Rec (stylized as REC) is a Japanese manga series by Q-Tarō Hanamizawa. It was serialized by Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X from November 2002 to March 2013, with its chapters collected in sixteen tankōbon volumes. The story follows the relationship between Fumihiko Matsumaru, a salaryman, and Aka Onda, an aspiring voice actress. A nine-episode anime adaptation by Shaft aired between February and March 2006; an original video animation episode was also produced.
Contents
Plot
Fumihiko Matsumaru waits outside a movie theater for a date who does not arrive. As he prepares to discard the unused tickets, a young woman approaches and, speaking as if she were the tickets themselves, asks him not to waste them. Intrigued, he watches the film, Roman Holiday, with her. During the screening, he observes her quietly reciting the subtitles aloud.
Afterward, the girl explains she was practicing the dialogue, expressing a desire to emulate Audrey Hepburn. She introduces herself as Aka Onda, a twenty-year-old aspiring voice actress. They discover they live in the same neighborhood and part ways. Later that night, a fire alarms Matsumaru, and he finds Aka's apartment destroyed. With no other shelter available, he offers her a place to stay, which she accepts.
Matsumaru soon learns his proposed mascot, "Nekoki" (ねこキ), has been approved for a snack product called "Ha". Coincidentally, Aka is hired to provide the character's voice. To avoid any appearance of impropriety at their shared workplace, they agree to keep their living arrangement secret. Aka clarifies that their cohabitation is strictly practical and does not imply a romantic relationship, despite a prior moment of intimacy. Their daily life together becomes a complex negotiation of professional boundaries and deepening personal connection.
Characters
Fumihiko Matsumaru (松丸 文彦, Matsumaru Fumihiko)
Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura
A 26-year-old salaryman who works in a snack company's marketing department, where his advertising proposals are seldom approved. His sole successful project is the Nekoki (ネコキ) mascot for the Ha snack. He shares a romantic relationship with coworker, Aka Onda, though his occasional inappropriate behavior or attention toward other women frequently causes friction between them.
Aka Onda (恩田 赤, Onda Aka)
Voiced by: Kanako Sakai
A 20-year-old aspiring voice actress who admires Audrey Hepburn, often quoting lines from her films. She voices the Nekoki (ネコキ) mascot for the Ha snack. While she initially insists their relationship is platonic, she and Matsumaru develop romantic feelings and begin a discreet relationship.
Yoshioka (吉岡)
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi
Aka's manager-in-charge. She is sleeping with the company's president. She accidentally gets into two compromising situations with Matsumaru, and he has to spend some time calming Aka down when she sees them.
Tanaka (田中)
Voiced by: Kimiko Koyama
She is a colleague Matsumaru had a crush on before he made Aka his girlfriend. It is later revealed that she likes to destroy men, and attempts to make Matsumaru think he slept with her, and tell Aka. Her plan fails when Aka keeps her faith in him.
Yoshio Hatakeda (畑田 良夫, Hatakeda Yoshio)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Q-Tarō Hanamizawa, Rec was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X from November 19, 2002, to March 19, 2013. Shogakukan collected its chapters in sixteen tankōbon volumes, released from September 19, 2003, to June 19, 2013.
Anime
An anime adaptation containing nine twelve-minute episodes was animated by Shaft and aired in Japan between February 3 and March 31, 2006; a single original video animation episode was also produced. The anime's opening theme is "Cheer! (Makka na Kimochi)" (Cheer!～まっかなキモチ～) performed by Kanako Sakai, written by Hiiro Misaki, and composed and arranged by Kōhei Koyama. The anime's ending theme is "Devotion" performed by BRACE;d, and written, composed, and arranged by a.k.a.dRESS (ave;new).
The series was directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura and written by Reiko Yoshida and features music by Kei Haneoka. Hideyuki Morioka designed the characters and served as chief animation director. Four of the episodes were outsourced outside of Shaft: episode 2 to Daume; and episodes 3, 5, and 7 to Studio Pastoral.
All episodes were written by Reiko Yoshida and storyboarded by Ryūtarō Nakamura.
Visual novel
Idea Factory released a visual novel adaptation, titled Rec: Doki Doki Seiyū Paradise, on November 30, 2006, in limited and regular editions; the limited edition included a bonus CD, a small art book, and different cover artwork. The player assumes the role of Fumihiko Matsumaru who is the director for a new television project. The goal is to choose who will be the main voice actress for the project, create new relationships, complete advertising campaigns among other things. In addition to the standard romance element where the player can choose between dating Momiji Endō and Aka Onda, there is also a "multi-seiyū system" where the player chooses between the potential voice actresses to play the voice in an anime. There are also web radio, photo shoots, and Akihabara events in which the voice actresses participate. Rec: Doki Doki Seiyū Paradise received a combined score of 24/40—from a score of 6/10 from each of the four reviewers—from the Japanese video game magazine Famitsu.