo tattoos Emu Hina with the mark of the Tiger on her back and two cubs near her womb. The cubs were symbolic of the children she would not bear as the clan prohibited blood succession. Mother Dragran remarks that she was once selfish and violated this rule, resulting in her son becoming a brutal killer in his youth. Mother Dragon’s son was exiled to a remote island.
After the ceremony, the bride and groom are given new names symbolic of their unique identity and heads of the 108 Dragons. Emu Hina was renamed Fu-Chinram (Tiger Pure Orchid), and Yo was named Ron Taiian (Dragon Sun).
Crying Freeman does not have a central antagonist, but each OVA has an antagonist who is subsequently killed whose cohorts may or may not appears in later OVA’s. After the second OVA, this becomes cyclical as several former antagonists align themselves with Freman and aid the 108 Dragons in their indevours.
Beyasan, the granddaughter of Father and Mother Dragon, would attempt a coup de tau when Freeman is placed as head of the Dragons. She, upon her defeat, would request forgiveness and become the big sister to both Yo and Emu. Beyasan, a powerfully large woman who lacked the grace of Koh, who was Freeman’s assistant, would take on the role of an assistant after Koh’s death. Other characters such as Bugnug and Kimie Hanada also aid the 108 Dragons.
The titles for the six episodes are as follows: in order the include “Portrait of a Killer,” “Shades of Death,” “The Killing Ring (Shades of Death II),” “A Taste of Revenge,’” “Abduction in Chinatown,” and “Journey to Freedom.”
Each OVA involves a major crime syndicate. The Hakushin Society, a Japanese gang, appears in the first OVA. Tha Camara, run by Don Carleone, appears in the second OVA.
The Camorra is allied with Beyasan and an internal member of the 108 Dragons when the overthrow of Freeman is initiated. The Askari (OVA 3) was an African organization that would eventually ally with the 108. The last three OVA’s go a different route, with episode 4 involving a religious leader attempting to take over the 108 with a clone of Freeman.
Episode 5 greets us with a sultry scene of masturbation by a former reporter named Nina, who witnessed Freeman in the middle of an assassination and became obsessed with him. She would use the Kidnapper Organization to bring Freeman to her. Lastly, episode 6 or OVA number six is an attempt by the Russian mob and the Japanese yakuza to squeeze the 108 Dragons trade abilities. The main point of the final episode concluded that Freeman had broken with his past, an edification Mother Dragon gave to him when he joined the Dragons.
Crying Freeman is an anime where I have to apply the quote by the late Macho Randy Savage, “What it is, is, what it is.” What Crying Freeman is is an action movie glossed with a bit of sex for good measure. Much like Golgo 13, written by mangaka Takao Saito, Crying Freeman creator Kazuo Koike understudied Crying Freeman is a Japanese exploitation series at its finest.
Some viewers may find the series offensive due to its scenes of sex, violence including depictions of rape. The series does break barriers as it depicts interracial relationships and transvestism. I chose not to detail its animation or soundtracks, but only to say it’s hit and miss. Because of its graphic nature, some scenes were scrubbed, resulting in a lackluster viewing experience. Crying Freeman is still a classic, and while the anime fails to provide significant character depth worth a viewing for fans of Japanese exploitation anime.
