Based on a macho, hard-boiled manga by artist Ryoichi Ikegami and writer Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub), the anime series Crying Freeman (1988-93) is an unflinching and faithful adaptation of the pair's much-admired, mature-themed comic. A Taste of Revenge continues the wholesale and increasingly surreal mayhem begun in {|Portrait of a Killer|} by first offering the...
Read moreBased on a macho, hard-boiled manga by artist Ryoichi Ikegami and writer Kazuo Koike (Lone Wolf and Cub), the anime series Crying Freeman (1988-93) is an unflinching and faithful adaptation of the pair's much-admired, mature-themed comic. A Taste of Revenge continues the wholesale and increasingly surreal mayhem begun in {|Portrait of a Killer|} by first offering the concluding half of the "Shades of Death" storyline. While Freeman's new wife Emu must prove her worth to Freeman's skeptical masters in the 108 Dragons gang, an African crime syndicate muscles in on their territory. Freeman travels to the cradle of civilization to face this new threat while Emu must battle with the spirit of a cursed samurai sword. The next episode, "A Taste of Revenge," unveils a bizarre plot undertaken by a religious cult, a professional wrestler, and two of Freeman's past foes to replace our hero with a brainwashed double. While the animation quality of these two episodes seems to have dropped a notch since the first installments (ironically, making Freeman appear even more manga-like), the action-packed and outlandish strengths of the series remain well intact. Volk Lindsay
Brand: ADV FILMS
