Tbh, the ratings are just OKAY for this anime, and I completely understand that. There are so many flaws in many significant elements in the story that just… ruin it for me. I’ll explain.
Story: 5
To be honest, I’m about 50% sure of my current rating for this anime. This anime remained “ratingless” on my list for a while since I finished it. I’ll start with the story, and hopefully I’ll come to a surer conclusion. The story is supposed to revolve around a boy named Tohma who lives in Academy City, a city based off of science and the main powers gained in that city are those based off of science themselves, the people who develop these powers being known as “espers.” Tohma is about the lowest ranking esper there could possibly be, but there is one plus side. He has a certain power in his right hand known as “Imagine Breaker;” In other words, he can cancel any type of esper or magic type vector that may be shot at him. One day, he finds a little girl in a white gown hanging on his balcony who claims to be named “Index” and is basically a walking library containing vast amounts of knowledge. What’s more, she resides from the magic side of reality. That’s how the hidden conflict erupts. Ever since this girl starts living with him, all of these incidents start occurring. The first arc, in my opinion, was the BEST in the series. I loved the characters that turned up and everything made sense in that first arc. The first arc was a matter of trusting both magic and scientific ability, and the conflict left me at the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, after the last episode of that arc, which I believe was around episode 4-5, everything started slowly drifting away from me. There were many newly added elements and characters that I couldn’t understand. There was one point in the anime that I thought I skipped an episode, because there were so many things that I just couldn’t get. It took me longer to finish this anime because I just got so bored of it on many occasions. Also, even though the anime is supposed to revolve around Tohma and Index, Index is BARELY a part of the main plot. She can’t use magic so she usually just watches on the side. Even when she IS in an episode, it’s just for about a half a second. I found that as a major issue and hole in the plot, even more prominent than the other millions of holes that I found. I never even found out the objective of the main antagonist. At least, I THINK he’s the main antagonist… I mean, he only shows in two episodes… That’s an issue. And then, half way through the anime, they introduce… angels? I didn’t get that, either. Maybe I’m just not good at understanding these kinds of things, but the story was definitely overall confusing with too many plot elements and rough transitions b/w Religion and Science.
Art: 9
I thought that the art for the fight scenes was genius. Whether it was magic or Esper ability, all of the powers were perfectly designed and made as fun to watch as possible. The setting of Academy City was also one of my favorites. The design of the characters, though, didn’t meet my expectations. I mean, I’m sorry for having such high expectations, but for an anime with beautiful art style in everything else, you’d think the art would be really cool for the characters. I’m not saying it’s BAD, I’m just saying it wasn’t as exciting as expected. Sorry.
Sound: 8
My favorite music element of the anime was the first opening. It had a nice, techno, mysterious tone to it and I believe it fit the anime really well, while being really catchy. The OSTs were pretty cool, too. The second opening and the endings were kind of boring though; also not living up to my expectations. Not bad, overall.
Characters: 6
One of the weaker aspects of the anime; there was definitely a problem in the character design. I mean, there were characters that I liked, such as the main protagonist, Tohma, and the Index’s two friends from the English Church. Index, I believe, had the behavior of a supporting character. She played no significant roles in the story except at the beginning, where Tohma just saved her. She would’ve been a good comic relief if the author didn’t try so hard to make her important, which failed miserably. Plus, even though she’s a possible love interest, she’s, like, 8 years old, while Tohma’s in high school. I found that a weakening element in the characters. And speaking of love interests, there seem to be way too many. In fact, there seem to be too many characters to start out with. It really ruins t for me because I have to remember all of their names and some of them are just way too insignificant to be a good element to add to the story. And don’t get me started on all of the MISAKA’s… Oh, Dear God.
Enjoyment: 7
Well, let me see, aside from the first arc, the rest of the anime only confused and bored me on many occasions. I mean, there were other good parts of the plot, but there were just so many holes in such a good idea for a story, that it ruined an opportunity for fame. The subliminal messaging was hard to catch, but I got it eventually b/w all of the pretty actions scenes. Seriously, the anime’s action episodes were my favorites, but they weren’t enough to make up for the clusterfuck plot. Sorry.
Overall: 7
