One of the first things that drew me into this manga was that the main character is such a nerd for ninja history and culture. I instantly felt a connection due to our mutual interest, and knew this manga was going to be a fun ride. With brilliant art, lovable characters with their own distinct personalities, and plenty of action to please both fans of ninja manga and shonen action fans, Flame of Recca is an unsung classic among battle manga.

One thing that sets it apart from its shonen peers is that there are portions of the characters day to day lives with scenarios that let their personalities shine through, and make for some neat moments. This also makes the characters feel more real, makes you more attached to them when the actions starts picking up, and makes the stakes feel all the higher, being invested in Team Hokage as they make their way through underground fighting tournaments, chases through caves, and trials through forbidden areas. If you have any interest at all in battle manga or ninjas, check this one out for sure!

... Last updated on October 14th, 2020, 7:10pm

FoR is a typical shonen with good art, well packed action scenes and list of loveable characters. The main protagonist is your usual dumb and reckless but kind type of guy, who has this power to generate fire from the power within him. Along with his friend he fight to protect a certain girl whose power can bring eternal life..

I love FoR for many things. The cast are amazing here. The concept of the magic item is very well depicted, and the fight scenes are well thought and well drawn. Although in the end it adopted Berserk's monster vs human theme, all in all every fights in FoR are very enjoyable. The end is fulfilling too. By the time it was finished, I feel satisfied. I feel like I can read it again all over from the 1st chapter and still enjoy it, without having any loss feeling that I won't have any new chapter from it.

... Last updated on January 10th, 2017, 1:45am

Well... I read the whole manga [though it quite an old series already :">]and then I read the review and then I saw quite a lot of bad reviews >"< To me, this manga is totally awesome <3<3<3 and I gave it 10/10.
I just wanna say that, come on, the same plot is not really important. Just how can you ask the mangaka to think more and more new and interesting theme? There is always an limit. The way they deal with the old themes is really what matters, right? A true talent writer know how two make the old theme interesting, and I cant ask more of Anzai-sensei..
It's true that the arts in the first chapters are not really beautiful, but i saw it happened to tons of manga, then there is nothing wrong with it.
All the characters are likeable [well, except for Mori of course], they had their own stories and problems, and everyone find the best solution for himself, really heartwarming.
And I'm so in love with Yanagi and Tokiya. Maybe Yanagi is just a damsel in distress, but she tried her best in everything, thats what made her admirable. She is cute and really the comedy of the whole manga <3<3<3
So, Im saying that I really love this manga and I hope you give it a chance

i agree the art at the starting kinda sucks. but the art is at least not run-of-mill type, it is unique in its own way and gets much better later on. the story is good, and those that can't stomach the manga should definitely try watching the anime. it is pretty well developed considering the time when it was made.

Kurei is one of the most kick-ass villains around. his first appearance, and his voice (the seiyuu is good!!) made a 14 year old kid trembled in fear. on hindsight, as an adult, Kurei is a rounded character and the mangaka has fully shown how he has come to be and why he is the way he is now. watch it even if its just for kurei!

... Last updated on October 12th, 2011, 10:31pm

Flame of Recca is a very good manga. Even though the artwork for the first 5~7 volumes wasn't good, it got better and I can say that that's one of the main reasons why Anzai-sensei rocks.

The tournament and character design may be "similar" to Yu Yu Hakusho but...there's more to Flame of Recca. ^^; The tournament theme was a hit during the era where FoR was still starting out so I guess Anzai-sensei joined the bandwagon. And in this world where even trying to be original is getting harder, what's more important is not if someone copied someone or not. What's important is how that person can OWN the thing. A cliched plot isn't always bad, the story, characters and dialogue are waaay more important and I believe Anzai-sensei did a great job in that.

And obviously, the manga is better than the anime. If you're judging Flame of Recca just by its anime, then you suck. xD
The arc after the Ura Butou Satsujin is very cool so if you haven't read this great manga fully yet, you better read it and I swear you wouldn't regret it. ^_~

In pandaslayer0's review, he says:
"the protagonist is pissed off at Kurei [the baddie] for no reason - he basicially just attacks the guy."

You're proving that you didn't read into the story or THE FREAKING DIALOGUE with this claim. Recca didn't attack Kurei "for no reason" when it was WRITTEN that he hated the things Kurei did: Taking advantage of Ganko's innocence, cutting off Sekiou's head just because he lost to Domon and a lot of other inhumane things that Kurei did. I know he's your typical protagonist with the "For justice!" kind of attitude but that's normal, really.

And the bad guys didn't "get wimpy and changed sides" because Joker, Raiha and the others were still on Kurei's side 'til the end. Joker even kept on asking Koganei for a fight and declared that because the Hokage were also rooting to kill Mori didn't mean the equation "an enemy's enemy = ally" applied to them. :/
You may call me biased but at least I have read the whole series for 3 times and can admit its good and bad points where you can only point the bad ones because you can't look at it through different angles. x(

... Last updated on October 9th, 2012, 4:42am

... Last updated on April 29th, 2009, 1:25am

Flame of Recca is odd. It's has more story than your average battle manga (Bleach), but still not enough to be considered anything more than an action series. The plot is very simple: boy meets girl, girl and boy have supernatural powers, girl is targeted due to her powers, boy decides to defend her with his life against seemingly neverending onslaught of enemies. Obviously it gets more complicated further on, but the plot wasn't the main point for me. It was the characterization. There were several likable characters on both the villain and hero side (Tokiya, Koganei, Kurei, Kirin/Rasen, and Joker are the ones that come to mind), all of whom get ample amounts of development.

The mangaka rushed it waay too fast, but i gotta admit though its a pretty damn good plot as well. The anime was exciting but the ending was a huge disappointment. I agree pandaslayer0''s comment hugely on this series..I prefer Naruto, Bleach, DBZ, Yu yu hakusho etc..

I was about to write a long hatred-filled comment, but then I read pandaslayer0's comment. His comment describes exactly the way I feel about this manga. Listen to him, as his comment weigh no less than the hard cold truth. I can't see a single aspect of this manga worth reading. Artwork? Super-Suck. Storyline? Mega-Lame. Characterization? Ultra-Annoying. Hell, even the jokes is pitiful. Seriously, the jokes are dry and confusing, most of the time I need 5 seconds of brainstorming before I finally realize that the author is trying to make a joke. What is more pitiful than telling a joke, but fail to make people laugh at it?

Flame of Recca, Ladies and Gentlemen, is - without a doubt - the second most overrated manga ever. Yep the second most, not the most overrated manga. That honor goes to Naruto.

though i realize that flame of recca is insanely popular, sadly have to ask why, becuase i sure didnt like it.
factors such as artwork aside - fine, i get it. its also one of his first works, and it was a long time ago, my score for this manga [a 4] shall not include that - though just for the record... its really bad people...

but what is it i dislike the most about the manga?
the protagonist. i dont think i can describe my loathing of him fully in words. i cant stand him. he's arrogant, threatens to kill people at a whim - without judging ANYTHING, he has it incredibly easy compared to other characters in the manga [in battles and such], is pissed off at Kurei [the baddie] for no reason - he basicially just attacks the guy. its disgusting really. i dont know if its just me, but i really dont like him.

but that being said, though the manga has good guys that are practically bad guys [with their arrogance, the fact that only THEY can kill people, whereas if the bad guys injure one of them, ohmygod, its instant death threats], and the bad guys are good guys [getting wimpy and changing sides] this manga has one gem.
and by god, if this manga didnt have this guy, i swear i wouldnt have read past the 3 volumes [which took a lot of effort and a great deal of skimreading]:
Kurei. now THATS a character. awesome badground story, cool character design, and personality that STAYS evil [or at least "on the side" of evil]. he is the sole reason i could read this manga, seriously. its the only reason i wouldnt consider giving this a 2.5