Kaze no Stigma

Kaze no Stigma (風の聖痕, lit. Stigma of the Wind) is an anime series directed by Jun'ichi Sakata and produced by Gonzo. They are based on the light novel series Kaze no Stigma by Takahiro Yamato, and adapt the source material over twenty-four episodes. The plot of the episodes is based on the return of Kazuma Yagami to Japan after being exiled by his clan of fire magic users. Kazuma is hired by the head of the clan to solve supernatural cases alongside his younger brother Ren and cousin Ayano.

The Head of the Kannagi Family (Season 1, Episode 3)

Kazuma Yagami, a wind magic user, is framed for murdering members of his former clan. To make matters worse, his brother Ren was kidnapped by the culprit. With no other leads, Kazuma visits Jugo Kannagi, head of the clan. After Kazuma shows Jugo who the culprit is from his files, Jugo reveals him as Ryuya Kazamaki, a member of the Fuga clan. The Fuga clan served under the Kannagi clan for 300 years, but Hugo suspects they had enough and now want to take their revenge. The opposing clan was at war with the Kannagi's, but they were defeated when their source of power, a powerful Youma named Gehou, was sealed. To break Gehou's seal, they need an immediate family member of the Kannagi clan like Ren to break the seal.

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Already possessing some of Gehou's power, Ryuya sends Ren his aura in order to control him and break the seal.

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Contractor (Season 1, Episode 4)

While Ryuya slows down Kazuma and Ayano, the head of the Fuga clan commands Ren to break the seal. The seal is broken, but Kazuma arrives and whisks Ren before Gehou has the chance to eat him. Kazuma puts his hand over Ren's face and removes the aura.

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Their time together is short when Ryuya swoops in and fuses with Gehou. The head of the Fuga clan asks Gehou to smite Kazuma and Ren, but Gehou strikes the Fuga clan instead and heads for the Kannagi household.

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  Ryuya reacts to Gehou's presence.

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The two, along with Ayano, defeat the Youma and prevent its aura from spreading. Although she dealt the killing blow, Kazuma reveals he does not need her help defeating Gehou, which frustrates her when the fate of her clan was at stake.

How to Defeat a Magic User (Season 1, Episode 17)

There is a website on the Internet that gives visitors magical powers. While Ayano and Kazuma stroll through Tokyo, they come across one user who has the power to enlarge his muscles. Kazuma accepts his challenge and easily beats him.

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Meanwhile, Nanase and the rest of the Tennis club find a Peeping Tom by the name of Utsumi and beat him. He is suspended for three days, but during those three days members of the club went through unfortunate accidents. Nanase is the last survivor of this "curse". When Utsumi returns to school, he claims to be the "chosen one" and immediately starts a fight with Nanase. Despite showing his ability to shoot a ball of energy and revealing he is the one behind the curse, Nanase is unimpressed. Utsumi is insulted and gives her one last chance to be his slave, but she fires two tasers at him.

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  "A-ki-ha-ba-ra"

Nanase's bravery was just a front. Her acting skills did get Utsumi to confess so he gets arrested by Kirika. Utsumi and the guy from earlier are no threat anymore, but Kirika warns them that there are more teenagers obtaining powers and attacking innocent people and each other. Yukari heard about this phenomenon online. Users are treating this like a video game, almost like a...

Tokyo RPG (Season 1, Episode 18)

Ren and a couple of his friends are walking home when a fellow student tries to hit on one of them. Ren punishes the rude student, but the student threatens to tell his superpowered brother about them. They are puzzled by the threat and go about their day.

Ayano is walking alone at night when she comes across Catherine chasing a magical girl. The magical girl is obviously part of the game. When asked how she got her powers, the magical girl mentions a place called Pandemonium. Catherine's familiar torches the girl before she can harass any more bystanders.

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  Miracle Shining Star Flash

Around the same time, Ren and Co. are walking home when the student from earlier takes them to an alley to introduce his brother. He is part of the game too and has the power to shoot fire. Ren is insulted by his carelessness but notices the fire user is possessed by a Youma. The fire user mentions someone called Vesalius lied about him being the best fire master. He tries his best move on Ren, but Ren counters it with his purifying fire, making the user lose his Youma and fire abilities. Ren questions the loser.

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  Ren sees the Youma from the fire "master".

Catherine figures out Pandemonium is a web site that acts as a Youma summoning ritual. Users of the site unknowingly give away their soul in exchange for a Youma that would give them special powers. People who find the web site could never find it again, so they go on message boards to socialize and exchange information. In order to level up, players fight bystanders and each other; when they reach a certain level it is rumored they can go to a physical place also named Pandemonium.

The former player tells Ren that he went to Pandemonium in real life. He claims it is a mansion where a man called Versalius will congratulate you and offer to change your class. The player does not remember how he got there, but he remembers being able to see the city from outside, and the mansion is between two buildings. Ren and friends figure out its location and investigate, but Ren ends up getting captured by Vesalius.

The Remnant of the Emerald (Season 1, Episode 20)

Kazuma, Kirika, and Ayano rescue Ren from Vesalius, who turns out to be Bernhardt Rhodes, an enemy from Kazuma's past. Before they can get any more information, Lapis, a copy of Kazuma's old lover Tsui-Ling, is ordered to destroy Pandemonium. The four of them escape empty-handed.

The following morning, they figure out Pandemonium, the game, is not over. Several players, including Utsumi, were offered class changes. This results in Utsumi escaping police custody.

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  Utsumi receives a new offer.

The Raging Wind Mage (Season 1, Episode 21)

Kazuma loses it. His methods for getting intel become violent when he interrupts a magic duel between two players, now calling themselves Seeds, and kills them both. From his second victim, he knows about Utsumi and hatches a plan that will show him Pandemonium's next location.

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  The ways teenagers use their powers are based on popular genres.

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Nanase's house is under the protection of Izumi and Catherine, so Kazuma defeats in order to draw out Utsumi. Nanase is under Utsumi's control and sleepwalks to her new master.

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Determination and Hesitation (Season 1, Episode 22)

While Ren searches for Kazuma in Central Park, he finds a Seed confronting Kazuma. Unlike the encounter last episode, the Seed is alone and looks more monsterous. Kazuma defeats him all the same. Ren tries to reason with him, but Ren's friends take him away before Kazuma gets the chance to turn on him.

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Meanwhile, Ayano's friend Yukari searches for clues about Seeds and finds their next meeting place at a building under construction. At the meeting, Utsumi appears, and Nanase appears beside him wearing leather lingerie. Utsumi tells his audience that tomorrow at midnight, they should gather in Central Park to encounter Pandemonium. Nanase forwards this information to Ayano, but Utsumi recognizes her and traps her with him.

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Ayano relays this information to Kirika, but Kirika reveals to her Kazuma would already know where Pandemonium will be since Nanase could have led him to Utsumi and Pandemonium, and Kazuma was already in Central Park when the lone Seeds member fruitlessly attacked him.

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Inside Pandemonium, Utsumi tells Bernhardt that Seeds will converge in Central Park and announces he will usurp him. Yukari tries to sneak off during their exchange, but Lapis and Nanase catch her trying to sneak off. Lapis would not want Yukari to miss out on Bernhardt's plan.

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The Crimson Flame (Season 1, Episode 23)

Pandemonium lives up to its name. Rather than wait until midnight like they were told, Seeds start to defeat their own. Regardless of the results, when midnight comes, Pandemonium appears at the center of the park. The palace sends shockwaves through the park, turning Seeds into their Youma. They head straight to Pandemonium.

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  Pandemonium appears.

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However, they never arrive as Kazuma comes in and slices them all. Ayano confronts Kazuma and finally gets his act together, but the bits of Youma left are floating towards Pandemonium. Kazuma would destroy the place, but with Nanase and Yukari held captive, they decide to barge in instead.

Protectors of the Wind (Season 1, Episode 24)

Kazuma, Ayano, and Ren arrive at the innermost chamber. Nanase and Yukari, who's wearing a maid outfit, are standing on a stage. Lapis joins them. Lapis, Nanase, and Yukari tell the trio of Bernhardt's plan of summoning the demon Belial.

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After Lapis tells Kazuma how she still has a piece of Tsui-Ling left, he gets fed up and the three try to stop Lapis. Ayano fights Lapis head-on, but when her brainwashed, cosplaying friends stand in between them, Kazuma lands a blow on Lapis that knocks out Nanase and Yukari. Kazuma uses wind magic to move them away from battle.

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The ritual is complete. Pandemonium begins to crumbles and everybody flies outside. Kazuma does not forget about Nanase and Yukari and leaves them on a rooftop.

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