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とある魔術の禁書目録 [Toaru Majutsu no Index] (Novel) #1
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1
In Academy City, magic and science coexist in an unwavering power struggle. Toma Kamijo, an academically-challenged student in Academy City, wields the power of the Imagine Breaker in his right hand, which allows him to completely negate all supernatural powers - as well as his own luck. When he happens upon a mysterious nun named Index, whose mind has been implanted with the Index Librorum Prohibitorum - 103,000 ancient texts banned by the Church - Toma's luck is about to be pushed to its limits when he finds himself in the middle of a war he never expected!
232 pages, Paperback
First published April 10, 2004
157 people are currently reading
2097 people want to read
About the author
Kazuma Kamachi
239 books153 followersKamachi Kazuma (鎌池和馬) is a Japanese-born light novel author and the original creator of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novel series and Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, its spin-off manga series.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
September 15, 2019
I'd been curious for some time about the Japanese category "light novel", which seems to map, but not exactly, onto the American YA. The one prior example I'd read had been a work-for-hire spin-off of a more popular manga/anime, and pretty dire, so probably not a fair test. They are also much less translated into English than manga, but my library had these. So having just explored this series across two media, I though I might as well add the third, not least because this was the parent series, coming first and directly from the original creator.
The prose style proved quite awkward, though whether that was an effect of the original not being well translated (Japanese, I am given to understand, is full of subtleties in the use of its characters for implication that don't readily translate) or it being a first novel, or what, I cannot tell. (To the point where I was thinking, partway through, "Y'know, I could be spending my precious and limited eye endurance rereading The King of Elfland's Daughter right now...") The prose did seem to smooth out somewhat by volume 5, which is as far as I sampled. By the pacing, cutting, and tendency to include camera-shot-like descriptions, it read very much as though the author was picturing his story as an anime running in his head, right down to including the pantie shots. This may actually represent a keen grasp of his target audience, I dunno.
For English-speaking readers wishing to explore this tale, the manga, which seems to track the books a bit more closely than the anime, may be a better bet.
Ta, L.
Later: I observe in a closer look at #5 that the prose improves in interiority as well as smoothness, so we may be looking at a writer-learning-curve, here.
The prose style proved quite awkward, though whether that was an effect of the original not being well translated (Japanese, I am given to understand, is full of subtleties in the use of its characters for implication that don't readily translate) or it being a first novel, or what, I cannot tell. (To the point where I was thinking, partway through, "Y'know, I could be spending my precious and limited eye endurance rereading The King of Elfland's Daughter right now...") The prose did seem to smooth out somewhat by volume 5, which is as far as I sampled. By the pacing, cutting, and tendency to include camera-shot-like descriptions, it read very much as though the author was picturing his story as an anime running in his head, right down to including the pantie shots. This may actually represent a keen grasp of his target audience, I dunno.
For English-speaking readers wishing to explore this tale, the manga, which seems to track the books a bit more closely than the anime, may be a better bet.
Ta, L.
Later: I observe in a closer look at #5 that the prose improves in interiority as well as smoothness, so we may be looking at a writer-learning-curve, here.
April 5, 2013
Found (in English translation by fans) here-
www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?...
My spoiler-free review of volume 18 (more a review of the series) follows:
These are such incredible fun (in an almost 24 with theology and magic kind of way)! The Japanese light novel has much to teach the stunted and affectation afflicted young adult genre in English and it's a shame these are not more popular and are made available only through the gracious efforts of readers willing to translate them in their spare time.
What makes a light novel successful is perhaps that imagination is unbridled and always allowed to run in healthy excess. The style is transparent and to the point (even allowing for translation), but this only facilitates a mental picture to render in more vivid colour (the illustrations evoke manga and anime) and makes the occasional poetic description or metaphor all the more memorable. There is little in the way of wanton wish-fulfillment which so plagues adolescent fiction in English these days (save perhaps for sometimes gratuitous 'fan-service') and even the least eccentric characters have an ideal facet to them rather than being wholly insecure in just about everything (indeed, insecurities are played largely for laughs where they are minor, and lead to significant ordeals where they are not). It should be said that where characters are concerned, eccentric is much the norm (and makes the 'slice-of-life' respites all the more enjoyable). In spirit, the Queen in this particular volume (as well as the previous one) could easily have come out of an alternate reality Alice book!
On the whole, the outlook is positive, and nothing so paltry as realism (often made to take a break- though all the while adopting surprisingly consistent internal mechanics of the 'supposition' of a world the book concerns; in other words, the author takes pains to make the plot sound- also, where an author like J K Rowling wants her magical world demarcated, Kazuma Kamachi has it subsumed, either behind religion or sometimes quite literally in cases like the Amakusa Church) is allowed to brace either idealism or indeed cynicism. The protagonist (though he sometimes become merely a sounding-board for others, or a rock upon which their conceits are broken, making characters like Accelerator and later Hamazura Shiage, more popular), and indeed any party which comes into conflict with another (many do, since the premise of the series is that science and magic coexist in quite a tense and tentative equilibrium), is made to confront and examine the full extent of their commitment and test their resolve.
This way of going about it makes for compelling fantasy, since the fantastic situations and scenarios don't exist for their own sake, but to honestly progress either character or ideal in a gripping and entertaining manner.
I suppose I've gone on about the merits of light novels over young adult fiction more than providing a review, but this will serve as a review of the whole series in spirit, as To Aru Majutsu no Index can be considered a prototype for the light novel to aspire to.
www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?...
My spoiler-free review of volume 18 (more a review of the series) follows:
These are such incredible fun (in an almost 24 with theology and magic kind of way)! The Japanese light novel has much to teach the stunted and affectation afflicted young adult genre in English and it's a shame these are not more popular and are made available only through the gracious efforts of readers willing to translate them in their spare time.
What makes a light novel successful is perhaps that imagination is unbridled and always allowed to run in healthy excess. The style is transparent and to the point (even allowing for translation), but this only facilitates a mental picture to render in more vivid colour (the illustrations evoke manga and anime) and makes the occasional poetic description or metaphor all the more memorable. There is little in the way of wanton wish-fulfillment which so plagues adolescent fiction in English these days (save perhaps for sometimes gratuitous 'fan-service') and even the least eccentric characters have an ideal facet to them rather than being wholly insecure in just about everything (indeed, insecurities are played largely for laughs where they are minor, and lead to significant ordeals where they are not). It should be said that where characters are concerned, eccentric is much the norm (and makes the 'slice-of-life' respites all the more enjoyable). In spirit, the Queen in this particular volume (as well as the previous one) could easily have come out of an alternate reality Alice book!
On the whole, the outlook is positive, and nothing so paltry as realism (often made to take a break- though all the while adopting surprisingly consistent internal mechanics of the 'supposition' of a world the book concerns; in other words, the author takes pains to make the plot sound- also, where an author like J K Rowling wants her magical world demarcated, Kazuma Kamachi has it subsumed, either behind religion or sometimes quite literally in cases like the Amakusa Church) is allowed to brace either idealism or indeed cynicism. The protagonist (though he sometimes become merely a sounding-board for others, or a rock upon which their conceits are broken, making characters like Accelerator and later Hamazura Shiage, more popular), and indeed any party which comes into conflict with another (many do, since the premise of the series is that science and magic coexist in quite a tense and tentative equilibrium), is made to confront and examine the full extent of their commitment and test their resolve.
This way of going about it makes for compelling fantasy, since the fantastic situations and scenarios don't exist for their own sake, but to honestly progress either character or ideal in a gripping and entertaining manner.
I suppose I've gone on about the merits of light novels over young adult fiction more than providing a review, but this will serve as a review of the whole series in spirit, as To Aru Majutsu no Index can be considered a prototype for the light novel to aspire to.
February 2, 2015
I absolutely adored this book. While I'm sure part of the reason is simply because of my love for Japanese culture, and anime and manga in particular, another part is because this light novel was just fun to read.
The first thing I noticed about this light novel was how easy it was to read. It had an easy to follow format and the translations were very well-done. Having read a number of Japanese light novels before this one, I can say that A Certain Magical Index is one of the better written translations.
Another aspect that made me really enjoy this book are the characters. While the story is too short to get a true scope of each character's personality, those characters we do learn more about are all very likable. Touma, in particular, is a very enjoyable character to read about. He's got no luck, is at the bottom of the barrel of his school, has no talent at being an esper, and his one ability is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Despite this, he's a kind person who willingly helps out everyone he can, even complete strangers--even complete strangers who appear before him, draped over his balcony, demanding food.
One thing that really stuck out about this LN is the dichotomy between magic and science. In most stories that I have read, you will either get magic or science, one or the other, but rarely both. In this, magic and science exist as total opposites, and they are sort of in a state of cold war with each other because they stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Magic versus science. Academy City versus the Catholic Church. This presents a sort of tension that is only just building within this first volume, and will hopefully become a major story plot later on.
And, of course, you can't mention something like a Japanese light novel without talking about the artwork. While American novels and other works of fiction disdain from in-book illustrations in this day and age, light novels do not, and the artwork found within is always a pleasure to see, like a pirate coming across hidden booty amongst the hundreds of gems in his treasure chest. The art in this book is quite lovely, and I really enjoy seeing some of the more intriguing scenes depicted in illustrations and not just words. It also satisfies my manga fanboy side, so that's good, too.
I am actually really glad this is the first book of a 24 volume series because it means I get to read even more of this as each volume comes out.
The first thing I noticed about this light novel was how easy it was to read. It had an easy to follow format and the translations were very well-done. Having read a number of Japanese light novels before this one, I can say that A Certain Magical Index is one of the better written translations.
Another aspect that made me really enjoy this book are the characters. While the story is too short to get a true scope of each character's personality, those characters we do learn more about are all very likable. Touma, in particular, is a very enjoyable character to read about. He's got no luck, is at the bottom of the barrel of his school, has no talent at being an esper, and his one ability is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Despite this, he's a kind person who willingly helps out everyone he can, even complete strangers--even complete strangers who appear before him, draped over his balcony, demanding food.
One thing that really stuck out about this LN is the dichotomy between magic and science. In most stories that I have read, you will either get magic or science, one or the other, but rarely both. In this, magic and science exist as total opposites, and they are sort of in a state of cold war with each other because they stand at opposite ends of the spectrum. Magic versus science. Academy City versus the Catholic Church. This presents a sort of tension that is only just building within this first volume, and will hopefully become a major story plot later on.
And, of course, you can't mention something like a Japanese light novel without talking about the artwork. While American novels and other works of fiction disdain from in-book illustrations in this day and age, light novels do not, and the artwork found within is always a pleasure to see, like a pirate coming across hidden booty amongst the hundreds of gems in his treasure chest. The art in this book is quite lovely, and I really enjoy seeing some of the more intriguing scenes depicted in illustrations and not just words. It also satisfies my manga fanboy side, so that's good, too.
I am actually really glad this is the first book of a 24 volume series because it means I get to read even more of this as each volume comes out.
September 25, 2017
It was alright, but I feel like random things just kept happening to the main character that I didn't understand or that wasn't explained. Things just felt cut off.
I'm quite interested in the Church of Necessary Evils plot so I might read the next one or just watch the anime to speed things up a bit. Other than that, I hope the events are explained a little bit more because the character art is good, and I have a sense of their attitudes, but I hope the plot doesn't let them down.
I'm quite interested in the Church of Necessary Evils plot so I might read the next one or just watch the anime to speed things up a bit. Other than that, I hope the events are explained a little bit more because the character art is good, and I have a sense of their attitudes, but I hope the plot doesn't let them down.
April 20, 2023
Damn I forgot how good it was. The world building and the magic system is pretty great. The plot twist really amazing too. Some stuff serious in the first read was so hilarious when you reread it but it fits the setting pretty well (like people in magic side didn't understand how memory work). And I love how the mc save the one he wants but still have to pay a great cost.
Overall this is a really great first book.
Overall this is a really great first book.
Want to read
March 31, 2014Do Not Finish at page 42. I'm so done.
March 19, 2025
It has been a while since I read this, or the manga, or saw the 1st season anime. Whichever I was, I didn’t remember much about the story.
This is the first volume in a very long light novel series.
This came out in translation about 10 years ago. There were 25! Volumes in the original series and 2 sequel series after that. The LN series were huge hits and there were 3 anime series and a movie based upon them.
Read for the GR Japanese Light Novel Book Club: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1
Kazuma Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura
Translation by Andrew Prowse and Yoshito Hinton
This is the first volume in a very long light novel series.
This came out in translation about 10 years ago. There were 25! Volumes in the original series and 2 sequel series after that. The LN series were huge hits and there were 3 anime series and a movie based upon them.
Read for the GR Japanese Light Novel Book Club: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1
Kazuma Kamachi and Kiyotaka Haimura
Translation by Andrew Prowse and Yoshito Hinton
May 25, 2022
If only American novels would follow suit and add illustrations to the nude scenes.
January 1, 2018
The short review:
In short, if you're looking for a book set in the near which excellently balances action with a bit of slice of life and romance and a well thought out story that stands out against previous reads, then this book is most certainly for you.
The longer, more detailed review:
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1 takes place in near future Japan and revolves around first-year high school student Touma Kamijou, a girl named Index and representatives from an organization who are sent to track her down. At first glance, this may appear as just another novel and if I hadn't seen the anime A Certain Scientific Railgun first I likely wouldn't have picked up this book. However, that series drew me to this book thanks to its fast pace and how well its story was done. A Certain Magical Index, the series of which A Certain Scientific Index is a side story/spin-off, is similar to its side story series in that it keeps up an excellent pace while not sacrificing details along the way. Furthermore, while I have not yet watched the anime for A Certain Magical Index, the author makes it easy to visualize what is happening in the story. It's a combination of these factors that make A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1 an excellent book to read.
A major factor when considering whether this book is worth reading or not is factoring in whether or not you're okay with magic occurring in a Sci-Fi setting. Without even opening the book, these two seemingly don't go together, as Sci-Fi often relies heavily on technology and science. However, without spoiling anything, the way in which magic works in this book actually makes Sci-Fi and magic look like ying and yang. This is in the sense that one cannot exist without the other, but both can exist together in harmony. To understand this further, you'll have to read the book.
So, if you're looking for a book set in the near which excellently balances action with a bit of slice of life and romance and a well thought out story that stands out against previous reads, then this book is most certainly for you.
In short, if you're looking for a book set in the near which excellently balances action with a bit of slice of life and romance and a well thought out story that stands out against previous reads, then this book is most certainly for you.
The longer, more detailed review:
A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1 takes place in near future Japan and revolves around first-year high school student Touma Kamijou, a girl named Index and representatives from an organization who are sent to track her down. At first glance, this may appear as just another novel and if I hadn't seen the anime A Certain Scientific Railgun first I likely wouldn't have picked up this book. However, that series drew me to this book thanks to its fast pace and how well its story was done. A Certain Magical Index, the series of which A Certain Scientific Index is a side story/spin-off, is similar to its side story series in that it keeps up an excellent pace while not sacrificing details along the way. Furthermore, while I have not yet watched the anime for A Certain Magical Index, the author makes it easy to visualize what is happening in the story. It's a combination of these factors that make A Certain Magical Index, Vol. 1 an excellent book to read.
A major factor when considering whether this book is worth reading or not is factoring in whether or not you're okay with magic occurring in a Sci-Fi setting. Without even opening the book, these two seemingly don't go together, as Sci-Fi often relies heavily on technology and science. However, without spoiling anything, the way in which magic works in this book actually makes Sci-Fi and magic look like ying and yang. This is in the sense that one cannot exist without the other, but both can exist together in harmony. To understand this further, you'll have to read the book.
So, if you're looking for a book set in the near which excellently balances action with a bit of slice of life and romance and a well thought out story that stands out against previous reads, then this book is most certainly for you.
February 6, 2015
I am obligated by the giveaway FTC rules (or whatever) to say I got this book, free of charge, courtesy of Goodread First Reads. Now with that out of the way, let's get on to the review.
I'll be up front, I can't tell if it's because this is the first book in the series, bad translation from Japanese to English, or whatever. But this book in certain parts really fell flat. The plot was actually decent. Not to mention, the main character himself isn't a complete douche, and hasn't already fallen 100% in love with any of the main characters (yet). Also he turns out to be actually strategic in his thinking (especially at the end because ouch it was bitterfuckingsweet).
But the way the worldbuilding and how characters developed? It was just given directly, instead of showing it to us. Which is the main problem in a lot of currently written light novels. I honestly fell asleep, struggling through the first half of the book. It wasn't until Touma (the main character) showed just how quick he was on his feet that it got interesting.
The list of complaints can honestly go on (especially with the fact that the author kept on bringing up Touma's "Imagine Breaker" far too many times that it got annoying), but honestly the plot is where it's at. The delicate balance of magic and science is written well, and the side characters is where most of my interest in this series is going into.
So when the next book is released in English, I might get it. Who knows.
Rating: 2.5
I'll be up front, I can't tell if it's because this is the first book in the series, bad translation from Japanese to English, or whatever. But this book in certain parts really fell flat. The plot was actually decent. Not to mention, the main character himself isn't a complete douche, and hasn't already fallen 100% in love with any of the main characters (yet). Also he turns out to be actually strategic in his thinking (especially at the end because ouch it was bitterfuckingsweet).
But the way the worldbuilding and how characters developed? It was just given directly, instead of showing it to us. Which is the main problem in a lot of currently written light novels. I honestly fell asleep, struggling through the first half of the book. It wasn't until Touma (the main character) showed just how quick he was on his feet that it got interesting.
The list of complaints can honestly go on (especially with the fact that the author kept on bringing up Touma's "Imagine Breaker" far too many times that it got annoying), but honestly the plot is where it's at. The delicate balance of magic and science is written well, and the side characters is where most of my interest in this series is going into.
So when the next book is released in English, I might get it. Who knows.
Rating: 2.5
September 19, 2023
I have a feeling a decent amount of it is from the translation, but the writing of this book is not good. Its amateurish and badly formatted.
But it’s got the world and concepts that made me love the show. Given the poor translation I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading through this series or just read the chapters that are missing from other adaptations like the Railgun manga.
But it’s got the world and concepts that made me love the show. Given the poor translation I’m not sure if I’ll continue reading through this series or just read the chapters that are missing from other adaptations like the Railgun manga.
October 2, 2021
One of those books where they never quite tell you what’s going on. I don’t find that intriguing, I find it annoying. The characters were very shallow, as well. They just seemed to react in whatever way was necessary to move the plot along.
February 13, 2024
Muy bueno pero se nota lo cliché que puede llegar a ser cualquier historia Novela Japonesa
October 26, 2024
Certain magical index is a title i've heard about for a long time and just never got around to watching/reading. so i decided to finally give it a try. and....yeah it's not bad.
Essentially MC has a hand that cancels out all magic/esp abilities in this world with magic and scientific ESP abilities living side by side. meets this girl named index who has 103,000 magical books in her head and sorcerers are after her for that knowledge.
All in all, it's not a bad story. Main character has some fun quirks and is not an insufferable gary stu since literally his cancellation right hand is all he has. if someone were to say stab him or shoot him with actual real weapons he would just die.
Index in herself is cute, if not a little generic and the two "Villains" can be frustrating but at the very least are interesting.
I will say there's a bit of info/lore dump in the beginning and they give you a LOT of information about the world. How magic works, how scientific esp people work,etc, so that can definitely get a little dull and you can find yourself zoning out a little if you're not careful.
MC definitely has some stereotypical hero stuff going on. You know, the whole, never giving up on someone, standing up after he's gotten his face beat in and people being shocked he's able to do so, you know, the usual. But that's forgivable considering this is actually a pretty old light novel (around 2003-2004 i think) which is another reason why the art isn't that great. There's quite a few illustrations sprinkled through this one as they're not stingy with the art, but the scenes they chose to use as well as the art itself can definitely lend things to be desired. it's not BAD art it's just....very very rough.
All things considered though, i had fun with this light novel and am interested to see where the story goes and am picking up volume 2. So that says something at least.
3.5 out of 5 rounded down to a 3.
Essentially MC has a hand that cancels out all magic/esp abilities in this world with magic and scientific ESP abilities living side by side. meets this girl named index who has 103,000 magical books in her head and sorcerers are after her for that knowledge.
All in all, it's not a bad story. Main character has some fun quirks and is not an insufferable gary stu since literally his cancellation right hand is all he has. if someone were to say stab him or shoot him with actual real weapons he would just die.
Index in herself is cute, if not a little generic and the two "Villains" can be frustrating but at the very least are interesting.
I will say there's a bit of info/lore dump in the beginning and they give you a LOT of information about the world. How magic works, how scientific esp people work,etc, so that can definitely get a little dull and you can find yourself zoning out a little if you're not careful.
MC definitely has some stereotypical hero stuff going on. You know, the whole, never giving up on someone, standing up after he's gotten his face beat in and people being shocked he's able to do so, you know, the usual. But that's forgivable considering this is actually a pretty old light novel (around 2003-2004 i think) which is another reason why the art isn't that great. There's quite a few illustrations sprinkled through this one as they're not stingy with the art, but the scenes they chose to use as well as the art itself can definitely lend things to be desired. it's not BAD art it's just....very very rough.
All things considered though, i had fun with this light novel and am interested to see where the story goes and am picking up volume 2. So that says something at least.
3.5 out of 5 rounded down to a 3.
August 12, 2024
I used to split my reviews into three main sections: characters, story, and world-building. And while I slowly abandoned this style, it can be of great use here to talk about this book and what is does - and doesn't do - well.
The world-building in this Light Novel is top-notch. Kamaichi casually drops very thought-through pieces of world-building, scientific facts about his world and way in which science and magic can coexist in this world. I was very happy to finally read a Light Novel so jam-packed with lore and which felt as realistic as "Index".
The characters and story, however, fall very flat. The story especially can be summed up in a couple of words and there is not really much else happening besides it. If you read through the summary and think that there is so much else waiting for you over the course of the novel, you are wrong. There even is only a couple of set pieces in this novel, pretty much all of it taking place in or around the protagonist's tiny apartment. I really started out liking our main dude, but I slowly started resenting him. He is very selfish and self-righeous in what he wants and how he wants to achieve it; at one point during the finale, he gives a grand speech about not being a hero - and while in other LNs, there would be some switch for him to realize he is in fact a hero, this story just leaves his speech as is and depicts the protagonist as a childish person who does things just because he feels like it, ultimately depicting him as a very poorly executed anti-hero.
The world-building in this Light Novel is top-notch. Kamaichi casually drops very thought-through pieces of world-building, scientific facts about his world and way in which science and magic can coexist in this world. I was very happy to finally read a Light Novel so jam-packed with lore and which felt as realistic as "Index".
The characters and story, however, fall very flat. The story especially can be summed up in a couple of words and there is not really much else happening besides it. If you read through the summary and think that there is so much else waiting for you over the course of the novel, you are wrong. There even is only a couple of set pieces in this novel, pretty much all of it taking place in or around the protagonist's tiny apartment. I really started out liking our main dude, but I slowly started resenting him. He is very selfish and self-righeous in what he wants and how he wants to achieve it; at one point during the finale, he gives a grand speech about not being a hero - and while in other LNs, there would be some switch for him to realize he is in fact a hero, this story just leaves his speech as is and depicts the protagonist as a childish person who does things just because he feels like it, ultimately depicting him as a very poorly executed anti-hero.
May 7, 2018
About two thirds of the way through it got too heavy, convoluted and 'out there' for me and I skipped to the end. Not uncommon for me with edgy extreme reality variant stories. The, perhaps necessary, but to me, overly fluid world view; and more importantly the lack of consistent milieu and character rules pushes the story into an almost mythological or dream like state, where I lost engagement with the characters and the plot.
I find many writers fall into such traps(?) when they lose control or direction in their story. The causes can be many: the loss of author interest; the lack of an appropriate ending with deadlines looming; loss of context in translation; too much editorial interference or having to satisfy multiple masters in multiple story formats et al. The only way to navigate past such obstacles as all good CG/Action movie directors seem to have become aware is to emphasise the milieu rules, detail, realism and consistency, and to define characters and their story arcs with great care. These are the key story elements which stimulate our ability to suspend disbelief and remain engaged, particularly with such imaginative stories.
I still found the original general premises and characters interesting even though I didn't like elements of the story evolution. I still want to check out other formats of the story such as manga or anime to see whether personally more satisfying variations of the characters and plot have been produced.
I find many writers fall into such traps(?) when they lose control or direction in their story. The causes can be many: the loss of author interest; the lack of an appropriate ending with deadlines looming; loss of context in translation; too much editorial interference or having to satisfy multiple masters in multiple story formats et al. The only way to navigate past such obstacles as all good CG/Action movie directors seem to have become aware is to emphasise the milieu rules, detail, realism and consistency, and to define characters and their story arcs with great care. These are the key story elements which stimulate our ability to suspend disbelief and remain engaged, particularly with such imaginative stories.
I still found the original general premises and characters interesting even though I didn't like elements of the story evolution. I still want to check out other formats of the story such as manga or anime to see whether personally more satisfying variations of the characters and plot have been produced.
February 14, 2024
So, in 2013, I watched the Index and Railgun anime for the first time and became so fascinated by the show and it’s intricacies that I decided to slowly enter the world of the light novels to learn more about this fascinating world and lore. However, my introduction was a bit confusing and inconsistent. I picked up right where the Index II anime left off (OT12) and felt completely confused by the many different factions in Academy City (SCHOOL, ITEM, MEMBER, BLOCK, ...), which is why it took until NT for my reading experience to really take off. I never bothered to revisit the old volumes though. Now I finally want to do the series justice by reading the entire series in its chronological order, starting with OT1. In doing so, I just wanted to briefly summarise the thoughts I had while reading.
First of all, I'd like to say that even though this is the very first volume, the way it handles its exposition is extremely well done. It's spread out over several chapters of the story, and is generally integrated into either the fighting action or a slice-of-life activity that's going on in the background. It never feels like the action comes to a halt to dump exposition, which is how other volumes can sometimes feel, so this was a very welcome surprise. I also feel that the novel does an excellent job of introducing the world through the lens of Touma. It creates a wonderful synergy between the descriptions of the world and his inner thoughts about the mysteries of the world we're being introduced to. Basically, Touma takes on the role of the reader and formulates the questions that we, as readers, ask ourselves in order to construct and contextualise the lore of the world. In doing so, the novel takes its time to flesh out one element before introducing another, preventing the reader from feeling overwhelmed at any point.
One very positive aspect is the narrative, which has a certain bittersweet poetry to it. The entire conflict of OT1 revolves around the impending loss of Index's memory, and the drama it brings to everyone involved. So when Touma fights tooth and nail to prevent this from happening, and loses his own memory in the process, the reader immediately understands the magnitude of the situation and the incredibly tragic consequences it would have for him and all those connected to him. The bittersweet nature of the plot, however, comes not only from the fact that Touma suffers from the very thing he was trying to protect Index from – but also from the fact that he ends up doing exactly what he has been attacking Kanzaki and Stiyl for throughout the plot: namely, lying to Index. Although Touma succeeds in his quest to save Index, he also has to resort to lying in the end, because he understands that he must make the difficult choice between making her unhappy by telling the truth or preserving her joy of life by lying – and like Kanzaki and Stiyl, he chooses to lie for Index's sake. It is a beautiful and bitter climax that highlights all the moral complexity that Index's three friends have to suffer and all the difficult decisions they had to and have to make to assure her happiness.
I was also struck by how much of the world's lore was already established, at least in broad strokes, at this point of time. Normally, with such a large universe, you would think that many characters and concepts would only emerge over time, but characters like Shokuhou Misaki (a level 5 esper in Tokiwadai who can control minds) or later prequel arcs like the Level Upper were already hinted at, and the iconographic, historiographic, and geographical information about Academy City and how it works is already amazingly fleshed out. What I still don't like is the prologue. A lot of important information is repeated later in the story, the whole sequence seems unimportant to the rest of the plot, and unlike the lore, it seems as if Kamachi didn't have a clear idea of the direction he wanted to go with Mikoto Misaka – because while she can be very emotional and even condescending towards Touma, her disparaging comments about Level 0s and the casual use of her Railgun against people like Touma seems very inconsistent with the way she is portrayed later on. So my best rationalisation is that the prologue is a somewhat exaggerated perception of the situation by Touma. But outside of the prologue, the chapters flow very organically and tell a consistent and coherent story.
One thing I would like to point out is how cleverly the plot misleads the reader with Kanzaki's statement that Index only has 15% of her brain capacity available. This is, of course, completely unscientific, which I know as someone who studied educational psychology at university, especially since memories are not "stored" but constantly reproduced. So, at first, it seemed as if the light novel was not interested in providing a scientifically accurate explanation, but was using fantasy elements – with the big twist being that the very fact that the explanation was not scientific exposed the web of lies and thus made a resolution of the conflict possible. The light novel thus makes it clear that it is, of course, a fantasy series, but that it does not set arbitrary rules that fundamentally contradict our scientific knowledge, and even rewards readers who have some basic scientific knowledge and question some in-universe explanations certain biased characters provide.
How well this element works can be seen when Touma has Miss Komoe explain the neuroscientific differences between procedural, semantic and episodic memory. This is not only important for the eventual resolution of the conflict, but also gives the reader important information about Touma that will help in the later light novels to understand what exactly Touma's memory loss does and does not entail. The basic neuroscientific knowledge thus provides a dual narrative thrust, both for this volume and beyond, and is an excellent example of how exposition can be sensibly and thoughtfully incorporated.
All in all, I would say that this volume was a fantastic introduction to the series. It chooses its exposition carefully and weaves it organically into the plot, creates a cohesive, strong narrative that also sets the direction for all the light novels to come, and introduces the world and its characters with the necessary clarity and structure. These are at least my thoughts on OT1. I hope you enjoyed the analysis and have a nice day.
First of all, I'd like to say that even though this is the very first volume, the way it handles its exposition is extremely well done. It's spread out over several chapters of the story, and is generally integrated into either the fighting action or a slice-of-life activity that's going on in the background. It never feels like the action comes to a halt to dump exposition, which is how other volumes can sometimes feel, so this was a very welcome surprise. I also feel that the novel does an excellent job of introducing the world through the lens of Touma. It creates a wonderful synergy between the descriptions of the world and his inner thoughts about the mysteries of the world we're being introduced to. Basically, Touma takes on the role of the reader and formulates the questions that we, as readers, ask ourselves in order to construct and contextualise the lore of the world. In doing so, the novel takes its time to flesh out one element before introducing another, preventing the reader from feeling overwhelmed at any point.
One very positive aspect is the narrative, which has a certain bittersweet poetry to it. The entire conflict of OT1 revolves around the impending loss of Index's memory, and the drama it brings to everyone involved. So when Touma fights tooth and nail to prevent this from happening, and loses his own memory in the process, the reader immediately understands the magnitude of the situation and the incredibly tragic consequences it would have for him and all those connected to him. The bittersweet nature of the plot, however, comes not only from the fact that Touma suffers from the very thing he was trying to protect Index from – but also from the fact that he ends up doing exactly what he has been attacking Kanzaki and Stiyl for throughout the plot: namely, lying to Index. Although Touma succeeds in his quest to save Index, he also has to resort to lying in the end, because he understands that he must make the difficult choice between making her unhappy by telling the truth or preserving her joy of life by lying – and like Kanzaki and Stiyl, he chooses to lie for Index's sake. It is a beautiful and bitter climax that highlights all the moral complexity that Index's three friends have to suffer and all the difficult decisions they had to and have to make to assure her happiness.
I was also struck by how much of the world's lore was already established, at least in broad strokes, at this point of time. Normally, with such a large universe, you would think that many characters and concepts would only emerge over time, but characters like Shokuhou Misaki (a level 5 esper in Tokiwadai who can control minds) or later prequel arcs like the Level Upper were already hinted at, and the iconographic, historiographic, and geographical information about Academy City and how it works is already amazingly fleshed out. What I still don't like is the prologue. A lot of important information is repeated later in the story, the whole sequence seems unimportant to the rest of the plot, and unlike the lore, it seems as if Kamachi didn't have a clear idea of the direction he wanted to go with Mikoto Misaka – because while she can be very emotional and even condescending towards Touma, her disparaging comments about Level 0s and the casual use of her Railgun against people like Touma seems very inconsistent with the way she is portrayed later on. So my best rationalisation is that the prologue is a somewhat exaggerated perception of the situation by Touma. But outside of the prologue, the chapters flow very organically and tell a consistent and coherent story.
One thing I would like to point out is how cleverly the plot misleads the reader with Kanzaki's statement that Index only has 15% of her brain capacity available. This is, of course, completely unscientific, which I know as someone who studied educational psychology at university, especially since memories are not "stored" but constantly reproduced. So, at first, it seemed as if the light novel was not interested in providing a scientifically accurate explanation, but was using fantasy elements – with the big twist being that the very fact that the explanation was not scientific exposed the web of lies and thus made a resolution of the conflict possible. The light novel thus makes it clear that it is, of course, a fantasy series, but that it does not set arbitrary rules that fundamentally contradict our scientific knowledge, and even rewards readers who have some basic scientific knowledge and question some in-universe explanations certain biased characters provide.
How well this element works can be seen when Touma has Miss Komoe explain the neuroscientific differences between procedural, semantic and episodic memory. This is not only important for the eventual resolution of the conflict, but also gives the reader important information about Touma that will help in the later light novels to understand what exactly Touma's memory loss does and does not entail. The basic neuroscientific knowledge thus provides a dual narrative thrust, both for this volume and beyond, and is an excellent example of how exposition can be sensibly and thoughtfully incorporated.
All in all, I would say that this volume was a fantastic introduction to the series. It chooses its exposition carefully and weaves it organically into the plot, creates a cohesive, strong narrative that also sets the direction for all the light novels to come, and introduces the world and its characters with the necessary clarity and structure. These are at least my thoughts on OT1. I hope you enjoyed the analysis and have a nice day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2019
After watching the S3 anime and thinking it was too rushed to really understand anything properly, I decided to pick up the novels. I've forgotten a lot of things so it's like a nice rehash even though I do still get surprised and interested by things I should remember lol. I'm still not a fan of Index and I'm not sure how her relationship dynamic really works as romance between Touma when imo I couldn't really feel their connection of "love" at all. I did feel his strong desire to protect her because of everything she had gone through alone - being hunted by magicians and thinking she has no allies. So, him having a soft spot for her is justified, and him doing everything he can to protect her smile, even to the point of pretending that his memories weren't destroyed and that he could remember her and everything about his life when he really doesn't. The first volume isn't the most interesting since I feel like it just highlights the basis of Touma and Index's relationship and some basic stuff about Academy City and some magic stuff. But I think it'd be interesting to follow this
Touma that is starting from a blank slate of memories as he faces this world - just like the reader~
Touma that is starting from a blank slate of memories as he faces this world - just like the reader~
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2019
This is actually my 2nd rereading of this venerable series, can't believe it's been 15 years since it came out. The first book of the venerable Index series is definitely showing some signs of its age but overall it has stood up well enough.
Plot-wise, it's hard to have seen how far this series has gone to from this volume's content, revolving around the infamous Kamijou Touma with his most meta of powers. You have to admit that Kazuma Kamachi probably wasn't planning this series to last over 15 years, given the realities of the time this was published, but he definitely laid a decent foundation in this book.
Still, there is a charm in Touma's earnestness, harking back on the trend of mostly helpless protagonists with one overpowered strength that he uses to seize the day. As much of the book is really filled with exposition and setup, the main flaw here still remains the shallow characterization of the leads mostly due to the frantic pace of events.
Nevertheless, this humble beginning to one of Japan's longest running light novel series still is a good read, even after the 3rd time.
Plot-wise, it's hard to have seen how far this series has gone to from this volume's content, revolving around the infamous Kamijou Touma with his most meta of powers. You have to admit that Kazuma Kamachi probably wasn't planning this series to last over 15 years, given the realities of the time this was published, but he definitely laid a decent foundation in this book.
Still, there is a charm in Touma's earnestness, harking back on the trend of mostly helpless protagonists with one overpowered strength that he uses to seize the day. As much of the book is really filled with exposition and setup, the main flaw here still remains the shallow characterization of the leads mostly due to the frantic pace of events.
Nevertheless, this humble beginning to one of Japan's longest running light novel series still is a good read, even after the 3rd time.
February 3, 2025
This one is a tough one to breakdown without some context.
I think the narration feels weird:
Part with part of it being the translation.
Part that the author was still young and polishing his style.
Part of it being that this was intended to be always part of a major overarching series. Yet it was written to be a standalone novel in case it didn't do great sales-wise.
I personally did not feel that off with the narration, but thinking about this volume in isolation, many things do feel awkward and unnecessary. But having read the 24 volumes that constitutes the "Old Testament" of this series, it is amazing how many things Kamachi had already in mind when establishing the beginning of the series.
Perhaps I am simple minded, perhaps I am overlooking the narration, but I've got to say that in terms of world-building, this series has completely hooked me in. In the West this might have mixed reviews and I do not completely disagree with the takes of other reviews here, but after the 5 Volumes, I can see why this became so popular in Japan, so if you like anime-Shounen vibes, I highly suggest picking up this series.
I think the narration feels weird:
Part with part of it being the translation.
Part that the author was still young and polishing his style.
Part of it being that this was intended to be always part of a major overarching series. Yet it was written to be a standalone novel in case it didn't do great sales-wise.
I personally did not feel that off with the narration, but thinking about this volume in isolation, many things do feel awkward and unnecessary. But having read the 24 volumes that constitutes the "Old Testament" of this series, it is amazing how many things Kamachi had already in mind when establishing the beginning of the series.
Perhaps I am simple minded, perhaps I am overlooking the narration, but I've got to say that in terms of world-building, this series has completely hooked me in. In the West this might have mixed reviews and I do not completely disagree with the takes of other reviews here, but after the 5 Volumes, I can see why this became so popular in Japan, so if you like anime-Shounen vibes, I highly suggest picking up this series.
February 10, 2025
This volume's narrative structure presents a significant issue with coherence. The sequence of events often feels arbitrary and lacks sufficient explanation, leaving the reader with a sense of disjointedness. Plot threads are introduced and then abruptly discontinued, hindering a full understanding of the narrative's progression.
While the "Church of Necessary Evils" storyline remains intriguing, the aforementioned structural problems detract from the overall reading experience. The decision to continue the series, either through subsequent volumes or the anime adaptation, will depend on whether the desire for plot resolution outweighs the frustration caused by the current volume's narrative shortcomings. Although the character designs and personalities are effectively conveyed, the plot's lack of clarity threatens to undermine the potential of these elements. A rating of 3 out of 5 reflects the volume's uneven quality.
While the "Church of Necessary Evils" storyline remains intriguing, the aforementioned structural problems detract from the overall reading experience. The decision to continue the series, either through subsequent volumes or the anime adaptation, will depend on whether the desire for plot resolution outweighs the frustration caused by the current volume's narrative shortcomings. Although the character designs and personalities are effectively conveyed, the plot's lack of clarity threatens to undermine the potential of these elements. A rating of 3 out of 5 reflects the volume's uneven quality.
July 13, 2019
Przeczytałam i mnie nie... powaliło. Powiem tak, samo anime mnie nie porwało, nie jestem fanką serii, choć doceniam klimat i pomysłowość autora, który stworzył coś więcej niż kolejną serię light novel. To marka. Marka, która cieszy się popularnością, ale ja w nią nie weszłam. Była średnia, naprawdę średnia. Bardzo przegadana i naciągana. Chłopak po raz pierwszy w życiu spotyka dziewczynę i już jest gotowy dla niej zrobić wszystko. Przeciwnicy, zamiast po prostu zabić/pokonać naszego głównego bohatera, na spokojnie sobie z nim konwersują. wiem, to japoński twór itd, ale mimo wszystko czułam zgrzyty i o ile pierwszą połowę czytało mi się świetnie, tak z drugą mocno się męczyłam :(
Read
February 1, 2020A boy called Touma Kamijou, whose right hand has the ability to nullify all abnormal powers, wakes one morning to find a girl called Index draped over the railing of his balcony. She is the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, retaining 103,000 forbidden books of magic in her eidetic memory, and she is being chased by two sorcerers who desire those books. Or so it appears.
Not bad, but it has the light novel style quite strongly.
This review is also available on Barba Non DB.
Not bad, but it has the light novel style quite strongly.
This review is also available on Barba Non DB.
February 21, 2025
Pretty good overall. I used to love the series to going back and reading the book was fun. I thought the story has good progression it’s a lot of fun to constantly learn about science and magic, way more than in the show, and the concept of the two meeting in the first place is genuine. Of course there’s a lot of bad anime stuff but the relationship between Touma and index was really good especially by the end. The action was pretty meh but the illusion breaker ability is awesome, as is other magic stuff. So Good overall.
January 31, 2021
Wonderful introduction to the series, it has great characterisation for Touma and some hardhitting emotional moments towards the end. The world building is amazing, and the volume as a whole sets the standard for the entire series, with well structured plotlines and wonderful blends of both sci-fi and fantasy.
May 18, 2024
One of the greatest novels you'll find. It might take some time to digest and fully grasp, but trust me, it's absolutely worth it. And if you enjoyed this one, make sure not to skip the sequel – it's even bigger and better! It's hard to recommend without watching the ANIME adaptation especially in the correct order. But if you're one of the few then you should give it a try.
August 13, 2024
An interesting read… yet.,,,some of the ‘scientific’ concepts were lost to me. (Probably because I’m not a science person)
The fight scenes were good and intriguing; however the ending made me scratch my head. I think I understood it?
Anyways, a quick read for anyone looking to try a new series.
The fight scenes were good and intriguing; however the ending made me scratch my head. I think I understood it?
Anyways, a quick read for anyone looking to try a new series.
September 3, 2025
A cinematic pace, fun action, and the best urban magi-fantasy setting that doesn't exceed into self indulgent lore dumps but rather plays with the esoteric/scientific expectations of the reader. You can see the traces of the setting and characters even in current day media. Speaking of the characters, the (teenage) girls are sexy and cute.
October 18, 2021
Personally 2.5
Technically 1.5
I really struggled with this, and I've read quite a bit of manga.
I found this complicated and not well explained. I was often confused of what our main character was doing or even talking about.
Do not plan to continue.
Technically 1.5
I really struggled with this, and I've read quite a bit of manga.
I found this complicated and not well explained. I was often confused of what our main character was doing or even talking about.
Do not plan to continue.
July 26, 2025
Rocky start to a series I liked when I was a kid. There are genuinely good moments here and there, especially at the end, but it's rough throughout. Not to mention the uncomfortable fanservice moment at the beginning.
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