Lycoris Recoil

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Lycoris Recoil
File:Lycoris Recoil key visual.jpg
Key visual for the series
リコリス・リコイル
(Rikorisu・Rikoiru)
Genre Action (girls with guns)
Anime television series
Directed by Shingo Adachi
Produced by
  • Manabu Jingūji
  • Yoshihiro Yoshida
  • Tomoyuki Owada
Written by Shingo Adachi
Music by Shūhei Mutsuki
Studio A-1 Pictures
Licensed by
Network JAITS (Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV), ANN (ABC, Mētele), BS11,
AT-X
English network
Original run July 2, 2022 – September 24, 2022
Episodes 13
Manga
Written by Yasunori Bizen
Published by Media Factory
English publisher
Demographic Seinen
Magazine Monthly Comic Flapper
Original run September 5, 2022 – present
Volumes 4
Light novel
Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days
Written by Asaura
Illustrated by Imigimuru
Published by ASCII Media Works
Demographic Male
Imprint Dengeki Bunko
Published September 9, 2022
Light novel
Lycoris Recoil: Recovery Days
Written by Asaura
Illustrated by Imigimuru
Published by ASCII Media Works
Demographic Male
Imprint Dengeki Bunko
Published March 8, 2024
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Lycoris Recoil (Japanese: リコリス・リコイル Hepburn: Rikorisu・Rikoiru?) is a Japanese original anime television series created by Spider Lily and Asaura. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and aired from July to September 2022. Set in Tokyo, Lycoris Recoil follows two young orphaned teenage girls named Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue, who were recruited in the Direct Attack organization to carry out assassinations under the "Lycoris" program while they work at a local café and performed various tasks such as childcare, shopping, and teaching classes.

A manga adaptation by Yasunori Bizen began serialization in Media Factory's manga magazine Monthly Comic Flapper in September 2022. A spin-off light novel, titled Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days, written by Asaura and illustrated by Imigimuru, was published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko in September 2022 as well. A stage play adaptation of the series was performed in January 2023. The series is distributed by Sony's Aniplex of America subsidiary in North America, streaming on Crunchyroll. Lycoris Recoil also broadcast on Aniplus Asia in Southeast Asia and Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in the United States, which aired from January to April 2024.

Plot

Takina Inoue is a member of a government-sponsored all-female task force of assassins and spies made up of young orphaned girls known as "Lycoris", an undercover group named after the flower who eliminate criminals and terrorists in Tokyo while disguised as high school students to maintain peace in Japan, with roots in a fictional pre-Meiji group named "Higanbana".[lower-alpha 2] However, during an operation to intercept a large exchange of firearms, she starts firing indiscriminately at the enemies in order to save a colleague who was taken hostage, jeopardizing the safety of other Lycoris in the process. As a result, the agency dismisses her for disobeying orders. She is then transferred to work with an elite Lycoris agent named Chisato Nishikigi, who is known for her involvement in the destruction of the old radio tower, in a branch of the agency which operates undercover as a café called "LycoReco". Intending to be reinstated back to the agency, Takina cooperates with Chisato in managing the café, while the peace that is being protected by the Lycoris is being challenged by terrorists led by Majima.

Characters

LycoReco

Chisato Nishikigi (錦木 千束 Nishikigi Chisato?)

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Main article: Chisato Nishikigi
Voiced by: Chika Anzai[2] (Japanese), Lizzie Freeman[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Misato Kawauchi[4]
A beautiful, highly skilled and happy-go-lucky Lycoris agent. She works at the LycoReco, a branch of Direct Attack (DA) that covers as a café serving both Western and Japanese sweets. Considered to be the agency's greatest agent in its history, Chisato can dodge bullets even at point blank range, a skill regarded as "superhuman". She uses a gun given to her when she was young by Yoshimatsu, a member of the Alan Institute, and loads it with rubber bullets. She possesses an artificial heart, provided by the Institute to extend her life. Due to sabotage on her heart after she refused to use her abilities to kill, her lifespan drops to around two months.
Takina Inoue (井ノ上 たきな Inoue Takina?)

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Voiced by: Shion Wakayama[2] (Japanese), Xanthe Huynh[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Sakiho Motonishi[4]
A serious and confident Lycoris agent, Takina possesses immense skills as a Lycoris agent, often going out of her way to complete missions on her own. After she indiscriminately fires at the enemies during an operation to intercept a firearms transaction in order to save a colleague, the agency dismisses her, as she ignored orders and compromised the lives of the other agents at the scene. The agency transfers her to LycoReco. Wanting to be reinstated, she cooperates with Chisato on managing the café, as well as on their missions.
Kurumi (クルミ?)
Voiced by: Misaki Kuno[5] (Japanese), Lisa Reimold[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Nonoka Obushi[6]
A skilled hacker who goes under the code name "Walnut". She is first introduced wearing a squirrel suit. She is responsible for a hack of the DA's Radiata,[lower-alpha 3] an artificial intelligence regarded as being impenetrable. However, when her life becomes in danger due to competition from her rival "Robota", she requests security from LycoReco. After she was "killed" by mercenaries working under Robota, she starts living and working at LycoReco in exchange of support during LycoReco's missions. "Walnut" is actually the name of an artificial intelligence program she operates.
Mika (ミカ?)
Voiced by: Kosuke Sakaki[5] (Japanese), Bob Carter[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Keigo Kitamura[6]
An Afro-Japanese man who is the manager of LycoReco. He is seen by Chisato as a father figure, alongside Yoshimatsu. Like Yoshimatsu, he also saw Chisato as a weapon for killing, though he later underwent a change of heart. He is a former DA instructor who left the organization, though he still supports them through LycoReco.
Mizuki Nakahara (中原 ミズキ Nakahara Mizuki?)
Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu[5] (Japanese), Jennifer Losi[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Mikako Ishii[6]
A worker at LycoReco who was previously a member of the Intelligence Division of DA. She helps Chisato during her missions, notably when the hacker Walnut requests security detail. She desperately desires to get married, even going so far as to accepting a job at the LycoReco in hopes of meeting a man.

Direct Attack

A secret organization that prevents crime and terrorism via an all-female task force of assassins and spies made up of young orphaned girls known as Lycoris.

Fuki Harukawa (春川 フキ Harukawa Fuki?)
Voiced by: Maki Kawase[7] (Japanese), Morgan Berry[8] (English)
Portrayed by: Marina Tanoue[6]
A First Lycoris agent and Takina's former team leader. She resents Takina for disobeying her orders and holds a rivalry with Chisato. She was among those who trained Chisato when she was still young.
Sakura Otome (乙女 サクラ Otome Sakura?)
Voiced by: Makoto Koichi[9] (Japanese), Jeannie Tirado[10] (English)
Portrayed by: Sakura Ayaki[6]
A Second Lycoris agent who replaces Takina after she was dismissed by the agency. She is Fuki's partner and has an ambitious personality.
Kusunoki (楠木?)
Voiced by: Yoko Soumi[7] (Japanese), Kayleigh McKee[3] (English)
Portrayed by: Natsuki Mieda[6]
DA's commander, she oversees the operations of the entire organization. She prioritizes the secrecy of the agency from the public, even if it means using elaborate cover-ups on incidents and using Lycoris agents as scapegoats.

Alan Institute

An international organization that seeks to find and support geniuses.

Shinji Yoshimatsu (吉松 シンジ Yoshimatsu Shinji?)
Voiced by: Yōji Ueda[11] (Japanese), D. C. DouglasEp. 1 credits (English)
Portrayed by: Kento Ono[6]
A member of the Alan Institute. He sees Chisato as a weapon for killing, a vision he initially shared with Mika. He gave Chisato an artificial heart produced by the Institute, in hopes that she would become a skilled assassin. He frequently drops by LycoReco as a customer, though his identity is kept secret to Chisato until later in the series.

Others

Majima (真島?)
Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka[12] (Japanese), Sean Chiplock[13] (English)
Portrayed by: Hiroki Nakada[6]
An Alan Institute child who was also seen as a genius for killing and serves as the main antagonist. Unlike Chisato, Majima becomes a terrorist, seeking for a "balance" in an otherwise peaceful world. He is involved in several terrorist incidents, most notably during the destruction of the old radio tower and an attack on a metro station, though both are covered up by DA. He works with the hacker Robota to expose DA to the public and took an interest with Chisato after their encounter at the old radio tower attack. As he was initially born blind, he has developed a strong sense of hearing, which he can use to recognize people and events.
Robota (ロボ太?)
Voiced by: Yuki Sakakihara[14] (Japanese), Aleks LeEp. 2 credits (English)
Portrayed by: Rintaro Takeuchi[6]
A hacker wearing a robot-shaped headgear who works with Majima in exposing DA. He regards himself as the "world's greatest hacker" after he "killed" Walnut. He provides support for Majima and his group.

Development and production

When Asaura's former editor-in-charge had a meeting about Saekano with Shin-ichirō Kashiwada, a producer from A-1 Pictures, he spoke positively about the offbeat nature of Asaura's works.[15] He then introduced Asaura to Kashiwada.[16] Later, Asaura received an invitation to a new anime project. Kashiwada had read Asaura's Death Need Round, which is a "girls with guns" work before he invited Asaura to the project. Asaura, therefore, decided to include guns in the new story. He created the main characters and the worldview, with some deliverables including the synopsis and a few short novels.[16] Asaura's initial pitch was rejected as too violent and dark to be broadcast on television, and the project went through some revisions before Adachi joined the project as director.[15] Adachi introduced the idea of the DA organization and the Lycoris taskforce in order to connect Asaura's previously established narrative elements, and the work ultimately took on a lighter dramatic tone, with Adachi saying that his goal as series director was to make the viewers laugh every five minutes.[15]

Character designer Imigimuru became involved with the project after meeting Adachi at Winter Comiket. Having never done character art for an anime before, Imigimuru felt it would be impossible to do the job, especially finding three-dimensional art difficult as he never drew them before, but saw it as a lifetime opportunity so the designer accepted.[17][18] In contrast of designing the backgrounds, he finds designing the characters to be easier as the premise and the personality of the characters had already been done before his involvement.[18]

In Lycoris Recoil, some scenes take place in Sumida City, Tokyo,[19] and features Kinshichō Park, Sumida Aquarium, water bus on Sumida River, aerial view of Ryōgoku, etc.[20][21]

Media

Anime

File:LR JPN BR cover.jpg
The first Blu-ray volume cover

The series was announced in December 2021. It was produced by A-1 Pictures and directed by Shingo Adachi, and features an original story by Asaura, character designs by Imigimuru, and music composed by Shūhei Mutsuki.[2][22] The series aired from July 2 to September 24, 2022, on Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, and BS11.[5][23] The opening theme song is "Alive" performed by ClariS, while the ending theme song is "Hana no Tō" (花の塔?, lit. 'Tower of Flower') performed by Sayuri.[24][25] Aniplex of America licensed the series outside of Asia[26] and streamed it on Crunchyroll for an English simulcast and SimulDub,[27][28] from August 20, 2022.[29] Plus Media Networks Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia and aired it on Aniplus Asia.[30] In November 2023, Aniplex of America announced that the English dub would begin airing in the United States on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block on January 21, 2024.[31]

On February 11, 2023, a new animation project was announced.[32][33]

Episodes

No. Title [34] Directed by [34] Written by [34] Storyboarded by [34] Chief animation directed by [34] Original air date [35] English air date [36]
1 "Easy does it" Yūsuke Shibata Shingo Adachi Shingo Adachi Yumiko Yamamoto July 2, 2022 (2022-07-02) January 21, 2024
Behind Japan's prolonged period of peace, lies the intelligence organization Direct Attack (DA), which employs young orphaned girls known as "Lycoris" to covertly eliminate criminals and terrorists. Lycoris Takina Inoue is dismissed from DA and partnered with Chisato Nishikigi after disobeying orders, risking the life of fellow Lycoris Erika Janome. She reports to one of DA's front operations, Café LycoReco, run by its owner Mika and former DA agent Mizuki Nakahara. Meanwhile, DA investigates a hacker named "Walnut" who breached their systems, as well as weapons which went missing from an arms deal. Chisato informs Takina that their job is to help others in need any way they can while showing her around. While protecting Saori Shinohara from a stalker, they realize she accidentally caught the ongoing arms deal in a picture she took. Takina uses Saori as a decoy to lure out the terrorists stalking her, but Chisato nonlethally subdues them before she can kill them. Meanwhile, a man from the Alan Institute who hired Walnut to spy on Chisato presumably kills him after bombing his apartment. The next day, Takina officially becomes LycoReco's newest waitress, and the man from the Alan Institute visits, who Mika recognizes.
2 "The more the merrier" Tomohisa Onoue Shingo Adachi Takahiro Miura Yukari Takeuchi July 9, 2022 (2022-07-09) January 28, 2024
Walnut is revealed to have survived the attempt on his life, and discovers fellow hacker Robota has betrayed him. Walnut then contacts Mizuki. Meanwhile, the man from the Alan Institute is revealed to be Mr. Yoshimatsu, who is a regular at the café. Chisato and Takina are tasked to protect Walnut from assassins hired by Robota and escort him to safety. They meet Walnut, who hides his identity by wearing a squirrel costume. Chisato and Takina fight off his assassins, with Chisato even aiding those they have injured. However, Walnut is gunned down by another team of assassins as they escape. Robota reports his success to Yoshimatsu. Meanwhile, as Chisato and Takina are taking Walnut's body away, they are shocked when Mizuki emerges from the suit, having acted as Walnut's body double in a bulletproof vest. She and Mika formulated an elaborate plan to fake Walnut's death, and the real Walnut reveals herself as a young girl named Kurumi. For her own safety, Kurumi decides to take shelter in LycoReco in return for using her skills to support Chisato and Takina on their missions. Chisato requests Kurumi's help to track down the arms dealers captured in Saori's photo.
3 "More haste, less speed" Yūsuke Maruyama Dai Hazeyama Shingo Adachi & Yūsuke Maruyama Gō Suzuki & Kōji Akitaka July 16, 2022 (2022-07-16) February 4, 2024
Despite having worked at LycoReco for some time now, Takina still remains distant from Chisato and the café regulars. When Chisato has to return to DA headquarters for a physical exam, Takina decides to accompany her to try and petition Commander Kusunoki to reinstate her. However, upon arriving at HQ, Takina is bullied by the other Lycoris due to false rumors she enjoys firing on her teammates. To her dismay, her previous team leader Fuki Harukawa has already replaced Takina with Sakura Otome and Kusunoki has no intention of allowing Takina to return to DA headquarters. This angers Chisato as she has figured out DA's advanced AI Radiata was hacked during the mission, and Kusunoki used Takina as a scapegoat to cover up the hack. Chisato encourages Takina by suggesting she should try giving life outside DA a try first. Chisato and Takina participate in a mock battle against Fuki and Sakura, with Chisato and Takina defeating them thanks to their teamwork and Chisato's near-superhuman ability to instantly predict bullet trajectories. As they return to LycoReco, Takina has a newfound respect for Chisato and decides to attend a game session with her and the café regulars.
4 "Nothing seek, nothing find" Tetsuya Takeuchi Yūsuke Kanbayashi Tetsuya Takeuchi Gō Suzuki & Kōji Akitaka July 23, 2022 (2022-07-23) February 11, 2024
After unsuccessfully trying out Chisato's rubber bullets, Takina decides to aim at non-vital organs with regular bullets at Chisato's suggestion. Chisato decides to take her shopping for clothes, and visit a restaurant and aquarium, as she wishes for Takina to get used to her life outside work. When asked by Takina, Chisato explains she voluntarily refrains from killing, and left the DA in order to search for somebody who helped her ten years prior. After enjoying her time with Chisato, Takina begins embracing her life outside the DA. Meanwhile, Mika and Yoshimatsu meet again, and Mika wonders why Yoshimatsu has never admitted he is the one who inducted Chisato into the Alan Institute, but Yoshimatsu says it is against their policy. As Takina and Chisato return to LycoReco, a terrorist named Majima opens fire on a subway train, only to be ambushed by a Lycoris team inside, who guns his men down. Cornered, Majima detonates explosives. Robota contacts him, offering his help in combating the Lycoris, but Majima refuses. After the government covers up his attack, a frustrated Majima resolves to hit an even bigger target which will be impossible for the government to cover up.
5 "So far, so good" Akiko Seki Takahiro Shikama Takahiro Shikama Yukari Takeuchi July 30, 2022 (2022-07-30) February 18, 2024
A month after Majima's terrorist attack, Chisato briefs her coworkers of their new mission, which consists of escorting a terminally ill, wheelchair-bound magnate named Matsushita around Japan. They give him a tour around Tokyo, where Chisato confirms to Takina she possesses an artificial heart. Meanwhile, two investigators discover evidence of a terrorist attack in the subway. Kurumi identifies an assassin, Jin, following Matsushita, who Mika remembers working with fifteen years prior. Takina attempts to intercept Jin as Matsushita breaks away from Chisato. Matsushita reveals Jin killed his family, and their real mission is revenge. Chisato succeeds in immobilizing Jin after he injures Takina, but Matsushita appears and demands she kill him. After she refuses to do so, Matsushita's machines suddenly stop working, killing him. In the debriefing, Mika explains "Matsushita" was merely the body of an old drug addict used as a puppet through the machines in his wheelchair. The person controlling him is someone from the Alan Institute, who decides to change their plans. That night, Majima and his men ambush and kill a Lycoris, with him exclaiming she will be the first of many.
6 "Opposites attract" Takashi Sakuma Takahiro Shikama Takahiro Shikama Yumiko Yamamoto August 6, 2022 (2022-08-06) February 25, 2024
After several more violent attacks on Lycoris agents and the government declared martial law against terrorism, Takina decides to live with Chisato to ensure their safety. Meanwhile, a disgruntled Majima barges into Robota's apartment, giving him three days to find DA headquarters. He locates Chisato's home with his drone, and records her stopping the assailants he sent. Majima arrives to kill Robota for failing his initial mission, but spares him after seeing Chisato's footage. At LycoReco, Kurumi reveals she is the hacker responsible for the DA ordeal and Takina's dismissal, but she is not responsible for the arms deal. She shows them Robota's footage of Chisato. Later, Majima ambushes her, and during their fight, he compromises her eyes. Majima notices her Alan Institute necklace, garnering his interest. Takina arrives and rescues Chisato, and as they escape, Kurumi crashes her drone into an RPG-carrying lackey, causing him to blast Majima, who survives. Back at LycoReco, Takina does not blame Kurumi for what happened, taking responsibility for her own actions. Kurumi assures her allegiance, as she reveals they now know Majima's name. Meanwhile, Majima confronts Robota again and orders him to dig up more information on Chisato.
7 "Time will tell" Yūsuke Shibata Dai Hazeyama Yūsuke Shibata Kōji Akitaka & Rina Morita August 13, 2022 (2022-08-13) March 3, 2024
Chisato happens to spot an anonymous text sent to Mika's phone by chance. Fearing Kusunoki plans to close down LycoReco, Chisato convinces her coworkers to help her spy on the meeting. Meanwhile, Robota provides more information on Chisato to Majima. Majima, who is responsible for the old radio tower attack, finally realizes Chisato defeated him. He then assaults a police station. Fuki and Sakura show the surveillance footage to the rest of LycoReco, which finally identifies Majima. Chisato and the others tail Mika to a high-class bar where they find out he is meeting Yoshimatsu. Realizing Mika is a homosexual, Chisato decides to leave but she discovers it was Yoshimatsu who saved her life ten years ago. She breaks her cover and thanks Yoshimatsu, but he denies his involvement before leaving. Mika threatens Yoshimatsu to leave Chisato alone, but he cannot bring himself to stop him. He later apologizes to Chisato for hiding the truth from her. The next day, Chisato returns to LycoReco as usual, to the relief of Mika and Takina. Later, it is shown that Majima left a USB at the station during his assault, allowing Robota to hack DA's database.
8 "Another day, another dollar" Kakushi Ifuku Yūsuke Kanbayashi Kagetsu Aizawa Gō Suzuki August 20, 2022 (2022-08-20) March 10, 2024
Yoshimatsu explains to Himegama, his secretary, that the Alan Institute determines the future of people with special abilities. He then asks her to take care of Chisato. As LycoReco is incurring monetary losses, Takina takes over the finances. Due to the café's success, Chisato cannot attend her medical checkups. When she finally does, she is cornered by Majima at her house. He retells his assault on the old radio tower and how she stopped him, revealing he possesses supernatural hearing. A shocked Chisato says the Alan Institute supports people for good purposes, but Majima reveals they only support people whose abilities may be used for killing. As he leaves, he is engaged by Takina, but manages to escape. Back at the café, Takina and Chisato reflect on what has happened since Takina's arrival. She gifts Chisato a dog keychain, and she learns Chisato's reluctance to attend checkups is due to her fear of needles. She attends her checkup, but is instead immobilized by Himegama, who prepares to remove her artificial heart, just as a worried Takina rushes to her aid. Meanwhile, Yoshimatsu declares to himself that everything to come is Mika's fault.
9 "What's done is done" Yūsuke Maruyama Yūsuke Kanbayashi Atsushi Ōtsuki Yumiko Yamamoto August 27, 2022 (2022-08-27) March 17, 2024
Takina manages to force Himegama to flee, but she still applied a high voltage discharge into Chisato's heart, giving her only two more months to live. This devastates Takina, but an unfazed Chisato returns to her daily life. Kusunoki recruits Chisato for a raid on Majima's hideout, but she only agrees if she reinstates Takina. Kurumi has Mika reveal that ten years ago, Chisato suffered from a congenital heart disease that only gave her six months to live. Seeing her potential, Yoshimatsu arranged for Chisato to receive an artificial heart, under the condition Mika raised her like their own daughter and ensured she used her talent for killing. However, Chisato saw Yoshimatsu as her "savior", and thus used her abilities for good. Takina and Mizuki overhear the story, and they all agree the best way of tracking down Yoshimatsu is through Majima. Meanwhile, Majima learns about Yoshimatsu. Takina decides to return to DA to help Chisato, and arranges for a day off to spend time with her. After visiting the park, she thanks Takina and gives her her scarf as a present before leaving. Meanwhile, Yoshimatsu and Himegama are ambushed and captured by Majima.
10 "Repay evil with evil" Tomohisa Onoue Dai Hazeyama Shingo Adachi & Tomohiko Itō Yukari Takeuchi September 3, 2022 (2022-09-03) March 24, 2024
Once Chisato announces she is going to close down LycoReco, Mizuki and Kurumi both decide to leave for foreign countries. At DA, Kusunoki reveals Enkuboku, the new radio tower, is Majima's next target, and explains their mission to raid his hideout. Takina confirms the Alan Institute's involvement with Majima after interrogating one of his men. Meanwhile, Majima has taken Yoshimatsu hostage. The Lycoris raid the hideout, but Majima has relocated, boasting to Kusunoki he plans to expose Japan's false peace. The next day, Majima uses Robota's USB in the tower's antenna to broadcast to all of Japan that he has hidden a thousand guns all over Tokyo for anybody to find. Seeing Majima wants to expose DA's existence, DA superiors order Chisato to intervene. Meanwhile, Mika tells Chisato the truth about Yoshimatsu and apologizes for hiding it. However, she is thankful for the situation as she sees them both as her father figures. Kusunoki calls to deploy Chisato, just as they receive a call from Robota telling her where Yoshimatsu is being held, saying he will be killed if she heads to Enkuboku. Trusting Takina and Fuki's abilities, Chisato and Mika prepare to go rescue Yoshimatsu.
11 "Diamond cut diamond" Akiko Seki Yūsuke Kanbayashi Gōichi Iwahata Yukari Takeuchi & Rina Morita September 10, 2022 (2022-09-10) March 31, 2024
As the Lycoris prepare to assault the Enkuboku control room, Takina becomes aware that Chisato has gone missing, but does not have enough information to act on. Meanwhile, Kurumi continues to investigate Yoshimatsu, tracing him through the doctor who developed Chisato's artificial heart and learning an improved version had been developed for her. Kurumi meets back up with Mizuki and hacks Chisato's phone, learning Yoshimatsu is being held at the ruins of the old radio tower. Realizing Chisato is going into a trap, Takina abandons the operation to head for the old radio tower. The Lycoris proceed with their assault, but it turns out to be a trap when Robota hacks Radiata and broadcasts the fighting live to all of Japan, exposing DA's existence. At the old radio tower, Chisato fights her way through Majima's men and finds Yoshimatsu, who is able to escape. However, Majima traps Chisato in a closed room with no light, neutralizing her prediction ability while allowing him to exploit his advanced hearing. While Majima initially has the upper hand, Takina breaches a hole through the wall, allowing light to enter the room and putting Chisato back on equal footing with Majima.[lower-alpha 4]
12 "Nature versus nurture" Yūsuke Shibata Yūsuke Kanbayashi Kagetsu Aizawa Yumiko Yamamoto September 17, 2022 (2022-09-17) April 7, 2024
After Chisato deafens Majima with her guns, she and Takina are able to incapacitate and restrain him. Once Chisato finds Yoshimatsu, they talk about the misunderstanding about saving Chisato's life and their personal views. Yoshimatsu then reveals he has implanted the new artificial heart into himself, meaning she has to kill him to access it. However, Chisato refuses, and prevents an enraged Takina from killing him and Himegama. When Takina asks why she did not kill Yoshimatsu, Chisato explains her reasoning. Mizuki and Kurumi pick them up and inform them LilyBell agents have been deployed to dispose of the Lycoris at Enkuboku for being exposed. Chisato and Takina help Fuki's team in seizing the control room, and Chisato plugs in an override USB Kurumi gave her. With it, Kurumi readopts her Walnut persona and counter-hacks Robota, getting him arrested and reactivating Radiata, which broadcasts a message explaining the gunfight at Enkuboku was an elaborate publicity stunt. With DA's secret safe, the government calls off the LilyBell. As Takina and the other Lycoris prepare to leave Enkuboku, Majima suddenly arrives, having freed himself from his captors. With the Lycoris absent, Chisato and Majima face off again.
13 "Recoil of Lycoris" Yūsuke Maruyama Yūsuke Kanbayashi Shingo Adachi Yumiko Yamamoto, Rina Morita
& Gō Suzuki		 September 24, 2022 (2022-09-24) April 14, 2024
Majima shuts down the power to Enkuboku to prevent anybody from interfering with his duel with Chisato. Meanwhile, Takina decides to scale the tower to help Chisato while Fuki takes an injured Sakura for treatment. Chisato and Majima prove to be equally matched until Chisato's heart begins to malfunction. As such, Majima calls for a temporary truce before they resume their battle. Back at the old radio tower, a healthy Mika confronts Himegama and Yoshimatsu before he incapacitates Himegama and reluctantly kills Yoshimatsu. In Enkuboku, Majima manages to injure Chisato before Takina intervenes and ultimately saves Chisato. Sometime after the Enkuboku incident, society largely accepted Radiata's cover story and life goes back to normal. DA continues to track down the guns Majima hid throughout the city and Majima himself is revealed to still be alive. Elsewhere, Takina tracks down Chisato explaining Mika recovered the new heart from Yoshimatsu. However, Mika kept secret how he was able to obtain it. When Takina asks Chisato what she wants to do now, she decides to travel to Hawaii. The rest of the LycoReco staff later joins them in a mobile café truck.

Manga

A manga adaptation of Lycoris Recoil by Yasunori Bizen began serialization in Media Factory's manga magazine Monthly Comic Flapper on September 5, 2022.[38][39] The first volume of the manga was released on December 22, 2022,[40] and an official anthology was released on the same date.[41][42][43][44] The second volume of the manga adaptation was released on May 23, 2023,[45] and a second comic anthology was released on May 26, 2023.[46][47][48] The third volume of the manga was released on October 23, 2023.[49] A third comic anthology was released on December 27, 2023.[50]

The manga is licensed in North America by Yen Press.[51]

Main series

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 December 22, 2022[52] ISBN 978-4-04-682030-3 October 15, 2024[53] ISBN 979-8-85-540106-6
2 May 25, 2023[54] ISBN 978-4-04-682470-7 — —
3 October 23, 2023[55] ISBN 978-4-04-682940-5 — —
4 March 23, 2024[56] ISBN 978-4-04-683411-9 — —

Spin-off: Recollect

No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 March 23, 2023[57] ISBN 978-4-04-682359-5
2 March 23, 2024[58] ISBN 978-4-04-683393-8

Anthology

No. Title Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 Reload
リロード		 December 22, 2022[42] ISBN 978-4-04-914800-8
2 Repeat
リピート		 December 22, 2022[59] ISBN 978-4-04-682054-9
3 React
リアクト		 December 22, 2022[60] ISBN 978-4-04-682096-9
4 Repeat 2
リピート2		 March 23, 2023[61] ISBN 978-4-04-682357-1
5 Reload 2
リロード2		 May 26, 2023[46] ISBN 978-4-04-915015-5
6 Repeat 3
リピート3		 December 22, 2023[62] ISBN 978-4-04-683243-6
7 Reload 3
リロード3		 December 27, 2023[50] ISBN 978-4-04-915426-9

Light novel

A spin-off light novel, titled Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days, written by Asaura and illustrated by Imigimuru, was published under ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint on September 9, 2022.[38] Another light novel with new story was released on March 8, 2024.[63]

No. Title Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary days
リコリス・リコイル Ordinary days		 September 9, 2022[64] ISBN 978-4-04-914618-9
2 Lycoris Recoil: Recovery days
リコリス・リコイル Recovery days		 March 8, 2024[65] ISBN 978-4-04-915554-9

Stage plays

A stage play adaptation was announced on November 18, 2022. It was performed at Tennozu Galaxy Theater from January 7 to 15, 2023, produced by Office Endless, directed by Akira Yamazaki, and written by Yо̄ Hosaka.[66][67][68][69] A sequel titled Lycoris Recoil: Life Won’t Wait is scheduled to be performed with the same main cast and crew at Theatre G-Rosso in Tokyo Dome City from June 7 to 16, 2024.[70][71]

Web novel

An official Note account of the anime was established on November 25, 2023. New stories written by Asaura are serialized and published weekly in this Note account.[72]

Cultural impact and reception

File:Sokucoco and her friend as Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue 20220813b.jpg
Cosplayers of Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue at Comic World Taiwan 61

Audience response

Lycoris Recoil ranked first in the Anime Corner Summer 2022 Weekly Poll chart for three consecutive weeks since its premiere[73] and would eventually top the site's Summer 2022 Anime of the Season Ranking.[74] The series would end up in eighth place for Anime Corner's 2022 Anime of the Year Ranking.[75] In a survey of "Favorite TV Anime of 2022" by Japanese anime website AnimeAnime.jp, Lycoris Recoil ended up on the number one spot,[76] with a reported 12.3% of the overall vote.[77] By August 24, 2022, Lycoris Recoil became the "Most-Watched Anime from the summer season" in Japan, ranking sixth place overall among the "Top 10 Most-Watched Anime in Japan" for August 2022;[78] the series retained sixth place on the list for September 2022.[79]

In a tweet, Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima praised Lycoris Recoil.[80] Kojima later accepted a request to write an endorsement which was slated to be featured on the cover of Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days, the series' then upcoming light novel spinoff.[81] On August 22, 2022, Kadokawa stated that the novel had sold so well in pre-orders that they had requested a second printing ahead of its September 9 release, which series creator Asaura noted was a rare occurrence.[82]

Sales

The first volume of the Blu-ray release became the "Best-Selling TV Anime Disc of 2022" in Japan, with around 29,414 copies sold as of November 19, 2022.[83] The second volume of the Blu-ray release sold around 22,322 copies in its first five days of sales.[84] The third volume of the Blu-ray release sold 23,937 copies as of November 27, 2022.[85] The fourth volume of the Blu-ray release sold 21,534 copies as of December 25, 2022.[86]

In its yearly sales chart, Oricon revealed that Lycoris Recoil: Ordinary Days became the fifth best-selling individual light novel volume in Japan, having sold an estimated 142,610 physical copies.[87][88]

By March 2024, Crunchyroll reported that the light novel franchise had sold over 500,000 copies.[89]

Critical reception

Contributors at Anime News Network and Anime Feminist gave the series a mixed reception.[90][91] The series was praised for the characters and visuals, but was also criticized for its writing and "glorification" of political and state violence.[90] In the site's full review of the first three episodes, published later, Christopher Farris praised the series for its revival of the girls with guns subgenre, the characters, and action sequences. However, he expressed some concern that the show's attempt to combine the genre with slice of life story elements could become "mere distractions" and potentially sidestep any narrative address of the premise's political implications.[92]

Discussing the first four episodes in Anime Feminist's "check-in" for the summer 2022 anime season, Caitlin Moore described the series as strong entertainment, praising the action, visuals, and character designs, as well as the possible queer subtext of the relationships in the show but noted the perceived tonal dissonance and continued lack of clarity as to its moral or political positions on the subject matter of state violence.[93]

Accolades

Year Ceremony Category Recipient Result Ref.
2022 Reiwa Anisong Awards Anime Song Grand Prize "Hana no Tō" by Sayuri Won [94]
Best Work Award "Alive" by ClariS Nominated
Artist Song Award "Hana no Tō" by Sayuri
User Voting Award Won
"Alive" by ClariS 2nd place
2023 7th Crunchyroll Anime Awards Anime of the Year Lycoris Recoil Nominated [95]
Best Original Anime Won
Best New Series Nominated
Best Director Shingo Adachi
Best Main Character Chisato Nishikigi
Best Action Lycoris Recoil
Best Voice Artist Performance (Japanese) Chika Anzai as Chisato Nishikigi
Best Voice Artist Performance (Spanish) Diana Castañeda as Chisato Nishikigi
13th Newtype Anime Awards Best Work (TV) Lycoris Recoil 4th place [96]
Best Director Shingo Adachi 7th place
Best Theme Song "Hana no Tō" by Sayuri 5th place

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Through Crunchyroll LLC
  2. ↑ Means Lycoris (red spider lilies) in Japanese, depicted in Episode 6.
  3. ↑ Also named after the flower Lycoris radiata.
  4. ↑ The eye-catch for the episode was replaced on September 30, 2022. This was to avoid audiences imitating consuming Lycoris as the flower is poisonous.[37]

References

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External links

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