Toaru Majutsu no Index Wiki:Overview

Toaru Majutsu no Index is a light novel series which tells the story of a boy with an unusual gift - and curse - and his encounters with the worlds of science and magic. Soon, he finds himself in the middle of the conflict of these worlds, primarily the Magic Cabal in one side, and Academy City on the other. The series explains the workings inside these worlds and the people who will end up working with him in his quest to save others.

Meanwhile, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun acts as a supplement to the story of the light novels, adding more information into the existing facts within Academy City introduced in Toaru Majutsu ni Index. The story focuses on third-rank Level 5 Misaka Mikoto and her own misadventures in Academy City. With Judgment member and roommate Shirai Kuroko and new friends Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari, they dwell on seemingly normal lives as Misaka finds out more on the hidden side of Academy City, which is far from the utopia it's supposed to be.

Settings
The series is set in an alternate present, where part of Japan's capital Tokyo becomes a semi-independent territory called Academy City. In this city, normal students undergo a special academic program designed for them to develop esper abilities. A certain classification scheme sorts out the students according to the level of their abilities, with Power Users (a term used for students under the Power Development Curriculum) from Level 0 to 5.

At the same time, the Magic Cabal, a collective term for magicians, initiate their infiltration of the city. In this world, magicians (a majority of them ruled by religious organizations like the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Church) are enemies with the inhabitants of Academy City, who is supervised by none other than Aleister Crowley, himself a former magician.

Toaru Majutsu no Index
Kamijou Touma, a high school student, has an encounter with a girl in nun's clothing. The girl later reveals that she's Index Librorum Prohibitum, a girl with 103,000 grimoires in her head and a fugitive from two magicians who pursue her. His interference with the magicians' plans of practicing a magic spell which would erase her memories would drag him into a conflict, with him fighting against magicians while not having a way to defeat them - except for his right hand, which is proven to dispel anything magical, psychic or even divine.

Soon, the conflict he is involved in shifts to a much larger scale when he discovers the existence of a war which goes between the realms of magic (led by the most powerful magical organization known as the Roman Catholic Church) and the creator of Academy City named Aleister Crowley. As he fights to survive and to save those he cherishes most, he gathers an ever-increasing force of both magicians and espers, creating a "faction" which would help him face the powerful foes that endanger the safety of the world.

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
Misaka Mikoto is called as one of the most powerful espers in Academy City, a Level 5 Power User from one of the most prestigious schools in Academy City. Despite this, she is also a girl who wants a normal life, which she enjoys with roommate and schoolmate Shirai Kuroko and two new friends named Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari. However, they find out that the place that they call home is not perfectly safe for everyone.

With her power to control electricity, she goes to resolve the different problems that they face, mainly problems regarding a darker side of Academy City, whose real focus is advancement in the field of science without concern for any sacrifices involved. As Mikoto peels back the skin covering these controversies into obscurity, she faces a much tougher challenge: facing 20,000 clones of her which she blames herself for being created, and later, being used as an experiment for breaching the limits of the human body.

Principal Characters
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Toaru Majutsu no Index

 * Kamijou Touma - a Level 0 Power User who always get himself in unfortunate circumstances. He blames his hand for it, which possesses a power to dispel anything magical, psychic or divine, which includes his luck.
 * Index - a mysterious girl wearing a nun's clothing. She is discovered by Touma in one occasion and is saved by him in numerous circumstances. In her head is a collection of 103,000 grimoires which makes her a target by many interested parties.
 * Stiyl Magnus - Index's supposed guardian and member of a magical organization called Necessarius. His first task was to retrieve Index to perform a memory-erasing spell on her, but decides to side with Touma after discovering a flaw in the orders given to him.
 * Kanzaki Kaori - a girl who accompanies Stiyl in the mission to retrieve Index. Although she is ruthless against Touma at the start, her feelings changes when he saves Index from a painful experience.
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Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

 * Misaka Mikoto - a Level 5 Power User from Tokiwadai Middle School. despite belonging to the list of 7 most powerful espers in Academy City, she prefers a more peaceful lifestyle. However, she also possesses a hero complex, which she usually displays when someone is in trouble.
 * Shirai Kuroko - a Level 4 Teleporter who joins as a member of Judgment. She shows a deep affection for her "Onee-sama" and would be the first one to scold at her for taking matters on her own hands.
 * Saten Ruiko - a "powerless" Level 0 Power User who is always upbeat and energetic. She is friends with Uiharu, and later on, with Kuroko and Mikoto. Despite being a Level 0, she does not want it to be an excuse for not having fun.
 * Uiharu Kazari - Kuroko's colleague in Judgment and a Level 1 Power User. She is always victimized by Ruiko in her skirt-flipping antics, but she is a loyal friend who does not give up on her friends.
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