Mar 28 2010 02:36 PM WOW! What a way to end the series. Railgun really blew me away in that last episode and I'm very satisfied with the way they ended it, especially since I have felt that way in a long time. Truly one of the best shows from Fall 2009 and really sad to see it go. It is unfortunate that J.C. Staff gave no hints of a second season at the end of the show, but hopefully there will be one if there's a continuation of Index and once more manga material is published.
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun's story is almost flawless. The ability to tie everything together in a full circle is what impressed me the most. Basically, although it seemed like they were done with an arc, the next arc builds on the previous one to produce an even more compelling tale. There were a few down moments where an episode felt more like filler but I'm really glad everything made sense in the end and weren't just thrown in for the heck of it. This is a great example of a solid piece of storywriting and I truly enjoyed watching it.
As for art and animation, this is probably the best I've seen from J.C. Staff since Shana in 2007, especially the last episode where they made the episode look like that even 720p wasn't even enough to air the episode. Although still incomparable to the likes of Kyoto Animation, Satelight, SHAFT, and A-1 Pictures, this project is truly a strong achievement for them.
Music and sound, no one can really complain. This show had a very good soundtrack coupled with outstanding OP and ED by fripside and ELISA. All songs were very memorable and probably the best I've heard in the last couple seasons (aside from Asura Cryin' 2 OP). It was a bit disappointing that they didn't include ELISA's "Real Force" in the final episode considering they included all the others, and especially because I like "Real Force" much more than "Dear My Friends." The cast for this show was quite good for the most part, though I can't really say much since at least half were from the parent story: To Aru Majutsu no Index.
Character development: My lord, this show had so many characters and the fact that they were able to give most of them a half to a full episode of development amazes me. Very few shows are capable of doing this without going off a boring tangent that ultimately plays no role in a future plot line. Railgun on the other hand is not only capable of producing an interesting back story for even the minor characters, but also tie them in into the significant parts of the story and play decent major roles.
Enjoyment: Given the poor series this past season, Railgun stood out like no other. I had originally began watching Railgun mostly for the yuri/shoujo-ai factor, but that aspect was so minimal that it essentially disappeared by the end of the series. In addition I was not entirely optimistic after seeing Index, but Railgun definitely stands far above its parent story now. Although not a masterpiece in anime history I definitely had looked forward to each new episode despite the up and down episodes.
Overall: Railgun's rewatch value is pretty high and yet pretty low at the same time. The second time watching would probably allow one to spot foreshadowing they never saw before, but the surprises would also all disappear along with it. Railgun's story seems convoluted at first but is in fact very much linear; it's just told in a very elaborate fashion. Nevertheless, that shouldn't deter one from watching Railgun since it is definitely worth the time and what's better is you don't even need to watch the parent story to understand anything! (except that one scene where Touma no longer remembers Misaka due to losing his memory).
Railgun will truly be missed (for now), and hopefully J.C. Staff makes the intelligent move of making a new season. This show simply deserves a solid
9/10 after that last episode.
Ironically, for those wondering, J.C. Staff's next project is a yaoi/shounen-ai one...kinda in contrast with Railgun which people expected to be yuri/shoujo-ai.
