Age Appropriate: Teen
Emotional Response: exciting and hilarious - maybe a little confused
Notable Features: magic, demons, elemental spirits, family issues, cops
Language: English
Length: 2 seasons, 24 episodes
Overall Recommendation: Heck Yeah
"Ka! Zu! Ma!" - Angry Ayano
Kazuma Yagami, formerly Kazuma Kannagi, is a wind magic user. He's a 20-something upstart with a cocky attitude but hidden depths. He was kicked out of his family for his inability to use fire magic. The series opens with his return to his home, and the events that follow his arrival. At first the family believes that he is killing members as revenge, but in the end it's discovered that there is someone else behind things. He has a terrible relationship with his father, but a reasonable relationship with his uncle, the head of the Kannagi family. On top of that, his younger brother, Ren, is excited about Kazuma's return! Most of the family looks upon him with disdain, but Ren is just happy he's around. Kazuma's driving force to help the family is money, as a mercenary he works for anyone who makes enough, but his uncle makes the observation that by charging money, Kazuma can help without losing face.
His cousin, Ayano, follows his around with a mix of irritation at his being a traitor and a potential crush that she's in denial about. Ayano adds an element of coming of age story. Kazuma and Ayano often end up in battles together where her impetuousness gets her in trouble, but Kazuma uses some of those battles to teach her lessons about her magic. As the heir of the Kannagi family, she has the family fire sword and a wealth of power for her age. She just needs a little growing up until she's really ready for responsibility. Whenever there isn't a serious situation/episode, there is a decent about of shenanigans from Ayano and her friends. Somehow, Kazuma also picks up a pixie friend. On top of it all is a hilarious plot to get Ayano and Kazuma together by Juga - the head of the family.
Most of the evil villains are different versions of yoma demons or elemental beasts. Kazuma uses his magic, given to him by a contract with the Spirits of the Wind, to defeat the enemies. There is some hidden reason behind Kazuma's return and many of his actions throughout the series. There are flashbacks and foreshadowing around his reasons and the progression of events. In the end, it's this part of the story that provides the climax and reasons behind everything that happens.-----
Kaze No Stigma is so ridiculously emotional, but in a good way. There is a decent amount of comedy mixed in between the serious episodes and storyline. Kazuma is kind of arrogant, but since he's got so much power he seems to deserve some of it. Ayano is a sassy brat girl constantly getting into trouble. They're pretty much a match made in heaven. That seems to be a driving force of the series, too. With Juga's persistent plotting to get them together, in order to Kazuma back in the family, there are a good number of episodes pretty much dedicated to how things can get messed up pretty easily when the both of them involved. The weirdest part is how the beginning of the series starts seriously, with magic and set ups and family tragedy, but then there is a huge chunk that is just stupid-funny, and embarrassing.
The ending is kind of disjointed, and maybe a little extreme. Almost like the writers thought to themselves "Oh, yeah. We're supposed to have a point."It's probably the reason it didn't get some better rating. It was sudden. The end story isn't bad, though. In general, I liked this one. The occasional, complicated technology integrated with magic is kind of cool. Kazuma, in theory, is crush worthy, although not my type personally. There are certainly some good action magical fight scenes for your viewing pleasure. At the very least, it was a nice follow up to Dance in the Vampire Bund. Demon King Daimao and this are making it all better. So, yeah, go ahead and watch it.
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What's up?: Miracle Train
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