2014-05-01

Mokuyobi Post - Crying Freeman

Crying Freeman is a 6 part OAV based on the manga by Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami.  The OAV's were originally released between 1988 and 1994.

    Yu Hinomura is a mild mannered potter who is kidnapped and forced to be an assassin by a Chinese mafia known as the 108 Dragons.  A painter by the name of Emu Hino witnesses Yu kill someone, when the 108 Dragons order him to kill her he can't bring himself to do it.  Instead he brings her into his life in the underworld as his bride.  The head of the gang decides to make Yu the heir apparent and he must help to fend off attacks from both outside and inside to secure his position and keep the gang alive.

    This is a classic seinen action series.  Filled with gruff characters, gratuitous sex and lots of violence.  The story is somewhat disorganized, but I think that has more to do with cramming 14 or so years worth of a manga into 6 episodes.  The artwork is odd and the animation is stiff.  The voice acting is a bit weak and the music is horrendous.  But this is still a fun anime to watch, a guilt pleasure if you will.  If your a fan of Lone Wolf & Cub or Sanctuary you like this show too...in fact, if you ever watched/read Sanctuary you have seen this too.

    This series has been widely available in manga and anime format in North America for a long time.


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