Anime Reviews (2010-2019): A Certain Magical Index III: Part One (2018)

A Toma-driven storyline featuring a lot of characters and less of Index! Overall, a fascinating, action-packed series but make sure you watched previous seasons before jumping on the third season!

TITLE: A Certain Magical Index III: Part One

ANIME RELEASE DATE IN JAPAN: 2018

DURATION: 13 Episodes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 4×3, Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Funimation

RATED: TV 14

Release Date: October 1, 2019

Original Creator: Kamachi Kazuma

Directed by Nishikiori Hiroshi

Series Composition by Yoshino Hiroyuki

Music by Iuchi Maiko

Original Character Design: Haimura Kiyotaka

Character Design by Tanaka Yuichi

Art Director: Kuroda Tomonori

Anime Production: J.C. Staff

Featuring the following voice talent

Micah Solusod as Toma Kamijo

Monica Rial as Index

Alex Moore as Agnese Sanctis

Alexis Tipton as Hyoka Kazakiri

Alison Viktorin as Kuroko Shirai

Amanda Lee as Itsuwa

Andy Mullins as Aiwass

Apphia Yu as Saiai Kinuhata

Austin Tindle as Accelerator

Barry Yandell as Biaglo Busoni

Brittany Lauda as Lessar

Brittney Karbowski as Last Order, Mikoto Misaka, Misaka 10777, Misaka Worst

Bryn Apprill as Awaki Musujime

Carli Mosier as Laura Stuart

Chris Ryan as Acqua of the Rear

Chuck Huber as Aleister Crowley

Clifford Chapin as Shiage Hamazura

Cris George as Digurv

Daman Mills as Kakine Teitoku

Dawn M. Bennett as Carissa

Duncan Brannan as Saiji Tatemiya

Jad Saxton as Komoe Tsukiyomi

Jennifer Green as Oriana Thomson

Justin Pate as Mitsuki Unabara

20 years after the groundbreaking anime, FLCL, Adult Swim and the legendary anime studio Production I.G. team up to bring you FLCL: Progressive and FLCL: Alternative.

FLCL: Progressive follows “Hidomi” and “Ide,” as the two teenagers learn about life, love, and a little something called “N.O.” Joining them on this adventure is the extraterrestrial investigator, “Haruko” and a newcomer, the otherworldly being, “Jinyu.”

FLCL: Alternative focuses on a group of high school best friends, Kana, Mossan, Pets and Hijiri. Nothing much happens in their town until Haruko and a strange mecha come to visit. Kana just might have the power to save the world, but it’s locked up tight inside her head. Haruko might just know how to shake it loose.

In 2004, writer Kamachi Kazuma and illustrator Haimura Kiyotaka began working on the light novel series “Toaru Majutsu no Index” (A Certain Magical Index).

The novel would then receive a manga adaptation in 2007 which was published on “Monthly Shonen Gangan” and a year later, receiving an 24-episode anime adaptation courtesy of J.C. Staff, followed by a second season airing in 2010-2011.

The series would go on to have a spinoff manga series titled “A Certain Scientific Railgun” which would be published in 2007 and a release in the US in 2011. An OVA series was released in 2010 and a second season in 2013. And the film “A Certain Magical Index: The Movie – The Miracle of Endymion” was also released in 2013.

And seven years later, “A Certain Magical Index III” is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of Funimation!

What is “A Certain Magical Index” about?

“A Certain Magical Index” takes place in an alternate version of Tokyo where students of Academy City (an advanced academic city) are scientifically advanced and use magic. But there is one student who is a failure in his esper studies but he does have a strong pride when it comes to justice, teenager Toma Kamijo.

But despite being at the lowest psychic rank possible (level 0) at Academy City, he has an undetectable power, something he doesn’t know too much about called the “Imagine Breaker”. His right hand has the power to negate all magic, psychic or divine powers. Unfortunately, it also negates all his good luck.

One day, he ends up getting into a duel against a powerful level 5 psychic named Mikoto Misaka. Mikoto can control and generate electricity and when the two fight, a blackout ensues. Toma ends up waking up to find a young nun from the Church of England hanging off his balcony. He finds out her name is Index and that she is being chased down by magicians because she has 103,000 grimoires.

With his sense of justice, Toma wants to protect Index from harm and both become friends. Index also explains to Toma about his power of the “Imagine Breaker” on his right hand and how his power is very special.

One day after returning home, he finds Index bleeding and suffering and standing there is sorcerer Stiyl Magnus. Stiyl explains that his partner Kaori unintentionally hurt Index and his mission was to protect her as she has the power of photographic memory. Not liking how Stiyl talks about Index, Toma is intent on protecting her and a battle ensues. To Stiyl’s shock, Toma is able to nullify his spells. Stiyl then sends his powerful fire creature Innocentius on Toma, but once again, Toma negates it and Toma ends up beating him.

Needing help to heal Index, he goes to the only person he knows that he can help her, his teacher Komoe Tsukuyomi (who has an appearance of a child but is actually an adult). Komoe has no esper abilities but she can assist with magic spells and the ability to heal Index. Through Index, Toma learns that she belongs to the organization Necessarius and that Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum was implanted into Index’s mind. She is a living library to the church and because the things that she reads are very powerful and she has read the original books that can be used against Necessarius.

Toma meanwhile encounters the other sorcerer from Necessarius. Kaori demands Toma to turn over Index, but he refuses. She demonstrates her power to him and that she can easily slay him but his sense of justice comes out and he tells her that all he wants to do is protect her. Kaori reveals that she and Index are actually good friends and that when Index got hurt, it wasn’t suppose to happen as her magical garb was to protect her (but Toma’s magic negated the magic on her clothing).

She then reveals to Toma that the entire Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum takes up 85% of Index’s memory and that the remaining 15% needs to be erased eacy year to save Index from straining her mind from unnecessary memories. And that she has three days left until her limit is reached. So, she needs to take Index back. Toma refuses and asks Kaori how they can call themselves her good friends when they never consider Index’s feelings and asks Kaori why she wouldn’t try to protect him.

While Stiyl and Kaori go to retrieve Index, Kome reveals to both of them that humans can never suffer or die from being overloaded with information and that the church regularly erased Index’s memory to ensure her loyalty to them.

Believing Kome, the two realize they have been misled. But knowing the complexities of what is happening, a deal is struck and Stiyl working with Aleister Crowley, the ruler of Academic City asks for Aleister to lend Toma to him for an assignment to rescue “Deep Blood”, those who are capable of killing vampires, from a magician in Academy City.

What is “A Certain Magical Index III” about?

The following series is an adaptation of the light novels vol. 14 through 22.

Tensions are high now as the attacks on Academy City by the Right Seat of God’s Vento of the Front has increased the tensions between the Catholic Church and Academy City.

One day, Monaka, a member of Academy City’s Board of Directors encounters Toma and tells him her features of the upcoming war and wants him to investigate whether the world wide protest against Academy City was created by the Catholic Church.

The main characters of “A Certain Magical Index III” are:

- Kamijo Toma – The main protagonist. A young man who has a high sense of justice and despite having a psychic rank of zero, has a mysterious power of the Imagine Breaker which nullifies all magic, psychic or divine powers and unfortunately, his good luck. But because of his sense of justice, each person he comes in contact with develop respect or love towards Toma because of his willingness to protect them.
- Index – A young nun from Necessarius, a branch of the Church of England. She is literally possesses a photographic memory in which the 103,000 magical texts of Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum is implanted on her. These texts known as the Grimoires take up 85% of her mind and the 0ther 15% is used for daily activities. Because of this, her life span to live normally is less than a year as they tend to erase her memory when it comes to its limit.
- Misaka Mikoto – A powerful Electromaster who is known as “The Railgun”. She attends Tokiwadai Middle School, a school for the wealthy and one of the elite schools of Academy City. She also has a strong sense of morals and hates injustice.
- Accelerator – The most powerful esper in Academy City and an antagonist of the series. He has joined an experiment to become the first Level 6 psychic, but he must kill 128 skilled level 5 psychics or 20,000 skilled Level 3 psychics.
- Tsuchimikado Motoharu – One of Toma’s best friends. Seems normal but he is actually a former agent of Necessarius and now a freelance spy for Academy City.
- Itsuwa – An Amakusa Catholic Girl. She’s in love with Toma and her weapon is Friulian Spear. She has come to Academy City to become Toma’s bodyguard.
- Etzali – A magician and doppelganger who joined GROUP to protect Mikoto.
- Uiharu Kazari – Kuroko’s friend and colleague in Judgment. Has the ability of “Thermal Hand”.
- Terra of the Left – Member of God’s Right Seat. A small, old man wearing a green robe. He uses the spell “Execution of Light” and knows something about Toma’s Imagine Breaker.
- Acqua of the Back – Member of God’s Right Seat and blesed with “Divine’s Mother’s Mercy” which nullifies certain spells, allowing him to perform even more powerful spells. He is after Toma.

As for special features, included are:

Episode 1 Commentary – Featuring Monica Rial (voice of Index), Michael Solusod (voice of Tomikajo), Brittney Karbowski (voice of Mikasa Mikoto)
Textless Opening and Closing Songs

As for extras, a digital copy for Funimation is included plus a 20-page art book.

With the third season of “Toaru Majutsu no Index III” (A Certain Magical Index III), this third season is rather interesting because it tries to focus more on Toma, less on Index and to showcase as many characters in this world.

For the most part, this season seems a bit complex with the various churches involved, Toma partnering with a numerous characters and of course, there is a lot more action involved.

It does get a little confusing with all the characters involved, throw in battles with Members of God’s Right Seat ala Terra of the Left and Acqua of the Black, if anything, this series does demand your attention and if you haven’t watched the previous seasons, you definitely will want to watch those episodes first.

While I found the series to be entertaining and some episodes with more action than others, I enjoyed it (as a long time viewer of this series and the Railgun series) but unlike other anime series which have many episodes (especially filler episodes) to have a viewer know more about a character, “A Certain Magical Index III” has a lot of characters and sometimes you feel that you are missing out on something.

But there is a build-up to something bigger and I’m guessing we’ll see more of that in the second part of “A Certain Magical Index III”.

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