First Impressions / OVA/Movie / To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

OP Sequence

OP: 「future gazer」 by fripSide
Watch the OP!: Download, Streaming ▼

「御坂さんはいま注目の的ですから」 (Misaka-san wa Ima Chūmoku no Mato desukara)
“Since Misaka-san is the Center of Attention Right Now…”

Just seven months after the end of the first season of Railgun, we’re presented with another dose of the more lighthearted side of the Index world told from resident birbiri’s, Misaka Mikoto’s, POV. Considering how great a success Railgun has been, it’s no surprise that J.C.Staff would try to milk the series for all it’s worth by releasing an OVA in such little time after the end of the anime. Looking from a broader perspective, this OVA seems to be a part of a media blitz for Index related merchandise, with the 22nd light novel being released earlier this month and the first airing of the second season of Index, Toaru Majutsu no Index II, coinciding with its release. PSP games for both Index and Railgun have also been announced, although they won’t be officially released until January 27 and April 28, 2011, respectively. As a Raildex is this a newfag thing? fanboy myself, I love seeing the franchise get so much attention, and is it ever deserved. With the total novel and manga sales of Index and Railgun shooting through 15 million copies recently (10 million for Index novels, 3.5 million for Railgun manga, and 1.5 million for Index manga), Index BD/DVD sales averaging around 10,000 copies sold per volume, and Railgun BD/DVD sales absolutely crushing with around 20,000 BD/DVD copies being sold per volume, the franchise deserves every bit of attention it gets.

The thing that stands out about Railgun is that, as far as I can remember, there’s never been any series quite like it. By that I mean, it takes the basic principles of a slice-of-life moe series and injects them into an interesting sci-fi setting with a semblance of plot. For lack of a better analogy, it’s a bit like K-ON! meets Index. As such, there’s a lot of strife between Index purists and Railgun fans, at least for the anime adaptations; while one side accuses the other of bringing in moe, filler, and simplified plot into the Index franchise, the other fires back with complaints that the parent series is too convoluted in its plot and character development, and the episodic format of the series ruins the experience. While both arguments are true to a certain extent, I find myself in the middle, enjoying both Index and Railgun for what they do. I like Railgun’s straightforward and character oriented plot, and I also like Index’s complex and somewhat episodic plot. Individually, the series are meant to accomplish different things and appeal to different demographics, and in my opinion both portray what they’re meant to well. That said, seeing Mikoto’s uber moe faces on a regular basis and Kuroko’s hilarious voice work courtesy of Arai Satomi does make Railgun a better watch on a weekly basis for me. As for why Railgun got an OVA adaptation and Index didn’t, my theory is that as J.C.Staff is more liberal with Railgun’s adaptation than Index’s, they decided to just go ahead and release an OVA with an original story, as half of the Railgun anime was filler anyway.* The more obvious reason is that the aforementioned sales difference played a role in the decision as well. That said, I can see J.C.Staff adapting the Index SS novel into an OVA series after Index II concludes its run next year, much in the same vein as Shakugan no Shana S.

As for the OVA itself, I felt it was just the usual Railgun fair, with the girls teaming up and going “Judgement desu no” to solve a random rumor in Academy City. In fact, if you were to watch this without ever having gone through the entire first season, you would probably even mistake this OVA for just another episode in the series. That being the case, I still enjoyed it, and the fact that it’s true to Railgun form and is really nothing extravagant can probably be attributed to this. It was great seeing Saten do her usual rumor gossip, this time concerning the urban legend of “Someone is watching”, and Uiharu and Kuroko doing some detective work on the net. Of course, dealing with the science side of Academy City comes with the plans of a mad scientist, this time in the form of Sensory scientist Jounan Asako, who has been causing Electromaster espers like Mikoto to feel as if someone is watching them in order to further her research. Again, it’s the usual Railgun plot of mad scientist causing trouble for the cast, but it still works well and will never get old for me as long as new ideas continue to be introduced along with them. And of course, what would a Railgun OVA be without some Saten skirt flipping and Kuroko onee-sama stalking? We even got a Touma sighting, which of course brought about the great moe Mikoto scene mentioned earlier.

So overall, it was refreshing to see Railgun again after seven months, although in hindsight that really isn’t that long. Even though some people were hoping this OVA would be more relevant than it turned out, I’m personally happy they decided to stick with the usual Railgun form and didn’t try to go for anything extravagant. Railgun is, for the most part, just a relaxed series meant to flesh out some side characters on the science side from Index, and I’m not really interested in seeing it try to develop a true overarching plot of its own. I’m perfectly content with watching the little bits of action we get from the series and the random little adventures that the girls get themselves into in between them. In a way, it’s true that this OVA and Railgun itself is just a gigantic piece of fanservice for Mikoto and to a lesser extent Kuroko, but even so, it’s fanservice done well with interesting and straightforward stories compounded by a great slice-of-life atmosphere, and I thoroughly enjoy every bit of extra screen time the two of them get, as their dynamic is hilarious. With Index II airing this fall and Shana III most likely set for next fall, this will probably be the last bit of Railgun anime we’ll get for a while. So with that being the case, I’ll be waiting for the next Railgun!

 

ED Sequence

ED: 「Special “ONE”」 by ELISA
Watch the ED!: Download, Streaming ▼

 

*Note: Even though I say it’s filler, the storyboards were written/supervised by Kamachi Kazuma himself, the original author of Index and Railgun, so even though the content is “filler” because it doesn’t occur in the manga, it is still canon within the confines of the anime.

50 Comments

    1. More Kuroko is always good. Ah hell, more of the Railgun girls (Saten, Uiharu, Konori and of course Mikoto) is always good!

      This OVA should be enough to tide me over until the Tree Diagram Remnant arc in Index II begins.

      Incognito
      Reply

  2. I’m not one to be a stickler for these things, but I thought I’d point out a couple of possible spelling mistakes: “who has been causing Elctromaster espers” and “meant to flash out some side characters”. I presume the second one is a mistake and not a pun, which might not be unsurprising with Mikoto on the mind.

    Whilst the revelation of the Anti-Skill member, Jounan Asako, being the culprit was not really a great surprise, I did enjoy the episode particularly with the Kuroko stalking ending. A shame there won’t be any more Biribiri for a while, Index not included.

    duh
    Reply

    1. I loved when Uiharu, while eating her cake, so happily explained how “dedicated” Kuroko was to the case, stalking tailing her onee-sama just to in case “someone’s watching” showed up. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. XD

      Trystinia
      Reply

  4. I think it has been long enough (even if we got Index season 2) since we saw these quartet. They’re fun and work nicely together. Of course seeing more BiriBiri is always a giant plus in my book. We won’t be seeing Saten or Uihara in this season right?
    The OP was cute and fun to watch. Hehe!

    Shinjiro
    Reply

  5. excellent, had no idea this existed. thanks for putting this out there. i will take whatever i can get in terms of mikoto screen time. while i like both series i find her to be a much more compelling character than index. if only they could keep releasing railgun ovas at the same time index 2 and beyond air that would be perfect.

    a42
    Reply

  6. Im guessing Railgun II will be next fall and Shana will be skipped again based on reception and sales. I personally cannot wait to see the Accelerator arc in Mikoto’s PV which was fuckyeawesome in the manga but it looks like I have to wait.

    They should have more of the Railgun staff in Index because they do the action scenes more choreographed and crisp than Index’s staff (comparing the action scenes in this OVA and Ep. 4 of Index). I really missed Railgun since im a completely biri-biri fan and did prefer Railgun than Index more.

    ahelo
    Reply

  7. Glad you blogged the OVA, this was a lot of fun. Anyone like Fripside’s new OP? The sound was different from the other more electronica heavy OPs but I thought it was great.

    Oh yeah, Touma x Biribiri is pure win. I loved the “Lover’s quarrel” they got slapped with.

    synkronized
    Reply

  8. I didn’t realize this was out. I’m so watching it today. With my recent craving for Misaka’s blushing, and my love of everything Kuroko, I cannot wait till it finishes downloading. (Look at those suggestive themes!!) <33

    Shirt
    Reply

    4. We, the kuroko fans of random curiosity, demand a dedicated series of kuroko. We want more ojou-sama speechlike, more perverted underwear, more exposure and more “ONE-SAMAAA” yelling. We said.

      LoL
      Reply

  11. From what i understands with touma’s power. i think his right hand absorbs supernatural power and because of that he also absorbs supernatural luck in the city making him go to dangerous events and other.
    i based that when touma’s around troubles also around. touma=black cat.

    well back to railgun. i really like railgun just being railgun and index just being index. i wish biribiri would let us see more action.

    Croosboy ♂
    Reply

      1. I was just assuming things in the future that his imagine breaker might be some kind of key to the supernatural or something like yin and yang that balance all the positive and negative energy in the world.

        Croosboy
        Reply

    1. That’s my own speculation based off of an interview with the director, the epilogue scene of Shana S, the novels coming to an end soon, and the fact that J.C.Staff is having a re-airing of the first season of Shana this fall and a re-airing of the second season in the spring. All this points to Shana III fall of next year. It also leaves J.C.Staff free to adapt the Index SS1 novel as an OVA series while Shana is running.

      Suzuku
      Reply

  14. https://randomc.net/image/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun%20-%20OVA%20-%20Large%2021.jpg

    Mmm, nice gorgeous view of Saten-san. <3
    This should compensate somewhat for her absence in Index II.

    Also, in the OP, anyone getting vibes of Saten x Uiharu yuri (FTW couple)? Especially where Saten blushing hard upon discovering Kuroko was filming her sleeping side by side (while sitting on a bench, mind) with Uiharu.

    A decent stand-alone story that brings out the best that is Railgun – standard slice-of-life fun coupled with the sci-fi adventure. Like Suzuku, the only reason I could enjoy the second-half "filler" of the series was because it was primarily written by Kamachi Kazuma himself, and thus can be treated as canon in the Index-verse.

    Kinny Riddle
    Reply

    1. oh my! how did my yuri-goggles miss that!! shoot! but it’s cute! XDD

      touma-biribiri shippers might kill me but…

      KUROKO x MIKOTO FTW!! xD

      i don’t care who ends up with touma as long as it’s NOT biribiri.(dang man,why must she fall for him T_T)

      keiOnDaisuki
      Reply

  16. I liked what you’ve crossed out (about the first season and newfag lol) I’m quite happy that the franchise is enjoying such a good time as well.

    The thing that stands out about Railgun is that, as far as I can remember, there’s never been any series quite like it. By that I mean, it takes the basic principles of a slice-of-life moe series and injects them into an interesting sci-fi setting with a semblance of plot.

    Actually, I would say Zettai Karen Children did manage to achieve that as well, so I don’t think it’s the uniqueness of the mixture is what makes Railgun stands out. It seems more of a case of having a more appealing look and interesting characters when compared to Index.

    Arabesque
    Reply

  17. Well the OVA was a refresher, and a good reminder that both Uiharu and Kuroko will appear later in Index after the end of the current arc.

    Alone, I was a bit underwhelmed for the most part of this…special, with the recycling of elements such as urban legends to allow for the creation for a plot, which is still fine by me, however, they added little Academy City or the Index universe lore in general, with the resolution being determined so easily, though at least they expanded on Electromaster abilities and weaknesses.

    Though I knew from the start that J.C. Staff would’ve provide little in this OVA, and would only use it to pander to Railgun fans as well as promote Kuroko and Uiharu’s upcoming role in Index, as well as what Suzuku said about this media blitz. Overall I found this special quite average, even with Touma’s cameo and the glorious arrival of the original Imagine Breaker sound effect in Railgun, as well as Biribiri’s electromagnetic pseudo-flight which was awesome.

    Though the OVA did give a little foreshadowing, such as Show Spoiler ▼

    Gaze of Providence
    Reply

  18. Ahh more Railgun characters feels soooo good. When Saten does the scary story and screams, I though Kurokos facepalm was appropriate for the situation. Also Loved when Touma casually pops out of no where and says “Yo, BiriBiri.” Not to mention when he says “Why would I be looking at you” cueing Misakas oh so adorableness.

    For some reason, I can picture Kurokos neck getting snapped by Misaka at the end.

    fall3nbs
    Reply

    1. I’m pretty convinced Uiharu is not someone you should cross.

      If you piss Index off, all you need to do is dodge her fangs and you’ll be fine.

      If you piss Biribiri off, get insulated against electricity, or if you’re Touma, use your right hand.

      But if you piss Uiharu off, she will secretly plot against you while maintaining her innocent demeanor. Besides Kuroko’s priceless reaction, you gotta love Saten looking freaked out as well at how treacherous Uiharu can be. lol

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

  21. I just love Kurokos in the end, it shows that no matter how powerful someone is or what type of powers they have, when u did something bad and you got caught, your body just get scare and tense up that no matter how powerful u are, your mind will just go blank and u just sit still with sweat come down your neck.

    arixx
    Reply

  22. I love love love loved this OVA! It was great to see the whole crew working as a team again. The Touma encounter was amazing – Misaka getting caught up with her “co-, co-, co-, COUPLE??” lol

    I loved the OP – the fripSide song was awesome…and the animation to go with it was great and super cute haha It reiterated that the girls’ friendship is the key plot driver of the series.

    Does anyone know what that little dance move on the stairs was a tribute to anything (if anything at all)?

    PhoenixBurning3
    Reply

    1. I was hoping for such a thing would occur as well. Though, sadly we were obviously mistaken, and the 2nd Level 5 of Tokiwadai hasn’t been developed and explored into that much at all, not even in the Light Novels.

      Gaze of Providence
      Reply

  26. https://randomc.net/image/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun/To%20Aru%20Kagaku%20no%20Railgun%20-%20OVA%20-%20Large%2037.jpg
    To be honest, even stalking someone and admiring in someone their limits. Of course I don’t know why you did this “the first season of Railgun” since last I check there has only been one season of Railgun. Touma seems to have again limited screen time, but it’s good that he, and Misaka, are looked as a couple. I was hoping magic was involved in this, but isn’t happening in Railgun.

    Code Fanboy
    Reply

    2. It would not make sense for the magic side to interfere with a someone (Mikoto) who is not as important to the magic side, as well as the fact that the magic side keep themselves hidden.

      Besides this is Mikoto’s point-of-view of the Toaru Majutsu no Index universe, as such the Science side will always get the focus in Railgun until it crosses paths with the magic side in the timeline, which is a long way from now.

      Gaze of Providence
      Reply

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