Toaru Majutsu no Index is one of the best selling LNs in history. Its immense influence in the 2010s made it one of the most popular anime and stories in Japan for a long time, its reign existed. Even after almost 20 years of its release, it is still being released and selling well. Its heyday is long gone, but its mark is with us and still popular.
I think very clever stories whose worldbuildings are huge but everything is in a small box, which is what I also said in my Detective Conan Review. Index seems to me the same case, the whole story revolves around 1 city, of course there are other places that are visited and explored, but the focus is on Academy City which is where the story revolves around. It's a merit to be able to have so much creativity in such a small space, as if the Earth where we live had so much history, layer, depth of us human beings but we are just a cosmic dust in universe.
>How Index series world works
Index contains 2 main sides of its story. The magic side and the science side. These sides are divided and their stories are told through 2 different protagonists: Kamijou Touma for the magic side, Misaka Mikoto for the science side. And I'm going to say this because that's interesting: magic is something that's meant to be secret in Index's story so we have a protagonist who explores the hidden side of the world, while Misaka Mikoto will show us the surface. That's why magic is almost never or never mentioned in Railgun, as it is as if Misaka and Kamijou Touma were living in opposite worlds. I believe this is one of the contrasts that makes us so interested in a spin-off like Railgun, and in exploring both worlds, seeing how two such important characters like them live their daily lives. I really like stories that represent both the dark side and the known side.
And of course, when talking about Index, we need to know about the franchise as a whole, so I can't rule out saying about Railgun here. For Railgun will explore this side of science further, and that's why we should consume both stories. It's quite ambitious and you might get a little lost if you only consume one, but don't worry about that, it's a really passionate story if you like it.
Both Railgun and Index go hand in hand, but each of us also has our opinion. Magic side or science side, which one will be your favorite?
>The importance of Kamijou Touma
Story will teach us Touma is a hero who fights for his ideals. And that's one of my favorite parts of Index. Touma is a traditional protagonist of Japanese literature I would say. His ideals are simple, but they are questioned and questioned, as if the author had placed a cliché but he deconstructs the cliché itself.
A character who fights for justice, who doesn't seek to kill and wants to protect those he loves, saving everyone; but what exactly is that justice? In Index there are consequences and a lot of "what ifs", what will be the consequences of such ideals? The character Kamijou Touma is very well built over time and we see how much the author was sculpting him from the beginning. The essence of this protagonist is to accept others, even the worst of villains.
Identity Crisis, The Importance of Life, Security and External Values, Relationship of Good and Evil, and the Method of Violence to Prevent "Good" against those who Exercise "Evil" in order to Benefit those who need Help ー The Hypocrisy of His Choices and Ideologies... all of these themes are present in Index and shall mainly relate to our central figure whose show us the universe of Academy City: Kamijou Touma.
Starting now, I would like to go deeper with some minor spoilers of the importance that Index can have for our mindset.
Index is a work with a lot of philosophical study with ideas that can change our lives.
The process of maturation and change of the human body and mind, generating the question if the person we are today is the same as we were in the past... And the answer is (Volume 1 Index spoiler)
Spoiler, click to view
the memories... But since Touma doesn't have memories, he has nothing; it's a completely new being.These are some of the views that were presented in Index, and how Touma's ideal of saving everyone at his own cost will be distorted over time was something VERY - WELL - DONE.
It'll teach us the Human Reality, which should be an imperfect and faulty world
"A World in which God decides to completely remove evil and create a world where everyone is happy without suffering is nothing more than a toy world."
Choices would not matter, people would not have dreams or goals because by being in the peace and happiness generated by God, they've already achieved their purposes, there's nothing to work for and the meaning of life makes it redundant.
And that's why
>Toaru Majutsu no Index is the place to know the value of life
The objective of this story will be to transform an altruistic protagonist who only thinks of others into an egoist, who needs to think about himself and who needs to find his own happiness. Of course he needs to save the people he loves, but the most important person in the world is ourselves. We are not special and we are replaceable.
But don't underestimate Index if you think it's "only" about that! The narrative will eventually expand until the author decides to have 3 protagonists. Each with its own story, ideals and personality, goals.
>Is the series consistent? I only read the beginning, but I didn't bother to read anymore
Patience, as this is how it works with most LNs. The author is still preparing his ground for what he really wants to say and that usually takes time. As the volumes go by, the tendency is to improve, and in the case of Index this is what happens. Take the time to get to know the world of Railgun too and slowly enjoy the series as a whole.
The initial volumes of Index are more episodic, but its basic ideas are being prepared little by little.
But I'm also not going to tell you that it only gets better until you scream Peak Fiction for the rest of your life. Index's story is like mount everest, it slowly improves until it reaches its great peak (Othinus Arc in Index NT), until it drops again like a normal mountain, it doesn't mean that it's mid again, but that the author's majestic creativity Kamachi in Othinus' arc has reached its maximum.
What about the remaining cast of characters in the story? I believe they are very nice characters. Index's cast of characters is immense, very very large, it's really like real life where you meet a lot of people. These characters won't always be there, but at one time or another it will be important for an arc or make their reappearance. I think this is a nice charm, but I recognize that it can be a flaw. Regarding their personalities and writing, they are good characters most of the time and fun.
>FAQ
Index OT = Old Testament
Index NT = New Testament
Index GT = Genesis Testament
chronological and recommended version: OT > NT > GT
Q: Is the story still in release?
A: Yes, and there is no end date in sight. Honestly, I'm already fed up, I'm a big fan of the work but for the love of God Kamachi end it at once. There shouldn't be much else to do but it looks like he's busy with his records. (context: Index is close to becoming the LN with the most volumes in history)
Q: And when should I watch Railgun?
A: I recommend you watch/read it while watching/reading Index Old Testament, the beginning is the best time to switch between the two.
Q: Favorite character?
A: The one who purifies gods and kills demons... KAMIJOU TOUMA, he'll destroy your illusion!!! I also very like Misaki Shokuhou.
Conclusion
See you in Academy City. I score a 9/10 for Old Testament because I think there were several inconsistencies throughout this first LN, but when Kamachi reached its great peak in New Testament I saw how amazing Index has always been. 9 here, 10 there, but I like both these parts. I shall try GT one day
Here is the most ambitious worldbuilding from LN medium, for a long time the most popular and the greatest sensation. Its great diversity has led to its great fame.
Toaru Majutsu no Index.
>“Then... I will save you. Even if it means fighting the entire world!!”
~~Bro guys who make reviews need to be respected, my God, it's a lot of work to write something for 2-3 hours and I don't even know if the people who are reading will like it :skull:~~