Crying Freeman

Crying Freeman (クライング フリーマン, Kuraingu Furīman) is a manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Crying Freeman follows an assassin, a Japanese man hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia (called the "108 Dragons") to serve as its agent, and covered in a vast and complex dragon tattoo. A quiet but complicated killer, Freeman reflexively sheds tears after every killing as a sign of regret.

The manga was originally serialized by Shogakukan on its magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1986 to 1998. It was first published in North America by Viz Media in comic book form. Viz later republished the series in graphic novel form in two versions: an initial set and longer volumes that combined the initial volumes together, dubbed "Perfect Collections." From 2006 to 2007, the manga was republished by Dark Horse Comics in five volumes.

The story was adapted into an anime OVA by Toei Animation, released from 1988 to 1994. Crying Freeman has also been adapted into three live-action films: two in Hong Kong in Cantonese and an English-language adaptation in Canada.

Crying Freeman (film)

Crying Freeman is a 1995 Canadian action film, directed by Christophe Gans, based on the "Portrait of a Killer" arc of the best-selling manga of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Ryoichi Ikegami. The film was shot in British Columbia in October 1994.

Despite being heavily promoted by Viz Media on Animerica magazine and reprints of the Crying Freeman graphic novel, the film was never released in the United States.

Plot

One morning, while painting the landscape on a hill in San Francisco, California, a young woman named Emu O'Hara witnesses the murder of a Japanese Yakuza member. She notices that while the assassin stands emotionless in front of her, his eyes begin to shed tears. The assassin introduces himself to Emu as "Yo".

Days later, after Emu returns to her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Hakushin Society led by Shido Shimazaki make their appearance at the local police precinct, announcing a war between his clan and the "Sons of the Dragons" - a Chinese Triad that ordered the assassination of Shimazaki's son in San Francisco. Interpol detective Netah explains that the Sons of the Dragons are descendants of 108 Buddhist monks who rebelled against the Manchu reign in China centuries ago, and that the "Freeman" is their bringer of death. Shimazaki then tells everyone that Emu is the Freeman's next target, as she was the only witness to his son's assassination, and the assassin's code is that a person who is given Freeman's name becomes his next kill. However, shortly after their meeting is adjourned, Shimazaki and his bodyguards are ambushed outside the precinct by a masked Freeman and his assistant Koh. After dispatching the bodyguards and disabling the nearby police officers, Freeman successfully kills Shimazaki before running off. During his escape, he passes by Emu, who recognizes his eyes through his mask. As Freeman and Koh flee the scene, Emu utters Yo's name to the surprise of Detective Forge, who is assigned to protect her.

Stay Up! (Viagra)

"Stay Up! (Viagra)" is the first single released from producer-rapper 88-Keys' debut album The Death of Adam and features the album's co-executive producer Kanye West. The song samples "All Night Loving" by British R&B three-piece band Imagination. The single was released digitally on August 25, 2008. According to both artists, the song, which follows the overall storyline of the concept album, is about a man named Adam, who after a bad string of relationships, decides to take Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate) in an attempt "stay up" longer. A snippet of the track was first previewed on Kanye West's 2007 Can't Tell Me Nothing mixtape and featured an additional spoken word verse delivered by Malik Yusef.

Music video

The music video premiered across multiple MTV channels all day on Monday, March 16, 2009.

Shot in High Definition on the streets of Los Angeles, the video features 88-Keys (Clifford) and Kanye West (Rufus) dressed in full prosthetic makeup made to appear in their late sixties, out on a night on the town. Utilizing the talents of makeup artist Tony Gardner of Alterian Effects (Michael Jackson's Thriller, Hairspray, Shallow Hal, Seed of Chucky, Daft Punk) the video creates an intimate and comedic look at the two real life friends.