*Story* 8/10
The story for Kaze no Stigma (KnS) in my opinion was going to be stereotypical: cool awesome guy, possible love interest girl, his brother, a vengeance type plot relating to his family, etc etc... save the world and the anime gets 5/10... however after watching the anime can i say wow... sure it had some plot holes, for example the Stigma of the Wind is never really explained, and Kazuma's past seems rushed, however this does not really matter, because the story has enough twists and turns to keep you watching, and of course the usual love/romantic side story between characters always adds a comedic side, overall i found that although it was a bit stereotypical, i thoroughly enjoyed this solid anime.
*Art* 7/10
Artwork in KnS was solid throughout the anime, wind was a major highlight of this anime, and the way the effects were done for the wind was a highlight, nothing really defied the laws of physics, and the wind seemed realistic. The main problem i had was with the fire artwork, to me it seemed as though the creators got lazy with fire and decided to just re-use the same boring fire image all over again, a bit a variance and realism would have been nice. However what really uplifts this anime is the character artwork, Kazuma looked cool, Ayano looked great, and ren looked loli-shota =P In my opinion the character artwork was above average for a 2007 anime.
*Sound* 7/10
The special effects sound was ok, i felt that something was missing in the fight scenes however, the anime needed more of a boom factor, and at times it seemed as if was lacking in BGM as well as the needed sword clashing sfx. The seiyuu's in this anime were fair, nothing outstanding, however well done to the Fujimura Ayumi, her voice acting for Ayano was one of the great things in this anime.
*Character* 8/10
The characters are the highlight of this anime, although it may seem stereotypical, it is their construction that really outshines anything else. Kazuma's dark past really gives his character a Light Yagami sort of feel and i thoroughly enjoyed it, Ayano and Ren were great to, Ayano was a great tsundere/moe type character and the Ren side story really moved me close to tears, it reminded me of the FSN ending ;(.
*Enjoyment* 8/10
Need more be said? The characters pulled this anime through, and even though the sound wasn't anything new and the story wasn't all that amazing, i stil thoroughly enjoyed this anime.
*OP and ED* 8/10
The OP was constant for all 24 episodes, and it was a bit bland at times, but not to the extent that i had to skip it. The ED's on the other hand were on opposite ends of the scale, the first ed Hitorikiri no Sora was in my opinion dull and boring instead of reflective, the second ed Ayumi Fujimura Matataki no Kiwoku was far better, and in my opinion a great ED to remember. However one song struck me, and that was Kanako Sakai Tsuki Hana no Inori, the ED for episode 12 and also an insert song... that one song has made my list of most memorable reflective songs after a significant event rivaling songs such as Hikari by Jyukai.
*Overall* 7/10
A nice solid anime, not a must see, but one you should definitely take a glance at. The ending is very enjoyable, and it is worth the watch, the climax in the middle of the anime is fantastic, and like i said before the characters are great.
~Savage the Fate/Stay Night Otaku~
