Toaru Majutsu no Index

Toaru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録（インデックス）) 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. The series was made into a manga, beginning serialization in May 2007, and an anime which aired between October 2008 and March 2009, containing 24 episodes. A second season of the anime has been announced. A side story manga series, A Certain Scientific Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン）), began serialization in March 2007 and was later adapted into a 24-episode anime, which aired from October 2009 to March 2010 in Japan.

Plot and characters
Toaru Majutsu no Index is set in Academy City, a technologically advanced Academic city located at western Tokyo which studies scientifically advanced superhuman students with powers, but is also set in a world where magic is also real. Tōma Kamijō is a student in Academy City whose right hand, the Imagine Breaker, has the ability to negate all magic and psychic powers, but also his own luck. One day he finds a young girl hanging on his balcony railing named Index. She is a nun from Necessarius, the secret magic branch of the Church of England, and her mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum—103,000 forbidden magical books the Church has removed from circulation. 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. Tōma's unusual power places him at the center of conflicts relating magicians and science-based espers in Academy City. As Tōma 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.

The side-story, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, focuses on Mikoto Misaka, an electromaster who is the third most powerful of the seven Level 5 espers in Academy City. Set before and during the events of the novels, the manga tell the adventures of Mikoto and her friends during that time period from their point of view, eventually coinciding with the events of the third novel.

Terminology

 * Power users
 * Also known as psychics or espers, they are people who can use psychic powers or supernatural powers. Most power users are born with supernatural powers while others are ordinary people who have the potential to develop them; participating in Academy City's Power Curriculum Program is one means of developing psychic powers for ordinary people with potential.  Most power users are able to use their powers just by thinking.  They are able to use magic, but due to their natural powers, they suffer extreme damage to their body if they do so.


 * Magic users
 * Magic was created by people who wanted to have powers just like their psychic counterparts. Although magic was designed so that most ordinary people can learn and use it, regardless of what type of magic it is, people with psychic powers are unable to use it without suffering severe injury. Likewise, magicians cannot use psychic powers without grievous harm. Once a path is chosen, one is stuck on it (there is one known magic user who gained an ability, however after doing so he was unable to use magic anymore without injury). European sorcerers have a magical name, which is a combination of Latin and a numerical code which serves as a power limiter as saying their magical name to their opponents will unlock their full powers.


 * Power Curriculum Program
 * The Academy's City Power Curriculum Program is a large-scale program designed to advance a person's psychic or supernatural powers. The program is a series of tests, studies, lectures, medicines, body simulations and hypnosis used to unlock a person's powers. Most students are Level 0, normal people with no powers but may have the potential to develop powers and are encouraged to participate in the program to help them train or acquire their powers artificially. While most students fail the program as they never had powers to begin with or failed to increase their power, some are able to advance theirs powers from Level 0 to Level 1 and possibly further. One of the program's success stories is Mikoto Misaka, as she started from Level 1 and worked her way up to Level 5; she is proof that with enough hard work and determination, anyone can become a powerful psychic.


 * However, unknown to the public there is a dark side to this program. Some of the scientists who research psychic powers try to increase a person's powers, especially those with unique powers, using other unethical methods, including dangerous drugs and experiments. Some of these methods achieve their desired results while others fail with trauma or injury to the participant or, in worse cases, death. In fact, some of the most powerful psychics in Academy City are the result of these dark programs. It is revealed that the board of directors of the city are aware of these experiments, but choose to turn a blind eye to them and in some cases even officially approve them as they allow those scientists to do what they want to do as long as the public does not know and it has achieved its desired result.


 * Psychic Rank
 * Every psychic has a rank that determines how powerful their powers are and how much they can control it. There are six levels, with level 0 being the lowest for no powers or having passive powers with no control over them. Those at level 1 have realized what their powers are and are learning how to control them, despite using a small amount of power. The users train to use their powers more under the Power Curriculum Program, and their level ranks can increase based on how much their control and use of their powers has progressed. There are no known level 6 psychics as according to the Super Computer Tree Diagram, it would take about 200 years for someone to achieve it under the Power Curriculum Program. As a result, Level 5 is currently the highest level. There are seven known level 5 psychics, but only six have been disclosed in the series so far.


 * AIM (An Involuntary Movement)
 * An invisible energy field that espers involuntarily produce. AIM is very hard to detect without special equipment and the closest thing to seeing AIM with the naked eye is Accelerator's power; Accelerator's body is surrounded by a thin invisible shield of AIM which allows him to control vectors. AIM is very important as it shows how much an esper emits. AIM shows how powerful his/her Power Levels are. AIM is also the reason why espers cannot use magic because AIM causes a negative reaction when it mixes with magic which explains why an esper's body gets hurt when using magic. The reverse is also true for magicians if they enter an area with a very high concentration of AIM, a feat that can only be achieved under certain circumstances.

Light novels
The light novels have been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko label since April 10, 2004. As of March 2010, there are twenty novels and two short story collections.

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 story, the first part originally aired as a radio drama in Dengeki Taishō starts with an encounter with mysterious self-proclaimed "former" magician by Tōma Kamijō and Index in the family restaurant after Misaka decides to go back due to urgent business. The second part involves around Mikoto Misaka and Kuroko Shirai with their "urgent business", and a duel request by a Level 3 Psychic girl from Tokiwadai.

Manga
The series has been adapted into two manga series. The one based on the novels is illustrated by Chuya Kogino and started serialization in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in June 2007. The first bound volume was released on November 10, 2007 and as of May 22, 2010, six volumes have been published. Even though the manga follows the novel's storyline, it skips the events of the second and fourth novels.

A spin-off manga titled A Certain Scientific Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲) is illustrated by Motoi Fukuyama and started serialization in Dengeki Daioh in May 2007. The story tells of the events before and during the time of the novels from a different perspective from the main character, Mikoto Misaka and her friends. The first volume was released on November 10, 2007 and as of June 26, 2010, five volumes have been published. North American publisher Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they will publish the first volume of the Railgun manga in June 2011.


 * Toaru Majutsu no Index


 * A Certain Scientific Railgun

Anime
An anime adaptation of Toaru Majutsu no Index was produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Hiroshi Nishikiori, and aired in Japan between October 4, 2008 and March 19, 2009. The 24 episodes covered the first six of the light novels. A second season of Toaru Majutsu no Index has been announced. An anime adaptation of the side story manga series Toaru Kagaku no Railgun aired in Japan from October 3, 2009 to March 20, 2010. An original video animation episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun will be released on October 29, 2010. At Anime Expo 2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment announced that they have acquired licenses for both TV series to be released in 2011.

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 was used for the first sixteen episodes during the television broadcast, but was changed to the first fourteen episodes in the DVD releases. 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〜) 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～) 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.

The anime adaptation of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun has five pieces of theme music, two opening themes and three ending themes. The first opening theme is "Only My Railgun" by fripSide, and the first ending theme is "Dear My Friend (Mada Minu Mirai e)" (Dear My Friend －まだ見ぬ未来へ－) by Elisa. The song "Smile (You & Me)" by Elisa, which uses the same tune as "Dear My Friend (Mada Minu Mirai e)", is featured as the ending theme of episode twelve. The second opening theme is "Level 5 (Judgelight)" by fripSide and the third ending theme is "Real Force" by Elisa. "Only My Railgun" will appear in Konami's arcade music game Dance Dance Revolution X2.

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. A fighting game titled Toaru Majutsu no Index, developed by Kadokawa Games and published by ASCII Media Works for the Playstation Portable, will be released on January 27, 2011.

Weib-Schwarz has adapted Index and Railgun into a playable/collectible card game. An official visual book of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun will be released on July 24, 2010 and will be bundled with a DVD containing a "13'th episode".