Kaze no Stigma

A friend highly recommended Kaze no Stigma to me one day, so I finally got around to watching it. While it was entertaining, I was disappointed with the anime as a whole. It didn't match up to the high recommendation I had received. However, I do appreciate the fun, entertaining aspect.
Story: It was interesting, but not well done. Many things were highly predictable, but I do love the concept of element magic-users and whatnot.
Art: Fair art; some things did not flow well, and just in general, the art is simple. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't enjoy all the fight scenes due ... to animations.
Sound: Nothing amazing, nothing to complain about. (:
Character: The characters didn't connect with me much. They felt too shallow. Nevertheless, they were likable.
Enjoyment: I enjoyed it enough to be happy about finishing it, but it's not very memorable. It's a good anime to watch if you're looking for a simple entertainment anime. Just don't expect for it to be a favorite (in my opinion, at least).
Hope I helped!

I can’t tell, why exactly I picked up this show. No, seriously, why did I? Maybe I wanted to see a big load of crispy action paired with a bit of romance and some comedy. I can’t say that I didn’t receive all of that. I had my fun with Kaze no Stigma, but I actually should’ve avoided this show. I’m going to tell why.

Story (5/10)
The story of Kaze no Stigma is divided in a few arcs. We got to see some entirely comedic episodes, some episodes focused on investigation and few ones with a highly serious undertone. Yep, there is pretty much no ... major story arc in Kaze no Stigma. Don’t get me wrong, there is slightly someone bigger in there who might actually be the “end boss”, but… that’s all? Come on now.
So, the story. The beginning, pretty much the first half of the series is pretty good – easy to watch and really entertaining. The show is throughout great at not taking itself too seriously. Well - at first, because the second half is the total opposite of the first episodes. While still not being too serious about itself, Kaze no Stigma now feels like an old chunk of bread – chewy and unbearable. The comedy factor is pretty much dead while the drama is being forced out of literally nowhere. It feels like Kaze no Stigma is not working anymore in its own pace. The execution of the so-called plot twists is downright ridiculous, just like some strange and long passages which are completely meaningless – but we still get to see them.

Art (6/10)
The show is pretty old, I understand that. Yeah, so is the art in there. It’s doesn’t bother me too much at this point, I don’t need a show to be an artistic masterpiece. But still, while some effects are pretty good, the majority of the art we see looks pretty unattractive today.

Sound (6/10)
There is not really much to say about the sound part. The opening and closing songs are fine, they fit the idea of Kaze no Stigma in a good way. Sadly I couldn’t find any memorable music in the show itself, the number of the songs is small, but at least it’s not getting annoying.

Characters (5/10)
Oh boy. That’s pretty much the weakest point of Kaze no Stigma. I have to agree, Kazuma might be a really good character. Might be, because the basic approach is fine, the later execution’s not. Kazuma starts off pretty damn cool, being a badass mage out of nowhere. As the show advances, he is getting completely soaked in into the mash of generic and poor characterization. But, oh well – there is the rest of the characters in there already! Seriously, we can completely forget about the character cast – they‘re all highly generic and replaceable, not a single one of them is somewhere near unique. Character development? Little to zero. I don’t intend to make it look bad, but what we get here is not much.

Enjoyment and final rating (6/10)
Kaze no Stigma is not great. There are weaknesses all over the place and it could’ve been much, MUCH better. BUT – it’s not that bad at all. So, let me leave a little advice here: don’t take this show too seriously and you might find your peace in it. Or just a little piece of enjoyment.

I found this anime when I'm looking for an anime that have a bit romance and action, at the first I'm a bit bored because of the picture quality, but then I getting interested because the story is good enough for me, and to be honest I really like how the Hero react to Heroine.

Here's a bit sinopsis of it: Yagami Kazuma who's get away from his clan because his father think he's a disgrace to the family (because his clan "Kannagi" was originaly a fire affinity users), he going overseas and become the wind affinity user, and after four years he returned to Japan, ... but he was accused as the perpetrator of a series of murdered Kannagi Family.
Even he was accused, he still don't really has an intension to prove it wrong, but after talk to the Head of Kannagi, he decide to do it, and he'll be acompanied by the Head of Kannagi daughter, Kannagi Ayano. they end up oftenly doing battle side by side.

That's it, Like always, I'm not gonna spoil all the story, you've to watch the completed episode and enjoy it by yourself.

But, you'll found a bit romance in this anime, and some action battle too. So, what are you waiting for, watch it after you seen this reviews, okay?

See ya

Ok, I'm not going to describe every part of the anime in individual paragraphs... I'm just going to give to you in one.

For starters, I give Kaze no Stigma an overall score of 5/10
The beginning story was great. It drew me in right away. However, soon after the beginning, it totally lost my interest. After about the first 5 episodes (give or take...) I only watched it hoping that I would get to see some good fighting action. The story could have been sooo much better! I did, however, love the anime's version of magic. ((because every anime's magic is a little different)) BUT, I ... was sooo confused about the two main characters! Ok, I totally got that they liked eachother and everything, but it was sooo lame! NOTHING EVER HAPPENED. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if someone watched this and didn't understand that Kazuma and Ayano were supposed to be love interests. I didn't like Ayano at all and I barely like Ren. Kazuma was probably the only character I really liked.
Ok, I know I've been saying how awful this anime is, but there were, admittably, some good things about it. The art was pretty good, except there was some pretty stupid 'fan service' that was slipped in there every once in a while. For me, 'fan service' isn't horrible in every anime, but I definitally don't love it. I think the reason it annoyed me in this anime was because it just didn't fit into the flow of Kaze no Stigma. This is probably the only thing in this anime that I truley liked: the action. There wasn't much of it, which was really dissapointing, but when there was action, it was awesome. The drawing of Kazuma's wind and Ayano's fire was really good, which made the fighting scenes all the better.

I might recommend this to people, but I would warn them of things I thought weren't all that great first.

RECOMMENDATION: I didn't watch the subbed version, I watched the dubbed version. Therefore, I don't know how good the subbed version is, but the dubbed version is TERRIBLE. The only good voice is Kazuma's and Ayano's is really bad... really really bad. So, even though I haven't seen it, I RECOMMEND THE SUBBED VERSION.

Hope the review helps. :)

The way Kaze no Stigma’s looks, sounds, as well as how it plays out; are all generally the same as any normal magical/action show. Its definitely not a new concept, but it’s done rather well to the point where its enjoyable. However there are some small differences in this anime that I would like to bring attention to that pulls this anime apart from its predecessors.

Plot 6/10: The plot isn’t going to win any awards for “the most original anime plot” anytime soon. However it does its plot well enough that it comes out being enjoyable. It follows the main three characters Kazuma, Ayano, and ... Ren along their journeys in the magical world they live in. While there are not particularly any plot holes, it didn’t explain many of the things about the magical powers themselves. This would not be a problem if they hadn’t mentioned them at all, but they do; they just do not flesh them out. It has themes about family and loved ones that play out well. However, it can be really predictable at times if you have ever watched another anime in the genre before.

Sound 6/10: The OST of Kaze no Stigma is again, par for the course. It does its job well, but there are no stand out tracks. The OP was in my personal opinion not very good and didn’t fit the show, and the ending was again average. The voice actors do their job well, and there are really no miscast in the show.

Art 6/10: For its time, the art was average and does not stand out much. The fight scenes are animated well and the character models are fitting for the show.

Characters 7/10: Ah, here is where we get to those “little differences” that I mentioned earlier. This is the main thing that makes this show stand out at all. The main character Kazuma is...a boss. That’s how his character can be summarized in a short amount of time. He voice actor does an awesome job portraying his cool, calm, and collected attitude that he has 24/7(in the dub at least). He has a fleshed out background and motives, and is really the only character besides Ren that was memorable. Ayano was a little disappointing. She is an unoriginal tsundere that falls into many anime cliches, and can come off as just arrogant.The relationship between her and Kazuma can be funny at times, but feels a little forced. The side characters are, for the most part, done well. Most serve some purpose to the plot, and not many were annoying (except for McDonald).

Enjoyment 7/10: Without Kazuma, this show would have been just your average magical action show with a normal tsundere heroine. However, I think that even without Kazuma, the show would not have been bad. In fact, I still think it would have been a pretty good show. The execution of the plot, sound, and art is—while unoriginal—well done. I would recommend it to anyone that likes shows in this genre.

Kaze no Stigma got my attention with its Airbender-esque story and seemingly cute heroine. However, I went into thinking that it was going to be like every other action romance: the guy is going to be a complete pansy trying to impress the heroine through being reckless and stupid, and she will somehow fall in love with him. I was actually quite mistaken and was quite pleased with what actually did happen, but there were some things I was not quite hip on.

Lets start with Ayano. She is the cute heroine I was talking about, except I was a little naive. She actually is not ... cute at all, and is quite rude. A tsundere, if you will. I figured the main hero would be a boy of a man that does whatever he is told because he's scared. NOPE. Enter Kazuma, one of those cool guys you just wanna slug. He's good looking, smooth, has ladies all over him. He is everything I wasn't expecting, and this turned the story into something different. She begins hating him like they usually do but as she starts to fall for him, he could seriously give a rats behind. He's frickin Kazuma! So even though the story centers around him most of the time, the romance comes from Ayano wanting him instead of the other way around, which is a nice change in pace for me.

The action side of the series is okay, but nothing special. Kazuma is a powerful wind user while Ayano and his girly brother Ren are powerful fire users. The fighting scenes are acceptable, but it struck me as those kind of scenes that are only used to lead into the drama, not necessarily to be the selling point. The drama however was quite good at times, and the final arc for me was actual quite entertaining. However, the presentation and storytelling was lacking the excitement I was craving, and most of the time it felt empty.

The art is good, but not really eye-candy. Everything is just right so there's no complaints, not any compliments either. The character designs are decent as well, with nothing out of the ordinary that I would call special.

The OP and EDs were actually very good. The OP was very nostalgic and set the mood very nicely, and the multiple endings fit the closing situations successfully. The BGMs however were not memorable for me, and nothing comes to mind as a gem. But it does its job for moving the story, so I have no complaints.

After reading a synopsis, I was really looking forward to watching Kaze no Stigma because it sounded like The Last Aiirbender with a bit more drama and romance. I'm not quite sure I'd say that's what I got from the show. If anything, it lacked the drama and romance it needed, making it someone of a bad copy of something we've seen before, and nobody likes that. It is utterly average, and if you want to watch something you have no intention of becoming a favorite or think I may be wrong, by all means watch it. But in my opinion, the series fell short when its potential had the means of taking it farther then where it went.

I have been watching anime for many years. This is the first time I hated the female protagonist so much that I wished she would be killed. This anime compelled me to create an account to express my displeasure towards this anime.

The story is predictable. There were some memorable bits but the predictability of it made it somewhat boring. The art is well done, special effects were brought out really nicely and characters look great. The fights were also very well exhibited. The anime was visually appealing and the sound effects were great.

Most of the characters are fine except Ayano Kannagi. Oh god, never ... was I so angered by a female protagonist. She is the sole reason I dropped Kaze No Stigma. Ayano is an ungrateful, egoistic, barbaric and rude girl on a short fuse. She does not think of the bigger picture and does not have her priorities right. She can lash out at her allies during dangerous situations for the smallest reasons and is headstrong. She constantly lands herself and people around her in precarious situations expecting help to come from nowhere. She never reflects on herself and blames every bad thing that happens on others. She does not think before she acts and I hate how there will always be someone who cleans up the mess she makes which causes her to be extremely spoiled. Someone with such a repulsive personality would've died a few times over in the real world. And no one would ever feel sad that she died.

Kaze No Stigma is a show with a lot of problems, but first things first

soundtrack:
it’s absolute trash and it is used inappropriately, for example there is a scene MC is faced with a villain and the villain is ‘slowly’ coming from sky and Battle soundtrack is playing! it is so bad because no fight is happening and it’s just trash talk but we have a fight soundtrack!
honestly this show would have been a lot better if there wouldn’t be any soundtrack

Characters:
usually the Main Male Character in Anime is trash and undeveloped but Kazume is actually a decent character he isn’t a trash character but the ... problem is people around him are, let’s take a look at his brother i mean come on his brother is a total loser kid with girlish look on his face who is so innocent that is pathetic,
the main girl is the worst OBVIOUS tsundere i have ever seen, she is the Typical tsundere only 100 times more undeveloped and annoying, there is a fight scene and MC explains that she needs to buy her some time and she always YELLS: “WHO MADE YOU THE BOSS”, she is so stupid to see the plan is considering their magic ability.
and in every fucking fight she is yelling “KAZUME WHAT ARE YOU DOING” even though he is the ONLY fucking one who is doing something, she keeps turning around to see Kazume in the middle of a fucking fight and she gets defeated because of that, and every time she wants to fight she does that POWER RANGER thing where hero soundtrack plays while she transform, and of course the signature of all Tsunderes: “BAKAAAAAAA”, again everything about her is annoying,

now let’s talk about MC, he sometimes does stupid things for example he hates his family for what they did to him and his brother is in danger and (he loves his brother!) so to not “lose face” he demands money to save his own brother, this is the logic the anime gives to us but it is so retarded, what the fuck would you wanted to do if they wouldn’t give you the 100 million cash you fucking demanded? let your brother die? no you definitely wouldn’t do that so as a result you’d “lose even more face” in front of you damn family!

another instance is where he explains to a certain individual that he accidentally helped to kill one of that individuals family! WHY THE HELL did you explained that? if you’d have remained silence she wouldn’t fucking try to kill you later

the story:
it’s semi-decent, a world with magic and how MC deals with his family and the conflict between families are interesting but since the main girl is always there it makes it annoying to watch sometimes, i mean the families are talking about killing a certain villain in a family meeting and she keeps yelling is this the right thing to do? shouldn’t we be nice to the villain? i mean shut the fuck up, you annoying brat, nobody asked for you opinion nor anybody cares

i think the main problem is the storytelling and character introduction, for example here is an actual sentence from this anime “i’m sorry third head of kannagi’s family who is in conflict with Kazamaki’s family”, i mean nobody talks like that, this is just bad and lazyass storytelling

another one of the big problems in story is the romance, and it is so damn forced, there is no chemistry between MC and Main girl and she keeps thinking about him, even though her character cannot possibly fall in love with MC personality vise,
it seems like writer didn’t create story from scratch and to let things happen realistically on it’s own but instead he wanted romance so he had to shoved it into story which at the end feels forced
it’s honestly sad because there is a character called Tsui-ling, she is a really interesting and mysterious character and i was interested to see what has happened between her and Kazuma since they used to be lovers that is a romance that we were interested in but no why give us more information about their past when this useless main girl could be the focus of romance!

the ending was so dumb there is a scene where the main character acts like a fallen hero which is so stupid and unreasonable, let’s say you want to take revenge really bad and ASAP and in order to do so you have to interrogate someone who has information about the person you want to take revenge against, would you laugh and grin while torturing that someone? no because he isn’t the subject of your revenge, so why is he laughing?
this is what happens when you don’t actually put a thought into your damn story

i had high hopes for this anime, hell i even started this with positive mindset, just imagine how fucking bad this was that by the end i just wanted to kill the writer for wasting my damn time

The story doesn't seem that bad and it does has some good points, however, even by the end of the final episode there are a lot of plot holes left uncovered and some of them pretty major, so that turns out to be just a mistake you can't accept.

The male lead is cool enough to make you respect his actions while the female lead is obviously a spoiled teenager that has had everything work out perfect in her life. They are a nice combination.

The visual quality is somewhere between decent and good and there is some fanservice for those who really like that (that just ... ruins the mood for me most of the time). The music is nothing out of the ordinary so there are no comments.

The character development is fair but as with the story it has some major plot holes so you are left with nothing but assumptions about the past of most of them.

Watch it if you really are into it but be aware of those bad aspects.

This is my first review so i might be a little bias. I really like the series so much that i watched the series three times.

Story:
If you look at the core of the story you'll see that its not that bad. Maybe not original but its not bad. One of the problems i find with the story is that their are too many fillers. I say about a third of this series is fillers. Another problem is they don't try to create much suspense or cliffhangers. If you watch just the first episode of the series and analyze it you can tell a lot ... about the characters and story. The makers of the anime really knows how to squeeze in 3 or more episode worth of story into just one. The first episode doesn't really hook you in and make you want more since you already know most of what you want to know. For example the reason why Kazuma was exiled is pretty much revealed in the first episode. I think if gonzo did a better job in execution by leaving cliff hangers and more mysteries that actually make us go crazy because we want to know than this series would be much much better. The story could also be stretch out a little more for us to soak it all in. Then they wont have to have all those fillers.
5/10

Art:
The art is good. It isn't bad but then it isn't absolutely gorgeous with little to no eye candy. There is some fan service in this. I personally don't mind it. The fan service isn't really over the top so it won't annoy a lot of people.
8/10 Art wasn't good yet it wasn't bad

Sound:
OP and ED not really special. Again it isn't bad. I haven't watch the dub before but for the sub the voice actors do a pretty good job. I think the voices represent the characters in a good way.
8/10

Character:
I love the characters. They are generic but i still love them. The main character Kazuma is pretty much a badass. The very reason why i watched this three times is because how much of a badass he is. I was getting tired of the repetitive formula most action anime main character goes through. Meet villain, Fight, Struggle, Win, Get stronger. I wanted to skip the struggle and get stronger part. The other characters like Ayano (Girl main character)
and Ren (little bro of kazuma) might annoy you and they might not. Ren though he is a boy he acts girlish. Well this is an anime so that is normal. Ayano is like a tsundere so if you can't stand a lot of yelling for no reason then she might annoy you. The other characters are pretty generic. I also loved the characters because you know a lot about them if you think about it. I thought we could've had better and more of a character development for each character though.
7/10 Characters are good might annoy some of you but their not bad

Enjoyment:
i loved it. I am a fan of the genre and it had everything i wanted. Fantasy, badass character, tsundere, assholes, pretty much everything i want in an anime. The little thing that bugged me was whenever Ayano pulled out her sword their would be this magical transformation like scene that gets played over and over throughout the series. Some people might enjoy this series like i did others might not.
9/10

Overall:
i loved it. They could've presented the story better and had better character development though.If gonzo did a better job with execution they could've stretch this anime into 4 seasons at most and made it way better.
6/10

i would recommend this to everyone since i loved it but if you love magic and fantasy and a badass character watch it.

Overview:
"Kaze no Stigma" isn't the worst anime I've seen but it's not the best either. Instead, it falls somewhere in the middle. It has some awesome fight scenes, likable characters and great comedic moments, but unfortunately these are held back by an uneven story and average animation. It's far from what I'd call essential viewing, but it's still worth a look, even if you will feel that most of it has been done before.

Story (6.5/10):
The story revolves around the Kannagi family, a family of sorcerers who have practiced the sacred art of fire magic for countless generations and are protected by the spirits of fire. ... Kazuma Kannagi, however, has zero talent for fire magic, which ultimately results in him getting disowned by his father and cast from the family. However, he later discovers that his true talent lies in a completely different element altogether, namely wind. Four years later, which is when the story begins, Kazuma (now named Yagami) returns to Japan as an incredibly powerful wind magic user, having made a contract with the Spirit King of the Wind, just like the first Kannagi head had done before with the Spirit King of Fire. Basically, he has all the powers of the Spirit King's domain so he's the most powerful wind magic user alive.

However, he is not the only main character. The story actually opens with Ayano, the future head to the Kannagis, Kazuma's second cousin and the girl who beat him in a battle for Enraiha, a sword that's been passed down to the Kannagis for generations. The two have a rough start but after being forced to work together to stop a revolt against the Kannagis, they start to become closer as they are paired together for more missions. The story follows an arc format. The first half is split into three arcs, then afterwards we have four breather episodes and once we reach episode 17, Kazuma and Ayano tackle a huge case that takes up the eight remaining episodes of the series, while delving into Kazuma's dark past.

Yeah, there isn't much new here. The whole opposing forces working together has been done plenty of times and the magic isn't gone into much detail- all we know is that someone makes a contract with a Spirit King and all their descendants inherit that power, though it's never made clear why Kazuma didn't inherit it. There's also the fact that despite tackling themes like family and power, these themes never really evolve beyond window-dressing, with the series making little effort to explore any of them. The arcs vary in quality, with the last one probably being the best as a lot of questions you've been asking over the series are finally answered. Unfortunately, the series ends on a serious cliffhanger that leaves much unresolved, including Kazuma and Ayano's growing feelings for each other. But with the author of the light novels having passed away in 2009, the chances of ever getting a proper conclusion are slim to none.

Art & Animation (7.5/10):
"Kaze no Stigma" is very rough around the edges. The character models have constant jagged lines and there are plenty of gratuitous panty shots. The magic effects are quite nice but I've definitely seen better. Even considering that the series came out in 2007 (more than a decade ago at this point), the animation really isn't anything special.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
The soundtrack blends into the background mostly, but there are quite a few good tracks that you will want to look up. Notably, the series uses two main ending themes over the course of the series and rather than changing the theme halfway, one plays during dramatic cliffhangers while the other plays at the end of an arc or a breather episode. The voice acting for the dub is great; if you're a fan of "Fairy Tail" like myself then you'll instantly recognise Cherami Leigh as Ayano and she delivers a great performance here. The standout performance, however, has got to be Robert McCollum as Kazuma. His deep, manly voice is perfect for Kazuma's cool, snarky character, and he ultimately walks away with the series' best lines. However, there's some pretty bad voice acting in the series as well, specifically Caitlin Glass as Catherine. She was clearly trying to put on a posh accent, but it comes out as awkwardly British even though the character is American, and just serves to make her even more annoying than she already is.

Characters (7/10):
The characters are quite good, though mostly the main ones. We'll start with Kazuma. He is frequently called a jerk by Ayano, and honestly, she's not wrong. He's brutally honest (and I mean BRUTAL), often charges money before he lifts a finger to help and always has a snarky comment ready at the expense of, well, pretty much everyone. However, believe me when I say he has a very good reason for acting the way he does. Besides being disowned by his parents, he suffered a huge loss during his years away from Japan. It's hinted on throughout the series then it's revealed in the final arc and boy is it tragic! That's not to say he's a totally bad person, of course. He's still a good person at heart and there are several moments where he shows just how much he cares for others, particularly Ayano and Ren. On top of all this, he is easily the most badass character in the series. If there is any reason to watch this series, he is it, making this one of the few anime in which the male lead and anti-hero is my favourite character.

Next up, we have Ayano, who is Kazuma's opposite in just about every way. Kazuma, as a wind magic user, is cool-headed and rational, while Ayano, a fire magic user, is short-tempered and impulsive. In other words, she's a literal fiery redhead, as well the main source of comedy in the series. Now, arguably this show's biggest problem is having two main characters of equal importance and having one much more powerful than the other. I know that's how anime like this normally start, but that's to give a chance for the weaker one to catch up. "Kaze no Stigma", on the other hand, is written in such a way that it's pretty much impossible for Ayano to catch up, so she comes off as a dead weight most of the time. Emphasis on 'most of the time', however, as she does have her moments of badassery when Kazuma's not stealing the spotlight. Then again, I don't mind Kazuma taking the spotlight so much, as Ayano can get very annoying at times. Sometimes, her temper and attitude are funny, other times, not so much. She's a very stereotypical tsundere. Another problem with her character is that despite being the future head of a family that wields fire, she nearly never uses actual fire magic, relying almost exclusively on Enraiha. Thankfully, I can say she gets a lot better in the last few episodes, earning her a rightful spot as my second favourite character.

The third character is Ren, Kazuma's younger brother who practically worships him. With Kazuma and Ayano often bickering, he serves as the series's moral centre- the heart, if you will. He practically has the third arc dedicated to him, and his story will probably make you shed a tear or two. He largely exits the spotlight after that, but he still plays a prominent role throughout, and does a good job at rounding out the main cast. The supporting cast is alright, but they tend to be in the background for the most part, and there are a couple of characters I really didn't like. Notably, however, Ayano's friends, Yukari and Nanase, turn out to have hidden depths late in the series, making them their own characters rather than just 'those two girls who hang out with the heroine'. That's a very rare thing for any anime, so to see it in one like this, which doesn't have much originality to begin with, is both surprising and welcome.

Enjoyment (7/10):
"Kaze no Stigma" is a fun series, but it's not a particularly exciting one. There are some good fight scenes, but there isn't really anything you couldn't get from a number of other, better anime. And while the comedy is great throughout, as I said, there are times when it can get rather annoying. It's entertaining, definitely, but I wouldn't blame you if you stopped watching at some point.

Overall:
"Kaze no Stigma" is the type of anime that's good fun while it lasts, but in the end fails to leave any kind of lasting impression. It's not horrible by any means you can think of, but it doesn't really stand out in any meaningful way either. And after watching several similar but better shows like "Shakugan no Shana", "Tokyo Ravens" and "Project K", I can definitely say you could probably give this one a miss.

Score:
6.5+7.5+8.5+7+7=36.5/50=7.3/10

風の聖痕 is a typical shounen that mixes action-packed magical battles with the basic elements of fire, earth, wind against demons with an element of drama that is easy for the audience to grasp, and lightens the whole thing up with some romance and comedy.

Story: Unfortunately, uncreative and written like a template (4/10)
Kazuma Kannagi was disowned by his family, who are fire mages, for not being able to use fire magic "enjutsu". About four years later, he returns to his homeland under the name Kazuma Yagami and, of course, immediately gets into trouble. The extent of his problems ranges from a simple family feud to ... fighting with other clans. The reason for this is that the protagonist is suspected on the basis of circumstantial evidence to have murdered some clan members. Although he is equal to the opponents, bloodbath within the family is not an option. The only thing left for him to do is to try to solve the murders and thus prove his innocence. The plot is not very imaginative but would have had potential, which is unfortunately lost in the unspectacular writing and partial strong predictability.

Characters: Stereotypical and not convincingly realized (4/10)
The cast is pretty extensive. Unfortunately, the individual characters are not presented in detail, which is not because there is no possibility to do so, but rather the writing simply does not implement it. The script's lack is especially obvious in light of the fact that character traits that fit the genre cannot be conveyed to the viewer. Ayano's temperament is a good example of how the other facets of Ayano's character are drowned out with a genre-typical comedy element through poor or non-existent transition. Furthermore, there is a lack of credible development across the cast as well.
Yagami (Kannagi) Kazuma:
He is a fuu-jutsushi (wind mage) who never misses an opportunity to drive the spirited Ayano up the wall with his arrogant coolness. The slightly vicious verbal battles are entertaining, but since Kazuma never really gets into danger, there is no development for his character and the entertainment value sinks increasingly, since the outcome is already foreseeable.
Kannagi Ayano:
Her character is temperamental, impulsive and therefore fits well with the fire element. She also once defeated Kazuma in a direct fight with fire, since he did not master this element. Because of this victory, she gained the position of the future head of the Kannagi family. She is skilled in the use of the Enraiha, the magical sword of the Kannagi family, which she obtained by defeating Kazuma in the succession ceremony mentioned above. She can deal well in battle with the sword, but she is impetuous and too proud. This often leads her to behave rashly out of insecurity and anger over this.
Kannagi Jûgo:
He is the designated head of the Kannagi family and a calm, level-headed character who can defend his position without being brusque. On the contrary, he is righteous and understanding, the clearest expression of this is his relationship with his daughter Ayano. Knowing her weaknesses, he places Kazuma at her side and his plan works out. Besides Ren, Ayano is one of the few characters that receives a small development.
Kannagi Ren:
He is Kazuma's younger brother, to whom no one attaches great importance. But he is the only one who lets something like emotional warmth arise in Kazuma's personality right from the start. His development is the clearest from the whiny to determined commitment to his lady of the heart.
Kannagi Genma:
He is Kazuma and Ren's father and a staunch hardliner. He is not unsympathetic, but somewhat narrow-minded and a bit stuck in his views. Shounen typical, the father-son conflict is unfortunately not addressed in the depth it deserves.
Shinomiya Yukari / Kudou Nanase:
Ayano's two friends aren't really of any importance, but I like to mention them anyway, because it's just cute how they keep getting Ayano into trouble explaining things. A large part of the nicely staged comedy stems from this.

Visuals: Animation and backgrounds are nice. In terms of design, more would have been possible (5/10).
Nanto, Hanamaru's drawing style was captured well in the adaptation of the character design by Nitta, Yasunari. However, the series is too much based on the LN volumes and the 2007 adaptation could have done more with it. For example, a finer character design would not have gone beyond the scope of a shounen and would have supported the implied fan service in the second half of the series with some sex appeal, which unfortunately is not the case. The somewhat colourless overall look of the characters, is also reflected in the expressionless colour palette and the textures. The design of the monsters is more reminiscent of old PC games. The play of light and shadow effects is okay and the backgrounds are also quite nice on the whole.
The animation by the studio GONZO is fine. The movements appear natural and fluid. I enjoyed the presence of appealing facial expressions, which always nicely underline the mood. Also, chibi was not constantly used on entire characters, the underscoring of comedy through the use of deforming was often limited to Ayano, with an interplay of her facial expressions from "pissed off", "super happy" to "I'm sorry". The lip sync was not successful in places, but that still happens in newer productions and therefore does not count as a negative in my rating. As is not unusual in a production by GONZO, increased attention is paid to the fight sequences. These are well done, regardless of the fact that the monsters seem somewhat unspectacular.

Sounds: Not bad, but too mediocre to raise the overall rating (5/10)
The BGM was composed by Fukuoka, Yutaka and is extensive with more than 30 music arrangements, including: Ensen, Tatakai no Yochou, Kazuma to Tsoirin and Enraiha and many more. The music goes well with the scenes, but can only appeal to the viewer superficially due to the strong focus on synthesizers. The music lacks that certain something, the sound of a real orchestra. The synthesizer technology of 2007 cannot reproduce this sound convincingly.
The OP is simple but visually impressive and the song "Blast of Wind", sung by Kiuji, Saori with her appealing voice, is beautiful. However, the title arouses the wrong mood in the audience. The arrangement is too melodious and affectionate, which is more reminiscent of a romance or a harem anime, which is also true for the lyrics.
Several titles are used as ED. One is the track "Hitorikiri no Sora," which is also sung by Kiuji, Saori. The music arrangement is unbalanced and blurs between idol song and rock music, completely losing the effect of Kiuji-san's beautiful voice.
The ED "Matataki no Kiwoku" by Fujimura, Ayumi; Inokuchi, Yuka and Itō, Shizuka is much more balanced. However, this track also seems out of place with the series, as it is a real idol song and thus does not fit the plot of the anime. The animation background for the EDs is a sequence with pinwheels that varies slightly. Additionally, a few select images from the series are included, but overall the titles seem like they ran out of money at the end.
The last ED is "Tsuki Hana no Inori" and is sung by Sakai, Kanako. This title is Ayumi song and so apt for the end of the episode.
Among the male seiyū, the performance of Terasoma, Masaki caught my eye. He voices the role of Juugo Kannagi very convincingly and the pitch of his voice also fits well with the character portrayed.
With regard to the female roles, it was clear that my choice would be Ohara, Sayaka. Her talent and experience as a voice actress always make her speaking roles a delight. And so it is here with the role of Kirika Tachibana.

Kaze no Stigma has too many weaknesses and therefore does not rise above mediocrity. It's not a total disaster, but I wouldn't recommend the anime either. If you like the idea of wind as a fighting technique, the anime "Ashita no yoichi" may appeal to you. If you really want to see the element of fire, you might like the anime "Shakugan no Shana".

As always, thanks for reading.

There are a lot of stories to be told with a similar pattern: a world of magic, monsters, and spellcasters exists just beneath the surface of what would be recognized as our modern Earth. These urban fantasy stories are usually pretty easy to make interesting, since they have both the high-flying adventure of fantasy, and the relatable nature of being set in something at least like the modern world. However, while there are a lot of advantages to telling this kind of story, you still need the basics of fantasy storytelling down, putting a decent amount of thought and effort into your supernatural ... elements while building likable, engaging, and dimensional characters. As with any other genre, some stories do this well and others do it poorly. Kaze no Stigma is, in my mind, a frustrating little misstep in that while it executes some of those elements competently if not well, it fails at others that leave it kind of hard to get through in the end.

Let's take the story first. Kaze no Stigma is not entirely certain what it wants to be; the first half of the show consists of three major arcs, each of which represents a 'case' or whatever you want to call it where something nasty is going on in the supernatural band, and our characters get drawn in to try to stop it. It's basic, but it's also an entertaining sort of pattern that lends itself to a lot of opportunities. However, as soon as the show gets its feet under it with that, it decides that, no, it would rather be something else. The next few episodes try to be a sort of zany slice of life arrangement, where nothing really has to connect and the magic and powers in the setting are used more for slapstick humor than for life-and-death struggles. On its own, this would also be fine; I'd welcome a lighter, funnier sort of Urban Fantasy story, but coming on the heels of these dark tales about mass murder, sold souls, and human sacrifice it doesn't quite fit. After trying out the lighter stuff for a bit, the show changes its mind again, and launches into an arc long and intricate enough that it easily could have covered an entire season worth of material. It's a mishandled attempt to change gears from monster of the (not quite) week to a straightly told epic, with wacky hi-jinks acting of the segue, and it doesn't land.

The individual arcs can, actually, be good. The first couple are probably the high point of the show for me, and the big arc at the end could have been really good if it got the setup it needed to actually work. This would have been a stronger product if it was one thing, rather than three... but that alone wouldn't have saved it, since Kaze no Stigma has an even more critical problem in the form of its characters.

Our leading character is Kazuma, and... this really should have been the easiest guy to make interesting. At the beginning, he's encountering his family again after four years. Four years that, at the beginning of which, he was kicked out of said family for being a powerless failure. In that time, he's gone through some sort of harsh trial (which is only hinted at for most of the show) and gained power, not just on the level he was expected to have, but at an incredible level that's hard if not impossible to match. And because of that, he's put in a position to save the family that scorned him. What he does, and why he does it (especially the latter) should be really powerful stuff; you'd think the drama would write itself, especially when the romance genre included in the show's makeup suggests he might start developing positive feelings for his cousin, Ayano.

Unfortunately, the core conflict involved in his presence in the story is seldom addressed, and he's written in a very inconsistent manner. Even by the end of the story, you don't really have a sense of who Kazuma is as a person. You get flashes here and there, but they seem to contradict each other, and it's not in a smart enough way to come off as dimensional rather than simply as a mess. He doesn't grow or change, he just has moments at the whim of the plot. He's not a harsh person, he has a harsh moment because the story needs him to act harsh. He's not noble or principled, but he'll have a noble moment because the story needs him to not act in a mercenary manner for a little while. A lot relies on Kazuma as a character, but he's not enough of a defined character for any of it to pay off.

Ayano, meanwhile... how to describe Ayano? How about a recipe: take every hot-headed, loud-mouthed tsundere-ish character you know, put them in a blender and puree until there is no longer any distinction between them. Strain the result to remove anything deep, interesting, or twisted that was part of any of those other great (or not-so-great) characters. Once you have the murky essence of the character archetype, add just a dash of pride and garnish with magical powers that don't have too much of an impact on the character as a whole. Then freeze it to make sure it can't grow, change, or otherwise develop into something deeper or more meaningful. That's our Ayano!

I wouldn't complain too much if she were a bit character, since her writing and acting is far from the worst tsundere type I've seen. At least Ayano has an indoor voice she uses sometimes and only detonates when honestly provoked. But Ayano is our leading lady; she gets about as many scenes as Kazuma, and the show as a whole is, at least in theory, as much about her as it is about him. In fact, Kaze no Stigma has another character made with a fairly similar formula (though easier on the tsun), Kathrine McDonald, who's a latecomer to the story and much more of a minor character, and she actually comes off as a better character because at least the writing for her knows what her role is and she can fill it decently well. Compared to Kazuma, at least Ayano is a character, even if a very flat one, but she doesn't have the chops for a leading role, and I couldn't really tell you much about her as a person outside of plot-relevant facts.

If it wasn't obvious from that, the romance between the two (if you can even call it that, it's so phoned in) never really works, and certainly never works enough for the fact that, in the end, there's actually critical story moments that rely on your ability to believe in the feelings that bind the two. To her credit (and the credit of her voice actress), I can at least sort of believe that Ayano might harbor some feelings for Kazuma, though I would be at something of a loss to tell you why, but Kazuma never at any point seems to care about Ayano in the way that the story wants – nay, needs – the audience to believe that he does. Like Ayano herself, this weak element would be more forgivable if the focus of the show didn't fall on it, and draw attention to how deficient it really is. There are shows with weaker romantic subplots, or at least a similar lack of chemistry between leads that are canonically supposed to get together, but in most of those cases the romance is just a bone thrown to those who want to see it, not something that's important to the main story being presented.

The last really major character, Ren, is a little better. He's not a masterpiece of writing, but he has a definite personality, some legitimate struggles, and learns and grows from his experiences, changing as a person thanks to the trials we see him overcome. In essence, he actually has the backbone of what makes a good character down – good thing he gets way less screen time than the “leads”. Similarly, bit characters who are only around for an arc, an episode, or maybe occasional brief appearances can be pretty alright; I mentioned Kathrine earlier, and she's not alone in the list of characters who are fine as what they are, but would need to be more if they were forced into a starring role.

Yet, for all the problems I have with Kaze no Stigma it's... mediocre at worst. I have no desire to watch it again and wouldn't recommend it, but there's enough good stuff that I could see why someone else, who's looking for a different experience out of the show, might like it anyway. For one, the action is pretty good – it's not the best of its sort, but the fight choreography, the mixture of superpowers and melee combat, and the design for various magic and monsters are all creative and engaging. It's a pretty show to look at in general, actually, with some good backgrounds and character designs as well. And the voice actors, I can't fault. They're doing their best with the script they were handed, and while I don't care about or believe what they're saying, I can believe that the characters care and understand, which is a mark in the show's advantage.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

Story: 6
Art: 8
Sound: 7
Character: 3
Enjoyment: 5
Overall: 5.8 (6)

…

Hm? Why is the review still going? Because I have more to say about a topic that approaches where Kaze no Stigma went wrong, but that is more a philosophy-of-writing matter than something that weighs heavily on what an average viewer might take away from Kaze no Stigma. Specifically, I'd like to talk about powers, powerful characters, and what has to be done in order to write for them.

Because it's a difficult task. Typically, one of the elements of a good story is that the leading character or characters has to face some sort of challenge that's difficult to overcome, that at least in some way pushes them to their limit or possibly even beyond it. Characters don't always have to be challenged directly, head to head, on their main strengths, but if their main strengths are legitimately top-tier within their setting (not just at the level of being a prodigy and above their peer group, but at the highest level of what their world could throw at them), you have to get creative and take care in order to properly challenge or threaten such a character, compared to one who's more capable of being outclassed.

There's also the fact that truly great power is usually the sort of thing that should come with strings attached. They don't always have to be big strings, but because it's not terribly engaging to watch a character “do the sensible thing” when that's defeat all their enemies in the same way, the top end of powers within a setting should typically come with some sort of restriction, price, or even just complication that forces a character who taps into that to struggle at least a little. If you do give someone an unstoppable superweapon, make sure there's a reason they don't just lead with it. To a lesser extent, magic in general tends to be more interesting when it isn't the kind of power that does just about whatever you need free of cost. That isn't to say that powers can't be useful while still being engaging; in Fullmetal Alchemist, for instance, Alchemy is a pretty awesome power; but Equivalent Exchange means it's not always easy to get what you want with it.

Managing a story where a character's powers are top-tier, versatile, and unrestricted or nearly unrestricted is a daunting task... but not impossible. If you take great care, especially to write your characters as people who have needs that aren't met by blowing away their enemies, even the most godlike of characters can be fully engaging. Since it should already be clear what I think of the characters in Kaze no Stigma, particularly Kazuma, it should be evident that we're not looking at a work here that's managed said daunting task.

And to be clear, it is Kazuma, specifically, who I have a beef with on this score. Ayano and Ren have much more constrained suites of abilities, with a narrow focus and a limited power that frequently leaves them at least potentially in over their heads when facing their foes. Kazuma, however, is almost never threatened, and if he is then it's not typically when going all-out. Part of the problem is in the very terminology they use for Kazuma's top end powers – he's a Contractor. That is, he gained his abilities by entering into some sort of contract with the Wind Spirit Lord. This could easily have been used to introduce some of the complications that I mentioned earlier. A contract, by its nature, is an agreement between two parties, typically for some sort of mutual benefit. We know what Kazuma got out of his contract, but... how about the Wind Spirit Lord? What did Kazuma pay, or what does he still have to pay, in order to fulfill his end of the contract? Kaze no Stigma never answers this. It wasn't important or relevant to the show's writers, it was just an excuse for a former squib to now be magically amazing.

It's especially grating because even if you don't agree in abstract with the idea that great power should come at a potentially great price, the setup is such that it should have been that for Kazuma. We come to understand, fairly shortly into the show, that he finally sought out power not because he wanted it for its own sake, but because he suffered some sort of trauma while he was powerless and has a strong desire to not have to lose something dear to him again. Granted, he actually shows this motivation only a couple times, and acts somewhat at odds with it at other points, but that's just down to the inconsistent character writing in the show – the basic facts of Kazuma's setup are such that he became a contractor out of desperation. In a low point, with a dire need, he entered an agreement with an otherworldly being to gain strength. Basic narrative logic says that such a deal shouldn't be trivial or free. What makes Kazuma, and his suffering so special that he was actually able to gain his contract? The only hints we have suggest it should have been his devotion, and willingness to go as far as he might have to in order to fulfill the need his background left him with... but we never, not once, see anything either in him or about his contract that suggests that only Kazuma, or someone with Kazuma's dedication could have managed the incredible feat that he managed before the show started.

I suppose even that could have been forgiven if Kazuma was smartly written, and challenged as a person so we could understand his pain and trials and get to know him as a person, but... he's not. There's a point or two in the final arc where the writing tries, but it tries very briefly, and in a few ways that don't agree with each other. When finally faced with something that's a good challenge for him (even if not a combat challenge) he reacts... actually, I don't understand how he reacts, he has to react more than once and he has a different reaction every time and there's not really a rhyme or reason for why he moves between his reaction when he does.

In some ways, this is the biggest failing of Kaze no Stigma – not that it just didn't manage to navigate the trouble of having a heavyweight magician with a lot of utility for a main character, but that it did actually come close, only to have critical failings at every point along the line keep it from actually paying off. The material with the character Lapis could have been not just good material, but legitimately great material... if it came earlier in a story devised by much better writers. It's a powerhouse setup, worthy of a really great show, and it's entirely, 100% squandered by how badly supported it is in this.

Length: 24 episodes
Original Airdates: 4/07 - 9/07
Demographic: Seinen (should be shounen)
Genres: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural

Plot Synopsis
Ayano is the heir to the house of Kannagi, a house with ties to the spirit of fire whose members are all fire users. All except for her cousin, Kazuma. After he was defeated by Ayano, his father banish him from the house in disgrace. Kazuma runs off and changes his surname to Yagami. He forms a contract with the spirit of wind and becomes a powerful wind user. 4 years later, he returns.

Personal Opinion
So the promotional picture for this anime shows a girls with fire red hair and ... eyes and holding a sword that's ablaze... hmm i wonder if that sounds familiar... *coughShanacough*
Oh well... so i decided to watch this series on a whim... it was getting decent reviews and since i liked Shana, it seemed like a logical choice of anime. Indeed the first few episodes were quite engrossing. It had some great animation (especially when Kazuma was using his wind mage powers). However... by episode 12-13, it got quite slow. 4-5 episodes were solely on attempting to advance the relationship btw Kazuma and Ayano... and they got nowhere. The final arc had a really good idea... but poor execution. The ending was a cliffhanger of sorts, so it's likely that this isn't the last we see of Kaze no Stigma.
Overall... this is a show that you can watch and forget. Be in awe of the animation... but not care about the characters

Also... what's up w/ japan and having cousins fall in love w/ each other.

6/10

Similar to...
-Bleach
Flashy fights... taking hits that would normally kill you

-Busou Renkin
Same as Bleach

- Shakugan no Shana
Lead girl is fire sword wielding warrior. Also the main characters tend to argue a lot in a "cute" way.

- Zero no Tsukaima
The main characters tend to argue a lot in a "cute" way

Kazuma is really the only thing that makes this show worth watching... without him I wouldn't have finished it. It's not unbearable, but it's also not fantastic. The only part I love is Kazuma. With his smart ass attitude toward Ayano he makes me laugh a lot. Ren was cute but her got himself kidnapped three times if I counted correctly, I think he was just their to create plot problems. Ayano was annoying and full of herself. I know I'm talking mostly about the characters, but I did like the concept of the magic users. And pandemonium at the end was really entertaining.

It's an alright anime.

Story:
I think another 12 or 13 episodes should have been allowed for this series to make this a coherent story. But with 24 episodes, some story arcs were rushed or the ending was not satisfying enough. I was left somewhat frustrated or wanting more in some of the endings.

Then there are the backstories, there is not enough of it. Lots of explanations that needed to be there to clear up any confusion. i.e. What Kazuma actually do in his exile period? (other than him acquiring some power).

Art:
The monsters and minions used in here look good. Though some scenes just ... looked very awkward.

Sound:
It's good.

Character:
The main protagonist, Kazuma, is competent and able to compose himself in what would be stressful situations. (well until someone connected to his past comes along). And he does lose his cool sometimes and goes all out rage mode.

The other main protagonist, Ayano, completely the opposite. She's a hot headed (quite literally as well) rocket that could pop at any time. Though she is able to occasionally become competent and able to think of a strategy.

Enjoyment:
Overall, the story was interesting enough for me to forgive the writers for hacking the story a bit to fit it into the 24 episode constraint. And was satisfied with the open-ended ending.

I'm prepared to re-watch this in the future once I have read the source. (light novels).

Hmmmmmm! All I can say is that I'm not all too entirely impressed with this series. Maybe because I made the mistake of reading some reviews before I actually watched the series, which created expectations....not that I expected this series to be THAT much beyond mediocre. But besides the attractive characters, special F/X and the fanservice there was still a very crucial ingredient missing: a good story.

~Art
I love the art....as usual. This is always the way I get suckered into watching anime. I love clean lines and bright colors with attractive characters. This show does not disappoint in this regard....the special F/X are moderate.

~Sound
Most of ... the songs are terrible. "Tsuki Hana no Inori" the ending song for episode 12, wasn't too bad....but I still didn't like it. The reason being, it's so very obvious that they were trying to get viewers to cry and be moved with all of these feelings, I think that was a cheap tactic on their part and so I don't like it. I don't like being emotionally manipulated...especially when it's so blatantly obvious.
I watched the show in English dub, and I was happy with the work that was done. No one's voice was mismatched or annoying.

~Story
There really wasn't a story here. I don't know if they're using a manga or light novel as the foundation for this anime but if they are then it was either a terrible manga or this is one horrible adaptation. This story did not properly blend the dramatic and comedic elements well, one minute the mood seems tense and serious with some pretty strong and violent scenes but then it become humorous and plain wacky.....then it gets serious again.
There were SOME good parts, some pretty good dramatic parts near the end but everything was just so very predictable and that really hurt the value of the story. Also to me, a lot of the times just seemed like lame reasons to pair up the two main characters and that whole [I hate you — but I secretly like you] thing was a pretty transparent and tired way to go about defining their relationship, what was the point of it exactly? I'm not super crazy about the fanservice either, I understand it exists and there are an overwhelming majority of viewers out there that love it...so I understand WHY it exists, but it would be more tolerable if there were realistic reasons why the girl's outfit always gets shredded and not the guy's. Like, really, the excessive panty shots and that school uniform got on my nerves.
Honestly, they could have made this one of those 12 episode animes or a full-feature movie/OAV and that would have been great.

~Characters
The characters a pretty nice looking, but I don't think they were developed well. For example, who are the Kannagis? They seem to have a feudal mentality and operate on that feudal level but the story clearly seems to take place in more recent times. So what do they do for a living? And how are they rich? They don't look like the corporate type so are they just some “Ghost Hunter” family?
Kazuma's relationship with his father is one of those things that's confusing, one minute it's supposed to be this tense and volatile relationship...then the next minute it's kinda comical.
Don't get me wrong, I think the principal characters were developed [for the most part], with Kazuma being the best developed character. His story and personality seems to line up correctly, given his personal background, it makes sense for him to be somewhat reserved, brooding and distant from people.
But Ayano I'm not too crazy about, she suffers from the “randomly angry girl syndrome” there's an official name for these types of anime girls....but I forgot. The point is that her entire personality is a cliché. Some might argue that it's necessary to be a hot-head to use fire power...but then, explain Ren? He's way more level-headed then Ayano and his powers seem to pack quite a wallop. Which is why I like Ren and Kazuma, they seem logical....Ayano, not so much.
The majority of the supporting cast are just too random [by random I mean to say their personalities are VERY predictable, but they just seem show up at random just to be an adversary for the main characters], the Tsuwabuki Family [the earth family] were the worst perpetrators. It baffles me how Mayumi was so very repulsed by Ayumi and contributed to her frequent abuse, yet she offers up a feeble apology [after all this hatred and abuse] as she lay dying.....ridiculous! The eldest brunette sister, was just randomly evil and died just as randomly.....she was just there to basically be the villainess for that chapter.

~Verdict
This is a good anime to watch if you are new to anime and have nothing to compare it against or you are graduating from the DIGIMON-kiddie-type genre. But Kaze no Stigma is still Anime for Dummies. This anime gets a “5” because I did like the art and the English dub.

Kaze no Stigma is pretty average series. It starts us off by introducing us to the illustrious Kannagi family, a highly respected mage family renowned for hunting youma and other demons. Kazuma, one of our protagonists, is the so called "black sheep" of the family and has made a return to Japan after four years abroad.

We soon learn Kazuma is a "black sheep" because he can't use fire magic well, which is what the Kannagi clan are known for. He left Japan, apparently, to study wind magic. This brings up the pointed question, is it really valid to be considered a stain on your family's ... honour when your only crime is incompetence?

We meet a few other main characters as well and the series does a fairly good job in fleshing them out; not much in terms of character development for most of the cast though. Kazuma starts out hating his old family but then out of the blue he seems mostly ambivalent.

Ayano, another protagonist, maintains her tsundere veneer throughout the series and doesn't really go anywhere with her character, unfortunately. It would have been nice to see her come to grips with her emotions and learn her fire magic a bit better, or at least something to give her a little more depth. That aside, her character is pretty valuable to the story and you can get a good laugh or two out of her.

The front half of the series gives a kind of "monster-of-the-week" feel as we go from one episode to the next and there isn't really an important continuity. Ayano's father, the head of the family, seeks to bring Kazuma back into the Kannagi family before it's "too late" but we're never given an explanation why he's so important, especially if he can't use fire magic. In order to bring Kazuma back, he plays matchmaker for Kazuma and Ayano. It's a little out of place given some family circumstances, but it's done really well and is a nice light hearted approach to a series that has potential for a darker tone.

The second half of the series is where we run into the main plot. The story gets notably darker here and laughs are fewer and far between. People around Japan are acquiring magic powers somehow, and it's up to the heroes to find out how and stop it. Not giving it away, but how they get these powers is pretty silly and feels very tacked on, like they couldn't find a better way to have this happen and keep it original.

The art is very good and you can tell they put quite a bit of effort into it, especially given the year it came out. Atleast as far as the female cast. Most of the designs for the female characters are much more appealing and colourful than for the male cast, who by and large appear very boring.

The sound is nothing special, but the english dub has a very strong voice cast. Cherami Leigh as Ayano can get a bit grating after a while, but she adds a very nice attitude to Ayano's tsundere characterization. Robert McCollum gives Kazuma a kind of new yorker/boston accent which works very well and helps the character come across as the cool, collected type he is, while still giving a flavour of young punk.

The series is strongest in the first half of the series but is still just fine for the second half. The series may have been better if it had been shorter, as there is little character development. All in all a very average entry for the magic/supernatural/fantasy. You won't miss anything by skipping it. Watch something like Shakugan no Shana instead.

a few episodes in the way ayumi was and how she sounded just really irked me, everything seem overexaggerated. like i get that that's how she's supposed to be because she's a fire magic user, but it didnt alleviate any of the dislike i felt for her. the plot is okay, its easy to follow. i watch it on and off when i've nothing else to watch, the voice actor of kazuma keeps me coming back really. i'd recommend it as something to fill the time.

I watched two episodes of this show before I started ignoring it. Because I was so vehemently disappointed with the animu industry's inability to make likeable male leads, and I was so sick of the US anime licensing companies' promoting (i.e. lying in order to sell crap to everyone).

The only reason I'm starting to watch this again? Someone over at 4chan's /a/, along with pictures to back it up, having a nasty tirade against Kazuma Yagami and the fact that he's not just like every other animu male lead.

I WILL agree that Kazuma comes off as a gr... I take it back.

I, too, would wanna ... be "powerful" enough to kick every other douche-bag's ass. But human beings are funny (as noted in Chromeshelled Regios); they don't wanna pay for their past douche-bag-ism. In fact, the effects are negative; they want more "power" so they can come back and kick YOUR ass.

And then there's Spiderman's Peter Parker being told by his uncle that with great power comes great responsibility. So of course, you kick everybody's ass and they expect you to save the day. ^_^;

Kazuma's the anti-thesis of what you expect from every current animu male lead. He's straightforward, strong, unwilling to put up with $#17, and still has a heart despite being a jerk.

Ayano, on the other hand, is yet another cliched tsundere who'd do great if the male lead's a luckless pansy. Unfortunately for her, Kazuma's NOT a luckless pansy; hence she ends up becoming the nice-looking butt of the physical slapstick comedy. (Major kudos to Cherami Leigh for her work voicing her.)

Ren's the "Larry" of the trio; having enough power to hold his own... but always on the sidelines crying when the KazAya banter commences.

The art and animation are NOT good (because "who wants to watch a show about a shounen lead indiscriminately kicking ass?"). But atleast it's not upskirt panty shots.

And yes. Pardon me for taking so long to come back to this show. It's just... The tons of pansy-ass-ness I'm seeing from the lot of shounen in the lot of animu today... I nearly lost all hope.