OVA
Description
Emu Hino, who later receives the Chinese name Hǔ Qīnglán, is a central figure in the story of Crying Freeman. She is introduced as a young, solitary Japanese artist of considerable skill and personal wealth, having inherited her family's estate after the death of her father. Her existence is quiet and isolated, defined by her art and a pervasive sense of loneliness that leaves her unafraid of death.
Her life changes forever when she becomes an accidental witness to an assassination. The killer is Yō Hinomura, the Crying Freeman, and she sees him shed tears after the act. Rather than terror, this sight ignites a powerful obsession within her. She paints his portrait and waits for him, knowing he will be sent to kill her. When he arrives at her home, her response is not one of fear. Instead, she asks him to take her virginity so she might experience love before dying. This desperate and bold request, born from her profound loneliness, deeply affects Freeman. He grants her wish but finds he cannot take her life, and the two fall in love.
Emu's defining characteristic is her extraordinary strength of will. Initially perceived as fragile by the 108 Dragons, especially by the matriarch known as Mother Dragon, she quickly proves her inner resolve. She faces attacks from the yakuza, including a critical injury, and later endures being kidnapped, tortured, and violated by rivals seeking to destroy her husband. Through all these trials, she never breaks, earning the respect of the powerful criminal organization. Her motivations shift from a passive wish not to die alone to an active desire to stand beside Yō, eventually choosing to fully enter his world instead of parting from him as he once suggested. She becomes the Dragons' most valuable strategist, often proving more resourceful and clever than her assassin husband, and she is fearless in the face of any opposition.
After proving herself to the leaders of the 108 Dragons, she and Yō are married in a Chinese ceremony. She is given the new name Hǔ Qīnglán, which translates to Tiger Pure Orchid, and Yō is named Lóng Tài-Yáng. As part of her initiation, she receives a massive tattoo of a tiger on her back, with two cubs near her womb. These cubs symbolize the children she and Yō are forbidden to have, as blood succession is prohibited within the clan. This act demonstrates her complete acceptance of her new life and the sacrifices it demands.
Emu is not merely a passive partner; she acquires formidable abilities of her own. She becomes the master of the legendary cursed katana Muramasa, a sword that submits to her will as its rightful owner, despite the tradition that women should not wield such a weapon. In her role as a leader of the 108 Dragons, she is a dangerous sword master and a brilliant tactician, whose planning and intelligence are vital to the couple's survival and rise to power. Throughout the narrative, she evolves from a lonely witness to a powerful, calculating, and ruthless leader, standing as an equal at the head of one of Asia's largest criminal empires.
Her life changes forever when she becomes an accidental witness to an assassination. The killer is Yō Hinomura, the Crying Freeman, and she sees him shed tears after the act. Rather than terror, this sight ignites a powerful obsession within her. She paints his portrait and waits for him, knowing he will be sent to kill her. When he arrives at her home, her response is not one of fear. Instead, she asks him to take her virginity so she might experience love before dying. This desperate and bold request, born from her profound loneliness, deeply affects Freeman. He grants her wish but finds he cannot take her life, and the two fall in love.
Emu's defining characteristic is her extraordinary strength of will. Initially perceived as fragile by the 108 Dragons, especially by the matriarch known as Mother Dragon, she quickly proves her inner resolve. She faces attacks from the yakuza, including a critical injury, and later endures being kidnapped, tortured, and violated by rivals seeking to destroy her husband. Through all these trials, she never breaks, earning the respect of the powerful criminal organization. Her motivations shift from a passive wish not to die alone to an active desire to stand beside Yō, eventually choosing to fully enter his world instead of parting from him as he once suggested. She becomes the Dragons' most valuable strategist, often proving more resourceful and clever than her assassin husband, and she is fearless in the face of any opposition.
After proving herself to the leaders of the 108 Dragons, she and Yō are married in a Chinese ceremony. She is given the new name Hǔ Qīnglán, which translates to Tiger Pure Orchid, and Yō is named Lóng Tài-Yáng. As part of her initiation, she receives a massive tattoo of a tiger on her back, with two cubs near her womb. These cubs symbolize the children she and Yō are forbidden to have, as blood succession is prohibited within the clan. This act demonstrates her complete acceptance of her new life and the sacrifices it demands.
Emu is not merely a passive partner; she acquires formidable abilities of her own. She becomes the master of the legendary cursed katana Muramasa, a sword that submits to her will as its rightful owner, despite the tradition that women should not wield such a weapon. In her role as a leader of the 108 Dragons, she is a dangerous sword master and a brilliant tactician, whose planning and intelligence are vital to the couple's survival and rise to power. Throughout the narrative, she evolves from a lonely witness to a powerful, calculating, and ruthless leader, standing as an equal at the head of one of Asia's largest criminal empires.