Crying Freeman - Portrait of a Killer (Vol. 1)

Rating:
Summary: Yea!
Review: I am so happy this came to DVD! It's one of the best animes ever! I first saw this years ago and it's still one of the best! I love it!

Rating:
Summary: love it
Review: I fell in love with crying freeman when I lived in Japan ,but I could only get in Japanese. Now that it avaible in english, Wow! The love between freeman (Yoh) and Emu is so beauiful, most woman will love this action adventure. They portray all the characters three-dimensionally. I have flown in to Hong Kong,myself, and the attention to detail is uncanny. Any artist can appreciate this movie and hopefully most anyone could sit down and watch this and get some enjoyment out of it.

Rating:
Summary: Art
Review: I followed Crying Freeman back in his comic days and the dvd movies are very true to the details of the art of the comic .Yes Freeman art and story has given me tears of joy on Dvd. I also recomment Golgo 13 if you like the Freeman saga.

Rating:
Summary: The Enigma of Guilt
Review: In an odd sense of cross cultural symbol mixes, Crying Freeman both exploits old stereotypes and develops new ones. Crying Freeman, although it may not have been intended to be so, is the reverse of Kill Bill - where a Japanese 'woman' takes over a Japanese Yakuza operation. The Chinese triad 'family', the 108 Dragons, is looking to develop its area of operation into Japan. In Portrait of a Killer and Shades of Death, the Japanese law enforcement is resolute to keep them out by forming an alliance with the local Yakuza to thwart any Dragon efforts. Yo Hinomura, a potter - is recruited by the 108 Dragons, who develop him into a killing machine. Yo completes the transition by taking the Chinese name Ron Tayan (Dragon Sun). In the opening scene, Emu Hino, a young artist, contemplates her death as she witnessed Tayan's handiwork when he assassinated a Yakuza victim and is moved to tears - ergo the Crying Freeman. Tayan, who acquired the nickname "Crying Freeman," is ordered by the 108 Dragons to get rid of the witness Emu Hino. Emu, worried for her virginity, beseeches Tayan not to let her depart this life a virgin. The love that results from their encounter causes Tayan to break a few cherished Dragon tenets. Tayan and Emu flee their Yakuza enemies and escape to safer China. The wedding of Tayan to Emu and his subsequent installation as head of the 108 Dragon causes much stir among the old guard. This DVD therefore sets the stage for the whole series - the Crying Freeman a Japanese potter at the helm of a Chinese clan. Crying Freeman is, arguably, guilty pleasure anime. Anime is, by its very fabric escapist. The problem with Crying Freeman is that it is indeed violent and is not for children. I am not certain what sub-genre it falls under but it certainly is complex and it does call to question cultural representations. At the core of the series is 'contradiction.' Yo (Ron Tayan) is enigmatic in that he kills yet is inexplicably saddened by the act. Never able to reconcile his love and position both he and Emu (now Fu Ching-Ran (Tiger Orchid)) are destined to take their happiness where they can get it. I like the series because it is a wonderful laboratory for cross cultural representation and misrepresentation - the action is simply gravy. In the dark tradition of Perfect Blue, Crying Freeman uses sex and violence to add complexity to the story. Does the series border on Hentai - certainly a good argument could be made, in reality it is adult anime more 'R' than 'X' - I give it the thumbs up for the artistry and complexity, the rest the viewer will have to decide on their own.

Miguel Llora