Review of A Certain Magical Index

Note: This is a review of the series in its entirety. Overview: Every anime fan has a 'dark horse'- in other words, a series that they end up loving a lot in spite of it not being that popular. For me, that series is "A Certain Magical Index". While it certainly isn't unpopular, it is very controversial as there are a lot of people who don't like very much for whatever reason. However, I'm not one of those people. I think it's an excellent series with a unique and highly intriguing science vs. magic theme, complimented by great action and fantastic characters. Story & World (8.5/10): "A Certain MagicalIndex" is generally set in the fictional Academy City, which is pretty much what it sounds like- a city packed with elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and colleges, and where about 80% of the population are students. It is also 20 years more advanced than anywhere else in the world, to the point that there are many people who have supernatural psychic powers developed by science. However, there is more to this world than meets the eye, as Touma Kamijou, a very unlucky but kind-hearted student, discovers when he finds a mysterious girl passed out on his balcony. She introduces herself as Index, a nun from the Church of England, which is home to sorcerers. While Touma is initially skeptical, he soon discovers that magic is indeed real and that there are people after the 103,000 grimoires Index carries with her, or rather the knowledge of them she carries due to her photographic memory. However, that's only one small part of the plot. And there's a lot of plot.

"A Certain Magical Index" has two seasons which equate to a total of 48 episodes which spread over 10 major arcs (as well a movie which tells a self-contained story). Most of them involve conflicts with the Magic Side but there are a couple which focus on the Science Side as well. The whole thing gets pretty convoluted. For a while, you will likely be confused as to what the point of all the various conflicts are as they seem to have no connection. However, things do start to make sense in the final arc of the second season, where seemingly random events suddenly come together.

Overall, I would say I definitely preferred the second season to the first, as I found it to be a lot more exciting and interesting. While none of the arcs are unwatchable, some are definitely better than others, with the final major arc of the second season being my favourite. Things ultimately end on a hell of a cliffhanger, though, which will leave people wanting a third season.

Art & Animation (9/10):
Visually, "Index" looks fantastic. The characters are all very well-drawn and the effects of the various spells and psychic abilities are great too. Notably, this is perhaps the only anime I have seen that uses panty shots for something other than fanservice (no, you didn't read that wrong). It doesn't look flawless- the fanservice can reach ecchi territory at times and there are a few rough edges- but overall the series looks really nice and is an effort J.C Staff definitely deserves credit for.

Sound & Dialogue (9/10):
"Index"'s soundtrack is pretty damn good, consisting mainly of electric tracks that really fit the tone of the show. I liked all of the openings except for the second, though the ending themes leave something to be desired. The dubbed voice acting is really good too, with Micah Solusod leading the cast in what is arguably his best role by far. It also features a fantastic performance from Monica Rial as Index, with her making full use of her extensive voice range. Besides them, the cast also includes Alexis Tipton, Austin Tindle, Jad Saxton and Brittney Karbowski. The latter has always been a hit-and-miss actor for me, but thankfully this is easily one of her best performances. The dialogue is also great, though most of the best lines come from Touma.

Characters (9.5/10):
We're introduced to Touma in a very clever way in the first scene, which has him running for his life from a group of thugs. Then, through a flashback, we learn that he got into that mess when he tried to help out a girl he didn't even know. These scenes subtly but brilliantly highlight his two most important character traits- his abysmal luck and his impulsive inclination to help others. Hell, he says word-for-word in one episode that he doesn't see why he needs a reason to help somebody. It is possible to make him mad though, and whenever a villain attempts to justify their crimes with a tragic past, he ALWAYS manages to prove they're nothing but hypocrites before punching them into next week. His sole weapon is the Imagine Breaker, a mysterious power in his right hand that, ironically, is the source of his bad luck, as it negates any supernatural phenomenon it comes in contact with, including God's blessing. However, Touma is able to turn this curse into an invaluable weapon, as the ability to negate the supernatural is extremely useful in a world where magicians and espers are pretty much the norm. That's not to say he's invincible though- he's far from it. There are ways to work around his negation and he loses a fight here and there. Essentially, he's the type of hero that all others should aspire to be and, if a bit annoying at times, a truly fantastic protagonist.

Next up is Index, who I would definitely say is my favourite character. As I mentioned before, she has the knowledge of 103,000 grimoires stored in her head, so she's basically a walking library. However, this isn't brought up all that often, and there are quite a few arcs in which she's just on the sidelines, which is rather strange for a title character. However, the arcs in which she does have a big part are also the ones I enjoyed most. She doesn't make that big an impact in the first season, but in the second her significance skyrockets, when her vast knowledge starts to really come in handy and she's seen taking on multiple enemies by herself. Besides that, she's funny, cute, warm-hearted and doesn't fall into any common character archetype (the closest I can think of is a mild case of tsundere). All of this combines into a very unique, lovable character who, unfortunately, has been cruelly overlooked by the masses, and a rare case where I wished a character was used more.

Mikoto Misaka is the next of the main characters. She's one of only seven Level 5 espers in Academy City, the highest achievable rank, and her ability is to fire out a massive blast of electricity similar to a railgun, hence her nickname. She even has her own spin-off series which I will review in the next few months. She's very popular, but I personally found her to be pretty annoying. She's more of a generic tsundere than Index and her ability isn't even that unique (railguns are quite common in Japanese media, as are people with electrical powers). I do love her, just not as much as Index or Touma. The fourth and final main character is Accelerator, the most powerful esper in Academy City who's introduced as a villain but becomes an anti-hero later on (it's common knowledge). He's definitely a lot darker than the other three and, unlike them, he does NOT hesitate to kill those who get in his way. His ability is to control vectors- basically, anything that comes in contact with him bounces right off, among other things. By the time he's turned to the good side, though, this has been severely restricted, just so he doesn't end up unstoppable.

Besides the main characters, there's a pretty huge supporting cast. It would take forever to go through all of them, so I'll say that the majority are well-fleshed out and are given at least one chance to shine. Sure, there are a few characters the show could have done without, such as the always present-yet-never relevant Aisa Himegami, but overall the characters are really well-written, extremely diverse and the main reason I love this series.

Enjoyment (9/10):
"Index" is a highly entertaining ride from start to finish. There's great action in almost every episode and during the parts without fighting, there's plenty of great comedy to keep you entertained, especially from Index. The series is one you will definitely want to see to the end if you can get past the first few episodes.

Overall:
"A Certain Magical Index" is amazing. There seems to be a lot of people who didn't like it that much, but I love it and consider it to be very underrated. With its amazing characters, great world, crisp art, kickass music and awesome action, this is a series I think everyone should at least check out. I hope to see more of Touma, Index and Academy City in the near future.

Score:
8.5+9+9+9.5+9=45/50=9.0/10