What's in the name?

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ILPPendant
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What's in the name?

Post by ILPPendant »

"Kaze no Stigma"...

Presumably this translates to "Stigma of the Wind" but that isn't really any more enlightening to those of us trying to make sense of the title. What is the "Stigma" supposed to be? How can wind possess one?

From my experience Japanese titles that use English tend to fall into the categories of either very literal* (e.g. Phantom of Inferno) or meaningless - but fun - gibberish (e.g. Fate/Stay Night).

Since it's only fair to give the title the benefit of the doubt I suggest the following interpretation.

Stigma basically means social disgrace and we know that Kazuma was essentially kicked out of the Kannagi family so it's fair to consider Kazuma to be the stigma. What's more he uses wind arts so we have a "Stigma" of the wind.

Remember, this is supposed to be unimaginatively literal ( :roll: ) and what amounts to a slight misuse of the word stigma isn't too far fetched.

If you wanted to be a little bit more charitable then you could say that Kazuma is a "stigma" because he is an exception to the usually weak wind users, almost a violation of the natural order (as natural as you can get with people who shoot fireballs at each other) and it's implied he had to do something decidedly unheroic to acquire so much power.

Does anyone have any other (i.e, better) ideas?


*Of course, that's hardly surprising given the almost Byzantine nature of the English language for non-native speakers.
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Re: What's in the name?

Post by ShadowZeroHeart »

ILPPendant wrote:"Kaze no Stigma"...

Presumably this translates to "Stigma of the Wind" but that isn't really any more enlightening to those of us trying to make sense of the title. What is the "Stigma" supposed to be? How can wind possess one?

From my experience Japanese titles that use English tend to fall into the categories of either very literal* (e.g. Phantom of Inferno) or meaningless - but fun - gibberish (e.g. Fate/Stay Night).

Since it's only fair to give the title the benefit of the doubt I suggest the following interpretation.

Stigma basically means social disgrace and we know that Kazuma was essentially kicked out of the Kannagi family so it's fair to consider Kazuma to be the stigma. What's more he uses wind arts so we have a "Stigma" of the wind.

Remember, this is supposed to be unimaginatively literal ( :roll: ) and what amounts to a slight misuse of the word stigma isn't too far fetched.

If you wanted to be a little bit more charitable then you could say that Kazuma is a "stigma" because he is an exception to the usually weak wind users, almost a violation of the natural order (as natural as you can get with people who shoot fireballs at each other) and it's implied he had to do something decidedly unheroic to acquire so much power.

Does anyone have any other (i.e, better) ideas?
Thank you for your comments. But allow me to explain this more clearly.

The word stigma does not necessarily mean a social disgrace.

From dictionary.com
(refer to http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stigma if you want to see all meanings)
1. a mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one's reputation.
5. stigmata, marks resembling the wounds of the crucified body of Christ, said to be supernaturally impressed on the bodies of certain persons, esp. nuns, tertiaries, and monastics.
And I believe that in this case, it is the other meaning.
The true title for the novel is 風の聖痕. 聖 means holy. Whereas 痕 means scar or marking. So it is highly likely that they are using the other meaning, that those are holy stigmata. So he is not a disgrace. That is for point one.

As to how the wind possesses it, it does not. It is Stigma OF the Wind. Just like in games, there are different elements like fire water wind etc. This stigma is of the element Wind. Thus Stigma of the Wind, Kaze no Stigma.

As for the entire interpretation of the name, it is not that Kazuma is a disgrace to the Kannagi family thus being Stigma, using wind arts and giving rise to the title stigma of the wind. But if you have read the novel or watched the anime, you would have realised that his eyes can change color. It is mentioned that those eyes are imprinted/stamped/engraved by the Wind Lord himself. Therefore, Stigma of the Wind means those eyes that are given to Kazuma to use ultimate wind capabilities. Does this answer your question?
God!!
You need not forgive me.
For those I love,
The violence brought about by sinful men
Shall now be used once more.
If you were created to save this world,
If there is a single shred of hope left for the future of mankind,
I am very sorry, but, please begone!
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ILPPendant
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Re: What's in the name?

Post by ILPPendant »

I see; I was working under a flawed assumption. Well, it's to be expected since I'm basically talking out of my ass anyway. :P I mean, I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere that his eyes change colour but obviously that fact wasn't registered in my mind as "important".

I had discounted the whole Stigmata idea completely since I didn't notice any explicit mentions of holy marks. If it's right there in kanji then everything becomes clear.

I haven't watched the anime but should I do so? I've avoided it so far out of dislike of adaptation decay, either rightly or wrongly.

Thanks for the response.
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Re: What's in the name?

Post by ShadowZeroHeart »

ILPPendant wrote:I see; I was working under a flawed assumption. Well, it's to be expected since I'm basically talking out of my ass anyway. :P I mean, I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere that his eyes change colour but obviously that fact wasn't registered in my mind as "important".

I had discounted the whole Stigmata idea completely since I didn't notice any explicit mentions of holy marks. If it's right there in kanji then everything becomes clear.

I haven't watched the anime but should I do so? I've avoided it so far out of dislike of adaptation decay, either rightly or wrongly.

Thanks for the response.
The story is largely the same. Except for a few minor differences here and there, such as the ignition series being mixed into the main story, and the hidden technique in volume 4 changed to Kazuma saving someones ass. That in turn made him seem like a nicer guy. However, there are quite some ideas and thoughts of the author that is written in words, and thus are not available in the anime. So I would not say whether you should or should not watch the anime. But most of the novel is still largely untranslated, whereas the anime covers most of the volumes. So it is up to you. However, I would recommend you to read the novel in the end nonetheless. Some concepts and ideas are worth noticing in there.
God!!
You need not forgive me.
For those I love,
The violence brought about by sinful men
Shall now be used once more.
If you were created to save this world,
If there is a single shred of hope left for the future of mankind,
I am very sorry, but, please begone!
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