Subculture Anime Blog

OP: “PSI-missing” by Mami Kawada – This still reminds me of Shana so much. The visuals and Mami Kawada track just scream it. I really love the action this has though, as it hints towards what the show will be about.

Summary:

A boy named Kamijo Touma runs from a large mob, expressing how unfortunate his life typically is. Earlier in the night, he had attempted to prevent these men from approaching a girl named Misaka Mikoto. This is why he is currently being chased. Touma seemingly escapes after awhile, only to see Mikoto behind him. She explains that she had taken care of the mob, all to Touma’s prediction. It was not Mikoto that Touma was trying to protect, but the men who he knew would get hurt. Mikoto soon shows Touma the power of her rail gun ability, though she is surprised when the level zero Touma can defend against her level five attack. While preparing for his day the next morning in his apartment, Touma continues to describe the unfortunate things in his life. When he goes to lay out his futon on the veranda, he is surprised to see a young girl laying on its railing. The girl quickly expresses her hunger, and when Touma tests her by offering seemingly inedible food to her, he is shocked to find that she enthusiastically accepts it.

This girl later introduces herself as Index, explaining that she is being chased by sorcerers because of the magic book she is carrying. Touma doesn’t quite understand Index, because despite recalling that supernatural powers are quite common in his city, he has never heard anything about magic existing. This does make Touma express the strangeness of his right hand, however, which has the power to stop any supernatural attack against him. When he calls this a gift from god, Index can only laugh. Index continues to insist that magic truly exists, mentioning that her clothes have been generated through the use of it. When Index goes as far as to challenging the power of Touma’s hand, trouble is caused when he successfully degenerates her clothing with it. Though, this does confirm to Touma that Index has special powers. When Index finally repairs her clothing later, she decides to leave to prevent causing trouble for Touma. Before she parts with him, Touma tells Index to come back if she ever needed any kind of help.

Touma soon realizes that he needs to go to school, recalling the circumstances of the advanced city he lives in while heading there. In class, Touma and his usual acquaintances have idle chatter while their young teacher Tsukuyomi Komoe attempts to teach class. When Touma’s friends trick Komoe into thinking that he is not paying attention, then making her cry, Touma again thinks about how unfortunate he is. Touma is approached by Mikoto again in the afternoon, still wanting to settle her score with him. Touma ignores her as usual, but because of Mikoto’s actions during this threat, the two are forced to run from the nearby robots that have reacted to them. When Touma returns to his apartment, he is shocked to find Index bleeding in front of his door. Turning to a voice behind him, he finds that a sorcerer was the culprit.

ED: “Rimless~フチナシノセカイ~” by IKU – This song is quite catchy despite how slow it is. I would call the animation standard as usual, but it really has a nice look to it.

Preview: Style Magnus.

Impression:

Talk about an excellent start to a series. The first part of this episode was really badass, getting me very excited to see some of the fights that will be happening in this show. Index was cute as well, from her eating of nasty things to the childish expressions she puts on her face for Touma. For the most part though, this episode consisted of mainly introduction and exposition. I found it pretty funny when Touma and Index argued about the existence of supernatural powers, magic, and god, since this kind of stuff would be considered to be all in the same class in normal cultures. We also got to see enough of the supporting cast and antagonists to make us curious to learn more about them. The first episode has easily gotten me interested to see how everything turns out by the end, so I will definitely be watching this from now on. For future coverage though, turn to Aroduc. The combination of JC Staff and fighting anime makes it just as planned for him to be all over it, and I’ve got way too many other possibilities for Saturdays right now.

Notes that didn’t make it to the final draft:

• I’d let Mikoto rail gun me…..if you know what I mean.
• So, does Index’s existence technically make this a mahou shoujo anime?
• Komoe’s “O.K. desuka?” makes me giggle, and so does her crying.
• I want to see more of the sword/whip/something girl from the OP.
• Yes, this does remind me of Shakugan no Shana……a lot.
• Stop saying “unfortunate” already.