If you’re a pure and decent person, that kind of experience would be pretty scary.
Detecting the first subtle signs of love trouble.
J.C.Staff, tenacious at marketing as usual.
Looks like Touma is still learning the ropes of preaching at this stage.
HELLO!
Quite a superbly set-up misunderstanding, I must say.
Uiharu and Saten seem to be a lot more gropey in the Anime… That doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing of course.
Ah… Professor Kiyama. In many ways, she’s one of the finer scientists to grace media pages and screens nowadays when we’ve been getting nothing but the typical hoards of shriveled, bespectacled brainiacs. Lab coats would definitely look MOAR moé with a short skirt + black thigh highs. Also GJ to directors Nagai and Aketagawa for picking Tanaka Atsuko! d(^^)
Defiled in an ambush. Poor kid…
“Tsundere” is a magic word that works wonders.
This confrontation was one I was eagerly looking forward to and I’m very glad J.C.Staff did not disappoint. Railgun has arguably some of the best fight scenes you’ll ever come across in any series these days and a good reason for that is owed to how the Manga’s creator and artist gave their characters more creativity in the use of their abilities compared to the scenarios in Index. Can’t wait to see more of this with the high level espers in future episodes.
Touma gets my seal of approval for bringing out all the kewtness in BiriBiri. There’s no denying that I’m one of those folks who find his verbal wall-of-text in Index annoying (likewise, I blame his targets for arguing with him and egging him on), but when he shuts his lectures away and plays the foil in shaping Mikoto’s character instead, then I’d more than welcome him to turn up for the occasional cameo.
Using pantsu as a hitaikakushi; I wonder where Kuroko got this remedy from.
Guess Mikoto took extra precautions to keep Kuroko’s hands from touching anything.
Thoughts
Hmm… Quite a significant change to Kiyama’s intro. Instead of bringing her into the story on the grounds of official business, they opted for a more light-hearted approach by having her meet with Mikoto in a more informal setting. It was initially a bit odd as her entry was a lot less dramatic, but I certainly like how they gave her a chance to casually mingle with some of the characters to convey a relaxed idea of what her personality is like. Of course I can’t help but think this is one of the writers’ way of setting up the scene for later events, which I’m finding difficult to comment on without spoiling anything. Besides that, I thoroughly enjoyed all of BiriBiri’s flustered moments. Getting Kiyama to poke at Mikoto and attempt to call her a tsundere was a brilliant idea. Compared to the Manga, Mikoto here was a lot more prone to exhibiting her tsuntsun side and this definitely gave her motives to fight Touma a more interesting twist (an added love interest angle instead of only rivalry at first). On the whole, another fun episode which provided much laughter and entertainment, and if you look between the lines close enough, an evident movement in the plot as well. Next week, it’s Old Judgment Training Days and MOAR KONORI-SENPAI~♥!!
it really lol’d me as to how complex misaka’s railgun power really is. she somehow reminds me of magneto from x-men (only waaaay cooler/awsm haxxorz) when she manipulated the iron in the sand which was kind of O_O…
to be able to create a sword that spins? like a chainsaw using iron extracted from the ground (which makes me wonder as to how much iron is mixed under the ground) using electricity (electro magnetism yeh?) is one (anime) power you don’t get to see often. but regardless of explanation, the fight was awsm! and i even doubted touma being able to use imagine breaker against something physically created yet i remembered the golem i nthe last arc of anime index and lol’d at myself. also, it didn’t occur to me that touma belonged to the urban myth category. this makes me wonder if all level 0’s in the index/railgun world have talent that could be identified as mythical like tsuchimikado’s power for example.
Apologies if your comment didn’t appear immediately. Akismet swallowed it by mistake again. Argh… It’s frustrating how wordpress tend to randomly place people’s comments in the spam queue for no apparent reason. >_>
Anyway…
And I can say she’s a lot more moe than Magneto too. Ah… Gone are the days when badass characters used to be muscular (insert number)-pack hunks. Loli’s kick their asses now.
Believe me when I say you haven’t seen all of Mikoto’s tricks yet. That’s why she’s so awsm. ;)
It’s a shame Index didn’t show this side of her powers.
Nope, not all Level 0’s :). Level 0’s are officially classified as “non-espers” – people who don’t possess any abilities (like Saten) or they harbor innate abilities where their characteristics cannot be determined, measured or controlled (like Touma and Tsuchimikado), so I guess for the most part, Level 0’s are largely students who do not have any powers at all. Tsuchimikado’s case is an odd but special one as he’s both a magician and an esper. The powers you saw him use in Index are his magician powers, not his esper ones. When he underwent the psychic program in Academy City, his Level 0 esper ability (body regeneration) began to develop and so far it’s an innate ability that doesn’t seem to increase in level (hinting that it could not be determined and measured, and the esper has no control over it).
And based on how psychic powers and magic work in the world of Index/Railgun (science and magic not being able to coexist as one without dire consequences), you know what I find cool? People with 0 esper abilities, if given the chance, can potentially learn magic if they come into contact with its existence (but it’s a shame that magic is a heavily kept secret among the many churches in Index). If only Saten knew about magic… Ah darn, I’m veering off into fantasy land. XD
save for needless and some anime that promotes GAR like guren lagan?
but yeh, the days where a group of super heroes were supposed to have x-packs are gone… er rather, left with the western world. loli, moe, and tsunbiribiri are paving the path to the future!
so it’s an esper power that cannot be made to evolve yet, at the same time, can’t be classified as to what level? in tsuchimikado, even though he was an ex magician turned esper that can still use magic at the cost of his life, i find his body regeneration a deus ex machina cheat! he’s the embodiment of a magician and an esper, despite the extreme pain he had to suffer by using magic. i also believe that he’s an immortal because of this ability but whatever his case is, his role as a double agent fits the bill. as for touma, even though he can use his powers to nullify magic or esper powers, i think the reason why it can’t be measured is because of its uselessness outside the field of paranormal. despite what imagine breaker can do, touma can be killed by a gun, a stab, a falling debris or whatshit there may be. so i think it’s not an all around abhility. compare that with accelerator’s vector manipulation(?) and misaka’s railgun that have tons of uses. heck, even kuroko’s ability or uiharu’s can be well rounded
i actually agree. what i find ironic is that aleister crowley, a magician, relies now in the use of technology yet still keeps the use of magic a secret despite being the head of academy city. i guess magicians have their reasons and i would like this explained should a second season of index pops up (which was more likely since shana would end in its 3rd run… makes me worry a ton though >.< )
we can’t really blame saten. after all, being an esper is an IT thing in the world of index, especially academy city. though i wonder if we get to see how level 0’s develop their powers. i mean, even misaka told saten that she was level 0 once so i was wondering how she found out her powers… i just hope there’s no biting from radioactive spiders or doses of gamma rays X_X i don’t want to see index/railgun ruined in those kinds of fashion
Agreed, tho’ Eve kicks ass, no? ;)
The Levels 1 to 5, which are assessable proofs that you have esper powers. Besides that, from what I’ve gathered so far from the light novels, espers whose powers are classified as Level 1 and above show signs that they can control their powers at will (activation of powers by thinking) and have their strength evaluated and improved. I reckon body regeneration can be measured though, maybe based on the speed of regeneration and what can be regenerated (e.g. organs, limbs) within a certain time span. It’s just that Tsuchimikado has no control over his powers as his body regenerates on its own, hence the name of his ability “Auto Reverse”.
It’s VERY lucky for him that he has body regeneration as his esper powers. I doubt he would survive should he ever use magic without it.
Exactly. Kaori already demonstrated that when she used her wires on him. If she were to be on the enemy side permanently, Touma would have been dead a long time ago. As with Accelerator’s case, Touma had an extremely lucky break fighting him. Accelerator could have easily killed him by crushing him with the tangible objects in their environment e.g. a train carriage.
Also, I reckon the system sees no point in classifying an ability that cancels everything paranormal when the function of the system is to determine and measure paranormal powers in the first place.
Yeah… What are the odds of it turning into something like Rave though? A series that will forever not have a conclusion to its Anime adaptation…
Oh well, J.C.Staff are not the type who throw in cliffhangers and not follow through for the fans (so far). I have hopes that they will continue with a second season and they have plenty of material to work with. Heck, they don’t even need to do fillers like they did for Railgun.
Oh dear gawd, it brings back scary memories of skintight suits. I do NOT want to imagine that on the girls here. XD
Anyway, this isn’t really a spoiler. It’s more like general info concerning how things work in the world of Index. Everyone who exists in the world of Index, even the folks who are not within Academy City, either have or do not have a dormant esper ability. For people who have expressed desires to awaken this potential, whether they were born with it or not, are sent to Academy City to attend the psychic program. I assume this potential generally begins to manifest itself when the espers are young and within a certain age, hence the reason why folks who are participating in this program are all young students.
i’d still prefer setsuna ;p
hmm so the level 0 category for the unmeasured espers have powers that cannot be controlled? come to think of it, touma is quite doubtful whenever he uses his imagine breaker. even in index, he always have that ‘eh?’ expression whenever he would block attacks. i guess since imagine breaker cancels even touma’s luck, who knows when the skill might fail him when he uses it against an enemy power and i guess the same goes for tsuchimikado. since he doesn’t know when his skill would kick in, he might really be a goner one day.
i think this level system was intricately planned by the author of the novel. come to think of it, people that falls on the level 0 power have personalities that… should i say, laid back? they try to end problems in the fastest way possible and, if possible, without resorting to the activation of their powers since they don’t know how (un)lucky they might be. also, despite their attitude, i think these guys are humble and can face reality independently. compare them to some level 5 bastards like accelerator who act almighty and relies heavily on his power. no wonder he was physically weak (but i think he toned down his attitude after the last order incident).
thanks to your explanation, im finally understanding the work around in the index/railgun world XD
Always the fast ladies, huh? XD
More like an innate ability maybe, like a property of an esper instead of a power that can be used and manipulated.
When the skill fails him? You mean like when it fails to nullify a psychic or magic attack? Or when it simply disappears all together?
Tsuchimikado’s skill is always activated automatically. The lethal part is, we’re not told how fast his body regenerates or whether it has any weaknesses (e.g. blow the head up and he’s a goner). I doubt his ability is on the same level as say, FMA’s Homonculi’s regenerative powers.
Very good observation there. It holds true for Saten especially, since she doesn’t let that fact get to her and tries her best to help her friends anyway. Then again, there’s always a chance of insecurity.
Yeah, his attitude has gotten a lot better after Last Order came into his life. Too bad he’s not the only Level 5 who behaves the way that he used to. Come on, Season 2!! ><
both actually. i doubt touma can negate everything. and who knows, his power might leave him one day
hmm come to think of it, when touma was hospitalized after the angel fall incident, i wonder how many days it has been since tsuchimikado’s death. fopr all we know, his regen rate might even take days
i guess index will be JC’s mainstream after ending shana. though i really wish they would animate the side story novels of the shana series. i only heard about them from some forums but it told in detail wilhelmina’s back story as well some of the other characters. then again, there’s still zero no tsukaima which degraded itself over the previous seasons. i wonder if they’d be able to restore it to its decent glory ~_~
I see. When his power does leave him, all the bad luck will probably leave too, which dumps him in an even graver situation since a lot of folks already knew of his involvement in those previous messes.
Guess for now, he’ll have to stick with his Imagine Breaker, activated 24/7.
Hmm… I forgot the exact number of days or whether it was even mentioned. Whatever the regen rate is, it doesn’t seem to activate immediately which puts him at a disadvantage if his opponents are the type who do their job thoroughly.
Wishing for the same thing here. I’m not sure what J.C.Staff are doing with the Shana franchise actually, putting out an OVA instead of a proper TV series. It’s understandable if they assessed that they did not have enough material to work with but I’d rather wait months or even years for them to produce a TV series rather than an OVA. But same with you, I wouldn’t mind if that OVA explored the side story novels. Similarly, Index has side story novels too and they’re definitely better than the main plots. Would love to watch an OVA of that too.
I haven’t gone beyond Season 1 of Zero no Tsukaima. I heard the following 2 sequels were crap?
Finally watched this episode today @_@;; Lol few days late and wow all yours comments are so into depth and expressing every loop hole and question on magic/esper powers of the To Aru world.
I prefer Eve – renaming everyone and owning with drills.
Anyway. Season 2 Index? :O Yes, OP1 that very last shot reminded me simply of: Shana. YOU CANNOT DENY IT!
I… want to know Wilhelmina’s back story ;___; direct me please? lol. What I really want to see or know is the previous Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite *O* looks so much like Shana, but older and cooler – I love her design. Zero no Tsukaima can burn in hell. Season two + ruined it so much for me. Rather liked season one before they turned louise into the worst tsundere in anime history.
“It holds true for Saten especially, since she doesn’t let that fact get to her and tries her best to help her friends anyway. Then again, there’s always a chance of insecurity.”
I will always love Satan ;A;!!
But this episode was my fav so far. Fantastically executed action there JCStaff : Db N > more Railgun Touma. I loved how spazzed Kuroko became in the episode as well. Gosh she was so ROFLMAO worthy. ONEEE-SAMA *TABLE HEAD SMASH*
For a split second there, I thought you were referring to my in-review comments. You know, like the one stating “HELLO” when Kiyama was stripping? Oh gawd, I srsly need to bleach my brain. @___@;;;
I wholly agree with you! Wilhelmina’s my fave and I’d certainly like to watch an Anime telling of her previous life as a princess. Same goes for her combat partner, Mathilde ex-Enpatsu Shakugan no Uchite. Kickass chara design I must say. :3
Oh… I quite liked Season 1 but my general interest in the series wasn’t strong enough to pull me into investing in Season 2 and 3. Guess I shouldn’t waste my time with them, huh? ^^;
No worries! Saten will always be the lovable girl she is! In fact, you might come to like her even more in the near future! I sure did :). Assuming the writers won’t wreck her chara development, that is…
HAHAHA!! It looked really painful when she did it! XD
I was a bit surprised by her reaction actually. After being already familiar with her personality in the Manga, I didn’t expect Kuroko would do something as crazy as that but I liked the improvisation. That was hilarious lol! It showed how obsessed she is with keeping her Oneesama’s strip show all to herself.
she seem to have read the novels so i went and asked… other than that, im just bored (despite thesis issues) and im obviously dragging keiri with me X_X
idk, i seem to like saito’s last stand but the very end fucked up everything. s3 was blonkers! i kept cursing myself why i watched that entire season.
LOL that’s ok. I’m up for explaining stuff to the best of my knowledge if there’s ever a need for it…well, assuming I did digest all that info properly. ^-^;
Ah! So Season 3 was the damning series, huh? What a waste then. They had so many good seiyuu in ZnT too. >_>
“No worries! Saten will always be the lovable girl she is! In fact, you might come to like her even more in the near future! I sure did :). Assuming the writers won’t wreck her chara development, that is…”
HOKAY :O TRUSTING YOU! Lol~
Mmmm ZnT… Season one was good. Season two was also good up to the point of Saitou’s “last stand” yes. LITERALLY CRIED FOR NOTHING. and then they BROUGHT THAT HORRID, HORRID BOUNCING USELESS NOTO MAMIKO CHARACTER IN THAT LEAKED INTO S3 FFFFF. Okay, pretty much season 3 is i think 12 episode? You only need to see like 3 episode maximum to have storyline development. And that wasn’t all too much >.>;;; in other words: wasted part of my summer holidays watching it.
Only 3 eps worth of storyline? O_O;;;
Sounds like fanservice pwned plot. NOT GOOD in my books. Right, I’m crossing ZnT 2 and 3 out of my pending list. Thanks for the advice! :)
Now I’m off to get Fairy Tail Ep 3. Another dl battle coming up for me. ^^;