Toaru Majutsu no Index (light novel)

Toaru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録（インデックス）, Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu^?), which is translated to A Certain Magical Index of Prohibited Books and shortened to A Certain Magical Index, is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura; the series is published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004.

The light novel series has been adapted into an anime series, which was animated by J.C. Staff and aired between October 2008 through March 2009, followed by a second season which aired in Japan from October 8, 2010 to April 1, 2011. The series has been also adapted into an ongoing manga series, which began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in June 2007.

Plot

Toaru Majutsu no Index is set in Academy City, a technologically advanced city located at western Tokyo which studies scientifically advanced superhuman students with powers, but is also set in a world where magic is real.

Kamijou Touma is a high school student in Academy City, with a power called the Imagine Breaker that can negate all magic, psychic, and divine powers, but also his own luck. One day he finds a young girl named Index hanging on the balcony railing of his dormitory room. She turns out to be a nun from the Anglican Church, and her mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum — 103,000 magical texts that contain a wealth of information about magic. His encounter with her leads him to meet others from the secret world of science and magic and an adventure with his friends where science and magic collide. Touma's unusual power places him at the center of conflicts between magicians and science-based espers in Academy City. As Touma tries to help and protect his friends, he learns the people he knows are not as they appear and begins to attract the attention of magicians and espers alike as they try to unravel the secrets of Academy City and Index.

Terminology

See also: Glossary

Academy City (学園都市, Gakuen Toshi^?): A technologically-advanced city located within western Tokyo, composed of educational and research facilities which focus on the advancement of science. Its population is mostly composed of students.
Espers (能力者, Nouryokusha^?): People who possess psychic abilities like telekinesis and clairvoyance. A vast majority of espers are ordinary people, especially students whose powers are acquired through participating in the Power Curriculum Program in Academy City, while a rare kind of esper, called Gemstones, are espers whose abilities are present since birth.
Magicians (魔術師, Majutsushi^?): Magicians are ordinary people who desire powers like their psychic counterparts. Using a variety of methods, they use magic spells in various tasks. Although magic is designed such that ordinary people can learn and use it, its high incompatibility with psychic powers causes espers to suffer bodily injury (if not instant death) when they use magic spells.
Index Librorum Prohibitorum (禁書目録, Kinsho Mokuroku^?, lit., "Index of Prohibited Texts"): A collection of 103,000 magical books called Grimoires which is implanted on Index's brain. These powerful books contain vasts amounts of knowledge, and is considered to be poisonous to any person, even to experienced magicians. This large collection of books has been targeted by various magicians and magical organizations around the world in spite of this risk.

Media

Light Novels

Main article: Light Novel Volumes

The light novels have been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko label since April 10, 2004. As of March 2011, there are twenty-three main novel volumes and two short story collections. After Volume 22, Kamachi announced a break of several months, in which he released the New Testament (新約　とある魔術のインデックス, Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index) series, which continues the story of Toaru Majutsu no Index.

Drama CD

A drama CD was released as a mail-in order of Dengeki hp Volume 48 and was released later in November 2007. There are two parts of the story, the first part originally aired as a radio drama in Dengeki Taishō starts with an encounter with a mysterious self-proclaimed "former" magician by Touma and Index in the family restaurant after Misaka Mikoto decides to go back due to urgent business. The second part involves around Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko with their "urgent business", and a duel request by a Level 3 esper from Tokiwadai.

Anime

Main article: List of Toaru Majutsu no Index Episodes

A 24-episode anime adaptation of Toaru Majutsu no Index was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, and aired in Japan from October 4, 2008 to March 19, 2009. The anime was collected into eight DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets which were released from January 23 to August 21, 2009. In addition, three mini bonus episodes depicting Index super deformed, titled Toaru Majutsu no Index-tan, were bundled with limited edition copies of the first and fifth DVDs of the first season, and the first BD/DVD release of the second season. The anime covered the first six novels in the series. A second season, titled Toaru Majutsu no Index II, aired in Japan between October 8, 2010 and April 1, 2011, and was also streamed on Nico Nico Douga. The limited edition of the first BD/DVD volume of Index II, released on January 26, 2011, contained a Toaru Kagaku no Railgun mini-novel.

An anime adaptation of the spin-off manga series A Certain Scientific Railgun was also produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Tatsuyuki Nagai, and aired in Japan from October 3, 2009 to March 20, 2010. The anime was collected into eight DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets which were released from January 29 to August 27, 2010. In addition, a short story series starring Kaori Kanzaki, titled Toaru Majutsu no Index: Kanzaki SS, was bundled with every DVD release of Railgun. An original video animation episode of Railgun was released on October 29, 2010. At Anime Expo 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they had acquired licenses for both TV series to be released in 2011.

Manga

Main article: Toaru Majutsu no Index Manga

The series has been adapted into two manga series. The one which follows the novel's storyline started serialization in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in June 2007. The first bound volume was released on November 10, 2007 and there are currently five volumes of this manga. Even though the manga follows the novel's storyline, it skips the events of the second and fourth novels.

Movie

Main article: Toaru Majutsu no Index Movie: Miracle of Endymion

A theatrical release, of Toaru Majutsu no Index Movie: Miracle of Endymion premiered on Feburary 23, 2013. It was produced by J.C. Staff. The storyboard was written by Kazuma Kamachi and is set to be a unique story line and independent of all other current media.

Music

Maiko Iuchi of I've Sound was in charge of the music in the anime. Four pieces of theme music are used for the episodes: two opening themes and two ending themes. The first opening theme is "PSI-Missing" by Mami Kawada, and is used for the first sixteen episodes. The second is "Masterpiece" by Mami Kawada, and is used in the subsequent episodes. The first ending theme is "Rimless: Fuchinashi no Sekai" (Rimless 〜フチナシノセカイ〜, lit. "Rimless: Rimless World") by Iku, and is used for the first nineteen episodes. The second is "Chikaigoto: Sukoshi Dake Mō Ichido" (誓い言～スコシだけもう一度～, lit. "Oath: Just a Bit, One More Time") by Iku, and is used in the subsequent episodes. A single for "PSI-missing" was released on October 29, 2008. A single for "Masterpiece" was released on February 4, 2009.

For the second season, the first opening theme is "No Buts!" by Mami Kawada. The second is "See VisionS", also by Mami Kawada. The first ending theme is "Magic∞World" by Kurosaki Maon. The second is "Memories Last", which is also performed by Kurosaki Maon.

Other Media

The world of Toaru Majutsu no Index is featured in the video game Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus for the Nintendo DS. Index appears as a support character, while Mikoto is a playable character which can be made accessible through playing the game and Accelerator is featured as a boss. A fighting game titled Toaru Majutsu no Index, developed by Kadokawa Games and published by ASCII Media Works for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), was released on January 27, 2011. A video game based on A Certain Scientific Railgun for the PSP was released on May 26, 2011.

Weiß-Schwarz has adapted Index and Railgun into a playable/collectible card game. An official visual book of A Certain Scientific Railgun was released on July 24, 2010, bundled with a DVD containing a five-minute bonus episode. The illustrator of the light novels, Haimura Kiyotaka, also released a visual book of Toaru Majutsu no Index entitled Rainbow Spectrum, which included designs for the characters in Index; the visual book also includes a side story entitled Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Love Letter Competition.