Toaru Majutsu no Index (とある魔術の禁書目録（インデックス） Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu)A Certain Magical Index of Prohibited Books and shortened to A Certain Magical Index, is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura;the series is published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The series was made into a manga, beginning serialization in May 2007, and a 24-episode anime which aired between October 2008 and March 2009. A second season of the anime was announced and began airing in Japan on October 8, 2010. A side story manga series, A Certain Scientific Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲（レールガン） Toaru Kagaku no Rērugan), began serialization in March 2007 and was later adapted into a 24-episode anime, which aired from October 2009 to March 2010 in Japan. An original video animation episode of Railgun was released on October 29, 2010. Funimation Entertainment has licensed the first anime season of Index and Railgun. Seven Seas Entertainment will begin releasing the Railgun manga in June 2011.
Terminology
- Espers/Power Users (超能力者 Chōnōryokusha)
Also known as psychics or espers, they are people who can use psychic powers or supernatural powers. Very few power users are born with supernatural powers while most are ordinary people who have the potential to develop them; participating in Academy City's Power Curriculum Program is one means of developing psychic powers for ordinary people with potential. Most power users are able to use their powers just by thinking. They are able to use magic, but due to their natural powers, they suffer extreme damage to their body if they do so.
- Magicians/Magic Users (魔術師 Majutsushi)
- Magic was created by people who wanted to have powers just like their psychic counterparts. Although magic was designed so that most ordinary people can learn and use it, regardless of what type of magic it is, people with psychic powers are unable to use it without suffering severe injury. Likewise, magicians cannot use psychic powers without grievous harm. Once a path is chosen, one is stuck on it. European sorcerers have a magical name, which is a combination of Latin and a numerical code which serves as a power limiter as saying their magical name to their opponents will unlock their full powers.
- Grimoire (魔道書 Madōsho)
- A grimoire is a book containing knowledge about magic that is harmful even to those that are trained to handle them. The knowledge is "poisonous" in the sense that it is too "pure" for the human mind to handle and must be "watered down"—i.e. written in such a way that many of its meanings are obscured—in order for people to be able to read it without their minds being destroyed. Even then, it can severely damage a person's mind if not properly handled. Grimoires often contain powerful spells or magic and can be very dangerous. Many Christian magic organizations like Necessarius were set up to prevent grimoires from spreading in the first place.
- A grimoire is practically "eternal" in the sense that it cannot be destroyed with current human methods, and can only be sealed away. It absorbs natural mana from the Earth itself, in addition to the minuscule mana magicians release unconsciously, to keep functioning. According to Orsola Aquinas, the only theoretically known way to destroy a grimoire is to write data that will force it to destroy itself into it, though Imagine Breaker may have the ability to destroy them.
- A grimoire also has a "mind" of its own, seeking out suitable owners that can spread its knowledge and improving itself by letting its owners add more knowledge into the grimoire. If the grimoire judges its current owner to be unsuitable, it will kill him/her and seek out the next one. A grimoire doesn't have to be in the shape of a book- for example, Aztec grimoires are written on animal skins and stone tablets, and Oriana Thomson's grimoires are written on disposable flashcards, which allows her to use many different kinds of magic, with the drawbacks that it cannot cast the same spell twice and its instability makes it destroy itself after a few weeks.
- Only those able to handle a high number of grimoires have the potential to become Gods of Magic (魔界の神 Makai no Kami, Gods of the Demon Realm), whose magical power has reached the level of divinity and can bend all natural laws. So far, only two powerful magicians—Index and Ollerus—have shown such a level of talent.
- Power Curriculum Program
- The Academy's City Power Curriculum Program is a large-scale program designed to advance a person's psychic or supernatural powers. The program is a series of tests, studies, lectures, medicines, body simulations and hypnosis used to unlock a person's powers. Most students are Level 0, normal people with no powers, but may have the potential to develop powers and are encouraged to participate in the program to help them train or acquire their powers artificially. While most students fail the program as they never had powers to begin with or failed to increase their power, some are able to advance theirs powers from Level 0 to Level 1 and possibly further. One of the program's success stories is Mikoto Misaka, as she started from Level 1 and worked her way up to Level 5; she is a proof that with enough hard work and determination, anyone can become a powerful psychic.
- However, unknown to the public there is a dark side to this program. Some of the scientists who research psychic powers try to increase a person's powers—especially those with unique powers—using other unethical methods, including dangerous drugs and experiments. Some of these methods achieve their desired results, while others fail with trauma or injury to the participant or, in the worst cases, death. In fact, some of the most powerful psychics in Academy City are the result of these dark programs. It is revealed that the board of directors of the city are aware of these experiments, but choose to turn a blind eye to them, and in some cases even officially approve them as they allow those scientists to do what they want to do as long as the public does not know and it has achieved its desired result.
- Psychic Rank
- Every psychic has a rank that determines how powerful their powers are and how much they can control it. There are six levels, with level 0 being the lowest for no powers or having passive powers with no control over them. Those at level 1 have realized what their powers are and are learning how to control them, despite using a small amount of power. The users train to use their powers more under the Power Curriculum Program, and their level ranks can increase based on how much their control and use of their powers have progressed. There are no known level 6 psychics as according to the Super Computer Tree Diagram, it would take about 200 years for someone to achieve it under the Power Curriculum Program. As a result, Level 5 is currently the highest level. There are seven known level 5 psychics, but only six have been disclosed in the series so far.
- SYSTEM (システム Shisutemu)
- The ultimate goal of Academy City's research. It is the code name for "The one who Arrives at the Meaning of God while in the Body of a Mortal" (神ならぬ身にて天上の意思に辿り着くもの Kami Naranu Mi nite Tenjō no Ishi ni Tadoritsuku Mono). It was mentioned by Komoe Tsukuyomi in volume 3 of the light novels while explaining what the esper development program was to Index and Aisa Himegami. As a normal person cannot understand God's will, SYSTEM's purpose is to create something beyond a Level 5. The SYSTEM theory is similar to the Magic's Qabalah theory, which states that the heavens are not described on the Tree of Life, Sephiroth, even though entities such as humans and angels are clearly described. As a result of this, various magic factions theorize if ordinary humans are unable to comprehend the will of God, then they only have to obtain a body that's beyond humanity. Those factions' theory is that humans are actually immature gods that have the potential to ascend to a divine existence and obtain God's power, with enough time and training. The theory behind it is 'to purify the murky, lead-like soul of a human into a pure golden soul of an angel'.
- The reason both the SYSTEM Theory and Qabalah Theory are similar is because the former was created by the founder of Academy City, Aleister Crowley, a former magician. While both theories are similar, the former uses science while the later uses magic to achieve the desire result. However, some Academy City scientists would go to extreme lengths with this theory, such as as the 'Level 6 Shift' project and SYSTEM projects, which both cost human lives.
- AIM (An Involuntary Movement) (無自覚 Mujikaku)
- An invisible energy field that espers involuntarily produce. AIM is very hard to detect without special equipment and the closest thing to seeing AIM with the naked eye is Accelerator's power; Accelerator's body is surrounded by a thin invisible shield of AIM which allows him to control vectors. AIM is very important as the more an esper emits AIM, the more powerful his/her Power Levels are. AIM is also the reason why espers cannot use magic because AIM causes a negative reaction when it mixes with magic which explains why an esper's body gets hurt when using magic. The reverse is also true for magicians if they enter an area with a very high concentration of AIM, a feat that can only be achieved under certain circumstances.
- Imaginary Number District (虚数学区 Kyosūgakku)
- The "Imaginary Number District" is another plane of existence that exists within Academy City, created by the mass of AIM fields emitting from the thousands of espers within Academy City's walls. This plane houses Hyōka Kazakiri, an "artificial angel" also created by the mixing of AIM fields, when she is not physically present. This realm, which exists outside of our own, is not viewable or detectable by ordinary humans as they cannot feel or see AIM. Those within this plane of existence are able to view ordinary people outside of the realm but cannot interact with them in any way, whether it be through touch or talking. This realm has been said to be key in Aleister's plans to create an "Artificial Heaven", or a gigantic mass of AIM fields, that extends throughout the entire world.
- Imagine Breaker (幻想殺し Gensō-Goroshi)
- Imagine Breaker is the name of Tōma's ability, which manifests in his right arm. It holds the ability to negate all supernatural powers, including the effects of psychic, magic, and divine powers. It has been speculated by Index that in addition to negating supernatural powers it also negates all of God's blessings, which is supposedly why Tōma has such a bad luck streak. The true origins of Imagine Breaker are only known by a few, and those who do know have stated it is of divine origin. Fiamma of the Right, leader of God's Right Seat, has stated that it is the "Holy Right" used by Archangel Michael to seal away 'The Envoy of Light', Lucifer, for a thousand years and also holds the power of "Miracles", being able to erase the "Original Sin". Terra of the Left, another member of God's Right Seat, has also hinted that Imagine Breaker's full capability has not been unlocked yet and stated that when it is it will extend to Tōma's whole body and beyond.
- La Persona Superiore a Dio (神上 Kamijō)
- Italian for "The Person Superior to God". The purpose of God's Right Seat is to achieve this status and is stated as being the highest form of existence in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series. It is stated that Lucifer once tried to achieve this position after sitting at God's Right Seat, which symbolizes equality with God in Christian doctrine, but was defeated and banished to Hell by Archangel Michael, who now holds the position of God's Right Seat in Lucifer's place. It has been stated that Tōma's power, Imagine Breaker, is the most important part in achieving this status as it is able to erase the "Original Sin", which was eating the "Fruit of Wisdom". It has also been noted by Kaori Kanzaki and all members of God's Right Seat that Tōma's last name, "Kamijō", holds the same meaning as "La Persona Superiore a Dio" when translated into Japanese.
- Angels (天使 Tenshi)
- In Toaru Majutsu no Index, the term "Angel" refers to beings of either divine origin, such as the Archangels Gabriel and Michael of Christian doctrine, or artificial existences consisting of masses of highly concentrated AIM fields built-up from the thousands of espers within Academy City. One example of an "artificial angel" is Fuse Kazakiri, the "artificial angel form" of Hyōka, an existence that manifested from the mixing of AIM fields throughout Academy City and resides in the "Imaginary Number District" when not physically manifested. Angels, both divine and artificial, have been described as possessing halos above their heads and various forms of wings manifesting from their backs, as well as speaking in a language that sounds like high-pitched gibberish to normal humans. Aiwass, the entity that Aleister Crowley supposedly summoned and the true author of the "Book of the Law", has also shown the characteristics of an Angel, possessing a halo above its head and a divine form. Accelerator and Kakine Teitoku, the two most powerful espers within Academy City, have also shown the characteristics of angels when in their "Awakened" forms, developing wings against their backs and, in Accelerator's case, speaking in the language of the Angels when in extremely tense situations. In order to be "summoned" or take a physical form on Earth, Angels must have a medium, or "core", to keep them bound to the Earth. Likewise, if the core that binds them is destroyed their physical form will leave the Earth.
- Angels are immensely powerful beings and have been referred to as the most volatile existences in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series. Archangel Gabriel has been shown to possess the ability to manipulate any celestial body through the use of "Astral in Hand", allowing it to immediately block the sun by speeding up Earth's rotation. Fuse Kazakiri, an existence that is considered considerably less powerful than an a Christian archangel, has displayed the ability to fire beams of energy that can reach several kilometers in length, project an AIM barrier that protects all those around her, flying at supersonic speeds and manifest a powerful energy sword.
- Awakening
- "Awakening" is the term used to refer to the evolution of high level espers. Its true meaning is unknown, but so far two characters have been confirmed to have "awakened", Accelerator and Kakine, the two strongest espers within Academy City. When in their "awakened" form, both Accelerator and Kakine grow "wings".
- Aleister has stated that "Awakening" is an important step in getting evolve into a Level 6, a being with power equivalent to God. It has been stated that not just anyone can "awaken" and only a few can achieve this status. Besides Accelerator and Kakine, it is hinted that Tōma also has the potential to "awaken", although it is unknown unclear whether it means the Imagine Breaker, Tōma himself, or both.
Link for download Toaru Majutsu No Index Season 1Episode 24 http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?axuu1skmgrci4wbLink For download Toaru Majutsu No Index Season 2Episode 22 http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?d8cxsavj5jo34f2Episode 24 (End) http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?3i35whd459xksf0
