Toaru Kagaku no Rērugan

Toaru Kagaku no Rērugan

(A Certain Scientific Railgun)

The side-series taken from the light novels "A Certain Magical Index" based around the Level 5 Esper Mikoto Misaka. 

OVERVIEW - Set in the same world, time and place as "A Certain Magical Index" but starting a little before the opening events of that series, The story centers on Mikoto, her perverted full-time stalker roomate Kuroko Shirai, Kuroko's partner at "Judgement" Kazari Uiharu, and Kazari's best friend Ruiko Saten. mostly a "slice of life" style with some epic arcs thrown in occasionally, the story runs at a different pace to "Index" but compliments it well. 

REVIEW - Made after the two "Index" series, this 24 episode side story features slightly better production, no magical aspects and has a heavy focus on the difference in treatment, social status and behaviour between the various "power levels" of the espers in the city. This is shown most intimately between the 4 friends, with Mikoto sitting at the top, a level 5 ranked 3rd in the whole city, Kuroko being a level 4, more common but still with enough power to be considered a "super-power" by any other definition, Kazari is a level 1, and as such her power is little more than a parlour trick with Ruiko being a level 0, one with no powers at all. 

The series also goes more in depth into the "day to day" of Academy city, With the organisations "Judgement" and "Anti-skill" explained a little more. Judgement appears to be the organisation that deals with low-level public disorder, keeping ability users in check and is staffed by ability users themselves while Anti-Skill seems mostly to be staffed by teachers without abilities and functions more like an armed response unit, dealing with the major issues. The social make-up of the schools are also examined, with Mikoto and Kuroko's school "Tokiwadai" being considered an "elite oujo-sama" school, basically filled with the rich, powerful (level 3 or above) and social elites, and its because of that reputation that a lot of the troubles appear in the one-shot episodes, with the arcs generally covering bits of a much longer story which actually takes all 24 episodes to wrap up. 

One of the more endearing aspects of the series is the bond between the four girls, who dispite their difference in power and social status become very close, always hanging out and looking out for each other. Another is Mikoto's almost perfect "Tsundere" personality, with her denying her true nature, that of a normal early-teenage girl, obsessed with things she finds cute (normally very childish things too) and trying to project a rough, tough tomboy image, all while coping with the aduration and fame her status brings. Large parts of the humour of the series come from Kuroko's seriously obscene obsession with Mikoto, bordering on sexual harrasment with her stereotypical stalker-like behaviour. While this was seen to a degree in "Index" you see the level of depravity to a much higher degree in "Railgun". 

The lack of the magical side present in "Index" means a lot of science is thrown at you, and the two major arcs deal with the concept of the AIM fields seen in the final arc of "Index" being used in a similar fashion. To clarify, the AIM (An Involuntary Movement) fields are basically an almost undetecable "bleed" of power from every ability user, and most of the storylines seem to trend towards the use/abuse of this phenonenom in both "Index" and "Railgun". The series also deals a lot with "Urban Legends", with most of the stories springing from the truths behind them, that or they reference other parts of the stories from "Index" (such as the legend of the man who's ability is that other abilities dont work on him). 

A fun, silly anime with some serious action in places, its a great way to explore the science of the world of "Index" and see some more of who Mikoto really is, as she is likely to play a much larger role in things if they produce a third season of "Index". worth watching on its own, it is best seen as a companion series to "Index", to be watched after. 

SUMMARY -

Story -  Tough to rate, with many one or two-part episodes with no real strong storyline, but has a underlaying story that can be seen through out in the form of personal development, interactions and random apperances by other characters. Has a few "Cameo's" from Touma and Index themselves. The big arc's are pretty epic, and build quite slowly. The way they, and the smaller stories, are all tied together in the final arc is very very clever however, boosting the overal rating here. 9/10

Production - Very high values here, the "obvious CG" from the two Index series is still present, but is much better, the cell shading no longer giving such a distinct and obvious feel. This is especially visable during the honestly epic "mecha chases a lambougini" scenes in the last episode, with near-seamless interaction between the animated parts and the CG parts. Voice acting is top-notch, and produces some very emotive sections. 9/10

Music - Theme songs are once again very dance-techno-pop style for the openers with poppy ballads making up the ending themes, which represent the action/slice of life/friendships themes fairly well. The insert and score songs are well used, if a little over-the-top and hammy in places. feels a little forced at times as well. 7/10

Accessability - Again, much like the "Index" series before, the show is very very japanese culture orientated. Almost every action shown is some kind of cultural referance with so many cliché's present, such as the public baths, teenage girls-in-cake-shops, classic "sailor suit" school uniforms, maid outfits and my personal hate, the "Violin-equals-high-class"... while its possible to just sit back and enjoy the action a lot of the humour and bonding that makes the series special is based in this, and could baffle those not familiar with the concepts. 1/10

Overall Impression - On its own, this series is "ok", but taken as part of the larger universe that includes the "Index" series, its an exceptional part of it. Adding depth and clarity to some concepts seen in the "Index" series and giving us a deeper look into the motivation and personality of one of that series protagonists as well as some honestly amazing battles (see "mecha chasing a lanbourgini" for that) Along with the good old "doing the wrong thing for the right reasons" slant the series really brings home the fact that there is a small group in the anime's universe who will do what they think is right to protect and defend others. An essential viewing for those who've seen "Index". 8/10

 

Final Score - 34/50