Where can I buy the manga?
For Singaporeans, that'll be pretty easy. I think they're available in any comics store. A few examples of places you can go to for the Chinese versions would be:
1) Kinokuniya in Takashimaya (Has both Chinese AND Japanese versions)
2) Comics Connection in Junction 8 - situated at the top-most level if I'm not wrong
3) Another Comics Connection branch in Century Square in Tampines (This one is HUGE, and very good for finding some series that other places don't sell. But the downside to this is that for some reason, both branches seem to be selling the books at about $8.00 each, when you can buy them for about $6.00 each at other places)
4) And lastly Comics Land in Tampines mall. It has a HUGE selection of comics.
Even some branches of Popular sell them. However, for those in other countries, I have no idea where you can get them, but your best bet would probably be to go to a Kinokuniya or scout around in Chinatown to see if there are any stores selling comics. You might even want to order them online if all else fails. In that case, I suggest going to The Manga Obsession, which has lots of links to anime stores. Just scroll down to the bottom and click on "Links page".
How much does it cost?
So far, all the versions I've bought are translated by Chuang Yi comics, a Singaporean based company. Since it's printed here, it's much cheaper than other versions at $4.80 (Singapore dollars) each. However, of the other versions, I know that one of them costs $11.85. The Hongkong version, I think. It used to be the most updated version, but since Chuang Yi has recently decided to speed up the publishing, I would advise you to buy these instead since the difference in prices is obviously very big, plus the fact that the books are coming out a LOT faster now, so you don't have to wait as long. In fact, Chaung Yi has already released up to Volume 26, and considering that the Japanese version is up to 27... wow. ^_^
The drawback to this quick publishing is that you'll notice a few spelling errors here and there, like where they put a different character in when it's supposed to be another one. (Eg. Instead of "her" they put "him" or a character which may sound the same but isn't the correct one. [All this in chinese, of course])
What's the difference between the anime and manga series?
They both are basically the same, but have a few differences. Nothing that makes the story totally different from the anime, except for certain scenes which are not really that important, but enough to make you notice. For example, the fights are usually different (I notice the anime strays more from the manga fights as the show progresses; some fights are TOTALLY different), certain incidences are not exactly the same and in some instances, the anime is not at all like the manga. The manga is usually more detailed and gives more background information on the characters. (However, there are also some scenes in the anime which do not appear in the manga) Also, certain events might be portrayed differently, since the anime is a lot shorter than the manga. (Kaoru really DID get to fight Joker in the manga, instead of Joker voluntarily withdrawing. Also, the "The Fuujin and Raijin are fated to fight one another" never happened, although Fuuko WAS trapped in a pit of water. [Domon wasn't included, though]) Certain characters in the manga also never appear in the manga.
Another thing to note is that while the anime ended at book 16 of the manga, the manga is currently going on and has so far reached book 27. And most people don't really like the anime ending, since it's VERY different from the one in the manga.
Do the drawings in the manga differ from the anime?
In the first few manga volumes, there WAS a difference, mostly because Nobuyuki Anzai wasn't used to drawing the characters. I didn't like the way they were drawn at first, because they had too round faces, Fuuko looked TOO much like a boy and they just looked plain weird. (That might be a matter of opinion, though) However, in the later volumes, (Beginning from about volume 4/5 perhaps) the drawings DO improve and resembles the anime more closely. (Or should I say the anime resembles the later volumes of the manga) Other than the first few volumes, there's not really that much of a difference, but I do know for a fact that Fuuko's hair is brown and not purple in the manga, while her eyes are green. Also, Tokiya looks a bit more feminine here while Daikokuu and Minamio look a bit weirder. I'm not sure about the others, since the manga is in black and white, but I think they should be about the same. Slightly different, but the resemblance is there. (I know what colour Fuuko's hair and eyes are because I saw the cover of Book 11) Also, the various friends of Team Hokage might look better, eg. Yoko and Satomi the referees, and Menou. (I didn't like the anime Menou; she wasn't really very well drawn and the AXN dub gave her a voice which sounded too mature)
However, the drawings seem to be deterioating now, in my opinion. Everyone's faces are being drawn much fatter and some hairstyles have changed drastically, especially Neon's. I prefer the drawings around book 16 onwards... those are one of the best drawings. I hope he'll revert back to that style instead of the new one soon.
Who was it written/drawn by?
It was done by Nobuyuki Anzai. He isn't as popular as other manga artists such as Yuu Watase, Naoko Takeuchi etc, but Flame of Recca seems to be getting more and more popular, so....
So far, I know of only one other manga series he has written: Rocket Princess. (He seems to have this thing about Royalty. Recca has his "Princess", Fuuko has her "Prince" [manga only], and now you have this one called Rocket Princess. ^_^)What it is about and how long it is I do not know (I think it's only about 3 or 4 books so long, though. And the drawings seem similar to his drawings in the earlier FoR volumes). I do know, however, that he is a giant pervert. ^_^ (No offense meant) So far, the FoR manga seems to have a lot more um, disgusting scenes, such as the girls being stripped of their clothing etc. Yeeks.
Is there a Flame of Recca Artbook?
Nope. But we can hope, can't we? ^_^
Although I DO have a hunch that if someone manages to grab a copy of Shonen Sunday, they'll be able to get ahold of some coloured images. Why? Because if you've noticed while looking at the tankoubons, sometimes the beginning of certain chapters look much darker than others. The same goes for the tankoubons of many other manga series you read. This is because the chapters of any manga is usually released one by one in a certain magazine (In this case Shonen Sunday). And in this magazine (Most manga magazines are referred to as "phonebooks" since they are humongously thick due to the fact that the contain a wide number of chapters from different series), depending on which series is picked for that issue, will have the first few pages of the chapter of a certain series printed in colour. Yes, colour.
Of course, we don't have these coloured pages in the tankoubons, since they're all in black and white. That's because these colour pages will later be converted into black and white before being compiled into one manga volume, so that's why they'll seem to be darker than the other pages.
So if those of you out there want coloured manga images, maybe you should start subscribing to Shonen Sunday. ^_^
Note: I'm not 100% sure, but I'm about 90% certain it's correct. :)
Some Manga Scans
(I recommend viewing them in order [These are just basically some scenes I've scanned in that I couldn't fit in anywhere else, but didn't want to waste them, so I put them up here. ^_^])
Note: You have to read the panels from right to left, and the words are read from top to bottom, right to left.
After the fight with Kai
Tokiya does the unthinkable! LOL
