A Certain Magical Index - Reviews

"A Certain Magical Index" - A Disappointing Blend of Fantasy and Science - 4.5/10

Story: 4/10 "A Certain Magical Index" presents a fascinating premise, blending elements of magic and science fiction in a modern setting. Unfortunately, the promise of the concept is squandered by a convoluted and poorly executed narrative. The plot, set in Academy City, is riddled with inconsistencies, plot holes, and an excessive number of characters and factions. The pacing is erratic, with the story frequently losing focus and becoming muddled. While there are glimpses of intriguing world-building, the overall story lacks coherence and fails to engage the viewer, earning a disappointing 4 out of 10.

Animation: 6/10 The animation in "A Certain Magical Index" is serviceable but doesn't excel. It successfully portrays the diverse range of characters and their abilities, but it lacks the visual finesse seen in more exceptional anime series. Action scenes are decently animated, and character designs are relatively standard for the genre. While it maintains consistency throughout, it doesn't reach the heights of animation excellence, warranting a 6 out of 10.

Sound: 6/10 The sound design in "A Certain Magical Index" effectively complements the action sequences and dramatic moments. The background music sets the mood appropriately, but it doesn't offer much that's memorable. Voice acting is competent, with characters' voices matching their personalities well. While the sound quality is decent, it doesn't elevate the series in any significant way, resulting in a 6 out of 10 for the sound category.

Characters: 4/10 The characters in "A Certain Magical Index" encompass a wide array of supernatural abilities and backgrounds. Unfortunately, the large cast leads to underdeveloped and one-dimensional characters. Protagonist Kamijo Touma is a typical "hero" archetype with little depth. Many of the supporting characters are introduced and discarded without meaningful development. This lack of character depth prevents viewers from forming strong connections with the cast, resulting in a character rating of 4 out of 10.

Overall: 4.5/10 In summary, "A Certain Magical Index" is a disappointing blend of fantasy and science fiction that fails to live up to its intriguing premise. The convoluted and poorly executed story, coupled with inconsistent pacing and underdeveloped characters, hinders the series from realizing its full potential. While the animation and sound are serviceable, they can't compensate for the overall lackluster experience. Overall, it's a series that falls short of expectations, earning a final score of 4.5 out of 10 in my assessment.

I first thought it was going to be a normal "student protagonist meets magic" kinda anime but it opened a world building where magic and science ( wich are not words used together so often ) interact with each other.

Fun anime but hard to get in if you are planning on watching the series.

To aru kagaku no railgun is a better starting point, yet this is not bad.

I am posting this general review across :

1. to aru majutsu no index 1 and 2

2. to aru kagaku no railgun

This is one of my favorite series. I havnt read any books, as I normally dont, so I cant comment on how it justifies the transition from book form to animation form. Quite frankly I dont care either.

This series is probably so good because of its setting and its characters. The story isnt that wonderful because half of the time, I dont really get the "religious" stuff they talk about. Even if I was religious (which i used to be), I wouldnt fully understand what they are talking about sometimes.

The setting is in a big city, which is... I think basically a big school and dorm that is at the peak of scientific progress. So, you have cleaning robots that go around, wind mills, etc. There are students in the city that have powers that were indouwed upon them somehow. They have potential to have a certain power (teleportation for example), and this city brings out that potential. They use the powers through imagination/projection of thoughts. Mixed among all the science/technology, you have religious groups from there and around the world that seem to clash there often. Railgun is basically a close up on the daily lives of the girls. kuroko shirai, misaka mikoto (biri biri as touma calls her (or her power name: railgun, since she can control electricity, she can launch objects electromagnetically/ or w/e) for example. Touma and index are the main highlights of the regular series.

I like the setting (city) that things take place in. Its a great view. Some people like old timy settings with horses and carages. Some like settings with villages, or small towns, etc. I like settings with technology around. That falls in line with the things i like. I may be talking a lot about what "I" like, but you can judge whether you are like me or not, and whether you will like such a thing.

What really makes this series shine though... is the CHARACTERS. One of my favorite characters of all time is Shirai Kuroko. She is either lesbian or bisexual... or something like that lol. but she is hallarious. Her personality is amazing. The voice actor for her is my favorite voice-to-character match up. I like misaka a lot too, but everybody likes her lol, so ill just say one reason why i like her. She wears shorts under her skirt. so when she is violent and kicks something or wind blows or w/e, you dont see her panties. personally i think its amazingly cute and awesome. Its not only unique, but it shows a certain depth to her personality. The way the characters in this anime play off of each other is great too. Index is  somehow not annoying. She is not like the little sister that constantly annoys big brother, and makes you wana say "shut the fuck up you stupid whiney bitch." Of course touma isnt her brother, but hopefully you get my point. No characters in this anime make me want to punch the computer screen. At least not the ones you see often.

For the morals. I suppose it supports the whole "keep your spirits up and do your best" motto that most other animes support, but its not so bad. I hardly notice it, since im absorbed in the characters. This anime puts science and religion together. It doesnt really offend or support either side, so  I dont think you should shy away from it if your either atheist or religious (chrisitianity mainly).

My verdict in the end: The story is a bit lacking in explaination, so you dont really "get" what is happening all the time (although there may be some out there that do), BUT!!! since the characters are so wonderful, it makes the story aspect less relevant. an explaination of what i mean: The characters themselves, when going through a crisis in the city, (by the way: there is a lot of action), dont really understand why things are crap all the time either. They just know that perhaps their friend is in trouble, and they are going to go save them... or the city is about to get pulvarized by a giant religious spell, and they need to do w/e to stop it. You get enough of whats going on to get by, and then you watch how the characters deal with the problems and each other along the way. Its an enjoyable ride. The story overall isnt completely incomprehensible. Its just hard to explain I guess.

If anyone cares to add a comment in relation to my points, whether you agree or disagree, or perhaps its not a matter of agreement, but just a different perspective, please leave a comment, so that others can get some various information on this series.

Peace yall :)

To be honest, this anime lacks many things. The fight scenes aren't that great and if you notice is that in every fight scene the main theme is that the other characters have given up on something (ex. life, their identity, friendship..etc) making the protagonist fight/stop them while giving a long life speech in which is very boring due to the long length. Additionally, the fight scenes are not in any way detailed. Some anime may not have a detailed fight but it has comedy which makes it less boring while A Certain Magical Index has no traits to support the fight scenes. 

One of the anime's tropes is that the character's personality is your typical anime characters that can be found in almost every anime which again doesn't make the anime interesting. Some common anime tropes are:

- Harem Protagonist (A single character is liked and followed by many others like 3 or more who are madly in love with them or show a strong emotion to towards) 

- Tsundere (A character is initially cold but gradually show their softer sides later on)

- Loli (Are those who MAY or is NOT underage but is has the appearance of a young small one)

And many more. To be honest I personally think the girl characters are pretty useless in the anime because they are only shown on scene for a full 1 or 2 episode and then disappear to only reappear 8 episodes later. Furthermore, this anime keeps switching between comedy and a slice of life to Shounen but minimise anything interesting. 

Personally, this anime does not appeal to me but there are still good qualities to this anime. Additionally, this is my opinion so please take no offence in this if you like this type of anime. But overall, I am not a big fan of this anime. 

What can I say about this anime except the fact it was just...boring to me. 

Let me just start by naming things I did like.

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Okay so sometimes I laughed, but that was usually short lived. The plot idea was cool. They have like this science vs magician theme going on here and its a pretty neat concept. They sprinkle that with some religion and its like an okay I can deal with that. But honestly it just wasn't executed very well. I did enjoy the interactions between Acc....wow I already forgot his name. Was it Accelator? I think so. So the interactions between Accelator and Last Order were sweet. I also enjoyed Misaka's arch and the last arch. The show isn't that bad though, the pacing is good and the concept is interesting.

Now to the things I didn't like because not adding them to the things I do like is getting difficult. 

The plot is incredibily predictable. I guess when you see so many shounen's you just know whats happening at this point. I literally am the worst predictor but I knew. It takes a lot of suspense away or worry when you're just like....yea that's going to happen. And then it does. 

Lets see what else I didn't like. OH THE DIALOGUE. The dialogue during fights was hands down the most drawl out pointless dialogue I've ever read during a fight. Like maybe if they were shorter it wouldn't be so bad but it just keeps going. Like you're moved and thinking okay now they fight, but then they just keeping talking and its not even a progressive conversation. 

I didn't like Accelators laugh, can I say cringe. 

I didn't like Index, her character is just like this comedic relief thing and its just bleh. 

The soundtrack was nothing worthwhile, the animation was mostly good but in brief movements there was like this awkwardness. Very brief though, for the most part their animation was their best aspect of the show. 

Also Touma's amensia has got to be the most pointless story development ever. Like it literally doesn't affect anything, same character, same relationships for the most part. He just thinks a little differently about approaching a situation but its quickly smoothed over. Just pointless. 

Overall I think if you're newer into the anime shouen/harem world then this is a good starter. Sets the bar at a good place that isn't that disappointing and leaves a ton of room to find improvement. If you've seen a lot of shounen/harem anime and have favorites...stay away or save for later.