A Certain Scientific Railgun S
As we already know, A Certain Scientific Railgun is the side story of A Certain Magical Index; it is followed by a second season titled “A Certain Scientific Railgun S.” The side story takes place in the same universe. It follows the same plot, so we don’t have to worry about inconsistency. However, did the second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun manage to impress us or put some effort into making it better? Let’s talk about a few things that we liked and a few that we disliked about this season!
Story
Our MC, Mikoto Misaka, along with her friends, is up to something. She contributes to investigating the rumors that are surrounding Academy City. While investigating, Misaka comes across an amazing realization; Many illegal experiments are being done throughout the Academy City, leading to the death of countless espers. And the weird thing is that the espers involved in the experiments are the clones of Misaka. Misaka, now, is adamant about putting an end to these horrific experiments that involve her clones.
However, the forces she’s going to deal with are not very simple and easy to handle. Misaka finds herself in a bit of a pickle when she comes across some of the most lethal espers, even more than she had anticipated. Now, she must fight along with her friends to destroy the plans of evil espers once and for all.
This series follows two major arcs; “The Sister’s Arc” and “The Silent Party Arc.” The Sister’s Arc unveils some dark mysteries behind the Academy City, and all of it is happening behind the scenes. The Silent Party Arc shows us the threats that the girls might face putting their lives in danger. The first arc did manage to impress us with its incredible story, and it was certainly enjoyable. However, we have some mixed feelings about “The Silent Party Arc.”
We get to know a lot of new characters that contribute a lot to the first arc. It builds the foundation for the events that are yet to come later in the arc. The best thing about this arc is that it directly relates with the “Index” series, and both directly intersect. We could tell that Misaka had some stuff going on with her in the Index series, but we’re confused about what might be happening in the background. With the “Railgun” series and this specific arc, everything becomes clear to us. We need to appreciate the Index Franchise for this thoughtful incorporation of the side story of Misaka.
On the other hand, We have “The Silent Party Arc.” We hate to say this, but this arc is poorly written and ruins the overall experience. It’s exceptionally average and cliche, with plot holes directly glaring at us. The action scenes make no sense. We have characters who do not feel motivated at all and are entirely out of character. The plot has inconsistency and feels quite empty. It feels like the story introduced to us was completely unnecessary. We hate to admit it, but if we skipped this arc, we would have missed nothing.
Overall, the story experience for us with this series is 50/50. When the first arc is the star of the show, the second one drags down the enjoyment that we felt while watching the first one.
Characters
This series has done a great job evolving its characters, especially Misaka. We’ve seen clear improvement with the nature of Misaka. She seems to be even more powerful than before. In terms of technology, she’s able to hack into anything, which is a great skill in the world of Railgun. Her character becomes more mature as she tries to become more self-reliant, distancing herself from her friends. Her attitude slowly changes, and she is seen visibly struggling with the hardships thrown onto her.
Touma is another major character in Railgun that surely gets more attention in Railgun than in Index. He feels pretty mysterious in the Index series as we do not know much about his strengths and skills. He’s somewhat dependant and always helps save the day in the Railgun Series. Misaka can always lean on him whenever she’s in big trouble.
We have our main antagonist for the Railgun series, Accelerator, who is extremely twisted and a pretty strong esper in the Academy City. We actually like his personality and can relate with him even when he’s a villain. He’s one badass character!
Overall, the characters in the Railgun Series go through a lot of character development and bring out the best in each other. They’re one of the strongest pillars of the Railgun series.
Animation
The animation is stunning. It’s created by J.C staff who have also animated “Konosuba.” From character designs to background, everything seems perfect. The action scenes are very fluid and smooth, which is very important in anime like the Railgun Series. It’s definitely better than the original Index Series.
Sound
We have noticed some really pumping and exciting music in the background when the fights are going on. The opening for this season itself is very upbeat and catchy. The emotional scenes have very inspirational background music that actually makes us sympathize with the characters.
The voice actors did a phenomenal job in voicing the characters. We’ve noticed with Misaka that her transition from a happy girl to a depressed one was portrayed well by her voice actress.
Final Verdict
“The Sister’s Arc” was definitely an enjoyable one. It was tough for us to find some flaws in it as it was very thoughtful and well-written. It was able to invoke some emotions in the viewers. On the other hand, “The Silent Party Arc” was a colossal fail. It definitely dragged the whole experience down for us. We’d recommend you watch the first arc and save yourself the trouble of watching the second one unless you want to experience extreme mediocrity.
