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 (called the "108 Dragons") 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 in 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 anime OVA by Toei Animation, released from 1988 to 1994. Crying Freeman has also been adapted into three live-action films: two 1990 Hong Kong films in Cantonese (Killer's Romance and The Dragon from Russia) and a 1995 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, but he can remember his past at the moment he kills, shedding a tear unconsciously each time. Because of this, he is given the codename "Crying Freeman".
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—for him to have sex with 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.
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The son of a famous potter and a rising pottery star himself. During a visit to America to showcase his works, a photographer hid secret pictures of the 108 Dragons in one of his pots. Yo found the photos and was asked by the Dragons to surrender them but refused. As retribution, Father Dragon had him kidnapped and put under hypnosis, as he was considered the perfect candidate to lead the 108 Dragons. Yo was then trained by Mother Tiger in assassination techniques and martial arts. After his training was complete, he received a giant dragon tattoo covering his body. Because he cries in remorse for his victims after he snaps out of his trance (it seems later to just become habit due to the fact that he willingly takes on missions), he earned the name Crying Freeman. As Freeman, Yo possesses incredible agility and strength, and is considered the strongest man in the world. Each of his senses have been honed and sharpened and he is able to adapt to any situation. Initially shown to use guns, he comes to prefer daggers, which he can proficiently wield with both his hands and feet. In addition to being the strongest man in the world, Lóng Tài-Yáng is also one of the most handsome, and no woman has been able to resist his charms, which he takes full sexual advantage of even after Emu Hino becomes his wife. /
A young artist whose father had died; Emu Hino was once a rich girl whose wealth disappeared with his death. All that was left to her was the old family mansion. One day, she witnesses Freeman chasing and killing a Japanese crime boss in Hong Kong, after which she asks his name, to which he only replied "Yo". When she sees his tears after the murder, she is intrigued and immediately falls in love with him. Soon, she becomes witness to Freeman's murder of Shudo Shimazaki, the head of the Hakushin Society, which causes both the police and the yakuza to tail her. She returns home only to find that Freeman is waiting for her. Emu then requests that Yo take her virginity before killing her, to which he complies. Later, Yo cannot bring himself to kill her as he has fallen in love with her, and the two eventually escape to Hong Kong. At first, Mother Tiger disapproves of her, thinking that Emu was weak, but Emu's strong will and resolve earns her the respect of the 108 Dragons. She is given the name Hǔ Qīng-Lán by Grandfather Dragon and is married to Freeman, who is renamed Lóng Tài-Yáng. Emu has a giant tiger tattooed on her back and two cubs on her torso for the children that she and Yo cannot have. In the middle of the series, Emu gains possession of the legendary cursed katana Muramasa from an assassin who targets Freeman. She travels to the Kowloon Walled City to learn swordsmanship skills from an unlicensed dentist named Gouken Ishida. Despite being crafted during a time women were not allowed to wield swords, the Muramasa recognizes her as its true owner. As one of the leaders of the 108 Dragons, Emu is more resourceful and cleverer than even her husband, and as fearless as he is in the face of opposition. The first true owner of the Muramasa, she is quite dangerous as a sword master.
Also known as Mother Tiger, she is the former female head of the 108 Dragons. She took on the task of training Freeman, honing him into the best assassin in the world and the strongest man alive. Like Emu Hino, she has a Tiger tattooed on her body, which signifies her position in the 108 Dragons. She has adopted Freeman as a son and Emu as a daughter-in-law. While skeptical of Emu at first, she came to recognize her strength. Grandmother Tiger had a son in violation of the 108 Dragons' rule that the leaders are sterilized to prevent them from having children, as the organization survives on individual talent and not on heritage or legacies. Mother Tiger came to regret her decision as her son became a cold-blooded killer even in his early youth and was exiled to a remote island.
The granddaughter of Father Dragon and Mother Tiger who challenges Freeman for the leadership of the 108 Dragons shortly after his succession. She attempts a coup d'état immediately after Freeman and Emu's wedding, with the aid of Camorra and Elder Mercury, one of the Ten Planets who was loyal to her father. Bái-Yá Shàn is defeated by Freeman and subsequently forgiven and accepted back into the 108 Dragons, from then on becoming his faithful and devoted "little sister", acting as a personal maid and bodyguard for her older brother and his wife. A giant woman in both aspects of height and weight, Bái-Yá Shàn is practically invulnerable to most attacks, as she has survived multiple gunshot wounds. She often goes into missions naked, which is quite nauseating for her opponents. Her weapons of choice are two butterfly swords, but she also likes to keep an automatic rifle handy. Bái-Yá Shàn is very emotional, openly crying in moments of fear, doubt, and sorrow; at times, she still seems rather like a little girl despite her age. /
A member of 108 Dragons and assistant to Freeman on his missions, who first worked with him after his kidnapping and hypnosis. After Freeman forces him to assist in helping save a critically wounded Emu Hino, he realizes that the two are meant for each other and defends Freeman's actions to Mother Tiger. After Freeman takes over leadership of the 108 Dragons, Huáng Dé-Yuán becomes his right-hand man. He dies from wounds sustained while fighting the Camorra assassin Kitche and is buried at sea after Freeman defeats her.
Hakushin Society
Portrayed by: Mako Leader of the , a yakuza that has a workforce of 26,000 men across Japan. His organization controls all aspects of organized crime except drug trafficking. Knowing that the 108 Dragons have sent Freeman to assassinate him in order to fully infiltrate Japan's criminal underground, Shimazaki goes to a police precinct for protection and to give vital information on the Chinese Mafia but is eventually shot in the head by a masked Freeman. Emu Hino is immediately marked as a witness when she immediately notices the tears flowing through Freeman's mask as he runs away.
Portrayed by: Masaya Kato The second most powerful member of the Hakushin Society, he takes over the group after Shimazaki is assassinated by Freeman. Nicknamed , Ryuji attempts to kidnap Emu with the tacit support of the police. He is wounded by Freeman but survives and manages to see his face. Ryuji is later on assassinated by Freeman and Huang.
Portrayed by: Yoko Shimada The wife of Ryuji Hanada and the most powerful woman in the Hakushin Society hierarchy. Following Ryuji's death, she ensnares Detective Nitta by managing to get compromising photos of them together taken, securing his cooperation in her scheme to locate Emu and avenge Ryuji's death, although she and Nitta quickly become lovers. Kimie and Nitta are stabbed in the chest by Freeman, but their lives are spared when Freeman forces them to accept his alibi that Yo Hinomura and Emu Hino committed suicide after killing Shimazaki over a past dispute. Later on, Kimie becomes a follower of Kumagaism and assists its leader Naiji Kumaga in his plot to seize control of the 108 Dragons by creating a clone of Freeman. Tasked by Kumaga to sleep with Freeman in order to learn his sexual habits and patterns to then pass them on to the clone, she subsequently falls in love with him and betrays Kumaga.
Portrayed by: Tchéky Karyo A police detective assigned to interrogate Emu after identifying Freeman as "Yo" during his assassination of Shudo Shimazaki. He becomes romantically involved with Kimie Hanada after she blackmails him for his cooperation to locate Freeman and Emu. He and Kimie are forced by Freeman to tell the press of Yo Hinomura and Emu Hino's suicide in exchange for their lives. Later in the series, Nitta joins Kimie in becoming a follower of Kumagaism. When he learns that Kimie betrayed Kumaga by falling in love with Freeman, Nitta holds her hostage and demands for the 108 Dragons to send them back to Japan. His demands fall on deaf ears, as members of the 108 Dragons quickly subdue and kill him.
Camorra
Leader of the , one of the oldest and most powerful Italian Mafias in the world. With the aid of Bái-Yá Shàn and Elder Mercury, Don Carleone instigates a coup d'état to overthrow the 108 Dragons. When Don Carlone has his subordinates kill Elder Mercury and attempt to wipe out the entire hierarchy of the 108 Dragons, Freeman swiftly kills him, effectively crippling the Camorra.