Crying Freeman -- a brutally efficent assassin who releases an uncontrollable stream of tears when he kills. Paired with Fu Ching Lan, his beautiful wife, he is the leader of the 108 Dragons, a chinese mafia gang. Excellent reading, and defintely a must have.

I have the complete collection of Crying Freeman graphic novels. What impresses me most of Ikegami's work if the realism of his drawings and the beauty of his characters. In "Shades of Death" the hero, Yo Hinomura, a.k.a Crying Freeman marries Emu Hino. Both Yo and Emu acquire different Chinese names, and Yo is officially announced as the successor of the leader of the 108 Dragons clan. Before getting a chance to go honey mooneing Emu is kidnapped presummably by the grandaughter of the Dragon's leader, and now it is up to Yo to rescue Emu and find what are the intentions behind Emu's kidnapping... to know more read the novel... I love this series, I read it cover to cover , again and again, every time I enjoy it more. I look forward to more works by Mr. Ikegami.

This book is totaly amazing. Exellent artwork, great storyline and naughty bits for those that like them. The artwork is so good that it shows the facial structures of characters from all over the world. Plus the heroe's really cute. Ikegami can draw better than most manga artists. His work is very realistic and not simplified like other artists do. Crying Freeman is supposed to be serious and I'm glad that they've kept it that way. Not bad at all. Highly recommended.

Ryoichi Ikegami, a Japanese Gekiga illustrator known his fluent and sexy paintings. Men and women he paints are beautiful, realistic and sexy. I love them!  Japanese Gekiga (graphic novels) typically has system of division of labor, story-tellers and illustrators. Ikegami is working with several story-tellers. Be careful. Ikegami's works are usually for adult readers. They sometimes contains sexual and violent scenes. A young and promising Japanese ceramist is kidnapped by HongKong Mafia and made up to be an assassin. After the long and tough training, he becomes an expert assassin and the leader of the family. Once he was seen his killing by a Japanese woman and try to kill her, but they fall in love and get married. This story is about the adventure of violence and love. Sometimes Ikegami's works go too far to the extent of losing its realism, but in this series, well maintained.

The Yagyu letter continues to gnaw at Yagyu Retsudo who gives ample proof in Volume 13 of the Lone Wolf & Cub saga, "The Moon in the East, the Sun in the West," that he will go to any length to get his revenge on Ogami Itto. In the five chapters of the manga epic included in this volume is the most shocking act of violence we have yet wetness in this bloody saga:

(64) "The Moon in the East, the Sun in the West" has Retsudo ruminating on how he has sent all of his legitimate sons to be slaughtered by Ogami Itto. But the old man has an illegitimate son and daughter, and horrible plans for them both.

(65) "'Marohoshi' Mamesho" is another one of the fascinating characters created by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. This time around the title character is an old policeman from the capital on the verge of retirement who stumbles across Ogami Itto being commissioned for his next act of assassination. "Marohoshi" has spent his life protecting people and he is not going to let this ronin continue on the assassin's road.

(66) "Spoiling Daigoro" is an offbeat story where the family that hires Ogami Itto persuades him to let Daigoro stay with them while he goes off to do his job. They have a son who is a coward and a weakling with no friends, and the boy's father thinks that having Daigoro around might be good for Suzunosuke. Ogami Itto agrees and thinks go well for a while, but Suzunosuke soon grows tired of hearing his parents praise Daigoro day and night.

(67) "The Hojiro Yaguy" finds Retsudo's illegitimate son planning on using poison darts that can stop a charging horse to slay Lone Wolf. It looks like there is no way on earth Ogami Itto can escape, but, of course, he always has something up his sleeve. Warning: The ending of this one is unexpectedly brutual and shocking.

(68) "The Bird Catchers," is another episode where Lone Wolf and Cub are spectators for the most part as they come across a group of female falconers preserving a dying way of life. But what makes this tale of some significance, especially as the last one in this volume, is that in the eyes of his son, it seems Ogami Itto might have finally gone too far.

"The Moon in the East, the Sun in the West" is another superb collection of stories in the Lone Wolf & Cub saga. Koike and Kojima still manage to provide a new twist and turn in every volume while stringing us out as long as possible with both the short term mystery of the Yagyu letter and the long term quest of Ogami Itto to get his vengeance on the entire Yagyu clan. I read one episode a night right before bed and am almost always surprised to see what new direction each night's story might take. This has to be one of the ten greatest comic epics of all time.

The mystery of the Yagyu letter is apparently forgotten in the five Lone Wolf and Cub tales told in Volume 12, "Shattered Stones." However, one thing that really stood out in these stories is that since he was reunited with his father after they were separated by circumstances, Daigoro has been smiling a lot more:

(59) "Nameless, Penniless, Lifeless" is one of the most disturbing stories in the Lone Wolf and Cub saga. It begins with a woman putting on a sex show for peasants. But what is even more shocking is that the woman has lost her mind and that her husband, whose face is half scared by terrible burns, is the one who talks her into her displays. There is more here than meets the eye, as is often the case in these stories, and the way in which the truth is revealed might remind you of part of Shakespeare's "Hamlet."

(60) "Body Check" is another one of those tales in which Ogami Itto has to use his brains to put himself in a position to use his sword for his next assassination.

(61) "Shattered Stones" begins with one of the most different ways that Ogami Itto has met someone who wanted to hire him for an assassination. On top of that the rules of the assassination are quite different (again, I am reminded of a Western parallel in the novel "Sophie's Choice").

(62) "A Promise of Potatoes" is an amusing little change of pace story for this series. Daigoro is off by himself again, being beaten up by a group of kids, when he is rescued by a con artist who teaches the boy to sit by a bowl looking pitiful as a way of making money. But where there is Cub can Lone Wolf be far behind...

(63) "Wife Killer" is a wonderfully ironic title, which we learn is used to describe somebody who gives away the tricks of magicians, who are known as "hand wives." Noronji Hoya, the Princess of Magicians, who has been using a delighted Daigoro as her "assistant," is about the encounter the "wife killer," an old saki-sotted magician who travels with two thugs who extort money from magicians: pay up or have your secrets revealed. But Noronji Hoya has a better proposition: she will perform a trick and if the old man can reveal her secret she will kill herself; if not, then she will take the old man's eyes.

Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima are back to telling tales in which Ogami Itto is more often than not more of a spectator to the action in which other characters carry the stories. One of the testaments to the greatness of this manga epic is that the title character can be almost incidental to the story and it is still completely riveting. Here we are, not even halfway through this saga, and they are still coming up with new and intriguing variations on the basic themes they established early on. The fact that they can maintain this high level certainly justifies the exalted status Lone Wolf & Cub has in the international world of comics.

"Talisman of Hades" is a nice title, but "Thirteen Strings" is the one you are not going to forget of the four stories collected in Volume 11 of the "Lone Wolf & Cub" magna epic. We had been confronted with a major development in the story as Ogami Itto stole the Yagyu letter. All pretenses were dropped as Reshido Yagyu declared open war on Ogami Itto, but Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima were showing the same sort of audacious subterfuge as their heroic creation, for as Ogami and Reshido crossed blades, Daigoro lost is hold on his father's shoulders and literally fell over a cliff. Suddenly the mystery of the Yagyu letter has become secondary because father and son have become separated. Their search for one another continues in these stories and for the first time we see Ogami Itto express emotion for his son:

(55) "Talisman of Hades" finds Ogami Itto is now putting up pictures of a baby cart where once he had pasted the talismans of meifunado to invite clients of death and assassination. A group of young students on their way to an academy stumble upon the mystery of the signs and when they see the strange ronin slay a "priest" (another Yagyu assassin in disguise of course), they decide they must intervene, forcing Lone Wolf to teach them a valuable lesson.

(56) "Ailing Star" has Daigoro finding a place to stay with an old granny who lives under a rotted bridge in danger of collapse. The locals keep trying to convince the old lady to leave, but she refuses. "Ailing Star" forms an interesting counterpart to "Talisman of Hades" as Daigoro has his own little lesson to impart.

(57) "Thirteen Strings" is an 118-page story where Koike and Kojima come up with their own version of a Kurosawa film experience (the rain during the last acts of the story is a clue). When we come to end of this epic tale, surely "Thirteen Strings" will be one of the most memorable episodes. A runaway horse is about to trample a child in the road when Ogami Itto intervenes. The horsewoman turns out to be the Lady Kanae, Daughter of the Go-Jodai of Odawara Han, and a spoiled brat who fancies herself a samurai. Ogami also learns of a larger conflict between the Go-Jodai and the farmers. Drought has blighted the harvest for four years and the Go-Jodai has tightened the screws on the farmers, who "hire" Ogami to attend a meeting between the two sides (because if anything happens to Chosuke, the leader of the farmers, Lone Wolf will bring word back to the farmers). Go-Jodai has his own agenda for implementing fundamental agricultural reform. Meanwhile, his headstrong daughter seeks revenge on the ronin who has insulted her. But then the rains bring a sudden flood that changes absolutely everything. This is a memorable story of surprising depth, showing that Koike and Kojima are absolute masters of their craft.

(58) "A Poem for the Grave" has Ogami Itto seeking help in finding the secret of the Yagyu letter. This turns into another assassination job, which results in an encounter with another honorable soul who seeks to turn Lone Wolf from the Assassin's Road. The question is whether things might be different this time because of Ogami Itto's separation from Diagoro.

I am in awe of Koike and Kojima maintain this level of excellence through a story that is not even halfway over by this point in the telling of the tale. I continue to savor one story each night at bedtime so that I can think about how it fits into the big picture and the ebb and flow of the story. An absolute masterpiece, not just as a comic book, but as an epic narrative.

In the first few stories, the character of Ogami Itto is shrouded in mystery. At first his name is mentioned without any one realizing who he is. Its the last two stories that his background is fully disclosed. The first story is interesting because of the shadowly introduction of the Lone WOlf and CUb within the first couple of pages. My favorite from this volume are A FATHER KNOW'S HIS CHILD'S HEART AS A CHILD KNOWS HIS FATHER'S, BABY CART AT THE RIVER STYX, SUIO RYU ZAMBATTO, AND THE last two stories. Marvelous blend of action, historical ideass, and character development. Maybe not the best but a good way to become acquinted with what I think is the best Graphic novel series of all time.

It was with child-like glee and excitement that I found Dark Horse was re-issuing the Lone Wolf and Cub series. Having first become aware of this historic series in 1981 w/ F. Schodt's seminal work, 'Manga Manga' I had to wait another ten years for the translation to be started by First Comics. At the time I collected those, I had no idea of the scope of the original series. 8000 pages in the original 1970's run?! Before First discontinued the series, stiffing us subscribers, they had only scratched the surface. To compound things, they did not follow the original order of the periodical. That, apparently, is now being rectified as Dark Horse has committed to 28 volumes at ~300 pages each. A few days ago I went out and bought the current 8 volumes in one fell swoop. The format has changed, the books are considerably smaller to mirror their last print run in Japan. The books are compact 6" tall, and must be held quite close to read. That does not detract at all. The story of the disgraced 17th century Shogun's executioner wandering the country as an assassin to endeavor to clear his family's name is a classic. His son Daigoro travels with him after the death of the mother, and provides an innocent life-fulfilling counterbalance to the bloody death dealt by the father. I cannot speak highly enough of this series, the artwork is monumental in its ability to capture mood, motion, and naturalistic quietude with nary a word spoken. The pacing of the fight scenes is remarkable. There is an austere beauty in the black and white treatment, coupled with an amazingly epic storyline, it adds up to a pinnacle of the genre. Highly recommended.

I've been into manga/anime, off and on, for seven years now. During the course of being a fan, it has always been my intention to read the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series or at least to purchase and view the feature film adaptations of the 70's. The premise of the series: A widowed Ronin with a toddler son travels through feudal Japan working as an assassin for hire, appealed to me from the moment I first heard it. Though I had never been exposed to "Lone Wolf" prior, there was something immediately ominous as well tender and heartwrenching about the relationship between Itto (the Lone Wolf) and Daigoro (his Cub) that I felt was conveyed by the title and cover art alone. The manga, of which this is the first collected volume released in the U.S., makes good on this promise. In fact, this first volume serves to illustrate the incredibly close, deeply textured relationship between Itto and Daigoro and their forced symbiosis during their journey through hell.

This first volume was excellent. The writing was impeccable, the translations seemed first rate, and the artwork effectively rendered what it must have been like to live in that era in that place in the world. The manga contains engaging characters on top of a vivid story told in brief, action-packed episodes involving the title protagonists. If there was one fault I could find with "Lone Wolf" it was that reading it gets quite confusing at times. While following characters, customs, and events that take place in an antiquated, foreign culture this can only be expected.

Itto Ogami is as tough a protagonist as one could ask for and yet, as one reviewer has already stated similarly, the reader finds themselves constantly looking for Daigoro in the page pannels. It is Daigoro for which Itto lives and fights for and it is Daigoro that keeps the reader turning the pages. His character is almost always seen smiling and his innocent cuteness serves to augment his father's ferocity and violence.

"A father knows his child's heart, as only a child can know his father's."

Yet, as we are often reminded in the text, a cub is still the child of a wolf. Fear them both. Pick up this first volume.

I prefered others in the Freeman series but this is still great if you like Ikegami's style and the story. Good for violence though. Those people who've got the whole lot should enjoy this. Not really good if you've not read any others.

As the razor sharp distinction between what is good and what is evil blurs the closer we get to y2k, a new type of hero has emerged from Japan who is not James Bond or John Wayne.Crying Freeman is an assassin, an anti-hero, but he is so good at what he does that the reader is rooting for him to win in the end.He is, after all killing others of his own kind.The story captures the imagination because it is realistic and the key ingredients are very similar to a book written by Jack Trevanian called "Shibumi".In that book, an assassin named Nicholas Hel dispatches his targets with an obscure martial art that could only be translated as "naked kill". He is also very well versed in the art of seduction. I wonder if the author of Crying Freeman ever read that book? Shibumi is a Japanese word to describe the art of "effortless perfection", a quality amply displayed throughout the manga.In any case, if you're bored with the clean-cut goodygoody heroes of the past and are looking for something grittier, then Crying Freeman is for you.