Crying Freeman 4: A Taste Of Revenge (Japan 1991)

Rating: *
Review Date: 5/22/05

This installment is a radical departure from the others in the series. Dark Eye gets beaten, raped, and left for dead by a huge Japanese wrestler. Freeman manages to find and rescue her, and sets out to avenge her. Unfortunately, he walks into a trap laid by the Bear Society, and they plan to take over the 108 Dragons by replacing the Freeman with an identical copy. But we all know that Lon isn't about to let that happen. Imitating his own impersonator, he leads his enemies into a trap of his own and wipes them all out. Well, except for the leader, who is marvelously decapitated by Fu in what is definitely the most satisfying scene of the show. Unfortunately, the animation is poor and the character drawings are dirty and downright awful. Ikegami's original style is lost as Satoshi Urashihara ("Plastic Little" (1994) ) takes on the role of character designer, and you can definitely see his trademark features come through. It's a strange juxtaposition at best. This episode also plays up the sexploitation angle more aggressively than the previous ones, which also leaves a bad taste. Disappointing.