Team Hokage

Recca Hanabishi (花菱 烈火, Hanabishi Rekka)

Voiced by: Kōsuke Okano (Japanese); Scott Roberts (English)

Recca (Japanese for "blazing fire" or "furious flame")^[1] is a teenager obsessed with ninjas and anything related to ninjas. Recca was born the second son of Ōka, the leader of the Hokage ninja clan that existed over 400 years ago. Recca's older half-brother, Kurei, was supposed to be the heir to the leadership because he was the eldest and was born with the ability to control fire, but Recca also exhibited the same abilities as an infant, and is declared the true heir of the Hokage leadership. In an attempt to save him during the slaughter of the Hokage ninja clan, his mother (Kagerō) used a forbidden technique that opened a portal that would transport him into the future, where the Flame of Recca storyline begins.

Recca's flame power is derived from eight Flame Dragons named Saiha, Nadare, Homura, Setsuna, Madoka, Rui, Kokuu, and Resshin. Recca's powers were apparently so strong that they had to be sealed with a wrist guard. In the end, the eighth dragon Resshin (actually Recca's father Ōka) reveals that Recca's flame has no original form (something every Flame Master's flame is supposed to have, such as Ōka's and Kurei's phoenix flame), thus Recca is the true cursed child, fated to end the Hokage. Ōka reveals that if Recca becomes the ninth dragon, he would become "a stupid, useless dragon with no ability whatsoever, a waste of space inside Kurei". After the destruction of the Tendo Jigoku, every remaining madogu disintegrated to naught, as well as Recca and Kurei's flame powers.

His appearance varies slightly between the anime and manga, as in the manga, his hair has a red highlight and bright blue eyes, and in the anime his hair is a dull blue highlight and his eyes are a similar color.

Yanagi Sakoshita (佐古下 柳, Sakoshita Yanagi)

Voiced by: Yuki Masuda (Japanese); Carol-Anne Day (English)

Yanagi is a teenage girl gifted with the innate ability to heal any kind of physical injury, and Recca immediately offers to serve her as her loyal ninja after seeing her compassion when she healed a severely injured puppy in a local park (in the anime series, she heals Recca after a pile of metal pipes collapsed on top of him). She is the prime objective of the series' main antagonist, Kōran Mori, as he believes that her healing powers will help him attain eternal life.

In the manga, it is revealed that she is the reincarnation of Sakura-hime (Princess Sakura),^[2] the daughter of Oyakata and princess of Sawaki clan, who lived over 400 years before the series' actual storyline.

Fūko Kirisawa (霧沢風子, Kirisawa Fūko)

Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu (Japanese); Onalea Gilbertson (English), Caitlynne Medrek (English; young Fūko)

Fūko, a tomboyish teenage girl, is Recca's childhood friend who has always aspired to defeat him in battle so that he would serve her as her ninja. She initially gets irritated by the fact that Recca chose to become Yanagi's ninja just because he wanted to. For this reason, she decides to accept the aid of Kagerō, who offers to lend her a powerful madōgu that controls wind called Fūjin (風神) in order to enable her to defeat Recca. In actuality, Kagerō implanted a stone in the Fūjin that allowed her to brainwash Fūko, but Recca manages to defeat Fūko and destroy the sphere. Fūko ends up being friends with both Yanagi and Recca after the incident, and she also keeps the Fūjin and wields it throughout the rest of the series.

Fūko is often described as tomboyish by other characters, and is often laughed at or teased when she shows or says something sensitive or feminine.^[3][4] Fūko greatly respects human life, and hates those who take it for granted. This characteristic is shown on several occasions, the first being when one of her opponents, Fujimaru, states that he would do anything and kill anyone - even women and children - to achieve victory.^[5]

Fūko's character design varies in the adaptations of the series. While she has brown hair and green eyes in the manga and both of the Flame of Recca video games, she has red violet hair and blue eyes in the anime series.

Domon Ishijima (石島 土門, Ishijima Domon)

Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese); Adam Hunter (English)

Domon is Recca's schoolmate who is known for his prowess in physical strength and in fighting (he is referred to as Ogre (鬼, Oni) by other students that he has defeated in fights).^[6] Like Fūko, he has always wanted to defeat Recca, and the reason behind this is that Fūko told him that he could only challenge her if he manages to defeat Recca.^[6] He is unable to defeat Recca despite his numerous attempts, and he eventually aids the latter in defeating and rescuing Fūko when she is brainwashed by Kage Hōshi. Afterward, both he and Fūko join forces with Recca and remain allied with him throughout the rest of the series. Domon wields the Dosei no Wa (土星の輪, "The Ring of Saturn"), a madogu which enhances his physical strength. Later in the series, he also wields the Kuchibashi-Ō (嘴王, "Beak King"), a super-sharp snapping claw on an extendable chain, and the Tetsugan (鉄丸, "Iron Ball"), which transmutes his entire body into a living iron golem for brief periods.

Domon is depicted as someone who is physically strong, but intellectually inept.^[7] Another of his assets is his strong will-power, which is recognized even by one of the series' antagonists, Kurei, after Domon manages to thwart Noroi's efforts to erase his memories due to his will-power. It is openly shown that Domon is interested in Fūko romantically, although he is prone to getting attracted to other women as well.^[8]

Tokiya Mikagami (水鏡 凍季也, Mikagami Tokiya)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese); Paul Hunter (English), Mayumi Asano (Japanese: young Tokiya)

Tokiya is a second year student at Nashikiri High School, and he wields the madōgu Ensui (閻水, "Dark Water"), a sword that utilizes water to create its blade and is capable of creating and controlling all three states of water (liquid, solid and gas). He is often referred to as by his last name, though his companions have made up nicknames for him, such as "Mi-chan" or "Mī-bō". Despite the difference in his age in the anime and manga,^{[9][10][11][12]} Tokiya wanted to take Yanagi from Recca because she looks exactly like his sister, Mifuyu Mikagami, who was murdered in front of his eyes when he was young. He uses the Hyōmon Ken style which was developed specifically for the Ensui and the Hyōma En (a madogu that also controls water, but focuses more on water in its solid form). Tokiya joins forces with Recca in attempting to rescue Yanagi from Mori Kōran's mansion, and he continues to be part of their team throughout the rest of the series.

Tokiya in both the anime and manga is initially portrayed as callous and aloof; often insulting his teammates' abilities and intelligence. He is protective of Yanagi, who closely resembles his late sister, and he is shown to be interested in her romantically in the manga.^[13] Other characters have often praise Tokiya for his intellect and composure during battle, with some going as far as to say that he might be the strongest Hokage member when it comes to normal battles.^[14] Another characteristic of his that makes him stand out among his teammates is the fact that he is more ruthless and cruel than the rest, a fact recognized by both Kurei and Mikoto,^[15] who both act as antagonists throughout most of the manga.

Certain characteristics in Tokiya's personality and appearance are different in the anime series as opposed to the manga and games. His hair is light blue in the manga and games, and brown in the anime series. In the booklet accompanying the Flame of Recca Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 CD, his age is listed as 17, while the filler page in the manga states that he is 16 years of age.^[16] Apart from these differences, Tokiya's character development in the anime is not as obvious as it is in the manga, wherein he becomes more open to emotions other than his desire for vengeance towards the end of the series. Tokiya attributes this change to his encounter with Kai, a fellow Hyōmon Ken practitioner, and his friends.^[17]

Kaoru Koganei (小金井 薰, Koganei Kaoru)

Voiced by: Motoko Kumai (Japanese); Brett Bauer (English)

Kaoru was once a member of Kurei's Uruha, but later, he becomes a member of Recca's team in the Ura Butō Satsujin. He wields the Kōgan Anki (鋼金暗器), a puzzle-like weapon that has five different forms. In the manga, the weapon also has a mysterious sixth form: "Mu" (Nothing).

Little is known of his early life, but given that in a manga flashback Kaoru was seen attempting to commit suicide, it can be assumed he was a lonely child until he met Kurei. Kaoru is the youngest member of Hokage, and as such, his personality reflects his age. Even in battle, Kaoru is playful, and sometimes has a tendency to toy with his opponents as if the battle were a game.

In the manga and video game, Koganei has blue hair and blue eyes. He wears a white T-shirt with a vest over it, as well as shorts and sneakers. He wears different sorts of street clothes throughout the rest of the manga. Under a bandanna he wears tied around his right wrist is a suicide scar. In the anime, he has brown hair and eyes, he wears a necklace with the similar color to Kogun Anki, and an attire similar to the manga and game.

Kage Hōshi (影子, Kage Hōshi)

Voiced by: Kotono Mitsuishi (Japanese); Mariette Sluyter (English)

Kage Hōshi, whose real name is Kagerō (陽炎), is the first antagonist of the series, and is later revealed to be Recca's mother. She possesses the madōgu Eikai Kyoku (影界玉, "Shadow Ball"), which allows her to teleport through shadows, show people the past, and perform acts of scrying. Later in the series she is also seen wielding a Shikigami (式髪, "hair") and the madogu Hokishin (砲鬼神). She performed a technique called Jikūryūri (a technique which allows the user to travel or send another person to a different time) to save the infant Recca from being killed along with the rest of the Hokage clan. The technique, however curses the user with immortality.

Uruha

The Uruha is a group of composed of skilled warriors hired to protect and assist Kurei in his missions. The Uruha is divided into several smaller groups, and some of them are more loyal to and/or exclusively serve Mori Kōran while the others remain loyal to Kurei.

Mokuren Nagai (永井 木蓮, Nakai Mokuren)

Voiced by: Daiki Nakamura (Japanese); Byron Close (English)

Mokuren is a sadistic and perverted man who was once partners with Koganei and wields the madōgu Kodama, which allows him to control plants. Mokuren enjoys torturing people, especially women. After being defeated by Recca at Mori's mansion, he developed a strong hatred for him. Genjuro healed Mokuren and made him more powerful by implanting the Kodama within him using psychic surgery. Mokuren eventually becomes part of the Uruha Maboroshī, and is defeated by Tokiya during the Ura Butō Satsujin. He has a relationship with Mikoto, but he betrays her love because of his intense hatred for Recca.

Reiran Katashiro (形代 零蘭, Katashiro Reiran)

Voiced by: Yuri Amano (Japanese); Jennifer Holder (English)

Ganko's first doll animated by the madōgu Kata Kugutsu, who bears a strong resemblance to her mother. When Fūko fought her in Kurei's mansion, she is thought to be a real person while Ganko pretended to be a doll (using the alias Primera). In the manga, Fūko salvages the doll from the Mori mansion's rubble and brings it to her home (where Ganko resides), and Reiran is reanimated.

Sekiō (石王)

Voiced by: Shigezō Sasaoka (Japanese); Tommy James (English)

A giant who uses the madōgu Sekichū, which grants him the power to control stones. After being initially defeated by Domon, Kurei decapitates him and presents his head to the Hokage. He is also the younger brother of Gaō, who eventually seeks revenge for his brother's death. In the anime, he is a 200-year-old being whose perfectly capable of speech.

Kuchibashimaru (嘴丸), Tsumemaru (爪丸), Hanemaru (羽丸)

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi, Hisao Egawa, Takumi Yamazaki

Three are low-leveled Uruha fighters who attacked the Hokage during their visit to Kagerō's house. Each uses a madōgu derived from their own names (the Kuchibashi-Ō, the Oni no Tsume and the Hizanu, respectively). They are said to be incapable of utilizing 10% of their madōgu's powers, and are defeated by the Hokage. After their defeat, Fūko and Domon take their madōgu and learn how to use them. They make a final appearance in the final arc of the manga, wherein they act as the bodyguards of Tsukino Mori.

J-Keeper (Jキーパー, Jei-Kīpā)

A manga-only character, J-Keeper is a gigantic armored warrior initially believed to be a member of the Jūshinshu who fights with a giant mace. He killed Magensha on orders from Kurei, and later attacked Koganei and Saicho. When Joker intervened, he suggested a team-up only to betray and critically injure Saicho. Joker then easily stopped one of J-Keeper's attacks and cut him to pieces, saying J-Keeper is nothing more than a placeholder for the real member of the Jūshinshu: Joker himself.

Uruha Hokage (Uruha Shadow)

The Uruha Hokage is composed of Kurei, Raiha, Neon, and Joker. It was formed after the Ura Butō Satsujin in order to go after and battle Mori Kōran.

Ura Uruha

Ura Uruha is a new Uruha group formed by Mori Kōran to spy on Kurei whenever he acts suspicious. After Mori disbanded Kurei's Uruha, the Ura Uruha became core of Uruha. Its initial members are ex-Jūshinshu members Genjuro, Rasen, Mikoto and Kyōza Meguri, as well as the former Uruha Mokuren. It also recruited many new fighters. Since this group appears after the tournament, they do not appear in the anime, but they appear in the Flame of Recca FINAL BURNING PlayStation 2 game and the Flame of Recca GBA game.

Rasen (螺閃)

Rasen is a Jūshinshu who does not appear until after the Ura Butō Satsujin, and by then he is serving under Mori Kōran as a member of the Ura Uruha. He wields the madōgu Kōkai Gyoku, which can erase anything at the expense of something of equal value belonging to its wielder. Because of his usage of Kōkai Gyōku, Rasen has lost his feelings, his mother, and his voice. He also loses his blood when he erases the flame balls produced by Nadare during his battle against Recca. Rasen mentions that he is searching for the moment wherein he would be erased as punishment for erasing his mother, but Recca defeats him and tells him to live on and to stop using the Kōkai Gyoku.

Rasen uses the Kōkai Gyoku one last time in an attempt to erase Kagerō's curse, and even though he managed to do so, the madōgu itself was destroyed because of the curse's power. The destruction of the madōgu caused Rasen to regain his feelings and his voice, and he is shown speaking in the last volume of the manga.

Kirin (鬼凛)

Kirin is Rasen's partner who uses two madōgu; the Hōkishin, which can shoot out an elongated mechanical arm, and the Shingan, which allows her to read her target's thoughts. She is in love with Rasen and acts as his voice through reading his thoughts and relaying them to whoever it is he wishes to speak to. Mikoto states that Kirin is known for her innocence and that she has never touched anything pornographic/erotic in her entire life.

Gaō (牙王)

Gaō is Sekiō's elder brother who is addicted to chocolate. He blames Sekiō's death on Kurei and Domon, and attempts to avenge his brother by attacking Domon. He wields the madōgu Sekikon, which allows him to manipulate stone and can also conjure a stone giant called Gasekiō. He is initially defeated by Domon in the Sealed Lands arc. He reappears in Sodom and is forced to make the ultimate decision of chocolate versus the memory of his dead brother. He chooses chocolate. Then, he is defeated by Koganei.

Hisui (緋水)

Hisui is a fierce woman as whose motivation to fight is to find a moment wherein she can die. During a training session to promote her into the ranks of Ura Uruha wherein the trainees had to fight in the dark with a mask to silence their voices tied around their mouth, Hisui ends up killing her own boyfriend. She wields the madōgu Shinryo Shintō, a pair of blade-tonfa that can be elongated at will. After being defeated by Fūko, Hisui gives one of them to her. After learning her boyfriend's death was actually orchestrated by Mori Kōran and that he enjoyed the event as it happened, she defects from Uruha. She is killed by Mori Kōran while she was protecting Fūko.

Sōkakusai (双角斎)

Sōkakusai wields the madōgu Tamasui no Tsubo, an urn that traps people inside it. He's known to be possessive/obsessive over girls, and whenever he gets rejected, he seals the girl in the urn. He is obsessed with Fūko and constantly stalks her, and eventually seals her inside the Tamasui no Tsubo. Raiha rescues Fūko and kills Sōkakusai.

Kamui (神威)

Kamui is a homosexual, pedophilic cyborg who uses assorted mechanical weapons that he can attach to his arms. His mechanical weapons include extendable limbs, a laser, and a gatling gun. He says that he is in 'love' with Koganei and constantly stalks him. Koganei defeats him, but he reappears at SODOM, where he is defeated by Recca. He then says that he has fallen in love with Recca and ends up helping the Hokage.

Miruku (ミルク), Kurumi (クルミ), Mikuru (ミクル)

Miruku and Kurumi are maids, and Mikuru is a robot. Miruku wields a mop that controls Mikuru and can produce a smokescreen, while Kurumi wields a broom that can fire a laser beam. They are defeated with ease by Domon, Aki, and Miki.

Marie (マリー, Marī)

Marie is a dominatrix who wears a gown and lives in a large European-looking house full of torture devices. Her husband and 'pet', Pochi, is a gigantic man wielding an axe who does everything she asks him to. She wields the madōgu Sokubaku Benten, an elongating whip that resembles a cat-o'-nine-tails. She manages to trick Mikagami into drinking from a drugged teacup, and eventually straps him to a statue with the intention to make him her new 'pet'. She attempts to drug Domon, but because he drank from the same spot on the cup that Marie drank from (that was the only part that wasn't poisoned), Marie's plan did not work. She commands Pochi to attack Domon, and she intervenes when Pochi begins to get overwhelmed. Recca arrives, and he and Domon manage to defeat Pochi and Marie. Mikagami straps her to the statue after she is defeated. She is freed by Team Kū member Fujimaru, and tricks him into becoming her new 'pet'.

Z (ゼット, Zetto)

Z is the leader of the zombies who fights for Mori under the orders of an unnamed scientist. He possesses a whistle to summon more zombies to aid him. The zombies are former human beings created through infusing their bodies with cells taken from Mori (who had already fused with the Tendō Jigoku at the time). Mori's cells don't mesh well with the human body, and it causes mutations and eats away at the human cells, which will ultimately destroy the zombie. The scientist created a sort of medicine to slow down this deterioration, and he gives this to Z and the other zombies as a reward for obeying his orders. Koganei convinces Z that he and his comrades are not disposable creatures as the scientist said, but they are still human despite their monstrous forms. This causes Z to betray the scientist and order the other zombies to stop attacking the Hokage and the Hokage's allies.

Karame (搦)

Karame is a mummy-like creature that works for the Uruha Shishiten member, Kadotsu. Karame possesses a Shikigami, has the power to control paper (Saichō of Team Kū also possesses a Shikigami). He is defeated by Fūko.

Team Kū (Team Sky)

Team Kū is a group of fighters who were the first opponents of Team Hokage in the first round of Ura Butō Satsujin. They used to be an honorable martial arts group, but later turned into a mercenary group due to financial crisis. The Kū eventually become one of Hokage's most prominent allies. In the manga, most of the Kū members' abilities are innate, with the exception of Saichō. In the anime, however, most of them wield a madōgu.

Kūkai (空海)

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese); Noah Umholtz (English)

The leader of Team Kū. His calm, easygoing nature earned him the nickname 'The Buddha'. However, striking him three times will activate his psychic device and turns him into a demon-like fighter. During his fight against Recca, he teaches the latter how not to show mercy on his enemies during battle (in the anime he nearly beats Recca to death).

Saichō (最澄)

Voiced by: Junko Noda (Japanese); Sean Broadhurst (English)

Saichō is the co-captain of Team Kū, a young-looking man who has very strong convictions and morals. He has a heart ailment that limits his ability to fight (he can only fight for ten minutes) after being stabbed in the chest during his fight with Kū's students, but he still seen as one of the best among the Kū. He uses the madōgu Shikigami, which enables him to control paper. He is good friends with Kūkai's daughter, Misora, and he also befriends Koganei.

Fujimaru (藤丸)

Voiced by: Eiji Ito (Japanese); Paul Hunter (English)

In sharp contrast to his comrades, Fujimaru is perverted and enjoys killing. He fights with small sickles that he can throw, and he uses them to strip Fūko's clothes during their battle. In the anime, he is the founder of the 'Fūko Fans Club'.

Minamio (南尾)

Voiced by: Kentaro Ito (Japanese); Mark Gatha (English)

Minamio is known for his cat-like eyes and his elastic, rubber-like body (this is an innate ability in the manga, but is because of the madōgu Nan in the anime). He is defeated by Domon, but their fight is officially declared a draw. He is later killed by Kadotsu and his soul is absorbed by Kurei's flame.

Daikoku (大黒)

Voiced by: Shinya Otaki (Japanese); Ben Jeffery (English)

Daikoku fights using a bō that he can rotate while Daikoku is spinning it causing vibrations and gives it the power to destroy hard objects such as rocks. He usually acts as a voice of reason between the other junior team members. He is known for his swift and accurate fighting technique, but is defeated by Mikagami .

The Twelve Referees

The referees in the Ura Butō Satsujin are composed of twelve women who represent the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Tatsuko (voiced by Konami Yoshida in the anime), the referee representing the Dragon is in love with Recca and is jealous of Yanagi. Nemi (voiced by Akiko Nakagawa), representing the Rat, replaces Tatsuko as referee during the battle between Hokage and Uruha Maboroshii and also acts a commentator in the latter fights. Enna, representing the Monkey, oversees the battle between Fūko and Mikoto wherein Mikoto injures her in order to distract Fūko and win the match. The other referees include Inuko (representing the Dog), Yōko (voiced by Kae Araki; representing the Goat), Umi (representing the Rabbit), Ushino (represents the Ox), Inoko (representing the Pig), Toraha (representing the Tiger), Satomi (representing the Snake), Midori (representing the Rooster), and Amagi (representing the Horse).

Circus

Circus (鎖悪架子（サーカス）, Sākasu) is a team that participated in the second Ura Butō Satsujin and were defeated by Uruha Kurenai. The team is composed of Yashiro (the leader), Karin, Gaia, and Chigusari. During their battle against Uruha Kurenai during the second Ura Butō Satsujin, Karin is killed by Noroi due to orders given by Kurei despite the fact that they were already giving up. They participated in the third Ura Butō Satsujin to avenge their fallen comrade, but Gaia and Chigusari die in their battles. Yashiro, being the only surviving member of the team, forfeits to the Hokage during the pre-semifinal match before dying shortly afterward.

Hokage Clan

The Hokage (火影, Fire Shadow) is a clan renowned for their production and use of madōgu, which are mystical weapons that have various powers ranging from the manipulation of elements to increasing its user's strength. The Hokage clan was exterminated during an attack made by Oda Nobunaga on the clan's village in 1567.^[22] The Hokage leaders are known as Flame Masters because of their innate ability to control the element of fire. Each Flame Master is born with this ability, and are traditionally succeeded by one who is also born with this ability. In the case of the eighth Flame Master Ōka, his two sons (Recca Hanabishi and Kurei) are born with this ability. In the Hokage tradition, this meant that one of the children was born with a cursed flame, and should be terminated.^[23] The Hokage elders assumed that Kurei was the cursed child since they thought that he had an evil soul and attempted to kill him, but Kagerō, Recca's mother, stopped them from doing so.

The madōgu are mystical objects created by the Hokage that 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). Two madōgu creators were mentioned in the manga: Kokū, who creates madōgu to protect the clan and their loved ones, and Kaima, who creates madōgu solely for killing.^[24]

Other characters

Princess Sakura (桜姫, Sakura-hime)

She possesses the power to heal any wounds and is the previous incarnation of Yanagi. She is in love with her attendant Koheita, but upon his death, she chose to commit seppuku, with Ōka preventing the Takasugi clan from entering the Sawaki clan's castle.

Shimizu Koheita Takamitsu (清水 小平太 貴光)

Koheita is a vassal of the Sawaki Clan and a childhood friend of Sakura, who is also deeply in love with her. He is the one who recommends that the Sawaki clan enlist the aid of the Hokage to assassinate Takasugi Jyugorō Masakane, the leader of the Takasugi clan. Unfortunately, he dies in the war that ensued after the Hokage failed to assassinate Takasugi. It is heavily implied that Recca is his reincarnation.

Takasugi Jugorō Masakane (高杉 獣吾郎 正金)

The leader of the Takasugi clan. He is a greedy, ambitious warlord who demands that the Sawaki clan surrender Sakura to him in marriage in exchange for the clan's safety. After the Sawaki and Hokage fail to assassinate him, he moves in to destroy the clan. He succeeds, but when he attempts to capture Sakura himself, he and his army is obliterated by Ōka and his seven Flame Dragons.