To Aru Majutsu No Index episode 1

Another dose of anime please!

Another day, another anime. I hit up the New Anime 2008 fall schedule to see what else I could watch and To Aru Majutsu no Index caught my eye. After spending 20 minutes trying to find a decent subbed version of the series, I tried speed reading my way through the first episode.
Episode One Thoughts

Everyone loves a freeloader.

The scene opens up as if Kamijo is being watched by satellites. He is actually being chased by bullies and narrowly escapes despite his clumsy movements. The girl being harassed by the bullies turns out to be the one who is the psycho; he was trying to warn the bullies to stay away from her. Turns out Misaka is a level 5 psychic user and she is a wee bit insane. She is less that grateful for her rescue and tries to fry Kamijo with lightning bolts. He puts out his right hand and is sparred from harm, but the damage still causes a black out. After his morning was wrecked by finding all the food in the fridge had gone bad, he finds a young girl draped over his balcony. After feeding her, she declares that her name is Index and that she is a young nun being hunted down. She explains she is wanted for knowing 103,000 magical texts, some very powerful. Both Kamijo and Index doubt the other's power, as Index claims she has no magic to show him and Kamijo has to fight against a spell to use his right hand that deflects all attacks. After an unnecessary scene of melting clothes, Kamijo dashes off to school while Index binds goodbye, trying to make it to a church. Kamijo is taught by an eight year old it at school and has jerks for friends. The psycho Misaka shows up again and causes a bit of trouble. Kamijo dashes home and finds an injured Index and a red haired man standing near her body.

Already pulling out the to be continues....

There was a decent chunk of information given in the premier episode, like any other anime series out there. It felt fast paced rather than crammed and brained exploding. We are introduced to the main character Kamijo, who should be arrested for using the word unfortunate more times in 22 minutes than legally allowed. Everything seems to be going wrong with his life. He can’t even catch a break when he tries to protect punks from the hot crazy chick. He seems to have some past beef with her. One of the best parts of the episodes is the word sparkly in Japanese. I suppose if someone ran around and called me a word that sounded so funny, I would feel justified in trying to fry him and laying waste to the power supply in the surrounding area. Kamijo also has the sad disease that plagues many school age kids in anime/manga series: parental abandonment syndrome. He may or may not also suffer from males can’t cleanitis, but that may be speculating too much as we have only seen the rotten food. Kamijo introduces to the audience to the world he lives in as normal, despite that there are psychic users all over the place and they are nothing special. Even though he has a power of some sort, he still considers himself a loser who is unlucky in every way.

Clearly he has done this before.

The viewers are expected to buy that psychic users are normal in this world, but MAGIC USERS are just too way unfriggin believable! Insert the underage nun of cuteness Index. As the series progresses, I hope that we find out that Index is really 17 or some epically old person who never ages because that random nudity scene was a bit random and unnecessary for me. Sure she could have just taken off her hat and he could have proven his powers that way, but then we wouldn’t have rabid loli perverts drooling over this show. Besides the pointless nudity, Index is what she is meant to be: super cute, randomly stupid, and loveable. While I was slightly disappointed that she can’t use the magic she somehow has access to, thus making her more useful, she still has redeeming qualities. Despite the pool of blood she is currently laying in, there is real hope for her to shine in this series. It could turn cliché at times, but cliché sells and most of the time it is okay in my book. Just no more awkward naked child moments please.

Why yes, everyime I explain this the books pop up!

Stab me, I swear it won't hurt!

Misaka comes off as the typical tsundere crazy girl. Kamijo was trying to save the “bullies” from her psychotic behavior and she ends up trying to kill him in a public area. The next day, she is still itching for a show down in broad day light. There has to be bad blood between these too, as she is sparkly. She is overly confident in her powers and acts recklessly, putting others in danger. So it would not come as a big surprise later if Misaka comes to the aid of Kamijo and Index and has a heart of gold. I will also not be shocked and amazed if Misaka is actually in love with Kamijo and her hurling thunderbolts at his head is really a sign of love on her crazy planet. I am still undecided as to how I feel about her: she is either a great big bully or greatly misunderstood.

Ms. Ungrateful.

Such a loving and caring face.

There are a few other characters introduced in the first episode. There is the pink hair teacher Tsukuyomi who looks 8. Of course, it is never safe to assume how old anyone is in an anime, so she is either 8-800 years old. She teaches at Kamijo’s school and comes across as a cry baby. Kamijo has a few friends in class that seem to enjoy picking on him. And then we have red haired cigarette man. Let’s pretend it is safe to assume again and I will say that red haired man is the one who attacked Index. Not too much character development for any of these characters so far, so we will have to wait to see how important they are.

Must ignore the cute face!

I rarely comment on opening/closing songs because I am fickle when it comes to music. However, the opening song to this show had such a different rhythm to it, I actually played the song…AGAIN! And *shock* I actually might listen to the song every episode as well, instead of skipping over it! Yes, such a miracle has occurred in my part of the internet. I am really turned off by opening/closing songs that do not relate to the theme of the anime series they are used in. I am also turned off by opening/closing songs that are BEYOND overdramatic in describing the anime series plot (yes, I am talking about YOU Vampire Knight). So, yeah, I am very judgmental about openings/closing songs, REJOICE To Aru Majutsu No Index, you have achieved something wonderful!

Enjoy the random picture of clipped on clothes.

The overall plot of the show does not seem overused or overused AS MUCH. Of course, I question why this kid with zero psychic power manages to attend school is such a prestigious area, but that happens all the time in animes: school losers who attend awesome schools. The art technique is very well, as I am also a style snob (probably more so than the opening closing songs). And so far, none of the character’s voices make me want to hurl. Naming a person Index earns curiosity in my book and places a smile on my face (of course nothing is as cheesy as the overused egg theme in Shugo Chara). Many positive things going on in this show.

Live up to your potential!

So To Aru Majutsu No Index, please live up to the expectations I am placing on you. I know I am giving you a lot of props over just one episode, but I feel you can carry on the task of being awesome. Next time I will try to find subbers who were not RACING other people to put out the episode first (seriously, try to take pride in your work, it isn’t a competition) and watch episode 2 without massive speeding reading and pausing moments. This anime has been added to the got to watch this fall season pile, hope the readers do the same.

Boo to cliffhangers!

Ending on a positive note, as any good anime should.

Thanks for reading!