Spring 2013

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

Yeah the new episode was the best so far, I'm really looking forwards to it. There's so many things I could gush all day about that I loved but the writing alone makes me love it. The original Light Novel author has been a writer for the new series so where there have been retcons (though you can argue that it is just showing the events from another PoV so both viewpoints aren't always reliable), they are also confirmed as canon.

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

I made a Toaru themed Pokemon team, calling my Jolteon "Misaka". Linking this replay because it seemed relevant and highly appropriate given it's Misaka: OU replay: Rodmorgum vs. Rahal - Pokémon Showdown

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

LMFAO, I like how the other guy rage quit and didn't get to see the "gg". :B

Edit:

And ftw ...

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

I have another link that I think I posted into the gaming thread where someone used Trick (switch equipped items) on my Jolteon giving it a Choice Scarf. Choice items give a HUGE stat boost, Choice Band is Attack, Choice Specs is Special Attack, and Choice Scarf is Speed. The downside is that this locks you into the first move you pick until you switch out or you throw the item away with Fling or Trick.

Jolteon is the fastest unbanned Pokemon in competitive play and this guy had no priority moves (Quick Attack, Extremespeed, Bullet Punch, Mach Punch etc) or ANYTHING they resisted Electricity when he did this...

Basically he created a monster: OU replay: Rahal vs. Vargoroth - Pok�mon Showdown

Well technically Hydregion resists electricity but that is why I made sure to rack up a few rounds of Stealth Rock damage on it first.

And to get back on topic, oh god the new Railgun episode was awesome (tagged for if you've not watched it yet).

The resolution was one of the most adorable things I've seen, especially with Misaka 10032 playing on the swings. Touma actually using Misaka's name to to her face was a huge retcon but it worked so perfectly I didn't really care.

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

Touma using her name, Misaka trying to hide it from Kuroko, and Kuroko's inner thoughts made the ending memorable. I'm still trying to ascertain what's up ahead beyond the fan-service episode next week.

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

The whole ending sequence was great for me. From Misaka bribing Saten and Uiharu to make homemade cookies that she planned to give to Touma to what you mentioned above was hilarious.

I did love the scene with Misaka and Misaka 10032 with the two little girls. ""The older sister has to do everything the younger sister says." Says Misaka as she attempts to brainwash the girl while she's still young." cracked me up.

I like how the Sisters do have personalities and their own quirks in Index II and Railgun S. It is very subtle but at the same time quite noticable. An interesting case is with 10332. If you pay close attention to the way she talks/acts, you'll find that she's actually pretty quirky and can get rather emotional at times (such as hunting down Last Order with a rifle for taking her goggles). It's just that she always uses the same tone of voice and facial expression, like when chasing down Last Order with a rifle for taking her goggles. If I remember correctly there is also a sister that is more slender than the others because she become very interested in the dieting and exercise sections of some Women's Health magazines that she found, and since the Misaka Network off share memories, the other Sisters actually teased her as siblings do.

Looking forward to see if the author adds in more stuff like that later. I'm aware that the later arcs will probably focus more on ITEM and Misaki Shokuhou (from what I've heard from a friend that read the Railgun Mange/Light Novels anyway) but it would be fun to see. That is a funny situation since I'm trying to avoid Railgun/Index spoilers and she is trying to avoid Game of Thrones spoilers so we sort of have a Mutually Assured Destruction thing going on.

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

Filler again for Railgun S this week. Not that I'm complaining since they use filler episodes for character development and this week was no exception. Plus it seems to be setting up for a new story arc.

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

Is it really filler? That girl they found at the park seems to be a key figure (she appears quite a bit in the new opening)

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

Well Railgun's filler tends to be used to set up the next arc though, Level Upper and Poltergeist Arcs are the best exampled. Plus there's always character development so not complaining to all really.

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

Is there any news on Index III? I don't want to spoil things by reading the light novels, but at the same time, I'm a bit impatient. ;3

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

I've no idea, we don't have the Light Novels here so I couldn't say.

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

The light novels are several arcs ahead of Index II. The stuff in Railgun are part of the collection of Misaka's side story within the Index Universe (because Railgun is an offshoot of Index) and I think there's one or two light novels for that. They are rapidly running out of things for the anime and are essentially using fillers, which they also did for Index (which I couldn't understand why)

Either Index wasn't as popular in Japan as they hoped it would be and are catering to those that find Railgun more in line with their tastes. I'm just saying that Railgun won't be seeing anymore canon material beyond this season, unless they skim off portions of Index (and just abandon the Index series as a result, which may piss off some people) I don't know, I just think JC Staff tends to go with what will bring in the money, since they figure people would just go read the light novels if they wanted the "real" thing. Not going to lie, but I just hope they continue with Index, but slow things down a bit or redo Index I and II before going into III.

[Aeni]

Re: Spring 2013

Firewind ... remember this JC Staff gem?

Metal Fighter Miku - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

We only have the first 3 volumes of the Index I Light Novel in the UK. If you go to Manga cons though then a few people will sell the Novel and Manga volumes out in the US but they are always stupidly overpriced even for imported goods.

The main issue with Index is that they try to cram so much into the series. There's so little room for development. It is usually down to Touma going somewhere, something happening, Touma TOUMAPAUNCHing the Big Bad, then Index biting him. Occasionally Misaka will try to shock him. It's a shame really because I find Index, Stiyl, Kaori and the Amakusa Christians and Accelerator all very interesting, but they just miss out on a lot of development because they have to keep advancing the plot at all costs.

Contrast Railgun where filler isn't really filler when it is pure character development, the development even carries on into arcs and there is so much continuity, you can rewatch old episodes and constantly pick up new things. Like in the Level Upper arc, you see Muginho, Frenda et al in a restaurant. Little things like that and the attention to detail land character development is why I think people like it more.

While Index was a hit, Railgun was more popular, sold more DVDs and got a better reception with fans thanks, as noted above, to a lot of Character Development for the cast. Note that this is only true of the Index anime. The Index novels sell hundreds of thousands of copies and are the most popular medium of the entire Toaruverse by a healthy margin.

Railgun's popularity is also because it's also partially a Schoolgirl Series. Plus, in a world where crazy people wields crazy superpowers that get thrown around with reckless abandon, the main characters of Railgun seem like relatable humans. Take away the superhuman powers and the majority of the cast are basically kids that you went to school with, and it makes it easier to care about and relate to those characters. The fact that the series goes out of the way to show you that under all the superhuman powers, these Espers are just normal kids trying to do what normal teenagers want to do also reinforces it.

In Index, all the characters are pawn for some faceless masters, the conspiracies of whom are only broken by the current PoV characters' uberhax power. In Railgun, the characters are trying to live a decent, pleasant life, beholden to no one but their own sense of camaraderie.

[Firewind]

Re: Spring 2013

Oh wow the new Railgun S episode was awesome. Looks like all of the character development for Mikasa is really paying off. Plus Misaka #10032 trolling the crap out of Misaka was hilarious too. The ending was also something I honestly didn't expect as well.