Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga

Toaru Kagaku no Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン）) or A Certain Scientific Railgun is the second manga series that is based off the Toaru Majutsu no Index franchise. Unlike the Toaru Majutsu no Index Manga, which is an adaptation of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novels, the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga is an original side story written by Kamachi Kazuma and illustrated by Fuyukawa Motoi.

The Railgun manga series is released as a monthly manga in the Dengeki Daioh magazine since February 2007, and is an ongoing manga with ten tankoubon volumes currently released.

The manga series has been adapted into two 24-episode anime series based on the first six volumes of the manga from October 2009 to March 2010, followed by an OVA released on October 2010. A sequel to the anime series entitled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S was green-lit, which was confirmed to cover the Sisters Arc in the original manga.

Plot
The manga details the adventures of Misaka Mikoto and her friends in Academy City, and the dark underbelly within it, devoid of any devices that there is any other mysterious power other than Academy City. The events of the manga occur shortly before the start of the first Toaru Majutsu no Index light novel, and later becoming concurrent with the timeline.

Development
The concept used in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun began when the future editor (Ogino) of Railgun made a request to Miki Kazuma, Kamachi Kazuma's editor, on how he wanted to have an Index manga in Dengeki Daioh. Due to the fact that the Index manga was already serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan, the editor asked for a Daioh to have one for the science side, specifically that of Misaka Mikoto.

The idea was well received by Miki, and after a general idea was drafted, the producers asked Kazuma to write the original concept of it. Kamachi Kazuma, at that point, was told that the manga would be using Academy City as a primary state, as such, he wrote the original draft with Shirai Kuroko as the protagonist, feeling that Mikoto was too powerful a character from who he could make an an entertaining manga. He was later corrected, and was asked to use Mikoto instead, despite having written "quite a bit". Because of this, he was forced to rethink everything from the ground up in order to use. It is unknown what would have become of the side story had Kuroko been accepted as the protagonist.

Motoi was later called up to be the artist of the manga, and started serialization in the April issue of Dengeki Daioh on March 2007. The first volume was later released on November 10, 2007.

Overseas Release
Seven Seas Entertainment licensed the manga in North America and began releasing the series in North America starting with the first volume on June 2011. Like the rest of the printed series by Kamachi, the manga is distributed by Kadokawa Taiwan for the Chinese market, with the first volume being released on April 29, 2009.

Chapters Not Yet in Volume Format

 * 80. Strange Coincidence (奇縁)
 * 81. Assault (強襲)
 * 82. Hunting (遊猟)
 * 83. Struggle to the Death (死闘)

Anime
A 24-episode anime series based on the manga was green lit on March 18, 2009. The series, covering the first three volumes of the manga, was produced by J.C. Staff, directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai, and written by Seishi Minakami, and was broadcast between October 3, 2009 and March 20, 2010. A second season of the anime series entitled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S, which covers Volumes 4-6 and the former half of Volume 7, was broadcast between April 12, 2013 and September 27, 2013, also consisting of 24 episodes.

Light Novels
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun currently has two light novel titles, both of which are side stories that were released in parts as additional content for the limited-edition releases of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime series on DVD and Blu-ray. The first volume, entitled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun SS: Liberal Arts City, focuses on an overseas field trip by the main cast, while the second volume, entitled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun SS2: Shopping Mall Demonstration involves Mikoto's trip in Russia and the ensuing contact with the members of the magic cabal New Light.

Games
A game entitled Toaru Kagaku no Railgun was released for the PlayStation Portable handheld console on December 8, 2011. The game has the predominant features of a visual novel, and includes an original story by Kazuma Kamachi, detailing Misaka Mikoto's adventures while investigating an urban legend in Academy City. The game has close tie-ups with the PSP game released for Toaru Majutsu no Index, and the story itself is teased in portions of the Railgun manga.

Due to the nature of Railgun as part of the Index universe, characters from Railgun also appear in games based on the light novel series, notably Toaru Majutsu to Kagaku no Ensemble, Toaru Majutsu to Kagaku no Puzzdex and Toaru Majutsu no Index Struggle Battle.