Review: Kaze no Stigma

To be honest, this is my third time to watch this but this is my first time to this in authentic Japanese dub and so far Daisuke Ono's voice acting is just fabulous! I'll be reviewing the anime and not the light novel so please hold your opinions as you take time to read this  one:


Story

The anime started with some action well it's not new but the anime itself seeks to give its viewers some thrill. The actions of different characters coming from different sides of the story shows about the characters' main abilities. Since this also includes the Action genre, then such scene is expected at the beginning of the anime. But, if there's something that saved the show then that's how the story flow went on. It may not be the best one to be honest but it is something that amuses me most of the time. 

The first half of the anime mostly revolves around this premise alone: and that is about Kazuma being the big shame in this family because not only he can't use some family magic but also changed his last name and used a different element. The beginning of the anime presented this premise well while the rest are just 'the adventures of Kazuma and friends'. However, the main premise was further supported by the final arc of this show which has something to do with Kazuma's past. But, the downfall of this is the chosen arc was not sufficient enough to add support to the main premise of the anime. That arc doesn't really appealed to me despite of its modern influences. The anime gave way to fanservice and this somehow amuses the viewers but also caused some downfall regarding some important elements of the show.


Music

The anime's opening  would always impress me in some ways. The lyrics and the music matches with the main themes of this anime in general. The ending song is something I really liked in this anime. It gives you a glimpse of the anime's mysterious and melancholic atmosphere wile maintaining its beat that matches well with its lyrics. The background music didn't really gave much impact to me though.


Characters

In general, the characters were generic and there's nothing that much new and impressive about them except for one; Kazuma Yagami. This guy's the protagonist of the show and the plot of the whole series itself showcased Kazuma as indeed the one who deserve the spotlight among the rest of the characters of the show, such as the other girl. The other girl is also part of the main cast; her name is Ayano Kannagi. Oh. she's just your typical tsundere bitch who wears a turquoise school uniform for some or no reason at all. The way the show was directed seeks to to give her a spotlight but sadly she just became a general distraction because most eyes are on Kazuma. Most of the characters lack much impact except for the and the girl named Tsui Lin.


Concept

This anime shows some action elements but there's something that didn't impressed me in this part which are the weapons and abilities. Yes, we're all almost sick of elemental magic that even an Avatar fan would just roll his/her eyes of hearing it almost everywhere. I'll give Enraiha a special mention here because the weapon is not really unique despite of it having an important role in the development of the character. The Enraiha appears as some weapon that shoots fire even though its user can shoot fire with her hands--- Oh come on! Nevertheless, to see such abilities just entertains me and there's a reason why I still watched this anime again.


Art

If there's something that brought me to watch this show then that would be the character designs. The character designs may look simple but unique in some ways. The colors may look dull but but the chosen color palette for this show is just appealing to the eyes. However there are certain flaws in terms of the character designs. Some character designs didn't gave impact to me that much because some of the characters have that weird clothing designs. Also, the movements of some characters have that "meh" first impression on me.

Nevertheless, the female character designs look nice and appealing. They're simply cute especially Ayano's even though I hated her attitude in the show. Ren's art looks quite feminine which matched his attitude well while Kazuma's look quite mature and serious. My most favorite design among all of those was Tsui Lin's. Her character design looks so mysterious and attractive to my eyes however her design has this loneliness aura that the viewers can feel in her, which is good really.


Overall

Despite of its flaws, this anime is decent to me and something amusing in a good way. This anime is simple and entertaining. While this may disappoint you in some areas, this anime is just casually good and fun to watch. So, if you have a thing for such anime then you have to give this a try!  

Scale: 6/10


More reviews will come so stay tune!~