Thursday, March 31, 2011

Stigma of the Wind

 



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.









Protagonists


Kazuma Yagami 
Kazuma is a former member of the Kannagi household. He was banished from the family by his father after being defeated by Ayano during the successor ceremony for "Enraiha", his family's sacred sword, due to his inability to use Enjutsu. In the light novel it is mentioned that Kazuma was found to have great potential in all other jutsu. Four years later, at the age of twenty two, he returns to Japan as a skilled master of Fūjutsu.
As a "Fūjutsushi" (Wind Technique Practitioner), Kazuma's powers are extensive. Apart from being able to fly even while holding three people, Kazuma can launch blasts of wind that act as blades, and manipulate wind spirits to create a barrier, protecting his body from physical harm or reflecting light in order to camouflage himself. It has also become apparent that he possibly has the ability to manipulate electricity, given that high speed wind friction creates static electricity and that Kazuma was shown generating it when he was utilizing his black wind.
Kazuma is also a Contractor, having entered into a contract with the "Kaze no Seirei-Ō" (Wind Spirit King). Because of that, Kazuma is able to draw upon all wind spirits in the atmosphere, which can amplify his powers, and allow him to heal his wounds. When using that power, his eyes turn azure blue. However, this ability puts a strain on his body. Also, when Kazuma is extremely angered, his eyes turn crimson red and his wind turns black and he is seen using mind reading powers. In this state, he has no qualms in hurting others with his abilities, as long as he gets what he wants. However, when in this state, his overall powers seem to be weaker because as stated by Ayano, he is drawing only on a few emotions and is not in complete control of his powers when Ayano helps him snap out of his rage, he states that his black wind is pathetic. At one point Ayano states that she was never afraid of him in his normal state, as he is so strong, her fear seems pointless. When she realizes that she fears his black wind, she knows she has a chance of defeating him, because that fear means that his power is no longer 'godlike.'
It is later revealed that after Kazuma was banished from his family, his only desire became achieving great power. He traveled to a small town in China, where he caused all kinds of trouble. That is until he met Tsui Ling, whom he fell in love with and eventually lived with. Kazuma no longer desired power and along with working part-time at a restaurant with her, he also took up a job as a freelancer, doing simple odd jobs. His happiness, however, came to an abrupt end when an organization used Tsui Ling as a sacrifice to summon a powerful demon. Blaming himself for failing to protect her, Kazuma once again sought out great power, thus his making a contract with the Wind Spirit Lord. Some time after becoming a Contractor, he killed the one responsible for Tsui Ling's death. Later, two years prior to the series' beginning, Kazuma made a name for himself as the demon-like wind mage, who did not hesitate to hurt others as long as his task was completed. However, his personality began to turn for the good once again after returning to Japan and meeting Ayano. Admitting near the end of the anime that he could now love another person besides Tsui Ling and he comes to realize that he is actually in love with Ayano.
In the light novel, it is revealed that shortly after Tsui Ling's death, Kazuma attempted to commit suicide, but was saved at the last moment by a traveling Taoist sennin. The immortal felt potential within Kazuma and brought Kazuma to his mountain where Kazuma spent the next year and a half in training. Li Lonyue, another one of the Taoist's disciples, believed that Kazuma can become an immortal like them with more training. However, Kazuma refused the offer, as he found immortality to be pointless and boring, instead opting to leave the mountain when he felt ready to carry out his vengeance.


Ayano Kannagi


Seventeen-year-old Ayano is a skilled "Enjutsushi" (Blaze Technique Master) and the successor to the Kannagi family's head. She is arrogant and impetuous, usually taking action by herself even while going against orders. Though she seems undisciplined, she believes deeply in her heritage, and more than once served as the voice of reason and drawn Kazuma back to action or sanity. Though cocky and thoughtless on the surface, she is self-conscious and sometimes unsure. She looks to others for guidance and simultaneously feels that she should not, responding yearningly to approval and affection. Though she finds Kazuma's arrogance and teasing abrasive, Ayano develops a crush on him but is easily flustered when he flirts with her, irritated due to his habit of taunting her immediately afterward, and is prone to unjustified indignance when he gets close to another woman. She later comes to realize that she is actually in love with him. Kazuma is also the only person she sees as stronger in power and presence than even her own father.
Ayano's power is the Crimson Flame called Kōen, but she is not yet able to consciously control it. She also holds Enraiha, the Kannagi's sacred sword, which she won by defeating Kazuma at the successor ceremony four years before the start of the story. The sword has fire properties and can be summoned by Ayano at any time. During combat, Ayano tends to fight recklessly and normally her anger and pride gets the better of her. Kazuma beats her in almost every encounter and points out the deficiencies in her fighting style. During their penultimate fight, she berates him furiously for falling for tricks that he taught her.


Kannagi Family

      Ren Kannagi

Kazuma's younger brother. He looks up to Ayano and practically worships Kazuma, stating that one day he hopes to be as strong as him so he can protect everyone. Ren has the appearance of a bishōnen, which sometimes earns him the contempt of some of his male classmates. Even so, Ren appears to be very popular at his school, excelling in his studies and in his athletic abilities. His biggest admirers include Suzuhara Kannon and Serizawa Tatsuya.
Ren later falls in love with a girl named Ayumi, only to find out that she is just a clone created to be sacrificed at a ritual. Even after saving her from the ritual, she still dies due to having a short life span, but not before she can tell him that she also loves him. Despite Ren's feelings of inadequacy early on in the series, Ayumi's death inspires Ren to become stronger so he can protect the ones he loves. Ren's power is the Golden Flame, said to have the largest purification effect.


Genma Kannagi


Ren and Kazuma's strict father. Though he is responsible for banishing Kazuma from the Kannagi family, he only wanted his son to find his own path in life. Like Kazuma, Genma has trouble expressing his feelings in front of others; in fact, the both of them are so headstrong that every time they meet, they immediately break out into a destructive battle. Though Kazuma defeats him in their first battle in years, Genma is the strongest En-Jutsushi of the Kannagi's, and wields the blue Divine Flame, Sōen, which only eleven others have wielded since the founding of the clan.
Despite their similarities, neither Genma nor Kazuma are willing to admit the similarities they have with each other.
Like many members of the Kannagi, Genma looks down on the Fūga Clan and wind users in general. When Kazuma goes berserk at the beginning of the series, Genma is the first to volunteer to assassinate his disinherited son.



      Jūgo Kannagi


Ayano's father and Genma's cousin. He is the current head of the Kannagi family. Jūgo worries about his headstrong daughter. Contrary to the Kannagi doctrine that is based solely on strength, Jūgo has been trying to stop discrimination against the Fūga Clan. He also regrets not being able to stop Kazuma's expulsion from the family. Believing that Kazuma is essential to the Kannagis, he constantly creates situations in which Ayano can form a relationship with Kazuma. There appears to exist mutual respect between Jūgo and Kazuma. As the head of the Kannagi family, Jūgo is responsible for directing the other members of the head family and branch families as well as the Fūga Clan. Jūgo is never seen in the series leaving the Kannagi compound, and rarely even leaves his meeting room.
He is actually considered to be the strongest Enjutsushi of the Kannagi and wields the purple flame but because of what happened to his leg during a car accident, Genma is considered to be the strongest.



Tsuwabuki Family

Kureha Tsuwabuki

Older daughter of the Tsuwabuki family, who are skilled "Chijutsushi" (Earth Technique Practitioner). During her father's absence due to 'illness', she becomes the head of the Tsuwabuki family. Zenon, the behemoth of Mt. Fuji, stripped her powers as a Chijutsushi. Like Kazuma, she was ostracized for her lack of power by her family. She is later killed by Zenon in a fit of rage. It is notable that once Zenon's restriction was lifted from her, Kureha's power was of an extremely high level as seen in her fight with Zenon.

Mayumi Tsuwabuki

Younger daughter of the Tsuwabuki family. Her clone, Ayumi, is used as the sacrifice in Taisai, the ritual of taming the behemoth within Mt. Fuji every 30 years preventing the volcano from erupting. The ritual involves claiming the life of a Chijutsushi, who is usually a member of the Tsuwabuki family, since 300 years ago. Due to Kareha's influence, she is a cold, heartless woman, from her portrayal and behavior towards her clone. She later feels remorse after Ayumi's sacrifice.

Ayumi Tsuwabuki

The clone of Mayumi Tsuwabuki. Although she has the appearance of a twelve year old, she is only a month old. According to Mayumi, she had been implanted with random memories from her and has a lifespan of about two months. Using the treasure of the Pixies, which is an egg that will hatch into the tribal leader of the Pixies, Ayumi's growth is accelerated, so that within one month, she grew twelve years. She falls in love with Ren. She sacrifices her life to weaken Zenon, so that Kazuma, Ren, and Ayano could destroy Zenon.


Supporting Characters


Kirika Tachibana

A detective working for the Tokyo MPD's Special Investigation Unit, in charge of investigating crimes related to jutsu. She occasionally works together with Kazuma. Her department aims to become the new partner of the Kannagi family, filling the gap made by the Fūga Clan's betrayal. To that end, they assist the Ōgamis by investigating and tracking other users of jutsu. She is later revealed to be an Onmyōji, a practitioner of the Yin Yang arts who can cast spells through chants and charms. It is revealed that she had met Kazuma two years prior and that after he left, she had wished that she would never see him again.




Yukari Shinomiya

One of Ayano's best friends and classmates. Yukari, along with Nanase, often teases Ayano about her apparent crush on Kazuma. She is well-connected to the information network of the student body and often knows what is happening around the school. Yukari's information extends beyond the school and into many areas of the Tokyo metropolis. She also carries a taser of unexplained origin with her.





Nanase Kudō

One of Ayano's best friends and classmates. She and Yukari know about the existence of jutsushi. Nanase is also a very athletic student, who is part of many of their school's athletic clubs, and is admired by many of the female students. While she is not as well connected as Yukari, Nanase is just as caring and carries much sway with the students.








Takeya Ōgami

A member of the Kannagi, Takeya is part of the party initially sent to bring in Kazuma for questioning. He is killed in the first episode by Ryūya after being knocked down by Kazuma. He was considered to be a powerful fire user by the family, but he was unprepared for Kazuma. Takeya always acts with a calm and level head.


Misao Ōgami

Sister of Takeya, who was the only person kind to her. Although a kind person at heart, having saved Kazuma from bullying ten years ago, Misao blames Kazuma for her brother's death and attempts to kill him. Her attempts fail, and she becomes a pawn in Michael's plan to take Kazuma down. In the end, Kazuma convinces her to atone for her sins by living on, and she is later instructed by Jūgo to retire to a convent.










Tsui-Ling

The girl Kazuma could not protect. She was sacrificed by the head member of the Armagest Erwin Leszaar to summon a demon. Rhodes used a spell to gather her remaining essence into a being called Lapis. Before her sacrifice, she and Kazuma worked in a restaurant, and were in love. According to Lapis in the last episode, her last thoughts were "Kazuma, I want to kill you." Whether this is true or lies meant to cause Kazuma pain is unknown (Kazuma notes that she may have said this out of spite towards his inability to save her). As Lapis, she is trained in anti-mage fighting.

Catherine McDonald

A member of an American family of Enjutsushi, specially skilled in creating and controlling spirit beasts to harness flames. She manipulates myriads of spirits into a single virtual persona to grasp tremendous power. While seemingly capable of creating different spirit beasts, her favorite is Metatron, an angel-like statue equipped with a sword. Kazuma has observed and mentioned that her fighting style is similar to Ayano's, referring to their simplistic and direct attacks, which lack any strategy or tactics. A rival against Ayano in both Enjutsushi and Kazuma's "love".








Antagonists

Ryūya Kazamaki

Son of Hyoue Kazamaki, leader of the Fūga Clan, which served the Kannagi for the last 300 years. In an elaborate plot to release the Fūga Clan's ancient master and take revenge on the Kannagi for the humiliation received since then, Ryūya's body becomes the host for a powerful yoma. Later on, he is killed in a joint attack by Kazuma and Ayano.


Bernhardt Rhodes

The chairman of Armagest, a powerful organization of modern magic users. He holds a grudge against Kazuma for killing his master. He is also the man who sacrificed Tsui-Ling.













Lapis

The entity that was made in Tsui-Ling's image by Bernhardt. Lapis carries a crystal broad sword, but wields it with ease, and is able to match Ayano in a sword duel. It is revealed in episode 21 of the anime that Lapis has a heart, so she can feel the joy in hurting others, among other emotions.

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