A Certain Magical Index III

- Unpopular opinion: But season 3 of Index is not only the best season of Index so far, but is the best installment in the entire anime franchise thus far (other than Railgun T), and I genuinely do not understand why this season gets so much hate.Prefix: I just want to preface this post with that I watched this installment for the first time as a part of the chronological rewatch I did to help me make the Railgun/Index infographic I made and posted last week. So that might be the main reason why a lot of this season did not seem convoluted to me, (to be fair honestly most of Index is already convoluted), but this season, because I watched all the other installments before this, I could fairly easily follow along with what was going on, plus, honestly, by comparison, this season really is not as convoluted as previous ones. - Here is why I think season 3 is the best installment.. Yes, there are spoilers, sorry.Story: I genuinely do not understand how people can say this season of Index somehow has a less interesting story than the previous ones, because this season improved SO MUCH not only on the story structure for the entire season, but just how the stories are developed within each arc. My biggest complaint from the previous two seasons of Index, was that not all of the story arcs made it a priority to get you invested in what is going on, sometimes they would portray a story that was very personal, making it at least somewhat interesting to the audience. Yet other times, story arcs would not only be too short to develop any investment on the part of the audience, but also would throw in a variety of new characters into these stories, only for them to be gone within the next 2 episodes, making it nearly impossible for me to ever care about what is going on in these instances. This was the main improvement usually noted when comparing Index to Railgun, because the majority of Railgun stories make it a priority for you to be invested personally in the story that is being told, and this trend seemed uniform when comparing Index to Railgun, that is until we finally get to Index season 3. - The first major improvement, is that the story arcs in season 3 ACTUALLY CONNECT, there is an overarching story throughout the entire season, which is something that has been sorely lacking in previous seasons, with story arcs only loosely being connected previously. Additionally, not only is there an overarching story within this season that makes it particularly more interesting compared to previous ones, but it also retroactively makes previous meaningless story arcs better, by putting in characters from story arcs (that before this) were never shown again. Second, a majority of episodes in this season are split between three different concurrent storylines, which drastically improves character dynamics, since some of the characters in this franchise have personalities that are much more enjoyable in smaller doses (cough Toma, cough Accelerator). - Third, in some instances, story arcs this season are significantly expanded on when compared to previous seasons, giving the audience actual time to watch these characters develop, and become invested in these story arcs before they are concluded. So many times before this season we would have story arcs that would throw so much new information into such a small time frame that the entire story arc became a chore to watch, specifically, the La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc, Kazakiri Hyoka Arc, and the Deep Blood Arcs from Season 1 & 2 were especially ultimately meaningless while watching the series. This is why I feel it is such an improvement in season three that story arcs are not independent from one another, but instead are interlaced throughout the narrative of the season, because it makes it much easier for me to get invested in the overarching story this season is trying to tell. While I feel these drastic differences in storytelling might put off some people who were used to how the story was being told in season one and two, I feel, this was a much-needed improvement for the longevity of the franchise. - Pacing: This is a separate part because a lot of people on the reaction board for this season were complaining about the pacing, and although it is a little fast in the final arc, I genuinely feel the rest of the season’s pacing was very well done. The only arc that I feel was slightly rushed was the World War III arc, but honestly, I feel they did the best they could in the time they had. Not only does this arc have the longest episode count in all of Index (which is what most likely pushed them past the regular 24 episode count per season), But they even regularly took out the OP and the ED of episodes to utilize as much of the episode as possible to tell this arc’s story, so except for the exclusion of some of the Mikoto’s stuff, I feel the arc was handled relatively fine. - Characters: Not only has the story been drastically improved upon this season, but also the overall approach to characters has also been drastically improved, when compared to previous seasons. when I see comments about this season like there are “too many characters” I genuinely question if you are watching the same series as me, because the entire Index franchise continuously introduces a multitude of new characters every story arc. I would argue, that this season the character introductions are much better because not only do they have more time to develop over the course of the season, but the characters we are introduced to already start off with motivations that we the audience can sympathize with from the beginning. This sympathetic aspect that has been added is even extended to the villains, with me actually understanding where characters like Acqua of the Back and the Second Princess are coming from, because their motivations at least somewhat makes sense, unlike previous villains who motivations were convoluted at best, or were completely nonsensical at worst.

This doesn’t even bring up how some of the best characters this season are new characters, because with the addition of an entirely new perspective throughout this season, comes with one of my favorite focuses of this season, and that is the development within the ITEM team. Like, HOLY SHIT GUYS, a reoccurring character that has appeared in multiple installments of both Index and Railgun was killed off this season, not only that, but one of the only Level Fives in this ENTIRE story LOSTS AN ARM AND AN EYE, this development shows there are actual permanent consequences in this universe, which was something sorely lacking throughout the entire franchise before this. This one storyline is filled with so many mature “holy shit” moments during the season, that its inclusion alone makes this entire season (in my eyes) leagues above previous seasons of Index.

- There are also characters like Accelerator, who before this season felt so one-note that it was becoming tiresome to watch his actions in the franchise, that is until this season, where we see him actually develop into a multi-dimensional character, instead of being a one-note “villain” doing “villainous” things. There is also Index, who has been relegated to the sidelines for the majority of this season, which (in my opinion) was a significant improvement for character dynamics, because her personality is one that is best applied in small doses, so for this season, I thought her appearances were just the right amount and were great. - Finally, let talk about Touma, Who throughout the entire series is so one note that is almost comedic at this point, however, this season (while his one-note personality does not really change) because his screen time has been drastically reduced, his personality actually becomes bearable and sometimes even enjoyable to watch. The only character That I feel got shafted this season was Mikoto, who unfortunately did not receive as much screen time this season as I was hoping. Overall, the drastic changes in how the story was told this season, made all the additional characters a welcome addition in my eyes, since many of the new characters actually got enough screen time to develop personalities that I found enjoyable to watch. - Conclusion: For all the reasons listed above and more (because I am literally at the character limit for the post), This is why I feel this season of Index is not only the best season of Index, but is also the best installment in the entire franchise so far, because it truly improves on all the aspects of the series that I wanted improved, while also maintaining the original good aspects of the series. Of course, season 3 is not perfect, one of my biggest disappointments is how little Mikoto is involved in the story throughout the season, and Touma personality is still just as hit or miss as every other season, but many of the new elements that were introduced this season really outweigh these cons for me. So while I do sympathize with the complaint that really this season of Index can only truly be enjoyed if you have watched all of the previous installments up to this point (most likely in chronological order so you do not feel like there is as big of a gap between installments), but for me, because I already embarked on this endeavor, that wasn’t that big of an obstacle. This is why I’m rating the series a 95/100, because it really was the epitome and culmination of what this entire franchise is all about. I am looking forward to the next installment in the franchise, and hopefully, we can get season 4 of Index faster than we did season 3😊😊😊