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

Fans of Biri Biri rejoice, finally we can see Biri Biri back in action again :)

Story :
As you can see from the description, this OVA can be considered as the continuation from Level Upper Arc. In short in here we'll see some of after effect from Level Upper Arc in Biri Biri's life. Now if you are wandering whether the story will be interesting enough given the length of this anime only 34 minutes long, you don't have to worry about that. For a 34 minutes long OVA, the story is well directed and the pace is just right. It will keep your interest ... until the end.

Railgun without some comedy elements wouldn't feel right, right? Well, we will still see it in here. Kuroko teasing Misaka, Biri Biri blushing and angry, and some other comedy aspects from the TV series. Fans that wanted to see a lot of actions might be disappointed, cause we don't have much action in here. The focus of the story here is about solving the mystery.

Art :
As for the art and animation, J.C staff have done a really good job. The animation is smooth. The character designs and backgrounds are certainly drawn well and the coloring of the animation is at the same level from the TV series.

Sound :
We have two new songs from this OVA and both of them is pretty good. The background music for this OVA is also fit enough with the story. The voice actor also have done a really good job. In here we'll hear the same level of voice acting like in the TV series.

Character :
We still have the same main characters, and we will see their similar personalities like in the TV series. Some side characters from the TV series also made some appeareances in here.

Overall, this OVA is enjoyable to be watched. The story is interesting enough and as the story progress, you might want to guess the enemy. If you want to watch a good OVA, you should watch this one.

For some reason, I've always liked Railgun side-story more than Index. It's good to see Misaka Mikoto in all her glory since she doesn't appear that often (or as often as I like) in the main series. So for all "biribiri" fans out there, J.C. Staff gave us a wonderful present in the form of an OVA.

Story: 9
The story itself has the elements you would expect in a typical Railgun story arc, only just one episode long. Again, Misaka and her friends are faced with a mystery and it is up to them to solve it. That being said, even though it feels like a ... typical Railgun story, it feels somewhat refreshingly new. There were a few instances that I had to go back and re-watch a scene, just because it was too funny. If you liked the Railgun series, you'll certainly be pleased with the story of this OVA as well.

Art: 9
As with all J.C. Staff productions, the quality of the animation is top notch. Smooth, free-flowing movement and well-detailed character designs along with a great background. Nothing feels out of place, or rushed and I couldn't find a single thing that would probably make my eyes hurt. You would have to watch this with in HD to really appreciate it.

Sound: 8
The OVA has a new OP (this one by fripSide who sang the OP in Railgun, "My Only Railgun") and a new ED (courtesy of ELISA who also sang ep 2-3's ED, I think it was "Dear My Friend"). These songs nice to listen to and it feels like it really belongs in this episode (I hope that made sense). Other than that there's nothing new to report, which isn't always a bad thing. All Voice Actors return for their roles, and as expected the voices are top notch. Kuroko's voice may finally be growing on me...

Character: 9

The story focuses on the main cast, so expect that there will be few side characters appearing. Though I have to admit, seeing a being of such misfortune was a welcome treat. I've said too much...

Enjoyment: 9

Fans of the series and fans of Misaka Mikoto (which are separate groups) will definitely enjoy this latest helping of biribiri. Nothing felt old or reused and there will be moments that you will laugh, hard.

So the score is an astounding: 9/10.

edit 11/29/2010: Changed the part about who sang the OP and ED. Seems I got them mixed up.

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.

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.

I really loved this OVA,but sadly its allready over.
Well in To Aru...Railgun/Index Academy City allways was very
detailed,but in this Episode,there were so many more details
than normaly,and there were some nice 3D effects too.

The Opening sure has a nice Vid,but the sound resembles too much
to "Only my Railgun"(well same Artist..),but its nice too^^.

And that new Thriller-Touch was a nice new experience in the
ToAru Universe,so i surley recomend to watch the OVA,because
of this alone.

How many extras does the Railgun anime have? Ok, at least this is a full episode with a completely new story by itself. I'm not sure if this story is present in other forms of the Railgun media though.

There isn't any real difference in animation quality compared to the main series, but it's still very good. I didn't pay full attention to the OP and ED songs but they have a similar feel to them since the songs are by the same singers... JC Staff must have a good budget to use new songs just for a 1 episode OVA. The episode's also slightly longer ... (34 minutes) but that about it; it feel just like any other Railgun episode.

I don't wanna spoil the story, but I like the pacing even though there's a full plot in just one episode. The story quickly goes into the problem Misaka faces and it's pretty cool to see her awesome abilities in all her glory. I actually wished that episode could be longer.

I liked it, but I could only recommend it as much as the original season.

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.