Summary:

In Academy City, the group Judgment is in charge of keeping the peace, but Misaka Mikoto doesn’t need their help and can handle all the hoodlums she encounters on her own. Mikoto is one of the few Level 5 supernatural power users in the city, and she demonstrates her railgun ability at school when all the girls are tested on their various powers. Her friend Shirai Kuroko is a Level 4 teleporter and a member of Judgment, and just as importantly, she’s infatuated with Mikoto. Kuroko often teams up with Level 1 Uiharu Kazari, and Uiharu is classmates with Level 0 Saten Ruiko. The four girls meet each other after Uiharu asks Kuroko to meet Mikoto and then brings Saten along. Mikoto proposes going to hang out at a game center, but along the way, the girls get sidetracked to a crepe stand so that Mikoto can collect a special figure being given away.

The situation, however, suddenly turns bad when a nearby bank gets robbed. In response to this, Kuroko and Uiharu spring into action as members of Judgment, and Kuroko asks Mikoto not to get involved. With her agility and teleport powers, Kuroko is easily able to handle two of the robbers, including the one with fire powers, but a third one gets away and tries to kidnap a little boy. Saten attempts to stop him and manages to grab the boy, however she gets kicked in the process. Seeing this angers Mikoto, and she decides to step in after all by using her railgun ability against the robber’s car, throwing it into the air and wrecking it. After the police group Anti-Skills show up to arrest the men, Saten gets thanked by the boy’s mother, and even Mikoto compliments her.

OP Sequence

OP: 「only my railgun」 by fripSide
Watch the OP! Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Streaming ▼

Even though it came at the end of the episode, this is definitely the OP, and it’s a pretty catchy high-speed song to boot. If I sound a little surprised, it’s because I didn’t think that either of To Aru Majutsu no Index’s opening songs were that great, so this was a pleasant change (of course this is a different artist too). As for the animation that went with it, it mostly showed off the various characters who’ll be in the show, and I was amused to see that Touma made it in.

Preview

Despite having come into this having read some of the manga, and thus running the chance that I would find the first episode boring because I already knew basically what was going to happen, I loved this first episode. It was funny, cute, filled with great action, did a good job reintroducing the characters, and had some great quality animation production by J.C. Staff. Most importantly though, it focused on Mikoto and stayed away from the long stretches of exposition that dragged down Index. It helps that I was already familiar with most of the characters and have the Index experience to compare with to see how much better this is. And of course the caveat is that this is only the first episode, and I think I was pretty happy about the first episode of Index too. But my point is that I was very happy with how this first episode turned out.

I think the only downside is that Kuroko’s voice (done by Arai Satomi) still gets on my nerves a little, but that was true back in Index too, and I’ll probably get used to it as the season goes on. I like Kuroko’s character at the very least and how she interacts with Mikoto and gets on her nerves. Uiharu and Saten are welcome additions too, though their roles were still relatively minor here. In any case, if the manga has told me anything based on the few chapters that I’ve read, it’s that Railgun is a lot more fun series than Index ever was. And given this very promising first episode, I’m really looking forward to the rest of this series and will definitely be blogging it.

70 Comments

  1. Heheh, who would have thought younger version of Ryuuji and his mom together with Shana and Kazumi will be in there XD. Makes me wonder if more cameo appearances will appear in the next episode O.o

    Chaos
  2. I looked forward to this the moment it was announced. Biri Biri was the best aspect of Index, IMO. Now having read it, I’m glad it’s full colour animated counterpart is coming out nicely done.

    Meery
  3. Heh yeah this was indeed exceptional. If they follow the manga, then I’ll be expecting the fights and plot to be a lot more interesting then what I’ve seen from Index. Basically Index – boring exposition + better fights + better characters.

    FlameStrike
  4. in the original OP for index there was a scene of touma walking past misaka at the vending machine from his perspective..and in this opening they show it from her perspective..nice 😀

    yuuji
  5. I actually skipped 7 boring ass episodes of index. I didn’t even skim through them. The reviews were more than enough for me. As long as they keep this short, figuratively & literatively, I’ll watch it. This 1st episode was short, sweet, & damn good – so just keep it comin’. I just can’t stand that notion of sitting through a 25 minute episode about half-way & it feels like I’ve been sitting in front of the LCD for 2 hours. I had that feeling way too many times with that damn cat-like Index.

    Megas
  6. Seiyuu trivia:

    With the exception of Arai Satomi as Kuroko, the seiyuu for the other three main girls have all been main characters of other series:
    Biribiri – Satou Rina (Negi in Negima, Haruka in Minami-ke, to name a few)
    Uiharu (klutzy Judgment girl) – Toyosaki Aki (Yui in K-On! )
    Saten (Uiharu’s friend) – Itou Kanae (Amu in Shugo Chara and Koume in Taisho Yakyuu Musume)

    https://randomc.net/image/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    Kongo Mitsuko, the cocky senior that was bragging to Kuroko in this pic, is voiced by Kotobuki Minako (Mugi in K-On! )

    https://randomc.net/image/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    If you still remember your Index amidst all the plot exposition, you’ll find the Antiskill teacher Yomikawa (in her tracksuit) standing in the middle of this pic. She’s a colleague of Touma’s loli teacher Komoe.

    Speaking of Touma, I’m looking forward to his appearance in Railgun. Reading the manga, he’s less preachy and just more awesome here.

    Kinny Riddle
  7. i feel there’s no way we could see love stuff in this show as actually features only female characters…however, from the first season i didn’t catch that the teleport girl was lesbian…have they make up this for refilling the male absence?

    actarus
  8. As good as Index was, and as awesome as this show looks, I refuse to watch it simply because I find that Kuroko chick annoying as hell. For one her voice is like nails on a damn chalk board and secondly, her portrayel of a lesbian is downright insulting. Gay people are not love starved animals. Mikoto, do me a favor and fry this bitch please. NOW.

    *End Rant*

  9. >”Is this supposed to be an alternate universe thing or just take place in the background of index?”

    @Telzen

    To Aru Kagaku no Choudenjibou or A Certain Scientific Railgun is a sidestory manga spin-off of To Aru Majutsu no Index.

    Being a sisdestory it doesn’t have much an impact to the main To Aru Majutsu no Index storyline. With exception with Mikoto’s own arc which will certainly be a prequel to and crossover with events of To Aru Majutsu no Index.

    Correct me if I’m wrong. This episode is chronologically seems to be before Mikoto meets Touma.

    RedWolf
  10. @yuuji: That part in the OP was pure win.

    Wonder what they’ll do with the 2nd OP?

    Also, you think this’ll show what Mikoto’s been up to during the Golem Ellis thing, especially since that is a clashing incident between her and Index.

    magnumslinger
  11. Hi everyone, which scene showed Ryuuji and his mom? I only saw Shana and Kazumi. I searched through the crepe stall and cafe scenes to no avail. Did I miss out somewhere? Thanks a lot!

    Tenkou
  12. RedWolf, no. Chronologically, this ep takes place about a week before Index. Mikoto and Touma met for the first time about a month before Index started. So at this point, they’ve already met several times.

    orangepeel
  13. I’m curious if they’re going to bring the accellerator conflict into this one. That was by far the best part of Index, and really the only memorable part, in my opinion. As far as the manga goes, there were things about Index I liked better, but it was all to do with the science side, and never the magic side. But Railgun is definitely gonna be really fun to watch!

    Eclipse
  14. I dont get why people are saying they are offended by the so called lesbian Kuroko. It seems pretty obvious to me its more of a sisterly love/teasing/goofing around thing rather than a full blown out yuri/incest. To the fags that were offended by it get over it and gtfo.

    Jin
  15. Touma will appear. If it followed the manga exactly, he would make his first appearance at the end of ep 2. But it looks like they will mix things up a bit, so he’ll probably show up at the end of ep 3.

    As for Accelerator, he shows up in the second main story arc, but that should only be in the anime if it runs 26 eps. If it’s only going to run 13, it shouldn’t reach that arc.

    orangepeel
  16. “I dont get why people are saying they are offended by the so called lesbian Kuroko. It seems pretty obvious to me its more of a sisterly love/teasing/goofing around thing rather than a full blown out yuri/incest. To the fags that were offended by it get over it and gtfo.”

    uuuuhhh…How many sisters do you know that grope eachother’s breasts when they are naked in the shower you homophobic prick? have fun with ur underage school girl fetish loser.

  17. um FullMetalQAF, I grew up in a house with 5 younger sisters & a younger brother. I won’t go into any details but 2 of those poor girls with their friends were kinker than most of the yuri/lez porn I’ve seen in my life. But that was the 70s so what else can I say. Kuroko is quite humble if you ask me 😛

    Megas
  18. “um FullMetalQAF, I grew up in a house with 5 younger sisters & a younger brother. I won’t go into any details but 2 of those poor girls with their friends were kinker than most of the yuri/lez porn I’ve seen in my life. But that was the 70s so what else can I say. Kuroko is quite humble if you ask me”

    I appreciate you being much more cival than that Jin guy, and I hear what your saying, but they’re not even related if it comes to my understanding, so she’s just this random chick who gropes her. Its just grating. I wouldn’t mind if she was a lesbian at all, the animators just don’t have to go out of there way to prove so…-_-

  19. I think Kuroko is meant to be not so much a lesbian as someone who takes a sempai-kohai relationship to such an extreme that it boarders on (and possibly crosses into) romantic/sexual. Character types like that show up a lot in anime, but unfortunately it’s a Japanese cultural thing that doesn’t tend to translate clearly for foreign audiences.

    MegamiMiko
  20. Not sure where I found an appearance find when Kuroko and Mikoto went to buy crepes in the lines were 2 girls wearing uniforms from Shakugan no Shana resembling Shana and Yoshida.

    Bluance
  21. As a long time Manga fan it is good to to see biri biri in action again. She is a great character with some really cool powers. Touma is a lot less irritating in this series than he was in Index too.

    Zetribe
  22. Put it this way, if Kuroko were a boy, he would simply be seen as a crazy boy having overblown fantasies on a big-sister figure whom he admires. That doesn’t mean all (straight) men are portrayed in a negative light by this series, does it?

    Similarly, Kuroko here is just insanely obsessive over her onee-sama, she makes it clear to everyone concerned that she is a nut case. But this shouldn’t in any way be interpreted as an insult to all lesbians.

    Kinny Riddle
  23. “1030 meters per second? weak.”
    Speed of sound = 340 meters per second. So this is a projectile traveling at Mach 3+.
    Most regular artillery shells have a muzzle speed of only 400 ~ 800 meters per second.
    Actual railguns aim at muzzle speeds of Mach 10+, but those are huge and cannot fire more than a few shots in succession: the energy released to accelerate the projectile to the required speed tends to wear down the gun itself and major maintenance is needed.
    So for all of her 90 Lbs, if that, Mach 3+ is pretty darn good.

    Maburashi
  24. @Link_Soul: There is no romance between Mikoto and Touma in Railgun, neither in Index novels, to the point that Index(character) has more posibilities with the boy…. btw I like Itsuwa(and her chemical with Touma) the most (°A°)/

    Looking at the preview looks like there will be some time skip.

    Lero
  25. I ain’t got nothing against an all-female cast, but this doesn’t really seem like a show for the guys, despite the action that’s in it. It seems more one for the girls, I’m not being sexist or anything, but yeah…… kinda yuri.

    ThatGuy
  26. I think that:
    Mikoto cool >>>> Mikoto pseudo-tsundere mode

    I say the tsundere mode doesn’ fite her and when she is near to Touma is a bit annonyin cause she loses her personality and become very predictable.
    You only need to change her seiyuu and put Rie shrill Kumigiya… boila!! You have another typical/cliché tsundere of JC Staff, meh!.
    For now Mikoto is an original and great character and I like her like this.

    Battler
  27. Regardless of her being more generally mellow or having a tsundere mode, I still think Mikoto’s probably the most interesting character of the whole Index/Railgun series. The fact that she gets her own series says something about who the main heroin really is or at least should be.

    synkronized
  28. I like how nearly everyone on these comments seems to be bad-mouthing index in favor of this show and yet, without the first season of index or the manga, there wouldn’t even be a Mikoto. If ya don’t like the main story that’s fine, but don’t compare it to railgun, they’re both made by JC staff so stop bitching about how the first series sucks compared to this.

    Revan
  29. @Synkrononized: Until now, Mikoto doesn’t have a relevant participation in the most important events of Index LN(the original source), and sure she’ll never have, so to keep the fans of Mikoto happy(and stop bothering) the author gives them a Mikoto Spin Off.

    -I agree with Revan, and thanks to the explanations of Index they don’t need to tell us again how works the things in Railgun. So stpp complaining about, both series which are from the same author and source.

    -Yeah, I agree with Battler some points Mikoto being Mikoto is pretty good character, if the people wanted to see another generic/predictable/cliché “tsun-dere”… guess what? they have Shana, Louise, Taiga, Nagi, etc in other anime series.

    Lero
  30. The more of Touma, AAcelerator, and Misaka Misaka 20001 they have in this series and the less of Shirai and the biribiri bullsh*t the have in this series the better.I wonder if we’ll see Index, and Sphinx at all(would be nice to see them make a cameo now and then).

    Tezs

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