# Crying Freeman (1988)

> A former potter turned elite assassin for a Chinese criminal syndicate sheds tears over each of his kills in this seinen crime anime.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/58222

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 6
- Episode runtime: 52 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, crime, action
- Created by: Kazuo Koike
- Cast: Toshio Furukawa, Chiharu Kataishi, Toshiko Fujita, Banjo Ginga, Ryo Horikawa, Takaya Hashi, Nobuo Yana, Masako Katsuki
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0159386/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: graphic
- Tone: melancholic, stylized, brooding, violent, sensual

## Synopsis

Crying Freeman (1988-1994) is a Japanese original video animation crime series created by Kazuo Koike and produced by Toei Video. Yo Hinomura, a former ordinary potter, becomes the assassin known as Crying Freeman for the 108 Dragons, a powerful Chinese mafia organization. He is a near perfect killing machine who weeps after every target he eliminates, a signature that makes him infamous across the criminal underworld. Emu Hino (Chiharu Kataishi) is a central figure in his story, and the series follows his dangerous assignments through the shadowy triad networks of Hong Kong and Japan. Its six episodes are made of contract killings, betrayals, and tense confrontations with rival syndicates and police detectives. The series is a single-season adult seinen production with a moody, melancholic register, violent and sensual, with a stylish noir atmosphere. Fans of Golgo 13, Lupin the Third and Nikita will find resonance in its hitman mythology, its underworld loyalties and its moral ambiguity. The story is grounded in the criminal worlds of its characters rather than any single historical era, and its tone balances brutal action with quiet sorrow.

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