To aru majutsu no indekkusu

The early episodes are often light and fun and surprisingly mixed in from time to time there are fantastic moments with depth and feeling which help define the characters and help balance the silliness, overall the first two seasons are very solid.

The 3rd season however seemed to lose focus and suffered as a result, and its the first time I've considered picking up the manga's/light novels as fan base reports that arc wasn't done justice.

Overladen with fan service and magic and techno-babble, the series had promise but the people who write it aren't actually trying to tell a good comprehensive story. Railgun is better.

The first three episodes felt a bit slow, confusing and hard to get. Still I thought it might be too soon to judge so after watching the first season ,I felt this to be a waste of time. The main hero randomly saves random girls and mostly that is all to it with some complicated names and factions, powers,etc. The thing is it could be enjoyed if not for the unnecessary erry music all the time and the flow of the anime sucks. In a manner it is slow and boring.

It was the first anime series for a long time, which I gave up in half of the season. Unconvicing, lack of main thread, made of mismatched elements. It wasn't wasted time, but there are much better series.

This series begins with a very funny episode #1. I wish it continued this way, as it would have become a classic comedy. Never the less, the series does have some bits of comedy mixed in throughout the series. I give Season 1 a high rating, but the remainder of the series is not as good. After season 1, the story is overly ambitious, it seems to meander, and they emphasize too much fan service, and too much blood and gore.

This is mainly about science fiction, philosophy, politics and religion. There is lots of action. There are some interesting ideas and discussions about science versus magic, geopolitics, and personal values. The character development and pursuit of redemption are strong elements in the story.

There is an overabundance of boobs and panties, which I think detracts from the story, and may offend some viewers. I know "fan service" is common in anime, yet it seems to be excessive here. It seems like they show someone spouting blood and falling down, then they are rewarded with a look up a girl's skirt at her panties before they die.

There are many dramatic battles, but the extreme violence, dead bodies, blood and severed limbs detract from the story. If a university had such a high death rate, I can't imagine any parents allowing their children to go to school there! These negatives definitely reduced my rating of the series. Watch "A Certain Scientific Railgun" as a fine spin-off series that does not lose its way.