Anime: Toaru Majutsu no Index

To Aru Majutsu no Index is a series built of mixtures. That said, the particular hybrid promised by the tagline - "when science and magic cross paths" - never really appears, the "science" of Index being merely a different class of extraordinary abilities. This is a kitchen sink approach to powers - magicians, "espers" and angels all make their appearance, while the near "metapowers" of protagonist Touma (who can cancel any ability) and the titular Index (who stores records of every spell in existence) don't even fit into these kinds of classification. For all that, there is a disappointing lack of variety when it comes to practical effects - while the occasional individual ability demonstrates originality and cleverness (in particular, that of "accelerator", appearing late in the series, is a masterstroke), each character tends to get an arbitrary set of special abilities, with no clear distinction (other than casting action) between those of the "scientists" and "magicians". Neither party is truly magic in the classical "anything goes" sense; rather, each ability is rule-based, with the end result that Index follows the conventions of nothing so much as Eddings-style modern fantasy - though placed in the contemporary setting of Academy City.

The city itself is a perfect showcase for Index's greatest flaw - its failure to work through the implications of any of its premises. We see isolated differences from a typical city - the cleaning robots, the unusual police force, the wind turbines - but no sense of connection between them, no feeling for how different everyday life is in a world where these powers are commonplace. In fact, despite the obvious and public large-scale infrastructure for the study of psychic powers, there seem to be no differences from a mundane world on any more than an extremely local scale.

This failure to follow through is also evident in the plot, where it becomes both the series' strength and its weakness. The show is divided into relatively short arcs, each almost entirely self-contained (having only characters in common between them), and the tone varies considerably between them; this means almost any viewer will find parts they enjoy but also parts they hate. While an attempt is made towards the end to sow some seeds for an underlying plotline, this is barely developed and leads nowhere, at least for this season; the finale at the end of the series is no more dramatic than any of the five or six that have gone before. Such an approach is probably friendlier to a casual television audience than a single 24-episode plot, but this is obviously no solace for fansub viewers.

With the lack of an overarching plot one would hope for character focus to fill the hole, but the extent to which this occurs is very limited. There is a lot of cast shift between arcs, resulting in too many characters to allow enough in-depth characterization, and our protagonist (the sole common thread between many of the episodes) never gets any real development. While there are flashes of brilliance, and most characters are fundamentally sound, there is simply not enough screentime for any of them to reach their real potential. Like the world's metaphysics, the characterization ends up a mess, with too many competing threads vying for attention.

For all this, Index has something. Partly it's the slick presentation; solid general animation quality, with some very well-drawn cityscapes, reasonable character designs and very good visual effects, with superpower special effects that manage to be always exciting without ever reaching ridiculous. Sound is also good overall, with some very well-suited choice of music (particularly opening and ending themes), and voice acting which always keeps the large cast clear and distinct, though some criticism must be made of the overreliance on gimmicks here (very high-pitched voices for the two childish characters, and a self-in-third-person verbal tic for another that becomes very irritating in one of the later arcs). But more than that, Index has a fundamentally solid basis; its modern-world-with-kitchen-sink-of-magic is interesting, as are the various shady organizations we are given a passing introduction to; likewise there is not one character I wouldn't like to hear more about.

What we have, then, is a mess, but a mess with promise, and one that nonetheless manages to be enjoyable to watch. With more episodes devoted to exploring its existing plot elements and characters rather than introducing new ones, this could have been something good; that a second season seems likely gives me some hope that this may yet be achieved. For now, though, To Aru Majutsu no Index is full of inspiration, but the muddled execution leaves a whole that is less than the sum of its parts.

Finally, an anime from JC Staff that has a plethora of female characters and not one of them is voiced by Rie Kugimiya. Welcome to A Certain Magical Index, a light novel adaption that takes its titular character and gives her a secondary function after the first volume/six episodes.

By the team that did Shakugan no Shana, there is no doubt that the production quality remains high: cute character designs, great fights, great lighting effects, and catchy I've Sound songs by Kawada Mami and the rest of the crew. That team is pretty much set for selling a shounen-action series; the only inhibiting factor is how they ADAPT the source material. You can see my/other reviews of Shakugan no Shana to understand this problem, but the fact remains prevalent.

Please do not ask me why, but yes, Index becomes a secondary character right after her arc ends. The author's (Kazuma Kamachi) attempt to write an "epic" about science vs. magic falls miserably to our deaf eyes; however, he succeeds in attracting a large readership with enough attention to garner an anime adaption: why? You can thank Kiyotaka Haimura, the original character designer of all the characters from the light novel illustrations (he also did Yume Miru Kusuri... I loved that game :D). You can eventually find a poster full of most of the female crew all the way to volume 16 or something, which shows the effect of what hiring a good illustrator can do for your literary work. I must admit, I liked the plain design of Misaka Mikoto the best (maybe because she resembled Aeka from YMK sort-of), but the designs of Index, Kanzaki, and other future haremettes also attracted my attention a great deal.

So you ask me if I watched this just for the characters? By the end of the series, my intent has still not changed: yes, I did watch this for Index and Misaka Mikoto.

Toaru... does not have a conventional story structure; instead, each volume is its own story but using the same protagonist (Kamijo Touma) and revolving around his mending of problems by talking and preaching to his opponents and preaching and using his nullifying ability (Imagine Breaker). Did I mention he preaches a lot? It sure gets epic when each fight is broken down with text walls of trying to convince the opponent to back down. Each arc is the same thing over and over again: Touma meets new girl, Touma helps with the world's exposition, Touma fights opponents through talking. Each story also uses up a main girl, thus a reason to have so many female character designs.

So to really get the most out of Toaru..., you must love the characters that are involved in a particular arc. For me, obviously the first and third arc were the most enjoyable as they featured Index and Mikoto. A later episode was also highly enjoyable, but it's too bad nothing will come out of it for a while (even the author is holding back on such a flag event!).

Not to mention that each girl gets almost "thrown away" after their arc ends. (There is almost no hint of an overarching plot, because the author does not touch upon it very well.) To sum it up, the entire concept is a waste of potential on fault of the author.

I would like to commend JC Staff for actually sticking to the source material for once. My qualms with this is that they took it too far. Of course, as I have not read the light novel, my entire impression of Index relies only on the anime. And this anime has a lot of preaching in it. So much, that all the fights could only look better if there was not so much mumbling technobabble. This is especially evident on the final (sixth) episode of Index's arc, where it takes Touma at least two minutes to travel a distance of 3 meters because of all the preaching he had to do.

I would classify Toaru Majutsu no Index as a waste of potential, a waste of time, a waste of fandom, but a pretty cool action/magic/sci-fi anime. Since I fell victim to the fandom (of Misaka Mikoto), I anxiously await the Railgun anime adaption.

Rate me! This review is based on the Eclipse HD fansubs and will be revised once the DVD or Blu-ray eps are out.

Quick Take: Recommended, but with a warning that the plot suffers from needing a goal; I wanted to like it more than I actually did. It's similar in many ways to Negima! Hiroshi Hishikiori (Azumanga Daioh, Mahou Sensei Negima, Okusama wa Maho Shojo) has directed a beautifully-animated and nicely voiced but mostly directionless shonen series, that has good sound and other technicals, but fails to make a coherent story. Most of the money was evidently spent in animation and sound. It's part-fighting, part-harem, part-supernatural philosophy (and oh, the talking!) series, that forgets to follow a normal formula and instead breaks into episodic arcs which develop characters, only to have them shelved in later episodes. Although it's following the manga closely, and the series covers the first half of the finished manga (see the wiki entry on the title), it does so to the point of forgetting to develop the titled character of Index for more than half of the series. In a word: frustrating. It's appropriate for ages 13+ because of mild fanservice and bloodless violence.

J.C. Staff (Azumanga Daioh,Ghost Hunt, Nodame Cantabile, R.O.D. TV) is the animation production company, and it's lovely work indeed. But the story!!? Based on the Kazuma Kamachi Shonen Gangan-serialized manga (and/or light novels) of the same name, I enjoyed the animation enough to finish the series, but was frustrated with the story. In particular, the screenplay by Masanao Akahoshi (Ikkitousen: Great Guardians, Viper's Creed) and especially the middle episodes (#8-18) seemed too unconnected with the main plot and developed side characters while leaving the main characters undeveloped. There is supposed to be a slight triangle between Index, Mikoto Misaka and our hero Toma Kamijo, but Index is mostly undeveloped for large parts of the series. Additionally, there was more philosophy and bizarre ideas floated than in a Star Trek episode. Be advised, this series skates around the main characters with the fluid grace of a pro hocky team chasing a puck: Lots of animation and energy, but rarely finding the goal.

Animation: Excellent all-around work, only flagging slightly in the later episodes (which were mostly underground and too dark for good visuals, and which lacked the same inbetween animation of earlier episodes). Backgrounds are nicely detailed and sharply rendered, and often have detailed movement (windmills abound). Some 3D is used, but it's mostly unobtrusive. Fights are not really choreographed above average for shonen series, but do have energy and direction (though few characters really seem to be harmed). Camera shots are typical for shonen series, and there is no real attempt at unusual camera shots that I recall. The inbetweens are better in earlier episodes than in later episodes, and there is a slight dropoff in animation quality, a typical sign of money or time problems. Character design is good, and there are tons of characters, though there is a tendency to have few clothing changes for the main characters thru the series. Overall, the strongest part of the series, and earning a solid 8.5.

Sound:
Seiyuu are excellent, with particularly good work by Rina Satou (Mahou Sensei Negima! as Negi Springfield, Maria Watches Over Us as Tsutako Takeshima) as Mikoto Misaka, the electrical-girl. Other excellent voices are supplied by Atsushi Abe (Xam'd: Lost Memories as Akiyuki Takehara) as Toma Kamijo and Yuka Iguchi (IDOLM@STER: XENOGLOSSIA as Haruka Amami) as Index. There are almost too-many enemies, and a few too many side-characters, to list, but they are a talented crew. Kudos on voicings, earning an 8.

Technicals: directional soundstage without apparent depth in my fansubs. Good sfx and nice variety of urban sounds. Nothing earthshattering, but the soundstage is nicely filled, earning a 7.5.

Music: About average bgm and other music by I've and Maiko Iuchi, with some nice stirring battle music but nothing that makes tears flow in the touching scenes. I'd rate the music 7.75.

About halfway through the series, the OP and ED change, which I'm coming to think is a sign that they know there are problems with the series. Opening Theme:
#01: "PSI-missing" by Mami Kawada
#02: "masterpiece" by Mami Kawada
Ending Theme:
#01: "Rimless~フチナシノセカイ~" by IKU
#02: "Chikaigoto ~Sukoshi Dake Mou Ichido~ (誓い言～スコシだけもう一度～)" by IKU

And the end result is an 7.75 for sound.

Story: Set In a world where science and supernatural are at odds, Touma is attending a university to develop his laughably non-existent powers (or so he thinks). His power, he thinks, is to be particularly unlucky. One day, a young nun dressed in pure white appears. She calls herself "Index" and says that sorcerers are chasing her. Thus, Kamijou Touma enters the world of the occult.

The story is a series of arcs, each of which has it's own antagonists, side-characters and philosophy. The first two arcs are the most effective narratives, likely because we're introduced to Index and her unique abilities, as well as Touma's Imagine Breaker ability, and their relationship has the usual tsundere applications. But soon after these episodes, we're introduced to Index's main "rival," Misaka, and her multiplied many "sisters." Though the polygon is not well-developed, it's maintained thru many of the later episodes.

Honestly, I cannot say I enjoyed the episodic nature of these arcs. Too many times we have characters introduced, only to be dropped later. Too often, the enemies turn out to be friends later. And I never got the real point or commentary the writer was trying to make. But there are interesting concepts and good battles, and enough entertainment so that each episode doesn't drag. So, 5 points for story, only because there is some energetic and clever writing going on at times, but it's missing large parts of what makes a story effective, including a real ending. It's obvious that a second season is needed to clean up the many hanging threads.

Character: Too many characters in the soup. Main characters left undeveloped. No real romance, no real overcoming of character flaws or obstacles, and some of the episodes are downright confusing. Nice character design and some real interesting character powers, but not enough of a direction to the character development for me to be sanguine about a second season. However, the manga does have more plot direction in what would be a necessary second season.
4 points for confusion, 5 points for character development, and 8 points for character design and innovation, resulting in a total of 6 points for character.

Value and Enjoyment: I would like to be a cheerleader in this section, but unfortunately, I feel like a fan in the stands, waiting for his team to come from 9 points behind in the last minute. So, I am stuck with reporting the value to be good if you like animation, and bad if you like story. As a whole, it's painful. Like the old joke about beating your thumb with a hammer: it feels so good when you stop; I am glad it's over. Not that it wasn't fun, but the lack of a single story is painful to me. You can't put 20 people on stage and ask them to improvise a play; as one wag said, if it's not on the page, it's not on the stage.

I can't say this is valueless, but it's mainly useful to those who masochistically like to hurt themselves with poor plot development. Of course, you can say it's following the manga, but it would be better if it didn't; some things are more fun in manga than they are on screen.

My score is 5 points each for value and enjoyment (which, for me, is a low score), based on excellent animation of a mediocre story populated with throwaway characters. Save yourself some money, and buy the manga, or suffer the consequences.

Conclusion: Fun, but I think it's not worth the time I invested. I am disappointed because the story let me down, and I wanted to see more of Index. It may be worth spending time in a second season, but the jury is out. Rent this if you're bored or really enjoyed Negima!.