To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

I started watching To Aru Kagaku no Railgun on October 4, the week it first aired it's episode for the Fall of 2009 season. It was definitely one of the anime series that I look forward to the most because of my likeness for Misaka ever since Index (which I have yet to complete).

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun is not the sequel nor prequel for Index though. It was supposedly happened during the same time line as Index, some sort like parallel universe or something.

The story of Railgun pretty much evolves around the characters and we have several plots in it most noticeably the Level Upper arc and it's sequel which was the climax of the series. I say plots but in reality they are just filler episodes. The settings for all these stories are set in Academy City, just like Index (I have to stop comparing this with Index) but this time around I think it explore more of the city and kinda makes you feel like you want to be part of it, especially when they eat their ice-cream and crepes under the trees.

My most favorite episode gotta be episode 4 about the urban legend. This is the episode where Misaka used the sword that she made from gathering all the iron around her. It makes me a fangirl.


Misaka is obviously why the series takes off in the first place. Her presence in Index has so much impact that the studio, J.C Staff, decided to make one series that has her as the protagonist. She is the Railgun in question. Her partner is still the same worshiper cum her room-mate, Kuroko who clearly is still gay for Misaka. In the second last episode she was dreaming of Misaka and I DON'T WANT to know what her dream was *shudders*. Kuroko is a member of Judgment of District 177 with Uiharu, another main character in this series. Uiharu is very timid but is very dutiful and has a strong sense of fairness when it comes to her friend. Her trademark is the flowers on top of her head which wasn't explained until the end of the series. The flowers remain a mystery. Her power is super lame though: keeps everything that she touch in constant temperature. I don't know what's good that power is. Last but not least is Uiharu's best friend, Saten-san. In a place brimming with esper, she is a level 0. In other words, she's useless. lol I'm just kidding. She has her bat.

edit: This is just me but besides Misaka, I found the other main characters are rather annoying.

There are other less prominent characters but plays quite a role like Haruue, Kiyama, Kongo, Kihara, Tessou and few other characters that you might recognized from Index like Touma (fangirling), Index and Tsukuyomi.

If you read my tard's diaries, you would realized that I am a fan of Touma and Misaka's pairing. I love all the episodes that has Touma as a cameo. The combination of the two of them is made of win imo.


But I'm deviating.

Lets talk about the animation now. They are crisp and beautiful and most of the time, the background i.e. the Academy City is so lively it makes me wants to be part of the adventure also that I might meet Touma by chance. Kudos to the team because most of the fighting sequels are freaking awesome. The execution of Misaka's electricity and Kuroko's transportation are done almost without flaws. That is one of the reason why I look forward to see the actions in the series, and one of the best features, most definitely.

I am terrible when it comes to female seiyuus. I can't seem to be able to differentiate them accept for Orikasa Fumiko, but that's because I am gay for Rukia and Toriko. But let me say this: the seiyuus in Railgun are consistent and that's what excellent about them all. One in particular that did a good job at annoying me is Kuroko. Her voice makes me wants to strangle her but props for the seiyuu for the consistency. However, lemme just say that the villain, well, she top the chart for having the most annoying voice ever! She sounds like a fucking Brazilian all of a sudden!

I feel like I am repeating myself here so lets move on to the OP and ED. The OP is from fripSide and like Misaka is fully charge and definitely appropriate for the OP song of such shows. The ED from Elisa are quite a contrast to the upbeat OP and I can't say that I am a fan of such mellow song. But the ingredients might be just right for your cup of coffee though. Lets sings praises for the BGM too. They play kind of a big role in setting up the mood for some of the dramas and actions. Good job.

Did you see the youtube vid? Yeah, because of this one single episode, I can say that I did enjoy To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. It might disappoint you with the lack of plot and fillers but when the plot thickens you'll be sitting at the edge of your seat, well... kinda.

animation & art 8/10
story 6/10
character 8/10
sound 8/10
enjoyment 7/10
overall 7/10

Posted in: action, FUNimation, jc staff, Railgun, review, sci-fi