To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 11

「刺突抗剣(スタブソード)」 (Shitotsu Kouken (Sutabu Soodo))
“Thrusting Anti-Sword (Stab Sword)”

After punching so many girls in the face lately, Touma finally gets a taste of his own medicine care of one pissed off Misaka Mikoto. Next to Tsuchimikado’s scuffle with Oriana, that ended up being one of the highlights of this episode too. The rest of it bounced back and forth between Touma and Stiyl’s pursuit and Himegami’s talks with Komoe, both of which didn’t really result in anything.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 10

「速記原典(ショートハンド)」 (Sokki Genten (Shootohando))
“Stenography Text (Shorthand)”

Some payback was in order after Oriana’s Shorthand nearly killed Seiri, and Touma gladly obliges by doing what he does best after preaching — punching girls in the face! They don’t call it the Imagine Breaker for nothing, as Touma’s right hand saves me from wondering what it’s like to put scantily clad anime girls in their place.

Kurosaki Maon – Magic∞world PV (To Aru Majutsu no Index II ED)

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In what could probably be summed up with the phrase, “There’s no way my anime song singer is this cute”, Kurosaki Maon manages to appease a wide variety of fans with the PV for her first single, “Magic world”. In addition to featuring an overly geeky glasses look with her rooftop dance performance, Maon sneaks in brief cosplays of Index and Uiharu Kazari from To Aru Majutsu no Index, Kousaka Kirino from Oreimo, Shana from Shakugan no Shana, and Miyamoto Rei from HIGHSCHOOL OF THE DEAD. Now how’s that for a PV for an anime song?

Of those, the last one is especially meaningful, considering she made her singing debut with her “H.O.T.D.” album that is comprised of all twelve ending themes for that fan-service/horror series. Even after getting signed by Geneon Universal, Maon is still a member of the Dear Stage live bar in Akihabara. As you can probably imagine, this means she’s also a fan of anime herself, with her favorite works including Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiru, SEKIREI, Fushigi Yuugi, Strawberry Panic, Double Cast, Air, Kanon, Negima, Ayashi no Ceres, and Rozen Maiden. Quite a diverse taste if I do say so myself, which is always cool to see in an anime fan regardless of whether or not their songs get featured in the shows themselves.

… More after the jump, including the “making of” video.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 09

「追跡封じ(ルートディスターブ)」 (Tsuiseki Fuuji (Ruuto Disutaabu))
“Pursuit Prevention (Route Disturb)”

Whether you care for long expositions not, they’re one of the defining points of this series and we’re given a big dose of it this week. Personally, I’m not a fan of it being overused for story progression, but surprisingly didn’t mind when a good chunk of this episode was devoted to explaining Oriana’s abilities and why she has the nickname “Route Disturb”.

To Aru Majutsu no Index II – 07

「座標移動(ムーブポイント)」 (Zahyō Idō (Mūbu Pointo))
“Coordinate Movement (Move Point)”

Well, that was certainly a quick finish. As I mentioned last week, this arc (volume 8) was set to be covered in two episodes, and thus this felt a bit rushed, but at least the pacing wasn’t as bad as last week’s episode.

Kawada Mami – No buts! PV (To Aru Majutsu no Index II OP)

[flv:Kawada_Mami_No_buts_PV.mp4 550 310]

Show No buts! Lyrics ▼

Kawada Mami, member of I’ve Sound, is an artist who probably needs no introduction among anime fan circles, having produced singles for several highly popular and prolific series such as Shakugan no Shana, Hayate no Gotoku!, and of course, Toaru Majutsu no Index. Looking at that list, it seems like in the roughly five years since the release of her first single, SEED, she’s become J.C.Staff’s go-to-girl for songs for their higher budgeted and advertised, multi-seasonal shows. Being a rather big Mami fan myself, enjoying every song she’s put out for Shana and Index, I immediately went to listen to the single of No buts!, released last week (11/3) the first chance I got.

… More after the jump.