I'm not going to comment on price since I rent anime these days. Buying just gets too expensive. That being said...
I noticed that the editorial review of Kaze no Stigma is particularly scathing, and unnecessary in my opinion. Ayano and Kazuma's personalities fit their magic attributes quite nicely. She is far from being a Mary Sue, and his sarcasm is a large part of the humor in this series. I was wary of the "reluctant allies" aspect from the very beginning, and was worried that the characters, as well as the story would be too stereotypical. Upon Ayano's introduction, I had resigned myself to watching her being too headstrong for her own good. Concerning Kazuma, I thought he would be a jerk through the whole series, and to be honest, my first thought was "Oh great, he's going to be the Inuyasha type." To my delight, I was wrong.
The character interactions are really enjoyable. The story IS interesting, and not at all predictable, and not only that, it progresses nicely. The story starts out with the family rivalry theme, but doesn't dwell on it for long. It's only part of the story long enough to gain insight into Kazuma's past, and facilitate his first contact with Ayano. After dispatching with that aspect of the storyline (for the most part), the following episodes help progress the character relationships.
Romance fans will be thrilled that Kaze no Stigma actually has a fairly tangible romance between the main characters. It's not lovey dovey, but it's definitely an intended part of the story. The ending is very nicely wrapped up also. Some would probably say otherwise because the villain clearly has intentions of returning. However, I am certain Kaze no Stigma would have had a second season had the creator not passed away, so that argument is neither here nor there.
As far as the dub goes, Funimation does it again. The voice acting is fantastic as usual, although Ren's voice (Josh Grelle) is a little whiny sounding until you get used to it. Just wait for the character himself to show his maturity and it isn't so bad afterwards. There are special features at the end of the dvds with the Japanese voice actresses that are definitely worth watching as they are just adorable.
Get more detail about Kaze No Stigma: Season 1 Part 1 - Wind.
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