Flame of Recca
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| Flame of Recca | |
|---|---|
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| 烈火の炎 (Rekka no Honō) |
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| Genre | Adventure, Action, Fantasy, Comedy |
| Manga | |
| Authored by | Nobuyuki Anzai |
| Publisher |  Shogakukan Elex Media Komputindo Siam Inter Comics |
| Serialized in | Shounen Sunday |
| Original run | 18 October 1995 – 18 April 2002 |
| No. of volumes | 33 with 329 chapters |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Noriyuki Abe |
| Studio | Studio Pierrot |
| Network | Fuji Television        Animax GMA 7 |
| Original run | 19 July 1997 – 10 July 1998 |
| No. of episodes | 42 |
| Game: Flame of Recca | |
| Developer | Konami |
| Genre | Adventure, Battle |
| Platform | Game Boy Advance |
| Released | 2001 |
| Game: Flame of Recca: Final Burning | |
| Developer | Konami |
| Genre | Adventure, Battle |
| Platform | PlayStation 2 |
| Released | 10 June 2004 |
Flame of Recca (烈火の炎 Rekka no Honō?) is a Japanese anime and manga series by Nobuyuki Anzai.
Both the anime and manga were licensed for North American distribution in English by Viz Media and United Kingdom distribution in English by Gollancz Manga.
Flame of Recca is about a highschool student named Recca Hanabishi, who aspires to be a ninja and is obsessed with anything ninja-related. After meeting a girl named Yanagi Sakoshita, whom he acknowledged to be his princess (姫 hime), and a mysterious woman named Shadow (影子 Kage Hōshi), who apparently attacked him for no reason at all, he finds that he not only comes from a long-dead ninja clan of 400-years past, he also can control his personal Flame. Recca and his friends (Domon Ishijima, Fuko Kirisawa, Tokiya Mikagami, Kaoru Koganei) must grow stronger in order to protect Yanagi from being taken by Kurei (紅麗) and his adoptive father, the evil Kouran Mori, who wants eternal life, and believes that Yanagi's mysterious healing power is the key to it.
Contents |
[edit] Main characters
Details are from the anime which varies greatly from the manga.
- Recca Hanabishi (花菱烈火 Hanabishi Rekka?)
- He, a Hokage Ninja descendant, was sent by his mother to the present from four hundred years in the past. He has an ability to create flames with his hands, but because it is so powerful, a wrist guard (tekku) must be worn to control it. Eight different flame dragons live within him, each one is the spirit of one of his ancestors, the Flame Masters of the Hokage. He is able to use combinations of the dragons' powers, for example combining the Whip and the Blade to create a chain-sickle, but he is heavily restricted on how he can combine his powers. He symbolizes the element of Fire.
- Yanagi Sakoshita (佐古下柳 Sakoshita Yanagi?)
- She is Recca's "Princess" (Hime in Japanese), which occurred after Yanagi saved him from some near fatal injuries. Yanagi can heal others' wounds and because of that, she is sought after by Kouran Mori to help achieve immortality. In the Filipino dub of the series, Yanagi's name is changed to "Anna".
- Kagehoshi (影子 Kage Hōshi?) (Shadow)
- Shadow (Kagehoshi in the English manga and anime), whose real name is Kagerou, is the first antagonist of the series, and is later revealed to be Recca's mother. She possesses the 'Eikai Kyoku' (Shadow Ball), a powerful elemental weapon (madougu) which allows her to teleport through shadows, show people the past, and perform acts of scrying. She performed the time travel technique, a technique which allows the user to travel or send another person to a different time. The technique, however curses the user with immortality.
- Fuko Kirisawa (霧沢風子 Kirisawa Fūko?)
- A strong girl who is Recca's childhood friend. She is an accomplished fighter in her own right and was initially jealous that Yanagi became Recca's Princess, despite the fact Recca once declared he would serve only the one who defeated him in a fight. She uses the Madougu (spirit guiding tool, elemental weapon), "Fujin" [God of Wind], that can control wind, create wind blades and tornados and also contains the idealized spirit of Fuujin itself, the god of Winds. The Madougu is powered by five small crystals and a main stone. Every time Fuujin is invoked/summoned, a minor crystal breaks unless the Main crystal is present. As long as at least one minor crystal remains, the Madougu can be used at reduced power, and can even use other spherical-crystal based madougu (the Claw, for example) to change its powers. Using the Demon's Claw [Oni no Tsume], Fuko was able to generate razor-sharp claws of Wind on the Fuujin [Kaze no Tsume]. The original Claw madougu was a metal gauntlet with five spikes. Fuko symbolizes the element of Wind. In the Filipino dub of the series, Fuko's name is changed to "Ira". Possible reason could be that 'Fuko' sounds sexual for Tagalog viewers.
- Domon Ishijima (石島土門 Ishijima Domon?)
- He is Recca's classmate and the one who uses the Madougu "Dosei no Wa", aka "The Ring of Saturn" or "Dosei Ring", which enhances his physical strength. Later in the series, he uses the Madougu of the Beak (Kuchibashi Oh - "Beak King"), a super-sharp snapping claw on an extendable chain, and the Madougu Tetsugan [Iron Ball], which transmutes his entire body into a living golem of Iron for brief periods. He symbolizes the element Earth. In the Filipino dub of the series, his name is changed to "Max".
- Tokiya Mikagami (水鏡凍季也 Mikagami Tokiya?)
- He is a second year student at Recca's high school. He uses the Madougu "Ensui" [Dark Water], a sword whose blade can be made from water, and which is capable of creating and controlling all three states of water (liquid, solid and gas). He wanted to take Yanagi from Recca because she looks exactly like his sister Mifuyu Mikagami, who was murdered in front of his eyes as a child. He uses the Hyoumon Ken style which was developed specifically for the Ensui and the Hyouma En. Tokiya symbolizes the element Water. In the Filipino dub of the series, Tokiya's name is changed to "Dylan".
- Kaoru Koganei (小金井薰 Koganei Kaoru?)
- This rumbunctious little boy was once a member of Kurei's Uruha, but later, he became a member of Recca's team "Hokage". He is a perfect master of his Madougu, which is the "Kougon Anki", a "puzzle" weapon that can take five forms, A halberd 'Kiba', a chained sickle 'Ryuu', the big scissors 'Kyoku', a boomerang 'Mikazuki', and a bow 'An'. In the manga, the weapon also has a mysterious sixth form, 'Mu' - Nothing. Kaoru symbolizes the element of Gold.
Ganko Morikawa (森川願子 Morikawa Ganko): Ganko is a small girl who is true to her name, Ganko meaning "stubborn". She has the ability to control marionettes using the madougu "Kata Kugutsu". Later she goes on to live with Fuko.
Kurei (紅麗): Recca's half brother who is four hundred years older to him. He is also a flame master with the power of the phoenix, being able to capture the soul of a dead person in his flame. His character is tragic, the series portraying the fight between the two brothers as a culmination of the 400 year struggle for the leadership of the Hokage Ninja clan. Unlike Recca, Kurei does not take off his seal anytime in the series. His main power is the flame spirit of his dead lover Kurenai (紅), whom he calls the angel of death. Kurenai can hurl flame bolts which melt steel.
- Kouran Mori
- The villain of the series, he adopted Kurei and trained him to be his killing machine. Extremely rich, he wants eternal life to enjoy all his money. He sets up advanced cloning labs and plans to get Yanagi Sakoshita's healing powers to help him achieve eternal life.
[edit] Other Characters
Joker: Joker wields the Taishaku Kaiten, and is part of the Uruha Jyuushinshuu. Throughout his dealings with the Hokage team, he keeps on dropping hints about their opponents and their own powers while keeping them in the dark regarding his true intent and nature. It is only during the final round of the Ura Butou Satsujin that the Hokage Team finds out that Joker is part of the Uruha Jyuushinshu, and is the fifth member of Uruha Kurenai. He faces off with Kaoru Koganei, and this is the only time that the true power of his madogu is revealed.
Character: Initially he portrays himself to be a proud, cocky fighter who serves no one. But even the Joker shows a lot of loyalty and pride in fighting for Kurei. He isn't half has evil as he shows himself to be, helping Recca find the underground lair. He also turns up later to help Koganei fight against one of the elite Shinshinten. The manga as always gives a fair indication of how a person is and Joker comes across as quite a 'Joker' with his varied costume changes while being the funny guy as well.
Abilities: The Joker can manipulate gravity in a fixed radius, he is beaten by Kaoru's 6th form (known as Nothing) and isn't beaten as much as his ego takes a pounding. His staff can also be used to increase the weight of the opponent while keeping him immune from it. He can also move superfast reducing the effects of gravity on himself thus making him nearly unstoppable in his radius of fight. As an ultimate power, the Joker can also create his own blackhole as he says in the manga, "It's my will, life... death, it's my choice. you can't kill me".
[edit] Recca's 8 Flame Dragons
| Appearance | Name | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nadare | Dan En, Fire Ball | The first of Recca's Flame Dragons to submit. She's used relatively often, and creates fireballs. |
| 2 | Saiha | En Jin, Fire Blade (flame foundation: Falcon) | The second to be tamed, Saiha creates a blade which can cut through nearly anything. |
| 3 | Homura | Ben En, Fire Whip / Strength (flame foundation: Snake) | Recca's third Flame Dragon to submit. He is a strength-enhancing flame. Recca uses this Dragon usually around his fist, or as a whip. When Recca uses the flame Dragon around his hand and arm, his flame takes the shape of the Dragon and he strikes the enemy with his fist. This attack is one of Recca's strongest moves. |
| 4 | Setsuna | Shun En, Fire Flash / Fire Spray | A very bitter, very angry Flame Dragon. It is the Fourth to submit to Recca. Setsuna will burn anyone who looks into his eye; otherwise, he is blind. Genjuro attempted to steal him from Recca. He is a flash of fire so intense it will burn anything it is aimed at into ashes. |
| 5 | Madoka | Kekkai En, Fire Barrier (flame foundation: Turtle) | The fifth of Recca's Flame Dragons to submit. He is the 'king of the impenetrable barrier' and seems to be a relatively nice dragon, although he's just as arrogant as the others are. But he has a pleasant, kindly voice. Recca can also use the barrier around his enemy to prevent them from moving or killing themself. |
| 6 | Rui | Gen En, Fire Illusion | The sixth Flame Dragon, a Dragon of Illusion, who bestows her powers on those who answer her quiz. Then, she makes illusions which the Flame Master thinks up into reality. |
| 7 | Kokuu | Hadö En, Fire Beam | The seventh Flame Dragon, who appears as an ecchi little old man with a scar over one eye. He steals Recca's six dragons before his fight with Kurei, and teaches him how to properly combine multiple dragons into one attack, a blast of fire. He tends to appear in human form more frequently than the others, and seems to have some kind of friendship with Resshin. He is known as the pervert of all the dragons. When Recca uses Koku, he comes out and shoots a huge beam of fire through his mouth. This is Recca's second strongest technique. In the Ura Bato Satsujin, Raiha said if Kurei got hit by one of those, he'd be knocked out cold. |
| 8 | Resshin / Oka | Unknown, In the manga he transforms the dead into living flames like Kurenai (flame foundation: Phoenix) | The eighth Flame Dragon. He is the spirit of Recca and Kurei's biological father, and is neutral in the final fight between Kurei and Recca. While he lends his assistance to his sons when they fight against Mori Kouran's clone, he does not give his powers to either. Resshin absorbs souls and turns them into Recca's flame. |
[edit] Trivia
- Flame of Recca is one of many anime series in which its five main heroes have different features wherein two of its members, one of them the leader (Recca) are both thin and of the same height, another one being the most overweight (Domon), one being the shortest and youngest (Kaoru), another one being the only female member (Fuko) one being a bishonen (Tokiya), and one damsel in distress which they all have to protect (Yanagi). Other anime featuring the same line-up are Lion Voltron, Voltes V, Combattler v, Digimon Frontier and Gatchaman
- Unlike overweight anime characters such as Ryu Nakanishi from gatchaman, Daijiro Gou/Big Bert Armstrong from voltes v, Daisaku Nishikawa from combattler v and Tsuyoshi Seido/"Hunk" Garett from lion Voltron, Domon Ishijima is more muscular while the other mentioned are more obese (though most of "Hunk" Garett's bulk is muscle)
- The Flame of Recca anime only goes up to roughly Volume 16 of the manga.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ANN's Entry for the Flame of Recca Anime Series
- AnimeNfo.com's entry for the Flame of Recca Anime Series
