Rec

After being stood up for a movie date, marketing employee Fumihiko Matsumaru is about to throw away his tickets when he is stopped by a girl who implores him to let her accompany him instead. Thanks to his upbeat and eccentric companion Aka Onda, an aspiring voice actress, Fumihiko enjoys his evening. While walking home together, they find out that they live in the same neighborhood. Mere hours later, Fumihiko wakes up from a nightmare and hears sirens outside his window. Going outside to check the situation, he sees that Aka's apartment has burned down, along with all her possessions. Fumihiko invites the distressed Aka to stay at his place, leading to them sleeping together.

In the aftermath of that fateful night, their personal and professional lives become inextricably intertwined. Not only do they begin living together platonically despite their one-night stand, they also discover that Aka will be voicing the mascot Fumihiko designed for his company's newest product. While trying to keep their live-in relationship under wraps for fear of scrutiny, the two begin to each other throughout the difficulties in their respective careers.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Onda, Aka Main

Sakai, Kanako Japanese

Matsumaru, Fumihiko Main

Yasumura, Makoto Japanese

Tanaka ing

Koyama, Kimiko Japanese

Yoshioka ing

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Hatakeda, Yoshio ing

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Kubota, Mitsutoshi Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Tanaka, Junichirou Assistant Producer

Reviews

May 17, 2023

anizawa89

Recommended

This is how you make a real romance anime.

Rec is a show that's always been on my radar but somehow I never got around watching it until now, 17 years after it originally aired. It's a SHAFT show from before it was well-known for SZS, Monogatari and Madoka.

Story's as follows, Fumihiko Matsumaru's an down in his luck salaryman that just got dumped by his crush on a movie date. He's about to give up and go home but then he meets a girl that insists to go with him. A few hours later and her house burned down and now she moves in with ... Matsumaru. Her name? Aka Onda.

The premise sounds flimsy but trust me it's anything but... this series is a down to earth look at both Matsumaru's and Onda's work and personal lives. But then what happens next? The show ends. God, it's criminal how this show ends prematurely with only 9 episodes and the runtime of 12 minutes each. Anyhow, if you don't have anything better to do... give it a spin!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 13, 2024

SgtSalamander

Mixed Feelings

*No spoilers for the anime, but I do hint at events in the manga, even if I don't explicitly state them here.*

Rec is a cute, heartwarming, funny, and emotionally mature romantic comedy which is a pleasure to watch, and continually surprised me with how uncharacteristically realistic it is in its portrayal of a relationship's ups and downs. By all means it should be at least a 7, and indeed, there is nothing about the anime itself which deserves anything less. So why have I rated it a 5? The problem lies with what is simultaneously this anime's greatest strength and ... most glaring weakness: the story. It is a charming little tale about random circumstances bringing together two strangers who have to navigate their feelings for each other. Despite its sheer brevity at 9 13 minute episodes plus a special, it manages to feel carefully constructed and well-developed the whole way through, and it is very easy to get invested as a result. Besides the special episode being an unspoken episode 7.5, everything makes sense and impresses down to the last detail. However, as I was reading discussion about the manga online, I discovered something which happens later in the manga which puts a bitter taste in my mouth. it made everything I experienced throughout this show feel cheap and wasted for no good reason. Does the anime deserve to bear the sins of its manga? Maybe not, but this knowledge has turned Rec into something I was going to rewatch and read the manga for, into something I'll review and put on the shelf, perhaps forever. Without the story, this anime doesn't have much else which sets it apart.

The art is fun and inviting in that 2006 kind of way, with expressive characters and a lively palette which it is not afraid to play with.

The sound meets the basic standards of quality, with a lighthearted intro which captures the spirit of the anime well.

The characters, while strong, are not enough to save this show from its score, fulfilling their roles as colorful subjects upon which the story acts without being classic masterworks of characterization or breaking the mold in novel ways. As far as favorite characters go, the only real choice is the main duo, Aka and Fumihiko, but this is tainted by what I know of the manga. At the end of the day, this is another classic case of an Anime which is for all intents and purposes very good being held back by one glaring, inexcusable flaw.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 10, 2025

Avinash1999

Not Recommended

I don’t recommend this anime, even though I gave it a 7/10 and watched all the episodes without skipping much.

It’s supposed to be a romcom — I can see the “rom” for romance, but I didn’t find the “com” for comedy. It’s not a comedy if there are only 2 or 3 jokes.

Also, the anime contains some mid-level drama, even though the genre section didn’t mention “Drama” at all.

Themes : Adult Cast, Showbiz. For me it's more Workplace than showbiz

I gave it a 9/10 for the romance part,
1/10 for the comedy, and 5/10 for the drama.
...
One good thing is that this anime doesn’t have too many episodes — if it had more, I would have rated it only 6/10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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