is a Japanese light novel series written by Takahiro Yamato and illustrated by Hanamaru Nanto. After the death of Yamato on July 20, 2009, the story remains incomplete at twelve volumes. A 24-episode anime adaptation directed by Junichi Sakata and animated by Gonzo aired from April–September 2007.
Plot Kazuma Kannagi was the eldest son of the Kannagi family and presumed heir. However, due to his inability to use , the power to control flames, within his family he was considered to be useless. Despite his inability to wield fire, his father insisted on him competing for the right to wield , a powerful heirloom sword traditionally wielded by the family heir. The 16-year-old Kazuma was soundly defeated by 12-year-old Ayano Kannagi, his second cousin, and his father banished him from the family.
Four years later, he returns as a master of , the power to control wind, and with a new name: Kazuma Yagami. Soon after his return, several Kannagi family members are killed by someone using Fūjutsu and Kazuma is presumed to have committed the murders in revenge for his banishment. Though innocent of the murders, he is confronted by various members of his former family who wish to fight him. However, the only person that Kazuma wants to fight is his father, the strongest Enjutsu user and whom he later defeats in a duel.
Kazuma is revealed to be a Contractor, a rare individual who has entered into a contract with the . Due to this, Kazuma is able to draw upon the wind spirits around him, which amplifies his inherent powers, and allows him to heal his wounds. When using this power, his eyes turn azure blue. However, this ability puts a strain on his body, as it is his stamina and will that limits the amount of power available to him.
After the duel Kazuma returns to his hotel and finds that his younger brother, Ren Kannagi, an extremely powerful Enjutsu user in his own right, has been eagerly waiting to see his adored elder brother again. Their reunion is interrupted by the Fūjutsu user who killed the other Kannagi and who kidnaps Ren. Kazuma returns to his former home to consult with the head of the Kannagi. Ayano intrudes into their meeting and, believing Kazuma to be guilty of the murders, attacks him on sight. Remonstrated by the family head, and her father, Ayano works with Kazuma to rescue Ren.
Further story arcs revolve around Kazuma, Ayano and Ren and the growing relationship between them.
Characters Protagonists
The title character and main protagonist of the series. Born Kazuma Kannagi, he is a former member of the Kannagi household and was born without the ability to use Enjutsu. As a result he was bullied by the other clan members. Despite his inability to wield fire, his father insisted that he contend for the position of clan heir, and he was easily defeated in the ceremony to wield "Enraiha", his family's sacred sword, by his second cousin, Ayano. At the age of 18, due to his failure, his father banishes Kazuma. It is hinted in the anime that he may have done so out of kindness, so that Kazuma would find his own path rather than languishing in misery at home. Four years later, at the age of 22, he returns to Japan with the name Kazuma Yagami, an arrogant and mercenary attitude and as the most powerful master of Fūjutsu ever known. It is later revealed that after Kazuma was banished from his family, his only desire was achieving great power. He traveled to a small town in China, where he caused all kinds of trouble until he met Tsui Ling, with whom he fell in love. Contented with his life, Kazuma no longer desired power and was happy just living with her. He survived by doing odd jobs as a freelancer. 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, leading to his engaging in a contract with the Wind Spirit Lord. In the light novel, it is revealed that shortly after Tsui Ling's death, Kazuma attempted suicide, but was saved at the last moment by a traveling Taoist sennin. The immortal felt the potential within Kazuma and brought Kazuma to his mountain where Kazuma spent the next year and a half in training. Kazuma was found to have great potential in all jutsu other than fire and could have mastered any of them. Li Lonyue, another one of the Taoist's disciples, believed that, with more training, Kazuma had the potential to become an immortal like them. 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. Sometime after becoming a Contractor, he killed Erwin Leszaar, the one responsible for Tsui Ling's death. Kazuma subsequently 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. As a , Kazuma's powers are extensive and he is by far the most powerful character in the series. In addition to being able to fly, even while supporting three other people, Kazuma can also launch blasts of wind that act as blades and manipulate the wind spirits to create a barrier that protects his body from physical harm or bends light around him as camouflage. In the anime, he is shown to have the ability to manipulate electricity as well. When Kazuma is using his Contractor powers and is extremely angry, his normal sky blue eyes turn crimson and his wind attack turns black. 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. Ayano notes that he is drawing only on a few emotions and is not in complete control of his powers. Further, she states that his normal strength is so overwhelming that she was never afraid of it since her fear seemed 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 'god-like.' Kazuma's cold, callous personality changes after he returns to Japan and begins to mend his relationship with his family. Near the end of the anime, he admits that he is able to love another person besides Tsui Ling and comes to realize that he is actually in love with Ayano.
The heroine of the series and a high school student of Seiryō Academy. Sixteen-year-old Ayano is a skilled and the named successor to the head of the Kannagi family. She is arrogant and impetuous, usually taking action without thinking things through and even defying her father's orders. Although usually undisciplined, she believes deeply in her heritage, and more than once has served as the voice of reason and drawn Kazuma into action or back to sanity. Though cocky and thoughtless on the surface, she is self-conscious and sometimes unsure of herself. She looks to others for guidance and simultaneously feels that, as heir, she should not. She yearns for approval and affection. Despite his arrogance, Ayano develops a crush on Kazuma and is easily flustered when he flirts with her. Her irritation with him is compounded by his habit of teasing her immediately afterwards. She is also indignant when he gets close to another woman. As the series progresses Ayano comes to realize that she is actually in love with Kazuma, who is the only person she sees as stronger in both power and presence than even her own father. Ayano's power is the Crimson Flame called , but she is not yet able to consciously control it. She also wields Enraiha, the Kannagi's sacred sword, which she earned by defeating Kazuma at the successor ceremony four years before the start of the story. The sword has fire properties and Ayano can summon it at any time. During combat, Ayano tends to fight recklessly and her anger and pride usually get the better of her. However, her power has helped her get Kazuma out of trouble many times. Ayano has never beaten Kazuma in any of their sparring matches and hates it when he points out the deficiencies in her fighting style. During their penultimate fight, she berates him furiously for falling for tricks that he taught her.
Kazuma's younger brother and the secondary protagonist of the series. He is a 12-year-old boy. He looks up to Ayano, whom he considers to be a big sister, and practically worships Kazuma, stating that one day he hopes to be as strong as him. 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 athletics. His closest friends are Kanon Suzuhara (who has a romantic interest in him) and Tatsuya Serizawa. Unlike other members of the Kannagi family, Ren never rejected Kazuma for his inability to master fire magic and has always loved and respected him as an older brother. In turn, Kazuma cares for Ren deeply (although he is reluctant to reveal this in front of others) and never hesitates to step in when Ren finds himself in danger. In one of the story arcs, Ren falls in love with a girl named Ayumi, only to find out that she is a clone created to be a sacrifice in a ritual. Despite saving her from being sacrificed, she still dies due to having an artificially short life span, but not before she tells Ren that she also loves him. Despite Ren's feelings of inadequacy early on in the series, Ayumi's death inspires him to become stronger so that he can protect the ones he loves. Ren's power is the Golden Flame, which has the greatest purification effect. He is a middle school student of Seiryō Academy, the same school Ayano attends.
Kannagi family
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, both of them are so stubborn and headstrong that every time they meet, they immediately butt heads and seem on the verge of attacking each other. Even though Genma is the strongest Enjutsushi of the Kannagi clan, and wields the blue Divine Flame, Sōen, which only eleven others have wielded since the founding of the clan, on returning to Japan, Kazuma is able to defeat him. Despite their similarities (or perhaps because of them), neither Genma nor Kazuma are willing to admit to the love and respect they have for one another. Like many members of the Kannagi, Genma looked down on the Fūga Clan and wind users in general. When Kazuma goes berserk near the end of the series, Genma is the first to volunteer to assassinate his disinherited son, Even so, he secretly thanks Ayano for offering to stop him because he did not want to kill him, showing that he cares for his son in the background.
Ayano's father and Genma's cousin. He is the current head of the Kannagi family. Jūgo worries about his headstrong daughter. 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. Contrary to the typical Kannagi doctrine that places merit solely on strength in using fire, Jūgo has been trying to stop discrimination against not only the Fūga Clan but the users of other jutsus as well. He also regrets not being able to stop Kazuma's expulsion from the family. Believing that Kazuma is essential to the Kannagis future, he constantly creates situations which force Ayano and Kazuma to work together in the hopes that they form a relationship. There appears to exist mutual respect between Jūgo and Kazuma. He is technically the strongest Enjutsushi of the Kannagi and wields the purple flame, but due to his mobility being hampered by a leg injury suffered in a car accident, he cedes that title to Genma. As a result of his injuries, Jūgo is never seen outside the Kannagi compound, and rarely even leaves his meeting room.