Product Description

Recca Hanabishi is a regular high-school kid who dreams of becoming a ninja someday. His ordinary life is disrupted the day he meets a cute and mysterious girl named Yanagi. He soon discovers that he posseses super ninja secret powers! Together with his friends Fuko and Domon, Recca slowly learns how to navigate the anicent and arcane world of ninja warriors. But the winsome teen has an ace up his sleeve - not only does he already have ninja skills; he also knows how to control fire!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30887 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-11-16
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: English, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
Ninja and their techniques fascinate high school student Recca Hanabishi, which isn't surprising, as he's the last surviving member of a great ninja clan who was magically transported into the 20th century. When he meets gentle Yanagi Sakoshita, Recca declares that she's his princess and he's her personal guardian. Yanagi possesses a supernatural ability to heal; Recca discovers he can conjure fire blasts with his right hand. Some of their school chums also possess magical powers, which they need when they're tested by Kagehoshi, the deathless shadow priestess--and more sinister foes are waiting in the wings. Voice actor Scott Roberts gives rhinestone-in-the-rough Recca a rambunctious appeal that keeps the story moving. Flame of Recca (1997) plays like a cross between Ranma 1/2 and Yu Yu Hakusho, and will appeal to fans of both series. (Unrated, suitable for ages and 12 older: violence, tobacco use, brief nudity) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

The princess and her ninja
Recca Hanabishi is a massive ninjaphile -- which isn't surprising, since he seems to be from a past era himself.

And while there are a few hiccups in the first volume of "Flame of Recca," this solid little anime series gets off to a surprisingly solid start. While the animation gets sketchy at times, the storyline and writing are pretty well-done, and it's not hard to warm-up to the flame-spewing hero.

After barely saving classmate Yanagi from falling lead pipes, Recca is badly hurt. But he's miraculously healed when his pretty "princess" touches him.

Impressed by her kindness and special power, Recca pledges to be her personal ninja. But then a shadowy woman named Kagehoshi appears, and attacks them both in an effort to make Recca show his "fire." Recca has no idea what she's talking about -- until flames appear on his hand. Kagehoshi further enrages Recca when she gives his rival/friend Fuko a magical bracelet, Fuujin, which allows her to harness the wind -- but also starts twisting the girl's mind, and might drive her to ehr death.

Then upperclassman Tokiya Mikagami (who has a magical water sword, Ensui) incorrectly deduces that Recca had something to do with his beloved older sister's murder. To make matters worse, Yanagi is the spitting image of his sister. Tokiya is smarter and stronger than Recca, and his Ensui seems able to extinguish the younger boy's flame -- but Recca won't give up.

The first volume of "Flame of Recca" is really just warming up -- introduce the characters, a villain, and have some preliminary fights amidst goofy comic relief ("Aagh! Caltrops!"). The first few episodes are also quite faithful to Anzai's original manga -- there are a few changes, such as Tokiya's motives in fighting Recca, but overall it maintains the original's flavour nicely.

And it does a solid job mingling kinetic action scenes with comic relief (Recca's very public adoration of Yanagi), and a bit of stock romantic tension, although the first two episodes are a little slow at first. But the dangerous ninja artifacts and the question of Recca's flames -- as well as mysterious men searching for Yanagi -- add a fantasy edge to a straightforward action story

The plot really picks up in third and fourth episodes, when the intense battle with Fuko segues into a clash with Tokiyo. It also introduces a darker edge to the story -- Recca nearly gets sliced to ribbons in a hall of mirrors, flashbacks of Tokiya's bloody past, and Kagehoshi even stabs herself in the heart.

It's worth noting that the animation is not that great -- characters' hair and faces often shift between scenes, and some of the hand-to-hand fights are merely decent.

What keeps this interesting is Recca himself -- he's a likable kid, who plugs after his weird goals wholeheartedly. Yanagi is a suitably sweet-natured love interest, but feisty Fuko and the big-ugly-punk-with-a-heart-of-gold Doman are good, quirky counterpoints to Recca. And haughty, beautiful Tokiya is Recca's complete opposite in every way, but his tragic past and fondness for Yanagi keep him from being too unlikeable.

"Flame of Recca - A Ninja's Test" is the springboard for this underrated anima series and while the artwork gets a bit sketchy, the elemental magic and wild action keep things interesting.

An older show that I hope the new generation of Otaku will see.
This Show "Flame of Recca" is alittle bit older than the stuff the Anime Fans of today are used to. It's not a classic but at the same time it's been around for a while. Saddly there's no box set collection to this, it is on DVD 10 volumes long for the Anime. It's all about Ninja and thier techniques and special items that enhance it. The story is about a boy who wants to become the greatest ninja and he's got some interesting friends with special powers that they become aware of as the story progesses. The story keeps going deeper into the secret world of ninja and evil men who work behind the seens. Many funny moments and great fights this show is a great series and I highly recomend it.

this series is hot like flame
Recca is a average teenager with the not so-great goal of becoming a ninja. After protecting the lovely Yanagi he meets Kagehoshi, who treatens to kill Recca unless he summons his hidden power to produce flame. Recca has the power to make flames or will he go up in flames?