TO ARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX II EP 3

Tackling my way to victory.






Well that fight between Touma and Mugen ended up to be pretty confusing. Mostly because half of the stuff that happened wasn’t explained properly. I happened to read across the details of the fight in the light novel and apparently when it looked like Mugen was teleporting, he was actually teleporting via magic. And the whole thing with the orb of light. Some magical counter against physical attacks. And what happened afterward I managed to follow. I understand that there are time constraints and I guess this episode was used to its fullest (no fanservices scenes this time), but I really hope that this awkwardness due to the lack of exposition doesn’t keep repeating itself. Normally I would rag on a bit more about something like this, but the fight itself wasn’t noteworthy in terms of importance nor action so maybe I’m relieved it wasn’t dragged out. Speaking of fighting, what’s with all the tackling in this episode? It’s not like it’s a bad maneuver or anything, but it’s not something I’d expect somebody to get knocked out from, especially from Touma’s scrawny body. Who needs magic or ESP when you can just learn how to tackle?
Aside from that, it was a pretty decent episode. I liked the revealed twist that the Roman Catholic Church are actually the ones out to get Orsula. She didn’t trust the Amakusa either so I guess they kinda just forced their protection on her so she wouldn’t be in the wrong hands. And The Church of England were called by the Roman Catholic Church for backup which explains Stiyl’s involvement. In any case, it looks like Touma will actually be going up against the nun squad this time. I don’t know what Stiyl will do, but if Index goes with Touma then I can see him doing the same. Which reminds me that I was pretty annoyed at Index for the first half of the episode. She dragged down Stiyl in his fight against Mugen which resulted in his ass kicked. And I just thought, “What are you even doing here?” Then I went “Oh, thank god” when she spell intercepted that nun. I’m still a bit hazy as to what she can exactly do in terms of support/combat because I either forgot from last season or they didn’t explain it at all yet, but I hope she does something. Because there’s nothing more annoying than somebody just standing there and being useless in the midst of a fight.

TO ARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX II EP 2

Nuns. Nuns everywhere.






One of the more refreshing and intriguing things I find about the Index world is the different religious factions involved in the magic side of things. And one example of why I love the setting of this series is because of how incredibly diverse it is and that there’s so much that can be explored and done with it. So when I learned in this episode that the main plot line of this arc is basically the bad guys trying to get a vague but powerful weapon (all we’re really told is that it can fuck up the world), I was underwhelmed. I know it’s a common concept, but I do hope there’s more to it than that, like a religious civil war for example. There’s a bit of a twist that Kaori used to lead the faction, but the sword guy (who has an uncanny resemblance to Mugen from Samurai Champloo) made it pretty clear he’s against her so I’m guessing he’s doing this out of greed and bitterness. So at the moment, I’m not expecting Stiyl versus Kaori.
As a first arc, this isn’t off to a good start story-wise so far (hopefully the plot will thicken), but I did enjoy the new set of characters. Seeing Kugimiya Rie take on Agnese, a short, small breasted nun with a height complex, was nothing unusual. As expected of J.C. Staff, really. Her fanservice scenes were forced, but they ended up pretty amusing because of Index getting jealous each time (even while she slept). Orsola seems like the slow, dim-witted type and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the bus scene. Can’t say much about Laura at the moment, but she’s obviously an important figure as an Archbishop and given the way Stiyl was taking orders from her.
The action will be heating up next week so I hope I’ll be able to anticipate at least that if not the story. It will no doubt be flashy with Stiyl taking part and I’m interested in seeing how the nun squad will perform and what Touma will do against Mugen as he can’t exactly negate swords, magical or not.

TO ARU MAJUTSU NO INDEX II EP 1

A certain hungry Index.
Opening Song: 「No Buts!」 by Kawada Mami

And Kawada Mami continues her reign with the Index opening songs with her latest one, “No Buts!” The song itself isn’t Mami’s best, and while it’s also my least favorite of her three songs, it’s not really a bad song. Just doesn’t have any impact. The visuals for the most part are busy showcasing all the new characters and previews of their combat abilities. The transitions are pretty weak so the OP doesn’t flow well in my opinion. Again, same thing with the song, there’s no impact in the video sequence. But overall, it’s a semi-decent OP I guess. Not something I’d want to keep watching, but I’ll probably end up leaving it on as it plays.







As a first episode, this episode did nothing to wow me, but it was a solid re-entry into the Index world from when the first season ended two years ago. The plot line in this episode was very typical, but probably the main purpose of it was to reintroduce at least the major characters and what kind of setting this series is known for. Touma has his Imagine Breaker and uses it to negate enemy powers in order to give lengthy speeches on life. He sure has a lot to say for a middle school kid, don’t you think? His companion Index is a silly, but hungry nun that houses a powerful magical library in her loli-esque body making her quite the target for potential damsel in the distress arcs and filler episodes. And biri biri is a tsundere powerhouse. She seems to have gotten even more deliciously tsundere since the last time I saw her in both Index I and Railgun (dat blush hnngg.jpg). From the OP/ED sequences, it feels like biri biri will be reinforcing herself from a side to a main character and in that regard I hope she’ll do a better job than she did in Railgun. Though if she’ll be interacting with Touma, I have no doubt that I will at least enjoy her screen time much more.
Superb production values showcased so far and I expected no lesser treatment from J.C. Staff as the first season looked great as well. The visuals and design are still very sharp which I can’t help but be impressed by. I recognized a few familiar bgm tracks in this episode that were used frequently throughout the first season, and I’ll hopefully await for a newer soundtrack as the old one has already gotten tiresome for me. Anyway, like I just mentioned this was more of a introductory oneshot episode more than anything so there’s not much to say about the content besides the ending scene with Kaori and Tsuchimikado. Looks like a story will be jumping in pretty soon which I’m happy for as Railgun has given more than enough random hijinks from this franchise. The only thing I can hope for now is that writing in this season won’t be as nonsensical as the first one.
Ending Song: 「Magic∞world」 by Kurosaki Maon

“Magic∞world” is actually pretty neat upbeat song, however, the visuals of the ending sequence fail to complement it. Or rather they don’t even bother trying. I guess whoever was in charge of this was fine with the uninspirational theme of the main characters walking and a collage of the side characters, but even that idea could have turned out well with a good sense of direction. It’s as a shame as I can imagine something better happening with this if they weren’t so lazy.