This is my impression for the 19 volumes I've read. You know, I could fill it up to 20 volumes by reading one more volume, but, I don't see continuing it worth my time. I'm in a position where I can't help but be forced to because I've come this far or I'm better off looking for another title that can keep my enthusiasm going. It hurts to it that even Naruto is 100% better than this. Nobuyuki Anzai loses the idea and the fun for his manga too quickly. I enjoyed the story until the Urabutosatsujin arc when Recca and the gang met a lot of allies, their cheekiness, and lots of funny moments. I also like the past that Kurei went through. But after that, the pattern was repeated over and over again until I, who used to like its comedic elements, couldn't be entertained again.

Team Hokage is too overpowered. The villains make it even worse. From a mad man to boring side characters, they are template of the previous one. They repent to the Hokage’s prowess, out of nowhere. Not once or twice, but many times! Eliminate these senseless battles, the main conflict can be wrapped up quickly.

Boring, retarded and pretty "shonen" manga. Seriously is one of the worst series i´ve read in my life ,no... is the second worst after "Hoshigami no Satsuki" it has amost no redeeming points that compense it´s lack of quality and you should avoid it at all cost...

The whole manga feels like it was copied from Yu Yu Hakusho - the rescue from a mansion, the tournament... Only, compared to YYH, this manga's quality is much lower. The art, characters, character development, story, pacing... It felt like I'm reading an inferior version of YYH. Dropped after 9 volumes

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!

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.

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 irable. 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!

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 ed 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 it its good and bad points where you can only point the bad ones because you can't look at it through different angles. x(

This manga is good, storyline is good and Art is average, but the reason I kept reading is because Kurei is an awesome character, I love how though out the series he is always EVIL and not like other series characters that turn from evil to good, Kurei is evil but a good person(sometimes) and the other character I liked is Setsuna(the dragon). I hated the main female character, she's so weak and useless and in the end she was the one that killed the root of evil, wtf.

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.