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I think this is the first ever Japanese anime where I heard someone say "meow" instead of "nyaa" for the sound a cat makes. And then, the cat said "meow" also. Which, I think, is more accurate than "nyaa" anyway. Actually, if I were to imitate it, I'd do more of an "rweorw" sort of. I don't understand the whole "nyaa" thing. It's just not very accurate, in my opinion. I don't recall if the Accelerator and Rail Gun ever duke it out. I would guess the Accelerator would win fairly handily if they did, though. I'm guessing one reason he was chosen for this program is he's the top of the level 5 chain. My question is this: why would you create such a monster? How would you stop him if he was level 6 and decided to turn against you or the world? If he has to kill 20,000 of these Mikasa clones, that's a lot over what time period? Do they ever say? Let's say, five years. That's 4,000 clones a year. Divide that by 365 days per year and you have nearly 11 clones a day. When does he have time for this? At one clone per day, it'll take him nearly 55 years to finish the job. At some point, you'd think he'd say, "Look, this is boring. I've been killing clones for, what? 3 years now? I'm tired of this crap. I'm not doing it any more. It's not even fun. I get up in the morning, eat my Wheaties® Brand flakes, and then it's kill, kill, kill up to 11 clones a day. I'm not interested in making it to level 6 any longer...." Also, why can't the original Mikasa tap into this massive clone network if she's so powerful and the origin of all things Mikasa?
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May 12, 2013 13:13
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I've spent the better part of the last couple of weeks plowing through the entire Index novel series. I didn't want to start it because it's so massive, but I decided to give it a go. All because of this particular anime. In the series, there's no indication at all that Mikoto (let's use her first name so we don't confuse her with Mikasa from Attack on Titan) ever actually encountered Accelerator at this juncture in the storyline. I found the scenario rather jarring as  (light novel-Index Anime spoiler) I got the distinct impression from the light novels that when Mikoto does finally decide to confront Accelerator, it's the first time but she knows she's bound to lose.Of the seven level 5 esper's in Academy City, Mikoto is ranked number three and Accelerator is ranked number one. This information is clearly spelled out, multiple times -- I mean a lot, really a lot, in the light novels. There's no reason to think Mikoto encountered Accelerator and barely survived this encounter (same light novel--Index Anime spoiler again) prior to her decision to engage Accelerator and make him stop killing the clones. The difference between the two of them seems clear enough from the get-go that that encounter wasn't required. That doesn't mean the encounter we saw couldn't happen. I just didn't expect it. I thought, "Wait. This didn't happen. Huh?" Then, "Well, I guess it could've occurred." With that said, seeing ITEM appear was an extremely pleasant surprise. The light novels have a good deal of information regarding ITEM and one whole volume is dedicated to ITEM as well as other (there is no Kamijou Touma in this volume at all). About 13 minutes into Episode 17 of Index II, I found a true gem regarding Mikoto and Kuroko. I'll leave you with this, but the entire scene is terrific:  If I were going to change my SA avatar, I think this would be it -- minus the text. (edit -- added this extremely minor light novel spoiler) One more light-novel-only (this is not in any Index anime yet) spoiler regarding Kuroko's ignorance of the Sisters/Clones: Mikoto specifically decides not to let Kuroko in on the fact they exist because she's afraid of what Kuroko might do to them regarding Kuroko's sexual obsession with Mikoto herself. It might not have started out that way, but Mikoto makes a definite conscious decision in toward this end in the light novels.
Dan7el fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Jun 4, 2013 |
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Jun 4, 2013 02:16
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ZepiaEltnamOberon posted:To Aru Anime Spoiler. It's pretty-much exactly like that in the light novels. (Anime/Light-novel spoiler) Misaka 10032 aka Misaka Imouto understands that Mikoto is in love with Touma but won't do anything about it, so she grabs onto one of Touma's arms and snugs up next to him to make Mikoto jealous. Last Order sees this and thinks, "What fun!" and does the same on his other arm. At some point prior or after, I can't recall which, Last Order also explains to Touma who she is and thanks him for what he did for the Sisters. Last Order and Mikoto never really converse. Mikoto doesn't really have much to do with the Sisters overall. (More Anime/Light-novel spoiler) The author/writers make a big point of making sure that the four or five Sisters left in Academy City wear the exact same clothing that Mikoto wears, but I don't think they attend her school. I have no idea why they keep this up. The other 9968 Sisters are spread throughout the world, and there is no indication of what they're wearing. Last Order wears whatever.
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Jun 8, 2013 20:02
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veekie posted:Hypersonic bombers with precision SCIENCE! ordnance used to destroy the entire area with saturation bombing, and engineered SPECIFICALLY to kill everything in the state besides Railgun. Then they'd pick her up and fly her home. (Pure LN Spoiler) The Hawaiian Arc storyline?
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Jun 9, 2013 12:54
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The light novels touch on the abilities of the teleporters. Among the variations is the ability to only teleport things they are touching, things they're not touching, themselves, others, etc. A big part of it is teleportation range and capacity. The light novels don't specifically spell this out, but you get the impression that Kuroko needs to drastically increase her range and carrying capacity if she's going to get to level 5. Mind you, level 4 is pretty significant. It's at the very powerful range, but not the super-awesome-mega-powerful range that Mikoto and other level 5's are at. I would imagine that a teleporter would need some kind of clairvoyance capacity. You'd "look ahead" to the location you're teleporting to. Is there someone standing in the space you're going to pop into? What are the exact coordinates you'll be placing yourself? While there is mention of dimensional calculations, there's no specific description of this kind of ability in the light novels. Kuroko and her fellow teleporters are just able to figure out where they go somehow with amazing accuracy with some sort of scientific-handwaving ability. With that said, I kept waiting for Mugino to get fatigued herself in this last episode. I don't understand why Mikoto gets to become exhausted but Mugino is able to shoot her power beams full on for huge gobs of time without getting tired. Talk about an overpowered enemy. Another interesting thing is that of the seven level 5 psi-users, we only have names for six of them. The sixth is never mentioned. Regardless, it seems that quite a few of these level 5's are (light novels spoiler) heavily involved with the dark side of Academy City. Numbers 1, 2, and 4. What's the deal with all the Kamijou Touma hate?
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Jun 16, 2013 17:31
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Falken posted:Please elaborate on this. LN?
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Jun 25, 2013 00:11
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I didn't watch Railgun Season 1, but I did just recently more or less finish the whole light novel series. I didn't read all the side stories. Here are some bits of information, thoughts, and light novel spoilers regarding Mikoto and Touma: Bits of Information: 1. As far as I can tell, there is never really any reason given as to why the level 6 project began or is important. My best guess is that the difference between a level 5 and theoretical level 6 is probably like the difference between an F5 and theoretical F6 tornado. Maybe an order of magnitude? We only know the Tree Diagram super-super-super computer calculated how this could happen, and people in Academy City got the project going: ___a. We don't know who will profit or why. ___b. We can assume the project is super-secret because: ______i. Cloning is more or less illegal by international convention. _____ii. The killing of said clones would also be highly illegal and immoral by any convention. 2. Most of the characters introduced and developed in this Railgun series are not mentioned much in the primary series. I think some of the side stories focus somewhat on some of them, though. Mikoto in fact, is only one of many girls developed in the main To Aru series. She probably gets the most overall development, though. 3. As indicated by a couple of things in this series, there is a "dark side" to Academy City. About half of the level 5's are somehow involved in the dark side, including Mugino who is part of the ITEM team. Mikoto seems to have either side-stepped this involvement altogether, or is totally not interested in it. She generally leads a "good", and "clean" life as a top-member of what is most-likely the top-most all girls middle school in the City. ___a. There is never any indication about how people like Mugino got involved in these dirty deeds or why. In this universe, there are two primary means of paranormal powers: magic and esper. Now we're delving into the world of light novel spoilers. Note, I will keep my information "general" and not specific as to what happens to any particular individual. This information is all more or less how the author did his world building. : :Light Novel Spoilers Ahead::1. Aleister Crowley is like a hundred years old or older and possibly the most knowledgeable and powerful magic user of all time. Other magic users hunted him down and almost killed him. The frog-faced doctor (who is also very old) saved his life and together they moved to Japan and developed a new branch of paranormal power development -- espers -- and built Academy City. ___a. Esper powers are a new paradigm designed to possibly supplant magic. ___b. Only the people at Academy City know how to turn someone into an esper. There are some, ultra rare, natural espers called "gemstones" that exist, but the bulk of the espers in existence are all from Academy City and all because of some mysterious process that only Academy City can perform on someone that causes them to become esper. ______i. Touma had this process done to him. Initially, all espers start out at level 0, like Touma, but are given training and opportunity to develop past that. _____ii. Once the process is performed on a person, that person can no longer safely practice magic. They can perform magic, but it will cause them to injure themselves and eventually die. ____iii. The teachers and instructors generally do *not* have this process done to them. Therefore, they can perform magic. They generally don't. ___c. Aleister Crowley has a hidden agenda apart from the overall development of esper powers. His end goal is never revealed, but I get the idea it has something to do with a development past both esper and magic abilities. 2. The magic side generally can't leave well enough alone and wish for either the total destruction of Academy City and all it stands for or to have Academy City come under their control. This desire is the genesis for the majority of the conflicts Touma gets himself involved with, including taking care of Index, etc. ___a. Many of the conflicts involve evil magic users coming into Academy City only to be stopped by Touma and Company -- often ending in a punch to the face. ___b. Touma and Company do get to travel abroad a bit as well. Touma punches faces all over the world. ___c. Touma inadvertently develops a "Kamijou Faction" -- a group of people who more or less follow him in his endeavors. Both magic and esper groups consider his faction both powerful and threatening. This faction consists of both magic and esper users. 3. While Index herself is fairly idiotic, her importance to the magic-side can't be underestimated. She contains the total sum of all the magical works known -- some 103,000 grimoires. The fact she's allowed to "roam free" at all is significant. The fact those who are "in charge" allow her to live with Touma is significant. He is more or less her keeper. While Index can't willingly manipulate magic, she has an automatic defense mode built into her psyche called the "John's Pen" mode. It's never described how or why she has this mode, but when it's activated, she is no longer herself and it's best to run and hide. It's kind of a shame that the author doesn't do more with Index because she's actually very knowledgeable and when push comes to shove, she's able to come through on her own. Unfortunately, the author focuses so much on Touma that Index becomes nothing more than a whiney, biting side-kick who doesn't do much and doesn't seem to be worth much. 4. Sister number 10031 is the last Sister that Accelerator kills. Therefore, there are 9968 Sisters alive plus Last Order (Sister 20001) that are very much part of the story. After the Level 6 Project is abandoned, the Academy City sends out all but five or so of the Sisters to various parts of the world. The LN refers to these Sisters as Military Clones. Aleister uses them for various nefarious and not-so-nefarious purposes. Touma encounters a few on his various travels. I would hope that if there are any further Railgun series seasons, that we'd focus on the large amount of times that Mikoto doesn't spend with Touma. For the most part, he spends most of his adventures outside of her presence; although, she does become more involved with him in the later LNs. Also, I would hope we see more of what the Sisters are up to. We do get some reports of things they've done while following Touma around the globe, but I'm sure there's a gold mine that can be used for series fodder available there.
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Jun 29, 2013 15:50
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Falken posted:Something to note from episode 12. It seems that (spoilers) 10032 is the MISAKA that finds the black kitten rather than 10031 now. Slight retcon perhaps but I like it. Also, Accelerator killed the poo poo out of those thugs.. (Anime and LN Spoiler) Accelerator kills Misaka 10031 in the alley. Touma stumbles upon her bloody remains. So, while Touma only briefly met Misaka 10031, it's 10032 that he has the most interactions with. 10032 may be the Sister he interacts with most. They never explain why the hell the Sisters that remain in Academy City still need to dress identically to Mikoto. They even change from summer to winter uniforms and such, but they don't attend her school. I'm guessing to pass off as Mikoto?
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Jun 29, 2013 19:01
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Wheezle posted:Why does every scene that we didn't already see in index seem like filler? I will say I was quite confused for a bit when reading the LN, but the scenario is cleared up for us further on. The author repeats himself multiple times per book. He will say stuff like, "Misaka Mikoto, the level 5 electromaster, ...." And then, in his next book, or perhaps next segment of the same book, "Misaka Mikoto, the level 5 electromaster, ...." The author eventually leaves very little that's not crystal clear in many cases by beating us over the head with the information, repeatedly. Okay, so what are the writers doing? I think they're doing a really good job letting us see Mikoto get to the point where she realizes (Anime Spoiler) that there is no other way to stop the killings other than Mikoto herself dying. This is where Touma finds her when he meets up with her in the rail yard during Misaka 10032's battle with Accelerator. Mikoto is ready and willing to fight Accelerator, knowing she can't beat him and will die. The writers are bringing her to this point, and doing a fairly good job of it. With filler.
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Jul 6, 2013 16:15
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Bakanogami posted:I take it as that they were forbidden from providing details on the Level 6 shift project without the passcode, but that the existence of multiple clones and their hive mind ability falls under the original Radio Noise project, not the Level 6 Shift, and was thus falls outside the boundary of the encryption. Nate RFB posted:It's another one of those dumb scenes from Index rather than Railgun. They didn't really bother to have Touma find out about the experiments organically like Mikoto, so they had to work exposition in there somehow. Like they always do in Index. So the answer is it's bad writing I guess. Both Accelerator and the Sisters are supposed to grow due to this experiment. We get a slight view of this when (spoilering because I can't recall if this happened in this particular series or in another) the one Sister plants an explosive such that Accelerator walks over it and then she detonates it. You can see a definite amount of pre-planning involved in the conflict. However, it's hard to see if Accelerator actually ever grew much. Everything comes so easy to him. In my opinion, nothing the Sisters do is amazingly inventive, though. You'd think after 10031 attempts, they'd have a better plan of attack. Maybe the progression is like a home loan where you pay massive amounts of interest for the first 20 years or so and then only really pay off the house for last 5 to 10 years or so? What I think this series is doing a really great job at is setting up Mikoto such that's she's absolutely desperate. We don't see this at all in the light novels or original Index anime. We just follow Touma around and he (Anime Spoiler) finds her ready to fight Accelerator in a hopeless battle and die for the sake of the Sisters. Clarste posted:To be fair, we're also never told what exactly the Levels are measuring, so maybe getting more creative with his powers is exactly what they want out of him? Personally I doubt that though. Everything they ever say about Level 6 implies that it's "absolute power" or "artificial divinity" or other extreme superlatives, so I don't see how getting merely better at his powers is going to get him there. I like your idea about the AIM dispersion fields affecting Accelerator in some way when the Sisters die, but again that's not implied or discussed either. It's just that the Tree Diagram said to do this, and so we will do this. Plus, the clones are not designed for longevity. No one wants to end up with a few thousand wounded and useless clones, now do they? Especially when they'll only live for a few more months or so anyway, right? Might as well complete the process and finish each one off. Regardless, I think the whole level 6 thing is just the author's attempt to have a reason for the Sisters existence and such. He never really intended to make something of it other than its purpose such that Touma gets to be a hero and Mikoto gets to (Anime/LN Spoiler) fall in love with Touma because of him saving her.
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Jul 7, 2013 16:11
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So, I watched Episode 14 and then the same original Index. There were a few differences, but only minor. They could've used the same exact footage. There were no massive point of view angles that would've been missed either way. I'm interested to see how the next couple of episodes handle the scenes from Mikoto's POV. I don't know what it is the Mikoto has against bridges.... Mikoto and Touma have fought in the past. If Mikoto really wanted to kill Touma, all she'd have to do is railgun a coin into his forehead. His magical hand can't stop a 100 yen piece traveling three times the speed of sound. I don't think.
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Jul 13, 2013 21:26
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The author wrote this story about Touma. He is the primary character. Mikoto is a secondary, side character. So, now we have a new series where Mikoto is the primary character, yet we insist on telling Touma's story. Of course, she's going to seem relegated to the side-lines in her own story. It's not her story. It's Touma's. In a way, this is a really stupid thing to do. All the really interesting Mikoto stories are about Mikoto, regarding Mikoto, and primarily involving Mikoto. However, we're being dragged, kicking and screaming, into Touma's story which just so happens to have Mikoto, the side character, massively involved. In the original, Touma-based story, (Very Minor Anime Spoiler)Touma is the hero. He can't help but be the hero here. Regardless of whose story it is. If they're going to write a story about Mikoto, Touma should only be mentioned as a side-note. In my opinion, while the Sisters story is significant to the Kamijou universe and Mikoto, it's the wrong story to tell because Mikoto is not the hero, after all.
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Jul 13, 2013 23:13
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Sindai posted:Seriously. That sound he was making when he started up the vortex. Both versions are faithful to the sound (that only the viewers of the animes can hear) that is made by Imagine Breaker as it disobeys all esper and magical laws.
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Jul 20, 2013 20:57
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Parpy posted:
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Aug 17, 2013 17:47
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It really is that easy to lose a kid. Man, those mysterious people in the dim computer room are really full of themselves. "Hey, instead of loving with only one level 5, let's gently caress with two of them! Who's with me? We can only hope for some serious rear end-kicking in the next couple of episodes. Agreed. A team-up would be awesome.
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Aug 24, 2013 18:22
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Academy City Police Forces: There are two primary law enforcement agencies in Academy City. Both are unpaid, voluntary positions. The first is Judgement which is composed of students. The students can be level 0 through level 4. I don't think any of the level 5's are in Judgement. They probably have to go to bed and follow a curfew (depending on the school/dorm), etc. The second is Anti-Skill composed non-esper adult teachers. They don't get paid but they receive additional fringe benefits from serving. Among such benefits are a ton more respect from the student body in general (don't mess with the police-teacher, dude) and in some cases better living quarters, etc. I don't know if Anti-Skill has a bedtime or closing hours, but I doubt it. However, if you think about it: They actually do have a day job as well. I'd imagine they take turns working overnights. Still, that would make it tough working 32 hours or so straight. The stories don't really get into the nitty gritty details of, say, a member of Judgement taking a person downtown and booking them. Judgement members do seem to have some serious authority, though. Of course, so do Anti-Skill members. The light novels detail that while the Anti-Skill members are definitely not espers and have no special powers, they are well trained in handling those who do have esper powers. Anti-Skill members are not to be trifled with.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:28
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Also note that Academy City could care less what the Japanese or any other government wants. While located on Japan's soil they are completely autonomous. Academy City Corporations are semi independent. In a later story a few (minor LN spoiler)leave Academy City to seed their own complex. Things do not go well for them.
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Aug 26, 2013 11:28
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I don't know. I'm disappointed "Febri" isn't "Fremea". I thought for sure she was just mispronouncing her name. Either that or it is Fremea and she and the big reveal is that she and her sister, Frenda, are both artificial beings. Either that, or Fremea is artificial and Frenda isn't. It appears though, that Febri simply isn't Fremea. The lollipops are probably composed of something that powers her artificial body and tastes good only to her. That's why she had a whole purse full of them. We still don't know what nefarious scheme the people in the dark room with computers have cooked up for our heroine and her companions -- and also Mugino. I figured we'd at least have been given the overall reason for the attacks by now. Agreed, if Heaven's Canceller can't handle whatever ails Febri, then she can't be even remotely human in any way.
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Sep 1, 2013 23:43
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Roflfox posted:Mitsuko has always been pretty entertaining. I'm just glad she's kind of getting more screen time (and more friends).
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Sep 2, 2013 11:42
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ArchangeI posted:Index Spoiler: The only way that could backfire worse on them is if this arc was post-Last Order and MISAKA 20001 and Febri somehow became friends. My guess is there are a number of reasons Mikoto doesn't take her "Cast Evacuate Now" spell with her wherever she goes: Kuroko might end up meeting one of the MISAKA's, and Mikoto has fervently avoided that throughout the series. Two, Kuroko has been injured fairly severely in the past. Her teleportation might be really nice to have, and she seems pretty adept at using the spikes or what-have-you as weapons, but she's by no means a tremendous fighter. Mikoto probably wants to keep her safe. Three, Kuroko tends to throw caution to the wind -- especially when Mikoto is around. It's quite possible she'd do something extremely dangerous in order to "save Mikoto" only when it wasn't really necessary and get injured. I'd leave her at home too, unless I was going deep into a dungeon and wanted a cheap and easy way home.
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Sep 14, 2013 23:44
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I think Shiobu is the author's after-thought about the person who invented the Testament system. He's just not doing a very good job filling us in on her details. I think she's very interesting, and many of us would like to know more about her. Maybe we'll get a flashback episode about her? They seem insistent on keeping her around.
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Sep 16, 2013 11:19
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I don't know. I see the big "theme" of this storyline being that Mikoto needs to learn to rely on her friends more, and she does. The storyline starts with the Sisters arc, in which Touma is the hero, Mikoto learns to begin to rely on others. She can't solve all the problems herself. Staying just within her immediate circle of friends and influences, Mikoto has begun to build her own "faction" to save the day regarding STUDY's evil scheme. Although, I'm not entirely sure I understand why STUDY is doing what they're doing. I think they have some kind of axe to grind because espers, especially high-level espers, get all the attention. It doesn't really explain exactly what they're doing and why, though. It's good to see Mikoto grow along with her friends.
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Sep 22, 2013 11:34
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The only news, which I think has already been mentioned in this thread, is that Accelerator is getting his own manga. Otherwise, the latest light novel was released earlier this month. I imagine there will be another Index and also more Railgun animes in the future. Looks like a cash cow. Also, Mikoto and Shokuhou Misaki (Mental Out) absolutely don't get along, at all. The fact that they cooperated for this particular anime ending is a one-off fluke. There is a ton of mystery surrounding Shokuhou, so that means we're in for a lot of interesting scenes, if the author ever reveals the information. Once again, though, the action was over the top. Interesting to see how they dealt with Shinobu. I recall a decent amount of discussion regarding what happened to her in this forum. I think a lot of people liked her character and wondered what happened. The writer did a good job handling this issue, I think.
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Sep 29, 2013 18:54
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