▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		NOBUYUKI ANZAI
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE / BW
		▪	PAGES:		192
		▪	RATING:		T+
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		08/14/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		12/31/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

The eighth Karyu turns out to be Recca’s father! He has been chosen to break the curse of the defeated the Hokage of 400 years ago. He tells his son Recca of a forbidden love all that time past, an assassination plot in the name of devotion, and tragedy.

Oka’s tale takes a good size of this manga, telling an involving story of ninjas, forbidden love, honor and self-sacrifice. It also gives a lot of past information about characters met throughout the series that have either been reborn or their destinies meted out during the events Oka tells Recca. Yanagi’s true identity is revealed to Recca and he, the last Hokage ninja, must save the princess and protect her to ensure her final wish from long ago stays true.

Kurie prepares for what might be his final battle, and in so doing shares a touching parting with his mother, not of blood or of his true era, but a bond of love exists between them nevertheless. Yanagi, still abducted, continues to treat Aoi as a friend. Aoi is drawn to Yanagi, but soon discovers their time together comes with a price- he’s slowly wiping away her precious memories! Recca and his fiends arrive at Sodom for a declaration of war as the final battle begins!

Flame of Recca is a solid fantasy adventure series. We’re roughly hitting the 2/3 mark with this volume and the pace hasn’t slowed down at all. This particular volume of the manga is chock full of revelations about the past and how it all ties into the fight here and now that everyone is embroiled in. What Recca learns only makes him more determined than ever to save Yanagi and rescue her from the same tragedy in the past reoccurring in the present.

Extras include comic panels, mangaka diary, and splash pages.

IN SUMMARY:
The latest volume of Flame of Recca reveals Yanagi’s true identity and the past that helped form the battle facing Recca in the present.