Kaze no Stigma

Synopsis

Yagami Kazuma was originally part of the Kannagi family, a respected family of fire users who have an affinity to fire. However, after being easily defeated by his cousin Ayano and having no talent whatsoever in fire magic, Kazuma is banished and casted out from his family. 4 years later, Kazuma finally returns to Japan, this time as an exceptionally powerful wind user. A series of murders on Kannagi family members have occurred with his arrival. While most of the family including Ayano is convinced Kazuma is the culprit, he honestly isn't. These events begin an all out war against the Kannagi family, with Kazuma and Ayano right in the middle of it. Based on the novel by Takahiro Yamato.

My Take

I didn't really think that I would come to like this anime. This is vaguely similar to Shakugan no Shana, to which I've dropped. The  plot isn't really that deep and the show can be very episodic. However, there's just something  in this anime and its characters that seemed very appealing to me. I have to admit that there were certain times that the pace of this anime is not very stable. Sometimes it picks up, sometimes it drops to a very skip-able episode.

I don't really like how the pace doesn't pick up that much. For one thing, the start of the series is very intriguing. After one problem is resolved, it goes to a number of different stand-alone episodes (to lighten up the mood, I guess), then it hurls you to a new arc which only lasts for a few episodes. Repeat rinse until the anime season is done. One sad thing about this anime is that there were quite a few unanswered questions left even after the last episode. I haven't read the manga, and I don't think I ever will, so they might have been answered there.

The chemistry between the two main characters is quite good. The *kyaaa~* meter went off the scale at the last episode of this anime >//o//<. There were just a lot of time that the feelings of Kazuma towards Ayano is very vague until you get to the later part of the episodes, but he does tease her a lot so I guess that was a big clue enough. Kazuma is definitely my type of guy (plus he reminds me of somebody quite dear to me >:3). It's quite clear that he's one of the good guys, but his character is quite tainted that him joining the dark side is quite possible. I just love how twisted his character goes when it involves around money and making his rivals suffer. His added weird laugh makes me chuckle even today.

As for Ayano, well, I like her character for some reason. She's girly enough to go with shoujo mangas, but her strong will is what amazes me. There were often times that I felt rolling my eyes toward her, but I never got the chance; her character doesn't allow her to be one of those weak anime girls that I've come to greatly dislike. There were times when she's at her weakest and she knows it, but she tries hard to overcome her weakness and that's what amazes me.

Well, that's that. I started my first entry under this category with Kaze no Stigma since this is the first anime that I finished since I finished tweaking my new blog. I hope you'll get to enjoy this anime as well when you have the chance to watch it.^^