OVA
Description
Hu FenglIng is a significant character from the anime and manga series Crying Freeman. Known by the title Grandmother Tiger, she is the former head of the 108 Dragons, a powerful and secretive Chinese criminal organization. Her name and position are deeply intertwined with the group's mythology, which pairs dragons and tigers as complementary forces. In this structure, the leader known as the Dragon is partnered with a Tiger, and Hu FenglIng once held the position of the Tiger. She is a formidable and skilled martial artist, a master whose abilities are respected by all who know of her.
Hu FenglIng's most crucial role in the story is as the mentor and trainer of the protagonist, Yo Hinomura, who is forced to become the assassin known as Crying Freeman. It was under her rigorous and demanding instruction that the gentle potter was transformed into a lethal weapon for the 108 Dragons. Her personality is that of a strict and authoritative leader, someone who has survived and thrived in the brutal world of underworld politics. Despite her fearsome reputation and the harshness of her training methods, her motivations are not purely cold or self-serving. She is a traditionalist who cares deeply for the future and stability of the organization she once led. This sense of duty and legacy drives her to identify and cultivate worthy successors who can carry on the 108 Dragons.
Her key relationships are central to her character development. She develops a profound bond with Yo Hinomura, viewing him not merely as a successful project but as a son. This maternal affection extends to his wife, Emu Hino, the artist who falls in love with Freeman. Hu FenglIng comes to regard Emu as a daughter-in-law, fully accepting her into the dangerous family of the 108 Dragons. This marks a significant shift from her role as a cold trainer to a protective matriarch. Her development is also tied to her family lineage, as she has a granddaughter named Bai-Ya Shan, whose own ambitions create challenges for the new leadership Hu FenglIng supports. As a former leader, her primary motivation becomes ensuring a stable transition of power. She endorses Yo, granting him the Chinese name Long Tai-Yang, and Emu, who is renamed Hu Qing-Lan, as the new Dragon and Tiger, passing the mantle of leadership to them. Her notable abilities lie not in direct combat, which she is fully capable of, but in her strategic wisdom, her mastery of martial arts, and her formidable will, which she used to shape one of the most feared assassins in the world.
Hu FenglIng's most crucial role in the story is as the mentor and trainer of the protagonist, Yo Hinomura, who is forced to become the assassin known as Crying Freeman. It was under her rigorous and demanding instruction that the gentle potter was transformed into a lethal weapon for the 108 Dragons. Her personality is that of a strict and authoritative leader, someone who has survived and thrived in the brutal world of underworld politics. Despite her fearsome reputation and the harshness of her training methods, her motivations are not purely cold or self-serving. She is a traditionalist who cares deeply for the future and stability of the organization she once led. This sense of duty and legacy drives her to identify and cultivate worthy successors who can carry on the 108 Dragons.
Her key relationships are central to her character development. She develops a profound bond with Yo Hinomura, viewing him not merely as a successful project but as a son. This maternal affection extends to his wife, Emu Hino, the artist who falls in love with Freeman. Hu FenglIng comes to regard Emu as a daughter-in-law, fully accepting her into the dangerous family of the 108 Dragons. This marks a significant shift from her role as a cold trainer to a protective matriarch. Her development is also tied to her family lineage, as she has a granddaughter named Bai-Ya Shan, whose own ambitions create challenges for the new leadership Hu FenglIng supports. As a former leader, her primary motivation becomes ensuring a stable transition of power. She endorses Yo, granting him the Chinese name Long Tai-Yang, and Emu, who is renamed Hu Qing-Lan, as the new Dragon and Tiger, passing the mantle of leadership to them. Her notable abilities lie not in direct combat, which she is fully capable of, but in her strategic wisdom, her mastery of martial arts, and her formidable will, which she used to shape one of the most feared assassins in the world.