Toaru Kagaku no Railgun: Misaka-san wa Ima Chuumoku no Mato desu kara

The funny thing about this OVA is that it is actually much less 'OVAish' than some episodes of the actual first season of Railgun. In short, it's a fantastic episode of the show that far exceeded my expectations.

First of all, the OP of this particular OVA is something you do not want to miss if you're a fan of the series, it's sweet, it's funny and it's heart-warming as well.

Every one of the four main characters gets their time to shine in this OVA. Now I know saying this is controversial, but I didn't really like Saten too much in the original series (sorry Saten ... fans, no disrespect). But here, Saten gets her time to shine along with Uiharu and Kuroko. Now I still don't *love* the dastardly skirt-flipper, but this OVA made me appreciate her character, as well as all of the main characters in general, a little more. The friendship they share with each other is really emphasised in this episode and is a central part of the story instead of just being a segue into the action.

This OVA also explores some rather mature subject matter, I was rather impressed at how the show handled this too. It's a different dynamic from what we saw in the first season of the show and I thought it was fresh and interesting.

The comedy scenes are pretty good too and in fact, so are the visuals. Usually an OVA is where we see some stripped-back animation, but nope. Misaka and Kuroko's abilities are animated satisfyingly and the final product doesn't just look slapped together.

But of course, it wouldn't be an OVA without some good old-fashioned 'fan service' right? Well, there's a bathhouse scene. And no, no one is wearing a towel in the water. Thankfully, however, the plot doesn't grind to a halt during this scene, and it's integrated decently well in the story. You win some, you lose some, and this is a pretty minor point against this OVA in my opinion.

Overall, this OVA was much better than I was anticipating. It made me like the cast of characters a bit more. It was fresh, funny and interesting, and definitely one of the best OVAs I've seen. If you've seen season 1 of Railgun and skipped over this, I highly recommend going back and watching it. 8/10.

TL;DR, Showcases the absolute best of what the show has to offer, shame it's only a side story.

Misaka's character is very well demonstrated through this story, showing how her racing mind is always worried about perceptions pertaining to her, both tangible and intangible. It becomes a physical impairment which is followed through with successive scenes of very cool transitions through time, coupled with paranoia and steadily deduced problem solving. Sure, the ending is conjured from nothing, but the general tone of the series is kept throughout the ride.

The character interactions are at their best here without being crammed in like many other short specials. It ... reflects on the series so well without just retelling events which already happened, a problem which Index ran into at the end of its first season. Really though, I like it mainly because it plays with the concepts of esper powers in a way that the series should really strive for. There were great scenes of Misaka's utilization of it and though the special has some extra length, it never feels like it's plodding along to nowhere.

This episode can really be watched at any time, though after Season 1 would be preferable, due to some very minor references to past events. If the rest of the show maintained this standard all the time, it would be the truly interesting shonen it's got the potential to be.

So far, I watched the series a while back when it was airing, and just watched it recently, and yes, it was interesting, an OVA added to the series block, it never failed me to expect something new to this, no comedy was cliche and somehow connected to the story of the biribiri season so far.