Created by veteran manga writer Kazuo Koike and artist Ryoichi Ikegami Crying Freeman is the story of Yo Hinomura, a young Japanese ceramics artist transformed into an assassin by the 108 Dragons, a Chinese crime syndicate. Codenamed Freeman, after each kill he sheds tears. During an assignment in Hong Kong he meets Emu Hino, a Japanese painter who comes to be the love of his life.

In Chapter Four of the "Falling Blossoms, Flowing Water" arc of the manga Tokyo police detective Nitta and female mob boss Kimie Hanada arrive at Yo's rural ceramics kiln hoping to seize Emu. Just before charging into the building Nitta and Kimie draw weapons, and Nitta's revolver looks like a Smith and Wesson. But when we see him inside the kiln building he appears to have a Colt Python in his hands. When we see Nitta's pistol on the ground in Chapter Five it looks like a S&W again, but a different model than when he draws it from its holster in Chapter Four.

In "Journey To Freedom" Chapter Seven members of the Koai criminal group, an ally of the 108 Dragons, decide to betray Yo after ambitious criminal Tsunaike offers them a billion yen to kill Freeman. They entice Freeman to visit by offering him a new firearms accessory, the Firefly, an attachment that gives any pistol its own light source for combat in the dark. Flashlights that attach to firearms to provide illumination have become a popular accessory in recent years, but weren't in the late '80s when the story was written. But the price they want for each unit seems ridiculous, 2 million yen a piece, the equivalent of 20 thousand dollars American for what is in effect a fancy flashlight.