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.
