52 minSeason 1 • Episode 6
LatestRussian mafia boss Nicholaiev and Japanese yakuza Tsunaike plan to cut out the 108 Dragons trade and Nicholaiev makes an offer to Tanya to help him. Meanwhile Freeman sees a woman pass in a car he remembers from his past.
Yo Hinomura was an ordinary Japanese potter when a run-in with a Chinese mafia changed his life forever. Now an assassin for the 108 Dragons, Yo is the perfect killing machine. As a sign for remorse over his victims, he sheds tears after eliminating his targets. Because of this, he is infamously known by the Dragons and every crime syndicate in the world as the "Crying Freeman."
Direction
Daisuke Nishio's operatic staging of every murder.
Writing
Kazuo Koike's unhinged melodrama, zero restraint.
Creator
Kazuo Koike
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Created by Kazuo Koike of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, this exemplifies 1980s seinen OVA — direct-to-video anime with adult budgets, zero broadcast censorship, and storytelling that would never fly on TV.
The 1995 live-action adaptation starring Mark Dacascos completely misunderstood the tone, playing Freeman as stoic action hero rather than weeping melodrama king — missing the entire point.
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