Hmm, what to cover for AnimeNEXT? Voice acting? Fashion show? Industry activity? Hey, the dub of A Certain Scientific Railgun S is being premiered at AnimeNEXT! I’ll totally cover that! I know that AnimeNEXT has a lot of exclusive guests and events but I really like Railgun. I’m also aware that everyone who wanted to see Railgun probably already watched the subs but I prefer dubs over subs. If I wanted to read a more accurate translation of the Japanese, I would get the manga (and/or light novel).

The people of Funimation do make a point to attend the larger conventions, but they can’t be in two places at once, can they? A-kon happens at the same time as AnimeNEXT and is a lot closer to their home base as well, so Funimation decided to focus on A-kon. AnimeNEXT is a cool convention though, so Funimation wanted to give them something at least, so here I am writing about the AnimeNEXT Railgun S premiere.

It took place in the main video room of AnimeNEXT. That would be quite an honor if the video rooms weren’t all fairly small to begin with. While it may not have matched the attendance of the Luna Haruna concert (which was great) there were enough people to fill the room, and I got the photos to prove it. If anyone was annoyed by the flash I was using, and took a picture of me using flash to demonstrate how annoying it can be. I would like to say I’m sorry. I am the type who can take it too far when it comes to convention coverage.

Girls just want to have fun!

A Certain Scientific Railgun S continues the adventures of Mikoto Misaka as she fights off gangs, robots, and the lustful advances of her roommate Kuroko Shirai! I still have no idea on how those two are roommates!?! Does A Certain Magical Index explain it (I really do need to finish watching that)? Feel free to post the answer in the comments because I seriously have no idea at this point. If you’re lost, A Certain Magical Index is the parent series, A Certain Scientific Railgun is a spin off series from Index, and A Certain Scientific Railgun S is the second season of the spin off. They all takes place in Academy City, a bustling technological metropolis dedicated to educating it vast numbers of students. Considering that the population is eighty percent students and many of them have supernatural powers called “espers,” you got a recipe for adventure.

Railgun is a series that gets a lot of things right. The schoolgirl slice of life parts are relaxing and playful, while the science fiction mysteries give plenty of tension and dramatic conflict, and who can say no to the occasional super power fight? The mixture of genres ensures that things never get too stale or repetitive. I also have to give Railgun S props for getting its pacing right. The opening episode starts off with a hospital visit but ends up with a hostage situation. Mikoto will have none of that and goes off after them. She gets thrown for a loop and ends up throwing herself off a building to save said hostage. Good thing Ruiko was was climbing up a ladder and was able to save them both. Good to see that a lack of super powers doesn’t stop Ruiko from being productive! Then we get to see Mikoto take out a helicopter with her railgun as free falls from a thousand feet in the sky. They pause it just long enough to let the awesomeness of the situation sink in. That’s how you start a second season!

Here’s a random picture of them just because!

We then immediately jump right into the Sisters arc. It’s called the Sisters arc because it features Mikoto clones, who are refereed to as sisters. This is how you pace a second season. We all know what’s going on so you don’t need to spend five episodes reestablishing basic plot points; This isn’t Code Geass R2. In Geass’s defense, they had to do that because of a time slot change and its plot is one longer ongoing story instead of smaller arcs you can break up by season.

This isn’t Simublast so don’t expect a complete breakdown of the plot. You can expect another shot of Railgun goodness. Kuroko will lay down the law! Mikoto will investigate hostile locations! Ruiko will flip up Karari’s skirt to see her panties! Railgun S will also put the cast in all new scenarios. We’ll get to see Ruiko scour the streets for money and Mikoto suffer from the “I saw my own clone” thing. Of course, there are also new characters like Shinobu Nunotaba, a very neutral feeling child genius who works to stop the sisters plot. We also meet another level 5 esper, who is a Queen Bee type and quickly develops a less then ideal relationship with Mikoto.

To give my review, I liked what I saw. Railgun is good, so more Railgun is more good, right? Seriously, go watch Index or Railgun because they’re both good shows that arn’t afraid to mix it up. Now I’ll have to get the DVDs or something if I want to see the whole thing. The premiere only covered the first four episodes. How will Mikoto react when she meets her clone? I don’t know! I’ll tell you when I find out!