To Aru Kagaku no Railgun - Episode 1

Although I never actually 'blogged about To Aru Majutsu no Index here on this site, I did end up watching the entire series over a relatively brief period of time not too long ago, and the show as a whole turned out to be a pretty enjoyable romp all things considered. Of course, if one character stole the show from Touma and Index, the original series two leads, it was a certain Mikoto Misaka; and whaddya know, it just so happens that here she is with her own spin-off series, based upon a light novel which gave her exactly the same treatment.


So it is that we're reintroduced to Mikoto, Academy City's reknowned level five "railgun", and her friend and dorm companion Kuroko Shirai, a member of the Judgement organisation which protects the city from ne'er-do-wells. Of course, little has changed here in terms of characterisation, with Mikoto proving to be a short-tempered but generally pretty good natured sort, while Kuroko is a refined girl when she isn't leching over Mikoto and trying to figure out how to get into those rather interesting pants of hers.

This combination makes for some pretty full-on moments of fan service within this opening episode, which also introduces us to another two far less memorable girls - Level one Kazari Uihara (who also works alongside Kuruko as back-up within Judgement) and level zero Ruiko Saten. While much of this episode is made up of introductions and getting these main four characters familiar with one another and the viewer, there is just enough time for them to thwart a bank robbery in-progress, with even Saten doing her bit to save a child from kidnapping.

To be honest, I'm not going to bother hiding the fact that I'm thrilled at the prospect of a Mikoto Misaka-centric anime - As I've already mentioned, she was arguably the best thing about To Aru Majutsu no Index, and there's no reason why she can't take centre stage for an entire series of her own. Having said that, an awesome lead character does not necessarily a good anime make, so while this served as a pretty decent introduction and setup, it'll most certainly have to raise its game if it's going to continue to be interesting without simply retreading old ground over and over.