A Certain Scientific Railgun episode 01 review

I should say up front here that I didn't watch the series this is based off (A Certain Magical Index) and know next to nothing about the setting or plot. In fact I'm really just watching it because the show's title is hilarious.

With that out of the way, lets see what this thing is all about.




A Certain Scientific Railgun is not, dissapointingly, about an epic LHC-like attempt to build a huge railgun and fire it at things, but rather about Makoto Misaka, a girl nick-named "the railgun" because she has the ability to shoot objects at high velocity using the power of her mind.

The series takes place in a huge student-populated area knwon as "academy city" which sets off my cliche radar right from the start. But apparently the place is populated by scientific marvels and students with psychic powers, sort of like a shinier, more Japanese version of Gunnerkrigg Court, so there's that I guess.

Academy City is policed by an organization called "Judgement" that seems to be improbably staffed entirely by high school girls, aided by the aformentioned Railgun, who beats up a load of lecherous thugs. Is it just me or do vaguely perverted Yakuza wannabes always seem to appear out of nowhere in shows like these so the main characters can show off their skillz?

As to whether A Certain Scientific Railgun is actually good...... yes and no. There are two main characters in this episode, and unfortunately the first one we're introduced to- Makoto's "friend" Kuroko- makes the worst impression imaginable. She's one of those (depressingly common) female characters who was obviously created with otaku appeal, and not character depth or interest, in mind. She has idiotic looking hair, tells off the main character for wearing shors under he stupidly short skirt and fondles said character's breasts during the inevitable shower scene. And her voice is annoying.

Which would have made me stop watching, except that the other main character- Makoto- is actually pretty awesome, and I don't just mean her ability to shoot coins at super-sonic speeds. She's that rarest of rare things, an anime character that can't be easily pigeon-holed into one of a few cliched categories. And she kicks Miss Breat Grope across the room in one scene, which almost made me get up and cheer.

Aaaaand then right after that a "quirky" moe girl's friend comes along and flips her skirt up so she can see what underwear she has on.

.......

So the question of whether this is a good series or not is kind of a complex one. The main character is certainly someone I'd like to see more of, but almost everything else about this episode- even the flat dating-sim inspired music- was either mediocre or cliched or annoying or all three. Admittedly there is a  hint of a potentially interesting All The Other Reindeer situation going on with the minority of students who don't have special abilities, and okay, the fight scene was pretty cool. Plus the ED animation implies the series will have a more complex plot later on. But that's not going to count for much if the writers can't stop focusing on the character's panties for five minutes.

I'll tell you what though, if Kuroko gets violently killed in the next episode I'll watch the rest of the series religiously.