OVERPOWERED99
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Once again, the Index series continues on with its story between the two great divisions of mankind:
religion and science. Bringing the old and the new together, the second season expands its world of
supernatural powers with greater proximity. There are indicators of something huge brewing right
around the corner but quite frustratingly, the ever-present narrative issues are still there to dent
the story's full potential.
Compared to its predecessor, the second season follows more or less the same formulaic method as the
first season, except now, we have some hints to a bigger story. Having a core that holds each arc
together gives everything one more level of significance. After all, this is a world where religion
and science coexist with one another. It's definitely a story idea full of potential.
But like I've said already, a couple of negative factors sadly bog down the story. The biggest
perpetrator is the mishandled pacing that felt too fast here and there. Especially for a complex world
like the Index series, a rushed pacing will not bode well at all because it's synonymous to a
jumbled-up story. And when you have a jumbled-up story, you will have an awkward time trying to
process the many information, interactions, and fights that are present here.
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So, how about the concepts of the story? Well, it's clear that there are more substantial movements
going on in the religion side with various Christian sects such as the antagonistic Roman Catholic
Church making their move. Touma, along with his mysterious right hand and other existing and new
characters, must prevent their hostility from affecting the fragile balance of the world. In terms of
the characters, the antagonists make up a pretty poor group of people driven by weak reasonings. When
combined with their little screen time, they aren't that impactful to the story. They can be
entertaining, but you will only reach the bedrock if you want to dig deep for any three-dimensional
qualities. Character development is still not a very important factor for this series and as for the
unlucky Touma, while he has his tendency to just shout idealistic lines and punch faces, his generic
aspects serve as a good dichotomy against the diverse religious and scientific workings, like a litmus
paper that functions under different conditions.
The last few episodes, thankfully, brings this season off to a solid conclusion with the focus on the
Dark Side of Academy City along with some huge conflicts looming between the religion and the science
side. Accelerator, the strongest esper who is also the face of Academy City's darkest secrets, gets
more anti-heroic attention here and is put into a parallel comparison with Touma, highlighting their
similarities and differences. This neatly ties in with the multifaceted viewpoints of the Index series
and is definitely the strongest dynamic for this season.
Another good factor I enjoyed, albeit in the lighthearted zone, is the slices-of-life, usually
constituting verbal dialogues that are clever in their humor. There are not as many of these compared
to the first season, but they dampen up the inharmonious main story when they do appear. Basically a
nice breath of air every once in a while, though the fan service ones are still not that tasteful.
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Artistically speaking, the visual is now cleaner with better line work and this results in an
environment that is pretty much more polished in all aspects. Particularly, the backgrounds deserve a
shout out just because of the high-quality glints that emit through the screen. A lot of the blue
vibrancy in the backdrops brings out the magical and supernatural tone of this show, so it's
definitely a cool complementary effect. As for the animation, it tends to be inconsistent but once the
final climax of the fight comes in and Touma grips that right fist of his, the animation is amplified
to noticeable levels. You might get a kick out of seeing all the close-ranged shots of faces getting
punched to oblivion. I sure as hell did.
Then we finally have the improved line-up of soundtracks. Of course, the upbeat electronic music with
fast beats per minute is still there to pump up the fight scenes but there's a distinguishable
presence of angelic soundtracks as well that really fits the religious theme. The diverse range of
voice actors further contributes to the entertaining factor and especially for the antagonists, the
expression of various personalities is the definition of eargasmic. Mami Kawada also knows how to sing
cool opening songs while the second ending theme has a gentle melody that is a treat to listen to.
All in all, the second season of the Index series is a passable continuation. The anime suffers the
most from a rushed pacing which left out quite a bit of relevant information from the light novels,
affecting how the characters are treated and decreasing the enjoyment value. But religion and science
have finally collided with each other this season. What happens next will certainly be bigger than
anything we've seen so far.
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