Kazuma Archives | 100 Word Anime

Overview:

Kaze no Stigma focusses on Kazuma Yagami who was previously expelled from the Kannagi family when he failed to develop any fire magic. He’s returned to Japan after an absence and he’s no longer the weakling a lot of the family took him for. Having become a contractor for the spirits of the wind, he’s got a few new tricks up his sleeve. Throw in tragic back story and meddling family member trying to set him up with his cousin and you have the basics of this story.

Review:

Kaze no Stigma is one of those very weird anime where it actually has some really great ideas and parts of it and individual stories are actually quite good, but you have to sit through some real groan inducing moments to find them. The overall enjoyment of the action and magic (which are quite enjoyable) continually gets disrupted by completely unnecessary (and fairly poorly executed) fanservice, obvious comedy moments that seldom hit the mark, or just random character interactions that don’t really seem to contribute much. What you end up with is a series that as a whole is watchable but can’t really be well recommended.

The basic consistency issues are most clearly highlighted through the two lead characters. We meet Ayano Kannagi first and she’s an arrogant and hot headed fire magic user from the Kannagi family and destined to be its next head (after she beat down Kazuma way back when). However, despite some raw power she’s pretty useless most of the time. Also, despite continuous evidence throughout the series that Kazuma is now way out of her league, she continues to belittle him verbally and pick fights with him, even while blushing and getting jealous every time he even interacts with another female character. Basically, Ayano’s character is such a cliché character. She doesn’t come off as authentic in the slightest.

While that would be bad enough, the show also continually uses her for its fanservice elements (though she isn’t the only female character who gets put through this). Her clothes are regularly strategically torn during figths and we and other characters get some interesting angles when she’s in combat. They don’t even make it through the first sequence in episode 1 before the wind blows her skirt up with her declaring “I hate the wind” which is nice for setting up her love/hate relationship with Kazuma but pretty horrendous as an introduction to the show.

Despite that, Ayano does get some cool moments. Her jumping off the building to intercept Kazuma when he lost his senses was pretty reckless but as she herself pointed out it was the only thing she could do in that situation. There are other moments in battle (usually after a pep-talk from Kazuma) where she manages to not be useless but these are few and far between.

Kazuma on the other hand goes from being cold to pretty much everyone in the Kannagi family (except Ren, his younger brother) to being cold to pretty much everyone except Ayano and Ren. Ayano however he mostly teases and torments. However, Kazuma’s basic personality feels far more realistic than Ayano’s given his history and we learn throughout the series that he has very real reasons for his anger toward his family and for keeping his distance from everyone else. His insistence that he get paid (even by the Kannagi’s) when helping out is explained by his uncle in that it allows him to help his family without losing face if it is a paid job. So while he might come off like a jerk, his actions mostly make sense. And he’s about the only character in the series who gets any development. He’s still a jerk to Ayano, though, and given she’s set up as the semi-love interest (though it never really goes anywhere) that’s a bit problematic.

None of the other characters really do much of anything. They are there, but they are really quite forgettable (with the exception of Ren who has nailed being cute little brother but not a pushover).

The story also is fairly inconsistent as it weaves from hunting down a killer, to some random youma fights, to American magic user showing up and challenging Ayano, to the mage family that are supposed to stop the volcano erupting, before we finally get to Kazuma snapping and seeking revenge for a past wrong. None of the stories are bad in and of themselves (except the American magic user, could have done without that) but the don’t really create a cohesive narrative either. It’s more we just kind of drift from idea to idea with characters who don’t really change much or have much in the way of a goal. Possibly this could still be interesting, but the stories are pretty predictable.

The art and animation is probably another part where this anime lacks consistency. While some scenes are quite well done and some fight sequences are really entertaining, others just seem lackluster. They serve their purpose but that’s about it. particularly around the mid-way point it all just seems very half-hearted.

Overall, this is a watchable series and if you like urban-fantasy you will probably enjoy it well enough. However, there are certainly stronger series out there.

Are you a fan of 100WordAnime.blog?

If you like this site and you like what I do, consider becoming a patron.

Thanks,

Karandi James.

Days Overview:

Our lead character in Days, Tsukishi Tsukamoto, doesn’t really have friends and doesn’t really have much going on but he’s a nice guy. One day, after starting high school, Kazama invites him on a whim to play and soon after Tsukamoto decides he wants to join the Seiseki Soccer team.

Problem is, they are a really good team and Tsukamoto has never played before. Can raw enthusiasm and determination really help him overcome his weaknesses and allow him to become part of the team?

Click here for more anime reviews.

Days Review:

I’d be lying if I said the story of Days isn’t trite and overly generic drivel that’s been the basis of about a million stories before. I’m not even a fan of sports movies and shows and even I know the one about the loser who becomes the star player of the team.

Sports anime like to focus on hard work overcoming all difficulties though they do throw in a few cautions about talent. Maybe the writers think it is inspiring. Not that some people don’t have their hard work rewarded but there are plenty of others who will put in the time and effort and still get a big fat nothing for their efforts.

Days episode 7 - logic has no place in an inspirational sports anime.

Despite this set up which sounds like it should make me want to roll my eyes right outside of my skull, and a main character who normally I would call a pathetic doormat and find truly irritating (though I guess he’s a ‘nice guy protagonist‘ just not a particularly interesting one), and being based on a sport I could not care less about, I really enjoyed watching Days.

I found it genuinely charming and at times vaguely inspirational until my usual cynical self kicked in. That didn’t stop me wanting to call out with Tsukamoto as he cheered on his team mates and it didn’t stop me smiling when he finally intercepted the ball or realised what he should be doing on the field and it didn’t stop me nearly crying when he failed and felt the utter and complete devastation of that failure.

It also didn’t stop that big cheesy grin spreading over my face when he got right back up again and continued to try his hardest.

Days 23 - yep guts will get you anywhere according to anime.

It would be great if I could say that there was a single concrete reason for this show working for me and yet that would also be a lie. There are pacing issues, animation issues, at times characterization is an issue as someone we barely know is suddenly important and you’re left rummaging through your head for any information you remember about them (large cast of soccer players from main team and competitors).

From any objective standpoint this show is average at best. Not terrible or broken. Just average.

Days episode 8 - why would you cheer for your opponent other than nice guy syndrome?

But maybe that’s enough. It’s a story we all know so they don’t waste time trying to be clever about the premise. There are no real unexpected twists and turns in the story and while there is a large cast this works in the show’s favour as we never really get sick of any one character and even those with obnoxious personalities aren’t around long enough to bring down the overall show.

Besides, there are some fun characters in this show. Mizuki (the Captain), the other first year players, Kimishita, the manager, and many of the opponents really shine in their moments before fading back into the background. This is Tsukamoto’s story and we are seldom allowed to forget that but that doesn’t stop us learning about these characters and falling in love with them as Tsukamoto really wants to be included in their world.

The animation isn’t amazing but were we tuning in to watch animated soccer or were we watching Tsukamoto and how he develops as a character. There’s a clear correlation between his improvement on the field and his mental state and yet even at the end he is riddled with insecurities about whether he ‘deserves’ to be part of the team.

Probably my real criticism of this show would be Kazama. He is the one who leads Tsukamoto into the world of soccer and at times it looks like his journey should be significant as well but we get so few glances at this other side of the story. Kazama is talented and confident but has some real issues with trusting a team. He’s the opposite of Tsukamoto and giving their stories equal time so the moments where they intersect and help each other could have had more meaning.

Instead Kazama ends up almost like a fairy god-mother hovering around the edges of the story and giving Tsukamoto the tiniest of pushes when needed. The one moment of conflict between the two was resolved almost instantly. This is probably the weakest part of the series in my opinion.

So if you want to watch a trite (wondrous) journey of a wimpy (driven) character going from nothing to vaguely competent but still developing this first season of Days will probably be a fun watch. It’s full of warmth and heart and by the end you really will support this team in their push for Nationals – which of course we still need season 2 to find out what happens next.

Yep, season 1 leaves us without even knowing if they got to Nationals. I expected them to qualify and then if we got another season to see the Nationals but instead we still have the finals to qualify to go before we get there.

And then of course no season 2. There are apparently three episodes of an OVA that I’ve never seen but regardless, I’m guessing we’re just going to have to celebrate the victories we get during this season and be happy for the time we had.

Images from: Days. Dir. K Uda. MAPPA. 2016