Ranked #536

Toaru Majutsu no Index

To Aru Majutsu no Index is an action, comedy set in a modern (or perhaps slightly futuristic) city called Academy City. The entire city is basically composed of several schools that teach the usage of Esper; a scientific kind of magic.

The story revolves around the protagonist Kamijou Touma, as he is caught between tensions and events involving conflicts between Magic and Esper (science). While the first few episodes were quite promising, hinting at a huge power struggle between two sides, with Touma being in the center of attention, the rest was quite the letdown. There wasn't any deep story. The main plot simply gets shoved into the background and To Aru Majutsu no Index becomes a somewhat repetitive, episodic 2/3 episode-per-plot anime. Despite the great entrance leading to an episodic series, however, I admit it was still enjoyable to watch. The plots are simple, but watching Kamijou Touma go through each challenge in his way was entertaining.

The art and sound are definitely the strongest points of To Aru Majutsu no Index. The art is simply amazing. Movements and actions flow smoothly, showing just how many panels the creators drew to create each episode. CG effects are wonderfully done; with the sun shining brightly and casting beams of light on Academy City. The opening songs fit the action theme of To Aru Majutsu no Index very well, and the relaxing ending songs tone down viewers' excitement after watching the episodes.

Characters were great and unique in terms of personality, but development was stagnant. Each character had a unique personality that you can identify and tag them with. Touma is a carefree, friendly guy who's always there to help out his friends, while Index is mischievous and spoiled on the outside, deep down she cares much about everyone around her. However, without much character development, they pretty much stay the same throughout the 24 episodes of To Aru Majutsu no Index. But overall, I think this can be overlooked, as once you become attached to them, development won't degrade the characters' uniqueness.

Overall, I enjoyed watching To Aru Majutsu no Index on a weekly basis. It was a good anime overall, despite the lack of a concrete central plot. Just watching how Touma deals with situations and interact with those around him is purely enjoyable. Definitely give To Aru Majutsu no Index a try! read more

"Then would you accompany me to the depth of hell?" - Index

"When magic and science crosses path, what will happen?" is how I would have liked to start this review. However the answer to that would have simply be "nothing" since, although both sides exists in the same place, there were hardly any interaction between them. So instead, I will begin by asking Index what she meant by accompanying her to the depth of hell. She was hardly present for half the show and during the rare occasions when she is in an episode, she gets sidelined and become a minor character with absolutely no impact to the story (beside biting Touma on the head).

So what happened to those 103,000 magical texts? With the exception of the first few episodes and the last episode or two, where Index as a character actually matters to the plot, there is practically zero reference to the 103,000 magical texts for 80% of the show. Granted the production studio (J.C. Staff) wanted to follow the novel as closely as possible (and they did a very good job at it), it is understandable for the abrupt ending to the story thus far. But it still makes no sense for the story’s centerpiece to be dangling here and there with no sense of purpose in the various story arcs.

If one were to ignore the problems mentioned above, then the overall production quality of Toaru Majutsu no Index is actually quite good. Decent animation from J.C. Staff (though sometimes the distant shots seem lacking in detail) plus a great cast of seiyu make this anime a pleasant watch to those who don’t really mind a poor storyline. Don’t get me wrong though, the mini arcs throughout the show which introduces and help create character developments are great in themselves. However, once the dust settles, it always makes me wonder what happen to the story that was suppose to center around Index.

Character-wise, most were introduced to compliment the particular story arc (with the exception of the main protagonists). Afterward, they will tend to “fade” to the back sometimes making a few seconds appearance here and there with no significance. In terms of character development, not much observable changes occurred for the male protagonist and Index which can be attributed to the faithful following of the novel (since there wasn’t that much matter to talk about at the time of the anime production). On the other hand the co-heroine/main protagonist, Mikoto, of the Railgun series (a spinoff of Toaru Majutsu no Index) did show considerable character growth which makes her shine like a bright star among the group of relatively static characters.

Those familiar with Shana will instantly ring a bell in their head as they watch the first OP of this series. If the OP does not make you go "OMG, this sounds similar to Shana’s OP!", then perhaps watching the daily interaction between Index and Touma will help ring some bells. To be more precise, one can even replace Index with Shana and voila, you have yourself Shakugan no Shana III. The point I am trying to make here is the similarities between the two anime.

1. From the same production company.
2. At least one of their OP theme is sang by the same singer (Kawada Mami).
3. Shana = Index, Yuji = Touma.

So what am I trying to say here? It means that if you enjoy watching Shakugan no Shana, feel free to give this anime a try. The magician (magic) vs esper (science) theme advertised by Toaru Majutsu no Index does have its selling points, but I just think it desperately need a sequel to really link the various bits and pieces together. I enjoyed the mini arcs (whether they are filler or not), those irrelevant mini stories were very entertaining and they help keep my mind off Index. But once I start thinking deeper into the character ties and relationships, there is just something missing about the purpose of Index. Perhaps a hopeful sequel will fill in the missing puzzles, but as things stand right now the story really hurts the show. read more

A Somewhat Unlucky Boy

Academy City, the Mecca of Science, is where most of it's denizens are student that have been scientifically engineered to be espers, or wielders of certain unique abilities: manipulating electricity, teleportation and controlling natural forces.

Touma is a student in the Esper Development Program, with very unique skill, the ability to negate supernatural powers, like the ones manifested by other Espers. This, of course, nullifies his good fortune as well: vending machines devour his yen, his cellphone crushed into silicon fragments by his foot, and he has to attend extra classes during the summer.

But fate isn't done with Touma, ready to twist the string of his destiny around it's cold slender fingers. Enter Index, hanging to dry from Touma's balcony, a church sister being hunted by... magicians. The plot has an interesting hook, the conflict between science and magic. The first four episodes prove to be interesting, serving as a prelude to what would be a plot line epic in proportions. But Toaru Majutsu no Index [no Index] quickly shifts gears, abandoning an expansive story, for smaller three to four episode arcs surrounding the various characters. It's amusing but for the most part leaves you asking: Why does this matter?. Though the last episode does give some hope, hinting at a conflict between science and magic, that's about to build, brim and explode.

The characters are likable, if somewhat cliched. Touma is the can-do hero that attempts to save 'everyone'. Misaka is a shining star in somewhat average cast. Her love/hate relationships with both the lead and her friend Kuroko coupled with her superiority complex is amusing. One of the plots faults is the harem that is accidentally formed. Harems cause symptoms of shallow character interaction and plots driven by mindless love polygons. Shades of these indicators are found in no Index, but hopefully the 'harem factor' won’t be a crutch for the plot in the future.

Production

The animation and the art is excellent. The palette is bright and vibrant, painting Academy City alive. Cool silvers and grays are layered on the natural colors woven in between the streets. Action scenes are fluid and are filled with some intense scenes on this backdrop. Character models are drawn well, the magician's being the most interesting of the bunch. Kiori and Stiyl seem otherworldly in their outlandish clothing. There were irritating bits of fanservice unappealing because the heroines, for the most part, were flat chested.

The music was engaging, a techno flare that fit the whole scientific motif. Neither opening was exceptional, their upbeat chords danced about, setting the appropriate mood. The voice acting wasn't noteworthy, though some of the voices became grating. Index's voice had an annoying timbre that scratched at the senses.

Watchability and Enjoyment

The structure of the show made my enjoyment of the program, mixed. Some of the chapters were splendid, balancing humor, drama, and action while others made me want to drop the program all together. I have hope for the second season, which promises a return to the whole conflict between magic and science, which intrigued me in the first few episodes.

Closing Thoughts

The ambition of the plot quickly disappears and what remains is a cast of likable characters, great art, and a promise. Hopefully Toaru Majutsu no Index will deliver on that promise. The small gems of story telling give me confidence that there is still hope for the exploration of the main theme presented. We can only hope. read more

To Aru Majutsu no Index is yet another anime adaptation by JC Staff based on a light novel series published by ASCII Media Works. This is a show that has as many good things as it does bad things.

Story: The premise of To Aru Majutsu no Index (Index from now on) had me intrigued from the beginning, a story which is based on a science vs magic/religion is the type of plot I can really get into. However the way the story is executed turned the anime into something that could have been a great show with a deep and interesting plot into an anime with long and confusing dialogue that was so in love with its own world that you would wish everyone would stop talking for at least 1 minute. The action that the show would offer you would often get interrupted by more explanation and exposition about the situation and it would hurt the pacing and momentum that the show itself built. The story itself is also very "episodic" in a way. The show has been segmented into many different mini-arcs which followed a pretty basic 2-3 episode long outline:
- Main character gets dragged into a weird situation
- Main character finds an antagonist behind the events
- Main character and antagonist fight
- Main character wins but ends up in the hospital
I am not joking every arc on this anime ends with the main character hospitalized. However despite all these details the story of the anime can still be enjoyable and interesting at times.

Animation: I have no complains with the animation on this anime. It is very well made and its very flashy when in comes to battles and backgrounds. This is a good looking anime.

Music: Apart from the great OP songs from the ever-sweet Kawada Mami. There is not much else to say about the sound department on Index. It does the job well enough.

Characters: Another one of the issues I have with the anime is the way the characters are handled. The actual characters on the show are all interesting on their own way however the anime is only fixated on the main MALE lead Touma, while every other character takes a supporting role cast. In every arc we see Touma encounter a new character, and for those 2-3 episode we see the new character and Touma be the focus of the show but once that is over we barely ever see that character again, or it only lurks in the background. This condition is so extreme not even the "main" female character Index, whose name is on the anime title, escapes this reality. For the first 4-5 episodes we are introduced and aquainted with Index, however past that point she is almost non existent and is only shown for the sake of having at least the most minimal screen time on each episode. Such threatement for the characters really lessened the enjoyment I could've had watching this show.

Enjoyment: Even though i have mostly complained here, I still liked this anime. Im a little sad that it didnt live up to its full potential but its not a bad show on its own right.

Overall: Despite the terrible handling of the characters and the story, To Aru Majutsu no Index manages to be an entertaining show for those who enjoy magic and supernatural abilities. And I would recommend it for anyone who wants to kill time. read more

. Pros
+ Science vs Magic Plot
+ Interesting and likeable characters ( girls )
+ Accidental harem
+ HD Quality
+ Humorous with popular references here and there ( leek )

. Cons
- After Episode 10 it's character development for the other characters
- Not enough time to get back to the main plot ( Season 2 I assume? )
- Feels like a giant introduction / setup ( Novel and Manga still going )
- Some characters feel like filler, hopefully they'll have some use later on

. Conclusion :
I like this Anime despite the fact it got off target halfway through. They did a good job of developing the other characters in the show but then by the time you finish the series, you're expecting Season 2. Basically it felt like one giant introduction episode, introducing us to the characters and the plot, but then we never get to the real deal. As you can see, I don't have much to complain, this Anime has potential if they're able to get back to the main plot. I'm expecting them to give us a Season 2 ( I guess if Season 1 did well enough, the novel and manga are still going). It's a nice Anime to watch as long as you're not expecting a great deal out of it ( especially story wise, since it's obviously incomplete ). Perhaps by the time you read this Season 2 will be out. For now you can just await for the "Toaru Kagaku no Rail Gun" side story... read more

Toaru Majutsu no Index is one of the more fun anime to have come out recently. It's a fast-developing anime that puts a new spin on the old science-versus-religion or science-versus-magic plot. Well, the science aspect, anyway.

Set in an "Academy City" in the Future, To Aru Majutsu no Index's main character, Kamijyo Touma, is a boy struck with nothing but constant misfortune, leading to many humorous scenes. In addition, he is the lowest possible level of Esper (people with scientifically-enhanced seemingly magical powers - basically everyone is an Esper) - zero. One day, he returns home to his apartment (he lives alone, apparently), and finds this girl hanging over his railing. And, of course, he brings her inside because she begs for food. He discovers that she is a magical Index containing forbidden magical texts, and that people are after her life in order to obtain these texts. And so our adventure begins, one filled with magicians, alchemists and humor, as well as dark villains set out to achieve unheard-of abilities. Touma's own survival, fighting techniques, and bad luck, he discovers comes from his right hand, "Imagine Breaker," which cancels any magical spell and calls for creative ways to defeat his foes.

The action is generally pretty good, too, and suspenseful. It does have its moments of gore, which I appreciated, without being overly excessive. The characters all have their own special techniques and styles, which I liked because it helped round out their already well-developed (yet at times, stereotypical) personalities. As for Touma, his right hand acts like a poor kind of shield further on into the show rather than "canceling" whatever magic comes in contact with it. (Now that'd just be too easy, wouldn't it.) After the first few episodes, his intelligence seems to diminish as his original flair and creativity seem to have vanished, as well. Nonetheless, it still pulls through well in the action department.

Although it doesn't really bring much new to the table (when I started it, I thought "Shakugan no Shana!"), it's still a great anime that if you're just looking for pure fun, you should watch if for that. It's not filled with fanservice even if it has glimpses of it, and the main plot diverts into sub-plots often, albeit story-related so you don't have to worry about plot progression. However, it does tend to focus on supporting characters a little too much, in my opinion.

"Index" is based on a manga, where the series of events more or less occur the same, so holding true to the manga is a plus for me. (Though I've never read it, I have looked this up to be basically true.)

OVERALL: The art is awesome - nothing like 5 Centimeters per Second, but the effects are slick. The characters are so distinct, their personalities and their character images perfectly mesh, and the action is entertaining. Even though this won't develop a cult following (e.g. Death Note), if you can ignore the cliché components to this story, you're going to have fun with this one. read more

“When science and Magic cross paths, this epic will begin!”

Several weeks ago I was fooled by this premise to follow this series and as a result, I have lost several hours of my life I will never gain back. I do not blame myself for having watched this nor do I blame you if you watched it too, instead I blame the strangely good first story arc which trapped me into this horrible anime, but I’ll get to that later.

To start things off, we are introduced to a world that can be best described as a utopia for comic books. There’s scientifically advanced technology, superhuman psychics (each with their own unique ability), secret religious organizations, alchemist, vampires, vampire killers, evil research laboratories, magic, mages, swordspeople….you get the idea. As for our protagonist, we get Toma, a typical good-natured psychic with the power to negate any other powers with a touch of his right hand. One day he discovers a nun lying on his balcony that’s on the verge of starvation. What does Toma do you ask? Well like any good anime protagonist, he lets her in and feed her of course! Long story short, they get acquainted and it’s soon revealed that Index (the nun) is a member of a secret church and her head is implanted with the Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum, 103,000 volumes of very valuable magical text. Obviously, when your head is that valuable, you can expect kidnapping goons to come after you and that’s exactly what happened. Of course, after I learned all this about the show I’m going “YES, we got a winner folks!” 16 episodes in (yes, it took me that long), I realize I couldn’t have been more wrong.

First of all, in my defense, the overall reality of their world is actually very interesting. The first story arc also manages to introduce this vast world reasonably well. Immediately they bait you in with attractive concepts like; magic can only operate under exact conditions, index’s head has only 15% of free memory, the psychics are ranked by level 0 to 5 and so on. Unfortunately as you get deeper into the show you realize that in the long run, all these cool little trivia means absolutely nothing. Instead, behind all the big numbers and fancy gibberish they throw at you, all you really have is one ridiculously bad story.

For example, a prominent theme in this anime is that all superpowered girls are completely inept at understanding humans. They always have no friends and think that because they’re different, their lives are worthless. Of course in comes Toma, who can probably become a genius psychiatrist at this point, convinces them all that life is actually not that bad and on they go with the next girl. That’s the general plot of the show and it always kills me how Toma always manages to do this by delivering a touching speech about how “you don’t need reasons to help friends” while at the same time blocking a particularly flashy attack from the enemy. Sorry for spoiling it but that’s pretty much the climax of every arc.

After all my harsh opinions though, I will admit that certain characters do really stand out from this junk. First we got Toma who is a rather likable character despite his tendency to make every girl fall for him (he‘s better than them). Next would be Index, though marketed as a bumbling idiot, can really surprise you at times (but not often enough). Last but not least, the Accelerator, who I daresay is the most interesting character in this anime. Sadly, all three of them are constantly being thrown in idiotic plots or paired with stereotypical characters, effectively destroying their potential. I do not recommend this anime even though the ideas behind it are inviting. After the first story arc, the climax and plots do not get much better. The only reason for watching this is if you're bored and you want to know why some people think animes are stupid. read more

To Aru Majutsu no Index (or TAMI for short) is the very definition of a generic anime. Theres nothing good here but its not necessarily bad. Some characters are likeable and entertaining but that makes up such a small percentage of the enormous cast that its just not worth it. TAMI is about a guy named Touma who lives in a city thats entire purpose is being a school for Espers (see: Psychics) although nobody actually reads minds and its more they all have a certain power. So nobody is psychic at all. Touma discovers a young girl hanging on his balcony whos a magician being chased and he helps her. They become friends and have adventures. Thats TAMI in a nutshell, they tried having some main story throughout the whole thing but nothing important was revealed and the series couldnt keep a story arc going past 3 episodes. And thats where this show really falls to mediocrity. By constantly changing the focus of the story to some new threat and introducing 1-4 new characters every 3-5 episodes you lose the whole point of this series.

The characters themselves are just so two dimensional and uninteresting that you dont care for their story at all. Not to mention they all have to have some gimmick to distinguish them from another character.

As far as genre goes TAMI is a shonen type action show but thats being too generous in my opinion. TAMI's action scenes never go past 1-3 actions before they have to talk for 90% of the fight about something that wont even matter once the conflict is resolved, and all the main character ever does is punch people.

TAMI isnt necessarily bad but its just so plain that you find yourself wondering why you're even bothering with it? It tries to be funny but always throws the same gags at you that you just dont care for them. I think theres some wasted potential here and thats a shame because I really wanted to like this show
5/10 read more

Largely a compilation of various archetypes and cliches meant to produce something to hold over the Shana crowd until the inevitable Season 3, To Aru Majutsu no Index embodies the same animation style, similar story progression, and yet another myriad of needlessly confusing terminology. However, Index does manage to possess some very different characters than it's spiritual predecessor that add some freshness to an otherwise tired production.

If there's one thing you can't fault J.C. Staff on, it's the animation. Sharp, crisp, with a signature pallet and inspired character design, Index can be a treat to look at. Consistent in its appearance throughout, it does a fine job of carrying a sharp appearance, even though it does not strive to be anything beyond that.

Sound is another matter. The opening and ending themes just aren't up to the quality of the animation and, for me at least, seemed to drag down the sequences. Generic BGM throughout didn't help, though vocal performances are of note. Yuka Iguchi and Rina Satou especially as Index and Misaka add great energy and depth to their respective character's lines. The rest of the cast isn't bad either, ranging from enjoyable to decent. What a complete waste of Mamiko Noto though.

These performances were also greatly amplified by a very likeable cast. Index is a real charmer from the get-go and Misaka's firecracker personality really adds something to the dynamic of the Index-Touma-Misaka triangle. I have no complaints about Touma personally, but he is another generic male lead with a built-in deus ex machina. Fortunately, it isn't the be-all end-all solution it appears to be. The supporting cast is enjoyable, but so many of them are sparsely seen, with some disappearing as quickly as they appear, that it's easy to forget or just not care about them.

While the characters are intriguing enough to keep watching, the plot isn't. Functioning on an individual arc setup, it's too disjointed with too little themes carried over from arc to arc to make it worth the effort. While Index lacks its spiritual predecessor's romantic angst, at least said angst helped carry the story over each individual arc. Here, Index has few if any ties throughout, burning bridges as quickly as it can construct them. Add in the previously mentioned myriad of complicated terminology that perpetuates the dialogue of the series, and even the strongest attention spans may be jolted by this one.

So what can be said about it as a whole? It's certainly not a terrible series, but there's too much wasted potential. The character relationships are stagnant and the poignant characters of each arc are gone with the next. It's more a compilation of side stories than a full-bodied plot, heavy on the dialogue but short-handed on plot or character development. But it is likeable, and nice to look at, and with some luck, the franchise will become more focused in the future. For now, it's disposable eye candy. Nothing more, nothing less.

Overall, I give To Aru Majutsu no Index a 6 out of 10. read more

Toaru Majutsu no Index starts off strong, but quickly fizzles out. I, like many others, was intrigued by the fantastic world described in the first few episodes, a world where everybody has a superpower, as well as the mystery surrounding the title character. Sadly, the series fails to deliver a single solid story past the first arc and stumbles blindly onward to a barely sub-par ending.

The anime actually had me hooked at the first few minutes of the first episode. The character of Touma, who inexplicably possesses the power to nullify any supernatural force with his right hand (and also seems to attract misfortune, something I can relate with) was very appealing. Upon his encounter with Index, a girl who inexplicably has perfect memory recall, things really started to take off. Now there were two mysterious characters and a decent plot to go with one of them. By the third episode, I was convinced that I was in for a rare masterpiece.

Admittedly I was concerned about Touma, because his mysterious power is essentially god-mode, and overpowered characters tend to ruin a story. I set those concerns aside, though, reasoning that the title character is Index, not Touma. Little did I know that after the first arc concluded, the title character would have little to no influence in the overall plot, in some cases barely managing to make an appearance in most later episodes.

Very few of the characters past the two main ones are genuinely likable. I have to admit I liked Touma's teacher, Komoe. She provided some of the best comic relief, but didn't do much else aside from acting as a plot device. Index's two guardians, central to the plot of the first arc, were also among the better personalities. At the very least, they weren't completely unlikeable. The same can't be said for the rest of the cast: almost offensively dull supporting characters; a series of super-powerful girls, each who thinks her life is the worst and she'd be better off dead; a select few villains to do battle with Touma; and behind-the-scenes bad guys who never do anything but make vague references to the story. Before I move on, I'd like to give an honorable mention to Accelerator. He had probably the coolest power of them all, and would have made my list of likable characters if he had dropped the angsty emo-kid act. Just one more wasted character among many.

If there's one thing they did right, though, it was the art and animation. But if all your anime can do is look good, there's hardly any point to it. Overall I have to say I was really disappointed with Toaru Majutsu no Index. It had such a great buildup and they could have done great things with it, but once Index was no longer a central part of the story it all fell flat. I wouldn't recommend this series to anyone. I watched it from start to finish, and now I wish I hadn't. read more