Spinoff/Sequel to A Certain Scientific Railgun S, A Certain Magical Index III
Genre(s): Magic, Sci-Fi, Action, Supernatural
Age-Appropriateness: 16+ (Violence, Profanity, suggestive themes)
Platforms: Crunchyroll, Funimation
Episodes: 12
TheAwersome Rating: 7.5 / 10 (A good spinoff)
Premise: Academy City stands at the forefront of scientific and technological progress, best known for their development of espers: those capable of wielding superhuman abilities that alter the rules of reality. The most powerful among them are the Level 5s, and of them Accelerator reigns supreme, even after being weakened by a severe brain injury. By his side is the young girl known as Last Order, whom he holds closely and vows to protect at all costs. But the dark side of Academy City never rests, and Accelerator is confronted by a venomous organization that has taken root in Anti-Skill, Academy City’s peacekeeping organization. With dangerous forces on the move that threaten to put Last Order and her sisters at risk, the self-proclaimed villain prepares to step into the darkness once again.
TheAwersome’s Thoughts: Remember those fun episodes in Index II and Index III with Accelerator’s (not) Suicide Squad trudging through the Academy City criminal underground? Remember how they were kind of the best part of each of those seasons? Well thankfully, we get a whole season of just that! The main qualms of pointless, un-enjoyable ecchi and tonal whiplash that prevail in Index and Railgun to an extent don’t show up here, so that was a huge relief. That’s not to say there isn’t fan-service, but it isn’t the same annoying joke, just specific characters seem to always be in underwear for no real reason. Also, the magic that was involved here was comprehensible and understandable, which was a big plus.
TLDR: The darkest “A Certain” entry yet, with a more serious tone, some great fights, and a short, decent plot.
There’s only one more entry in the “A Certain” series after this: A Certain Scientific Railgun T.
Characters in general are pretty simple, there isn’t much growth or depth, but it delivers that satisfying power fantasy of an overpowered anti-hero desecrating the even scummier bad guys.
I will say that the Voice Actor for Accelerator can get annoying at times, especially when he gets into his laughing fits or starts yelling things. It does that kind of squeaky voice-crack typical of a “going crazy villain” thing. That, and his whole obsession with “showing people how to be a TRUE villain” does get old. But honestly, watching Academy City’s version of a “Thin Blue Line with Punisher badges” group get annihilated is very satisfying.
You’ll likely enjoy this if you enjoyed:
- The underground crime organization stories of A Certain Scientific Railgun S, A Certain Magical Index III
- The way magic is used and handled in the Nasuverse, such as Garden of Sinners, Fate/Zero
- Beatdowns from Antiheros like in Saga of Tanya the Evil, Overlord, and most Shonens have antihero side characters (Sasuke from Naruto, Zebra from Toriko, etc.)
At a Glance Anime 
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