Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S

Mikoto Misaka and her friends are back, investigating rumors across Academy City. Soon, Mikoto discovers something terrifying: horrific experiments are taking place throughout the city, involving the murder of thousands of espers. Moreover, these espers are far from just ordinary people: they are clones of Mikoto herself. Feeling responsible for their treatment, she sets off to put an end to the experiments; however, the forces opposing her are much more dangerous than she anticipated, and Mikoto finds herself up against some of the most powerful espers imaginable.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S continues the story of the Railgun as she desperately fights to put an end to the inhuman experiments that she believes she helped cause, her life dragged deep into despair in the process. There's never a dull moment in Academy City, but no one ever said all of them would be pleasant.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Misaka, Mikoto Main

Satou, Rina Japanese

Shirai, Kuroko Main

Arai, Satomi Japanese

Saten, Ruiko Main

Itou, Kanae Japanese

Uiharu, Kazari Main

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Accelerator Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Kamijou, Touma Supporting

Abe, Atsushi Japanese

Shokuhou, Misaki Supporting

Asakura, Azumi Japanese

Last Order Supporting

Hidaka, Rina Japanese

MISAKA 10032 Supporting

Sasaki, Nozomi Japanese

Seivelun, Frenda Supporting

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Ueda, Yasuyuki Producer

Kananiwa, Kozue Producer

Nakayama, Nobuhiro Producer

Reviews

Nov 19, 2025

Animablisher

Recommended

First things first,
for people wondering: Should you watch Railgun (Toaru side story) before Index (Toaru main story)?
Personally, I think not.
You've probably seen people glazing the hell out of Railgun, treating it as the superior Toaru series.
Such claims are valid. However! I do not think Railgun is a "replacememt" for Index.
The reason is simple, really:

"The author's intention."

You CAN watch Railgun without Index, but you'll be missing out on many important details that might cause Railgun to come off as "badly-written" in some aspects.
... Trust me, you will be able to appreciate Railgun WAY MORE if you experience Index before it. More on that later.

So, what even is "Railgun S"?
What happens in Railgun S?
Railgun S is the second season of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun. And oh boy... A LOT happens!

Railgun S consists of:
•Action-focused introductory episode (1)
•The Sisters arc (2-16)
•Downtime episode (17)
•The Silent Party arc (18-24)

Have you ever heard of the Sisters arc?
Yes? No?
If no, then don't worry. It's nothing special. It's just the most emotional and well-written Toaru arc ever, that's all.

The Sisters arc was already done in the first season of Index, but it was very short. And most importantly, it was from Kamijo Touma's perspective.
But Railgun's version of the arc is from Misaka Mikoto's perspective.

"What's the difference?" you might ask.
The answer is:
EVERYTHING!

Railgun S uses a solid amount of FIFTEEN EPISODES that manage to transform the events of the arc into a cinematic masterpiece.
It takes its sweet time to set up the building blocks, but also features lots of standout moments to keep you feeling both excited and uneasy. It WANTS you to feel exactly what Misaka feels. It's long, as it should be, because from Misaka's perspective it is a long and exhausting dilemma she has to face all by herself.

I see some people deciding NOT to watch Railgun S, thinking that it's just "the same plot in HD." That's an inaccurate believe. Railgun's version of the Sisters arc is NOT a remake of Index's. It is a reimagining of it.
The purpose of this reimagining of the arc is to fill-in the gaps in Index's version.
It does NOT replace Index's version of the arc, it ENHANCES it.

Now, why do I stress on the need to watch Index first?
The reason is Kamijo Touma, the protagonist of Index.
If you don't watch Index, you won't really understand him as a character. As a result, you won't understand his symbolic role in Railgun S.

In Index, Touma simply appears as a cool shonen protagonist who goes through the plot and solves the problems of characters detached from his life. Though, as the time goes on, you start to realise that Touma is a righteous figure who feels the desire to help out anyone in need. He doesn't develop any special attachement to any character, including Misaka! This last detail is a bit important, so always keep it in mind when thinking about Touma. Basically, he is mostly a static character who grows on the viewer over time. He doesn't change much, but he is true to his character. That's his strongest appealing quality. I don't want to get into spoilers territory, nor do I want to focus too much on the Index anime, so let's move on.

In Railgun, however, Touma serves a different purpose. He does exactly the same things he does in Index's version of the arc, but those actions have a different meaning this time.

In Railgun, Touma gives off a completely different aura, especially in THAT one scene. He appears as the last glimmer of hope, and the counter-thesis to Misaka's ideals.
Misaka has already lost ALL HOPE by that point, and believes that she is ALONE and that the ENTIRETY of Academy City is against her. Touma, however, challenges that mindset, and from his eyes you can tell that he FEELS Misaka went through hell. He doesn't know what hell, because he's detached from her life, but he just knows that she's at the breaking point. He doesn't face her because of the plot, he faces her because of his own righteous ideology. HE is the one who pulls up on her. Touma is Misaka's triumph card she never knew she had, and he's there to break those illusions of hers.
Thus, if you don't watch Index, you might not pick up on these subtle cues, and you might not understand the reason for including Touma in the arc, because you would be lacking HIS perspective.

Touma works so well in Railgun. He intentionally gets very little screen time, because you are expected to have already watched Index.
If you watch Index, Railgun's version of the Sisters arc will make more sense to you, and it will also hit you SO HARD emotionally.
Trust me, even if you already know the conclusion of the arc from Index, you will NOT get bored, because it's handled VERY DIFFERENTLY in Railgun. It's longer, better, different, and you WILL feel the emotional damage. You will not believe how fucked up Misaka gets during these damn fifteen episodes.

Touma is great, but the real highlight of the arc is Misaka's struggle.
I've seen here some gentlem- ...I mean apes describing her as "the damsel in distress," mainly because of how she just lets a man pull up and fight for her, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

Misaka Mikoto is far from being the damsel in distress, at least not in the traditional sense of the term.
Throughout the entirety of Railgun 1, she has always taken on any fight she encounters. She's far from weak. That is until Railgun S happens, and for the first time she encounters a fight that she cannot win. It's not a physical fight, it's a psychological one. For the first time, she realises that her true enemy has always been surrounding her from every angle. How can she win against the ideals of those who are willing to spend millions to continue their shady experiments in the shadows? Even if she resorts to kill, and even if she destroys everything in a rage trip, she cannot win...
She is not weak, but the challenge this time is out of her reach. No matter what she does, the experiments continue.
"What experiments?" you might ask.
Hush! SPOILERS!

Railgun's version of the Sisters arc fully expands on Misaka Mikoto as a character.
From the trauma, to the deaths, to the fights, to the exhaution, to the break down... She goes through it all. I love every second of her scenes, and I love every line of her dialogues. She deserves to be up there with the likes of Natsuki Subaru in the Absolute Suffering Awards.
I never hated Misaka in Index, but I never really connected with her. But because of Railgun S, she has become one of my favorite characters ever in Toaru, possibly in all anime.

If all of that wasn't enough, wait until I tell you that Railgun S knocks the production value out of the park. I already said it, but you will NOT get bored! What you get here is a different interpretation of the story. The animation is better and different, heavily focusing on facial expressions, and at times it gets so expressive that it even rivals some of the best animated works I've seen. The direction of both the fight scenes and the emotional ones is stellar, probably the best directed arc of Toaru ever.

Yes, there are lots of fight scenes. Although they are not what I am here for, the Sisters arc offers a great deal of standout moments, especially the insane trilogy of episodes 8, 9, and 10.
I'd say even without the existence of this trilogy, it would have still turned out to be an amazingly animated arc.
Where the direction really shines is during the emotional scenes. Those are the standouts for me (the bridge scene, for instance).

The soundtrack is varied, featuring a mix of anxiety-invoking tracks and emotionally-damaging ones that really set a unique tone completely different from Index.
My 4 favorite tracks are:
•Misaka Sister
•Level 6 Shift
•Determination and Resolution
•The Only Way
(That first track is a slice of life one, but... ain't no way it is introduced in the same episode where someone dies. That was too diabolical)

The voice acting, too, is even better, going the extra mile of reimagining iconic Index scenes with better dialogues that the voice actors pour more emotions into.

All in all, the Sisters arc in Railgun S is the best thing that happened to Toaru. I am glad to have had the privilege to experience such an amazing arc from the perspective of one of my new favorite waifus.

Sisters arc rating:
•Characterization (10/10)
•Writing (8/10)
•Animation (10/10)
•Soundtrack (10/10)
•Voice Acting (10/10)
•Enjoymemt (9/10)
=Overall (9/10)

Why 8/10 for writing?
As great of an arc as it is, I had to cut 2 points for 2 reasons:
•Filler moments during the beginning, with even a detached filler episode in the middle.
•It ignores most of the secondary characters and plotlines and focuses purely on Misaka, which is a big issue for me. This issue can be clearly seen at the end of the arc. The arc ends on a good note, but you can't help but feel something is missing. Well, that's because something really is missing. None of the side characters have any role, nor any noteworthy moments. This causes the next arc, the Silent Party arc, to feel like a massive drop in tone compared to the Sisters arc. I'd argue the Silent Party arc's first few episodes feel painful to watch BECAUSE of how the Sisters arc handled its writing. It feels like going from cold water to hot tea.


What about the Silent Party arc?
People either call it bad or filler.
For me, although I don't have any strong opinions regarding it, I can say that it's not bad. It's just that... starting with slice of life stuff literally one episode after the Sisters arc... yeah... not the best decision.
Honestly, this arc should not have existed. Its problems are also its benefits. It continues expanding on characters like Misaka (how the Sisters arc changed her mindset) and Shinubo (who now changes her mindset because of Misaka), and its a good thing that they focus on those two during this action-focused arc.
But... such elements could have been handled much better in the classic Railgun season 1 fashion, which is follow-up episodes that are plot-unrelated but still impactful and meaningful.

Remember how the Level Upper arc ended? It was a serious arc, but it ended in a clever way that leaves room for expansion. That expansion came in the form of episode 14 that was the aftermath of the arc. It was a slice of life episode about Saten and the aftermath of the arc, but it was important and didn't feel like a tone-killer. It wasn't just a "slice of life" episode, nor did it drop the tone. It was interesting in its approach to concluding the arc.

Here in Railgun S, J.C. Staff probably wanted to copy the first season's formula (closing off the season with an anime-only arc). The problem is that they handled it terribly. Eight episodes for a world domination plotline just DOES NOT WORK, especially after having just gone through the emotional Sisters arc that was not focused on action (it had it, and it was peak, but it was more about characterization).

The difference between Railgun 1's episode 14 and Railgun S's episode 17 is that the former fit right at home, while the latter is a tone killer.
Everybody and their grandmas know that the effects of war are not something you can just gloss over. The Sisters arc was so emotionally damaging, it was a mental war, and Railgun S's episode 17 glosses over it.
The Silent Party doesn't fix the issue either. It continues on the same path set by episode 17. That's my big criticism for it.

Try your best not to drop the season after finishing the Sisters arc.

The Silent Party arc isn't bad, it's just unnecessary, and it tries to deal with some heavy elements that should normally be handled carefully and slowly.
Here's a hot take: It should not have been an arc, it should have been a set of slow "falling action" episodes that slowly deal with the aftermath of the Sisters arc until the tention fully disappears.

It doesn't help that the arc's ending leaves a lot to be desired in terms of characterization and writing. It turns into a typical shonen finale where everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) shows up to fight, and... that's all there is to it.
The arc as a whole features a lot of stellar animations, but it's not enough to make up for what we lost in the process.

In terms of the soundtrack, I'm disappointed that they only made around two unique tracks for the arc. They're good, but... Reusing all of the tracks that have already been used in the Sisters arc cheapens their impact a bit.
I'm also disappointed that a lot of tracks from season 1 were not used (maybe none of them were used). Those could have made up for the lack of tracks for the arc.
Also, the final episode makes use of all the Railgun OPs up to that point. Both Railgun 1 and Railgun S OPs. It's cool, but... it just cheapens the impact. It was already done in Railgun 1's finale.

Speaking of the final episode...
I LOVE CGI, but they went a bit overboard with it. Nobody cares about fighting a fleet of identical CGI green silent mechs.
Moreover, the final episode completely ignores the concept of "power scaling." Fights in the finale are for the hype factor, rather than for the symbolic meaning. Somehow, even Level 0s manage to take down the fleet. How the fuck?!
The same thing applies to Misaka. A few episodes prior, the arc establishes that the mechs are not affected by her electricity. In the final episode, however, they are suddenly affected by it and are sent flying in the air like it's nobody's business.
This is complete power scaling fuckery at play.
I thought Toaru was all about its scientific approach to fights! It seems like this is what happens when the studio decides to pad out the runtime with an anime-original arc.

Don't get me wrong here. I am NOT against anime-original arcs. The poltergeist arc was a peak arc that took advantage of Toaru's world in a meaningful way, offering an iconic villain that fit really well with the scientific nature of the Railgun series.
The Silent Party arc feels like an attempt at redoing the formula, but if turned out to be a failed attempt.
STUDY (the main antagonistic organization) is a great idea, but they have been done dirty in the arc. They are only templates to have an excuse for the hype final episode to happen. They are "scientists" just so that their CGI mechs can go out and get beaten up by EVERYONE.

Here's a hot take: I actually love the motivations of STUDY. They are scientists who were ignored for the sake of the Level 6 Shift Project. They want to prove that their ideas are better, and that's why they do what they do.
That's amazing, but... as I said, they are easily defeated because of the power scaling fuckery, and their ideals are not even proven wrong. They are only defeated physically, and the arc doesn't address the validity of their experiments. I actually think their ideas are really good, but nobody gives a fuck about that because having a hype final episode is more important than analyzing the psychological motivations of the villains, am I right?
Man, I hate the trope of defeating villains just because they are villains.

Alas, what could have been a masterpiece is now not. At least it's not bad. Some people call the arc "painfully mediocre," and... you know what? they might be right. I don't think it's mediocre, but that description is almost accurate in some aspects.
I don't really have any other criticisms other than "it was unnecessary" and "it wasn't anything new or special" and "it was lacking the emotional impact."

The Silent Party arc is merely form over substance.

I'll give you one useful piece of information that might prompt you to watch the Silent Party arc.
Remember Harue from season 1? The one whom Uiharu was so hellbent on defending in the Poltergeist arc?
Yeah, happy news, bro! She officially quits the Railgun gang at the beginning of the arc!
Ah, about time...

Luckily, the Silent Party arc barely has any major impact on the Toaru series. If you watch it once, you don't have to do it again. You might even skip it if you want.
The choice is yours.

Final verdict: Kongo Mitsuko is peak.

Silent Party arc rating:
•Characterization (7/10)
•Writing (6/10)
•Animation (8/10)
•Soundtrack (7/10)
•Voice Acting (10/10)
•Enjoymemt (7/10)
=Overall (6/10)

Railgun 1's openings are iconic to me, but Railgun S also comes with 2 new bangers.

The first OP, Sister's Noise, made for the Sisters arc, is as peak as the arc. It might not be my absolute favorite Railgun OP, but its beautiful lyrics reflect the perspective of Misaka and her desire to save those she wants to save. I never realised the depth of those lyrics until someone pointed it out to me.
The animation, too, is packed with symbolism and hype. Just what I like seeing in Railgun OPs.

The second OP, Eternal Reality, made for the Silent Party arc, might as well be my second favorite right next to Only My Railgun. It's a shame, though, considering the disappointing arc it was made for. It's the best animated Railgun opening, especially in terms of its fight choreography that is even better than what we got in the finale. The song is somehow more emotional than Sister's Noise, totally not fitting for the arc. Still, a banger is a banger.

I have only one final problem...
The ED song chosen for the Sisters arc is one of the most disappointing musical choices I've ever seen.
The Sisters arc ED, Grow Slowly, is very not fitting with the arc, it's not even funny. It's so cheerful, not in an intended way. It feels like a random musical choice with no regards to the content of the arc. The lyrics are good, and I love the song, but it does not belong here at all.
Some might call it an intentional contrast to the twisted nature of the arc, but... just listen to the song and you'll see that it's not the case.
They screwed this one up, and I was maaaad. I still have PTSD from that one episode when Misaka sees the most horrifying thing in front of her, but the credits start rolling during the final moments and the song kicks in and is just so distracting and jarring.
Man... I just love listening to EDs of anime episodes, but I can't take this shit seriously when it ends with the loudest upbeat song imaginable, it's like a jumpscare. I couldn't even believe they chose to go with this loud cheery song. EDs are supposed to be a breather where you wrap your head around what you just experienced, NOT tone-killers!
I miss Elisa and her amazing songs. She's the one who really gets how to make a melancholic song fit for a series about traumatised middle school girls. Hell, even her songs for Kaminomi, a damn rom-com, are so full of emotion. That should have been the approach to the Sisters arc ED.
Somebody really needs to use AI to make an alternative cut of the Sisters arc using one of Railgun 1's EDs, maybe Real Force, which also starts loud as fuck but uses a completely different tone fit for a series about traumatised high school girls, and I think its lyrics also fit the narrative of the arc.

[RANT OVER]

Overall Railgun S rating:
(8/10)

The Silent Party arc might be a let down, but the Sisters arc is just too good, so I'm glad to have watched Railgun S in its entirety.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 21, 2021

stmwg01

Mixed Feelings

Quick take: In Railgun S, were treated to three really good storylines and good character interaction with the same animation quality from previous seasons. Pacing issues return and if you're watching the entire Magical Index universe, there are some episodes you may want to skip.

For reference, my watch order was Railgun-MI-MI2-Railgun S.

The issue: Railgun S and Magical Index II overlap. This normally wouldn't be an issue as I actually like seeing the same events from a different character’s eyes. However, Railgun S and MI2 portray the dialogue and sequence slightly different when it comes to the Misaka Clone/Accelerator arch. The overall plot isn’t different, but ... if you’re binging the shows, you’ll notice the slight differences. I personally found this bothersome especially when some scenes felt like a direct copy and the next didn’t. I can’t say that either show should’ve skipped the arch as they are important to both Misaka and Kamijou's development, but I would’ve liked to see the sequences and dialogue play out more closely. What was nice was the internal dialogue you got from each character in their perspective stories. More of that would've also been welcomed. With the amount we get, it feels more like a missed opportunity. Ultimately, if you're watching both Index II and Railgun S, you may want to opt to skip the Accelerator arch of Railgun S.

The other two archs were really good. I would’ve felt this was a superior season to the first, but the Accelerator arch overshadowed the other two. Since it depends on the order you watch the universe, I'm not going to count the plot itself as a negative, however, pacing isn't good and that is completely bizarre as the Accelerator arch only runs 6 episodes. If you asked me before looking it up, I would've claimed it ran at least half the season. Unfortunately, pacing seems to be a recurring problem with the Raildex universe, but it was a bit more prevalent in Railgun S. The final arch felt noticeably rushed while the Accelerator arch seemed incredibly long. The only one that felt well paced was the first, the Shinobu arch.

Animation remains the same. Not the best and in some cases feels a bit rushed and unpolished. Nothing terrible, but I've seen better. Sound also remains the same.

Character is a bit tricky. I think they lost a little pizzazz since the world and characters have already been built, but all the interactions feel genuine and natural. I think a drawback might be that I find most main characters very likeable. It makes them feel a bit bland in terms of development. I would also say that some characters like Shinobu, especially after her character development, deserve more screen time and are seemingly tossed away like a rag. So, the issue of introducing characters then having them feel unused returns, but isn't nearly as bad as the first season of Railgun.

My enjoyment of Railgun S suffered due to the Accelerator arch being a carbon copy of MI2's plot and feeling extremely long compared to the others. It unfortunately made the middle arch a bit tedious to sit through. I think pacing was poor and really contributed to my diminishing enjoyment. The show is worth a watch, but consider watching the first arch (ep. 1-11) before MI2, then watching MI2 and finishing the final arch of Railgun S (ep. 15-24).

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 16, 2020

Abbeyland

Not Recommended

While I mostly enjoyed Season 1 of this show, Season 2 has been a walk in the desert. Mikoto Misaka went from badass in the first season to a weak, weeping and depressed bore in the second. The whole clone story is a boring mess and they keep introducing side characters who are stronger than Mikoto. Not just stronger but WAY WAY stronger. Despite her being the third strongest of the seven Level 5 espers.

It's bad writing. Stay true to your characters. Don't make your hero suddenly weak - after having spent the entire previous season to show her strength - just to beef up ... the evil guys and create artificial drama. Obey the rules of the world you built!

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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