Flame of Recca

Flame of Recca (烈火の炎) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai. It was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from March 1995 to January 2002, with its chapters collected in 33 volumes.

The series was adapted into a 42-episode anime television series by Pierrot, broadcast on Fuji TV from July 1997 to July 1998. The series has also spawned two video games and other merchandise. Both the anime and manga were licensed for North American distribution in English by Viz Media. The anime has since been picked up by Discotek Media who re-released the series on DVD in 2015.

The Flame of Recca manga has had over 25 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series.

Plot
Flame of Recca follows the story of a teenage boy named Recca Hanabishi, who is interested in ninja and claims to be one himself. He often gets into fights because he made it publicly known that the person who manages to defeat him will earn his services as a loyal ninja. Despite this, he eventually pledges his loyalty and services as a ninja to Yanagi Sakoshita, a girl with the innate ability to heal any wound/injury, because of her kindness and compassion. Recca soon discovers that he possesses the innate ability to control/manipulate flames, and eventually learns that he is actually the son of the sixth generation leader of the Hokage, a ninja clan that was wiped out in 1576, roughly 400 years before the series' present day.

The Hokage ninjas wielded mystical objects called, which are referred to as "psychic devices" or "mystical weapons" in the English versions of the series. Madōgu grant their users special abilities, such as allowing their users to manipulate certain elements (as in the case of the Fūjin, which allows its wielder to manipulate the element of wind) and enhancing their user's strength/skills (as in the case of the Dosei no Wa, which increases its user's physical strength and the Idaten, which increases its user's running speed). Oda Nobunaga had invaded the Hokage in 1576 for the purpose of acquiring these weapons, and the series' main antagonist, Kōran Mori, is searching for a madōgu that will grant him eternal life. Recca and his friends become entangled in Mori's quest for eternal life as he attempts to kidnap Yanagi, believing that her healing powers will help him achieve immortality. This leads them to join the Ura Butō Satsujin, a tournament wherein the warriors that wield madōgu gather to battle each other. After winning the tournament, Recca and his teammates discover that Mori was on his way to acquire the, a madōgu said to grant its user eternal life, and once again attempt to stop him.

Production
Prior to its publication, the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shōnen Sunday had suggested different titles including Recca 100 °C and Kattobi Recca. Author Nobuyuki Anzai also stated the finalized Japanese title Rekka no Honō was originally spelled with the kanji character 焔 before changing it to the more modern 炎 at the last minute. His editor commented that the use of the former character made it sound like a historical drama and Anzai responded that it would contain such elements.

Manga
Written and illustrated by Nobuyuki Anzai, Flame of Recca was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from March 22, 1995, to January 30, 2002. with a total of 329 chapters, collected in 33 volumes by Shogakukan, released from September 18, 1995, to April 18, 2002. Shogakukan also released the manga in 17 volumes from January 18, 2006, to March 16, 2007,  and a  edition from July 15, 2010, to October 15, 2011.

The manga was licensed for North American distribution in English by Viz Media and United Kingdom distribution in English by Gollancz Manga. Viz released all 33 volumes from July 30, 2003, to November 10, 2009, while Gollancz released ten volumes between March 6 and November 28, 2006.

Anime
Flame of Recca was adapted into a 42-episode anime series produced by Studio Pierrot, and aired in Japan from July 19, 1997, to July 10, 1998 on Fuji TV. Pony Canyon has released the entire series on DVD and laserdisc, while Geneon released it in two DVD boxsets on April 22 and June 24, 2005, in Japan. Flame of Recca was also aired across Asia on the satellite network Animax.

In North America, Viz Media released the series in ten separate DVD volumes between October 26, 2004, and January 9, 2007. Discotek Media re-licensed the series in 2014 and released it on DVD in February 2015.

Soundtrack
The Flame of Recca anime series featured background music composed by Yusuke Honma. The series featured by The OYSTARS as its opening theme, and used  by Hikaru Nishida and  by Yuki Masuda as its ending themes for episodes 1–32 and episodes 33–42 respectively. All the songs were released in singles, and all except "Zutto Kimi no Soba de" were included in the original soundtracks. Flame of Recca Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 was released by Pony Canyon on December 6, 1997, and features background music used in the series, as well as the series' opening song and first closing song. Flame of Recca Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 was released by Pony Canyon on May 4, 1998. It includes more background music used in the series along with a special CD drama entitled.

Video games
is a fighting game released by Konami on December 20, 2001, for the Game Boy Advance.

is an action/fighting game released by Konami on June 10, 2004, for the PlayStation 2. A limited number of soundtrack CDs and sets of four bookmarks with character illustrations by Nobuyuki Anzai were given out along with the game CD.

The series' protagonist has also appeareded in the 2009 Konami fighting game Sunday vs Magazine: Shūketsu! Chōjō Daikessen for the PlayStation Portable.

Reception
The Flame of Recca manga has had over 25 million copies in circulation.

Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide, described the Flame of Recca manga as "polished and quick-paced", and that it "reads like a more carefully plotted, more extreme version of Yu Yu Hakusho." Patricia Duffield, a columnist for Animerica Extra, felt the story and artwork continuously evolved with characters and their unique weapons. "Although the series seems to have a tendency toward male fan service, Flame of Recca can be as enjoyable for gals as it is for guys." Duffield concluded, "If lots of ninja action with supernatural flair interests you, give Flame of Recca a try."

In 2010, Mania.com's Briana Lawrence listed Flame of Recca at number four of the website's "10 Anime Series That Need a Reboot".