To Aru Majutsu no Index practically sweep you off your feet with almost instant action and drags you into a world of Espers and Magicians. To the main protagonist, Toma Kamijo, is offered a brief yet explicit introduction in the anime with his ongoing narration of the show. At first he seems like a weak guy attempting to save an innocent girl from the advances of thugs, you find out moments later that his aim was to save the thugs from a life threatening situation, the girl named Misaka being one of the strongest level 5 espers in the city. A shocking battle between the two sees an unlikely victor emerge, the seemingly useless Kamijo possessing a strange power in his right hand that completely nullifies powers of any kind. This power is unfortunately accompanied with a pretty high rate of accidents since his right hand also completely nullifying his luck. As he reaches home, he also has the surprise to find a small and cute robed sister named Index. Her name comes from the fact that she is a database holding 103,000 forbidden grimoires. Compared to his earlier encounter with Misaki, this would have seem pretty trivial if it weren't for the fact that Index is targeted by both Magis from the church and members of a society of sorcerers, determined to prise this knowledge out of her.
The story that was once an exciting epic fantasy battle however easily slips into a middle-of-the-road highschool comedy, verging on harem fluff. The dynamic between Index and Kamijo remains utterly hilarious with some decidedly perverted undertones, but this is nudged aside in favour of exploring the other fascinating side characters.
The one bad point of the anime is that it spends too much time on explaining in painful detail how both the scientific and magical worlds work. Giving an in-depth background to each bad guy and subsequent clarification of exactly how their powers work, the lengthy chronicles seem like a buzz kill to the intermittent fight scenes.
Animation:
The impressive visuals of the anime require being watched in full HD quality for the viewer to be able to appreciate how beautiful and fluid the character movements are, especially during the fast paced action scenes. The animation also makes use of a rich colour palette, particularly stunning in the fantastical magic battles (the ones that really tested the power of my processor). Deft use of CGI highlights the frenetic action, sending bright shocks of electricity dancing across the screen and causing monsters to evolve out of fierce flames. All the characters, whether the loli-styled flat-chested teacher or the busty tsundere come right out of familiar wide-eyed anime tradition, but little touches show that they have their own personality lovingly sketched into their other features.
Sound:
The voice acting is simply excellent and fits all the characters. A funky rock track generally accompanies the exciting battle scenes and repeatedly warms up the viewer throughout the entire series.
Characters:
Kamijo has the usual likable nature of the main characters, with in bonus his dry wit and tongue in cheek narrative that suit the jocular nature of the series. This is complemented by the child-like naivety of Index as she attempts to adapt to her somewhat bizarre situation. The funny situations between the two, while being lightly ecchi in a few scenes, can be hilarious as the pair learn to know each other. Misaki, the tsundere of the anime may seem like a normal school girl but has a dark and complicated past. You get a more detailed description of her personality in the 24 episodes side story dedicated to her, To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. Another interesting character is Accelerator, the strongest level 5 esper, undergoing a "special" training to become the first level 6 esper.
Overall very pleasant series for me which i enjoyed a lot, the story was very immersing and the subtle romance hints, while not being my cup of tea very also very good. The concept of Science VS magic rocked as it held a lot of potential and they have just opened up the portal now. I am still expecting a 3rd season or another side-story, hopefully based on Accelerator.