A Certain Scientific Railgun Complete Season 1 Collection (Episodes 1-24) Blu-ray [DVD]

This review score is for the sub, if it was for the dub it would be two starsSo I will start with the elephant in the room, the dub, oh my god is this a bad dub, this is the reason why dubs have such a bad reputation in anime. I normally like a good dub as I can then recommend something to my friend who watches almost nothing but dubs, but this one is just plain horrific, it has the same problems as Index but amplified due to more of the Kuroko dub. The Japanese Seiyuu won awards for her performance as Shirai Kuroko, she totally nailed the conflicting and often unhinged personality of this character using several distinct voices and tones when playing this character and often going totally over the top when it's called for. It almost seems that the American voice actress felt she couldn't compete with this and so she didn't even try and instead just phoned in her performance. Then we have the way they garble the names and a continuation of the god awful use of 'Sissy' for Onee sama, which is supposed to be a respectful form of saying 'older sister' this is why in the novels they say "big sister" and in the manga it's left as onee sama, Kuroko would never dream of calling Misaka 'Sissy' so aside from it being stupid and hard on the ears, it really doesn't work.The problems with this dub only get worse when we come to season 2, this is where we see Misaka's voice actress really start to fail, in the original the whole situation was avoided by using three different Seiyuu but in the dub, they got one voice actress to do it all and she didn't even try to do different voices for the different characters meaning the whole thing just sounds wrong.This is one of the few series that forces me to rant about subs vs dubs, and when there are so many great dubs out there, mediocre dubs should not be happening, and bad dubs like this one, REALLY should not be happening, so we have to stand up and say when it's not acceptable, otherwise the standards will continue to slide and we won't get dubs that are of the standards of Haruhi Suzumiya, Full Metal Panic, Fullmetal Alchemist, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In The Shell, etc.So why am I putting that first? Well because Railgun is a series that is made by its characters and you have to buy into the characters, unlike Index the major enjoyment comes from watching this group of characters go along with their not so ordinary lives and the crazy things they get dragged into, the biggest enjoyment of the show and what makes this 5 star on the sub is Shirai Kuroko, she is the best character in it and her schemes and interactions with Misaka are what really makes this anime shine, she comedy gold and not someone to underestimate.The animation is your standard fare, it is an improvement on the animation in Index avoiding the 'cutesy' animation moments that never really worked, the sound is what you expect, it fits the style with a strong op.Story, well compared to the manga there is a lot of filler and much of the filler is definitely weaker than the stories in the manga, also like with index there are several changes made compared to the original, but again nothing too major. The stories here aren't as good as you'd get from Index, but it is a different beast so the focus isn't on strong stories but strong characters and their interactions, so this is entirely forgivable, but for those who want stronger stories, fear not, season 2 delivers (although the filler story is weak, it's main story based on the manga is very strong and what Index fans were waiting for)Get this is you watched and enjoyed A Certain Magical Index, it's a change of pace, but as long as you know what you are getting into and are watching this for the characters, you won't regret it, just don't expect it to be a repeat of Index or have the stories of Index.

'A Certain Scientific Railgun' ('Toaru Kagaku no Railgun') is the anime adaption of the spin-off manga, of the same name, set in the world of 'A Certain Magical Index' ('Toaru Majutsu no Index'). The series follows the adventures of Mikoto Misaka, the third most powerful esper in Academy City, as she and her friends as they encounter the various urban legends of the City. Although the series is a spin-off, knowledge of the wider franchise probably isn’t necessary to understand the series as it does a good job of explaining what you need to know about the characters and the setting.This four disc set includes all twenty-four episodes of the 'A Certain Scientific Railgun' anime, a series that many people (including myself) consider to be better than the series it is based on. The storylines of this first season can be split into two halves with the first half of the series adapting the Level Upper arc from the manga (there are a few changes here and there but they are mostly quite minor, except for the early introduction of Mitsuko Kongou which sort of messes with her character arc) while the second half consists of mostly anime original content including the Big Spider arc, the Poltergeist arc and a few one off episodes that give some character development to various characters. Although the events of the latter half of the season are anime original, they are generally considered to be somewhat canon for the 'Railgun' series and the wider Raildex-verse itself.The Level Upper arc is very entertaining and does a good job of introducing the setting and the characters for those who are unfamiliar with the parent series. The arc takes place sometime before the events of the first 'Index' arc and sees Misaka and her friends deal with Academy City’s darker side for the first time. The arc has a good mixture of action and comedy with Mikoto’s fight with Touma in episode 4, Kuroko’s battle against the thug in episode 9 and the final battle of the arc in episode 12 all being brilliant with the final battle in particular being a great highlight as Mikoto is able to show off something close to her full power. Another highlight of the arc is the episode that explores Kuroko and Uiharu’s background which is quite sweet.The short Big Spider arc is quite interesting, exploring the background of Kuroko and Uiharu’s Judgement colleague Mii Konori as some of Academy City’s Level 0 gangs assault get their hands on some equipment and assault various espers. The action here is mostly between Level 0s but is still quite entertaining and the plot includes some foreshadowing for the Poltergeist arc.The Poltergeist arc itself sees Academy City struck by a series of strange earthquakes as well as resolving some of the issues left over from the Level Upper arc and sees Uiharu get a new roommate. While probably not quite as good as the Level Upper arc, this arc is still quite entertaining and includes some very entertaining action sequences such as Kuroko and Kongou fighting the antagonist’s troops and Mikoto’s fight on top of a speeding car during the finale.The animation of the series is good, probably slightly better than the first season of the parent series, and does very well with showing the various esper abilities in Academy City and choreographs the fight scenes very well.The English dub is probably on a par with that of Index and includes some of the same problems (i.e. Bug Zapper and Sissy) but most of the voices for the new characters introduced are reasonably good. Cherami Leigh and Brina Palencia give very good performances for Kazari Uiharu and Ruiko Saten respectively while Jamie Marchi also gives a nice performance as Mitsuko Kongou. My favourite good voice however is Anastasia Munoz as the eccentric Harumi Kiyama while Charlie Campbell and Colleen Clinkenbeard also give strong performances as Gensei Kihara and Therestina Lifeline respectively.This first season set includes the usual episode commentaries, clean opening and endings, and US trailer for special features. Unfortunately the set doesn’t include the 'Because Misaka-san is Now the Center of Attention' ('Misaka-san wa Ima Chuumoku no Mato desu kara') OVA though.'A Certain Scientific Railgun' is probably my favourite half of the 'A Certain Magical Index' franchise and I would give this first season of the anime a full five stars.

'A certain Scientific Railgun' is a spin-off story from 'A certain Magical Index.' You do not need to really know anything about Index to watch the first season of Railgun, however. Season 1 of Railgun actually takes place before Season 1 of Index (approximately). Watching both is worth doing, but some of the inconsistencies in the stories will be obvious; the plots match, but the details have a tendency to vary.Railgun is darker and a bit more realistic (for a given value of realistic) than Index. Basically, Railgun is the story of Mikoto Misaka, known as Railgun, the third most powerful superhuman in a city full of superpowered kids (and some adults). Misaka and her friends get to face off against various anime villains to save each other, various innocents, and the city, usually by destroying things. The themes of Railgun are a bit more nuanced than those in Index, though the level of shadow cast over the characters (especially Misaka) is more pronounced in the second season.All in all, this is a fun watch with a good dub. It's fun. It has good characters, and they kick ass. The world is quite interesting too, so long as you ignore some of the physics.Worth the watch if you like anime and kick-ass heroines.

The best Misaka Mikoto and her friends story. I saw first season three times. Product itself is 5star. Only missing Japanese subtitles, but it has all region B Blue-Ray discs I have bought. Japanese voice is clear and nice :-)

I honestly don't know if I liked this or not, as it's not really my cup of tea. However, I watched the dub version, and will someday undoubtedly rewatch it in Japanese with subs. Maybe then I will like it better and upgrade my mark. Entertaining though, and well-made, but a bit ... girlie?

Als ich die Serie auf Netflix entdeckte war meine Liebe geweckt. So gern habe ich alle Teile in japanischer Sprache und deutschen Untertiteln gesehen (die Übersetzungen waren teilweise so schlecht, das es schon wieder lustig war) und ich mag den Stil, die Charaktere, die verrückten Geschichten und kann vollkommen verstehen, dass es schnell viele Fans auf der ganzen Welt angesammelt hat. Es gibt so lustige Szenen, die man kaum aus dem Kopf bekommt - dann wird es wieder richtig spannend und Ernst. Die Charaktere sind toll geschrieben und vertont und auch wenn ich Japan nur aus Videos und Fotos kenne ... irgendwie stelle ich es mir dort genau so vor.In dieser Welt ist die Wissenschaft die treibende Kraft und die Railgun ist eine der stärksten Personen in dieser Welt. Keine Frage ... wer eine Münze so beschleunigen kann, dass damit ganze Gebäude eingeebnet werden können, an Wänden laufen kann und die Macht eines Gewittersturms besitzt, die will man ganz sicher nicht verärgern. Also habt besser einen seltenen Gekota in der Rückhand um ihre Gunst zu gewinnen.Und guckt es bloß nicht auf Englisch, nur weil ihr alles verstehen wollt. Der Originalton ist bisher die beste Fassung und man muss gar nicht alles verstehen. Mimik und Körpersprache sind so gut, dass man auch ohne Worte versteht, was die Charaktere bewegt. Bei Kuroko muss man nicht mal Sprache einbinden um zu verstehen was sie will ;-)

めちゃくちゃ良い文句無し。商品に破損などは無く、ちゃんと観れました。設定で日本語verにできるのでそこはご安心を。レールガン最高。

英語との切り替えが、少し面倒ですが、買って良かったと思ってます。

This anime is actually a sidestory of another anime, but I really like the idea of it, it is one of my favourites. One reason to buy it.I can really recommend it. The price is also more than acceptable. The package arrived in time. I have no complains at all.Great anime, great price, great delivery service !!

期待以上の作品でした。お姉さまはレベル５であるのを鼻にかけす素晴らしい活躍を見せてくれました。大切な仲間を思いやるところもたくさん出てきます。