In Volume 3 of A Certain Scientific Railgun, the Level Upper Arc comes to a crashing conclusion in which tears are freely shed by many characters and by at least one reader.

Yes, even though I knew what was coming, by virtue of having read this series in Japanese and seen the anime, I bawled at Kiyama-sensei’s horrific backstory, and again when Saten was revived. In Volume 3, we get to see the strength of all three of our protagonists. Kuroko’s tactical mastery, Uiharu’s’s strategic skills and Mikoto’s sheer psychic strength, all in order to save their dear friend and the others, both good and bad, who have fallen victim to the Level Upper.

If the manga stopped here, as the anime did, I’d still consider it worth reading. This was an exceedingly entertaining arc, with pathos, nobility, friendship and even humor (although of all things in the series, it’s weakest at humor.)

Yuri ups a bit with a short side-story that quite specifically follows Kuroko and Mikoto and their relationship. It was this story that made me believe that Kuroko’s feelings for Mikoto are actually quite sincere, in fact.

There’s nothing new to say about this series, except that you should definitely give Volumes 1-3 a try and see what you think. It gets even darker and, IMHO, somewhat less satisfying from this point on  – purely because it  is less about the girls as a group and more about Mikoto as an individual. If the intersection of magic and science appeals to you, however and you like watching female characters with great psychic powers and little temporal power, by all means continue reading this series. I have no doubt that Seven Seas will continue to produce a fine translation, whether I review it or not.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 5
Service – 4

Overall – 7

Today my sincere thanks and appreciation go out to Okazu Hero Albert L, for his sponsorship of today’s review!

To become an Okazu Hero, sponsor an item from my Yuri Wishlist on Amazon or Amazon JP and you’ll get a badge that proclaims you a Hero, suitable for use on websites and social profiles, mention on our Okazu Hero Roll and my very sincere gratitude. Additionally, if you sponsor an English manga, the item will be donated to the Library, so your gift will allow many other people to enjoy the title. It’s a win-win-win. ^_^

Dear non-North American Readers,

JManga is making one last push to try and convince the bosses that JManga ought to be globally accessible.

I’m sure you agree with me that having to beg to be *allowed* to give them money is not the most auspicious beginning a relationship might have, but at the moment, that’s what they want. Please visit their Facebook page and “like” the post about global access if you do, indeed, desire to give them money.

I once again award you all my “Best Fans in the World” Award and give them a big ole “You’re Doing Capitalism Wrong” award. ^_^;

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!

The first US patent for a Railgun (a device that propels a projectile through electro-magnetic force) was granted in 1918. I mention that only because so much of what populates our scifi seems to be a direct result of World Wars 1 and 2.

In Volume 2 of A Certain Scientific Railgun Manga, we’re racing forward with the Level Upper story, and things are really starting to look grim. When Saten-san becomes one of the people who collapses into a coma, it’s even more urgent for Uiharu and Judgement to find out what’s going on.

This volume spends some time with Kuroko in prolonged battle, so we can see that she’s got some real chops, and also to make us realize how forlorn Saten feels when she simply can do nothing to help anyone. It’s a feeling anyone of us might have had at any time. We don’t have powers, those of us who are not physically strong know exactly the level of frustration and anger Saten feels. We can’t just wade in when the going gets tough, the only outcomes is that we ourselves will get hurt. And so Saten does. She uses her last conscious energy to call Uiharu, thus goading Judgement into greater urgency.

Professor Kiyama is turned into an apparently evil genius for the purpose of this volume of manga. I like the way that ups the tension, as well.

The bigggest weakness with this series is the incredibly stupid intrusion of A Certain Magical Index.  Kamijou is a distraction, his reactions to everything and anything are absurd and Misaka’s obsession with him is random. I realize that Index is the larger body here, of which this is a mere spin-off, but the connection is so…unorganic. Everytime Kamijou appears, one just has to heave a sigh and wait for him to go away. And of course Kiyama’s propensity for shedding her clothing is merely ham-handed service.

The strength of this volume is Kuroko. It’s hard to take her seriously at first. She’s not nasty, but she’s a child, an a privileged child at that. This formula pretty much guarantees we giver he no respect. But here in Volume 2, she earns that respect in the old-fashioned way. She puts the beat down on an opponent much bigger and apparently stronger than herself by using her powers and her brains. And, to her credit, she doesn’t walk around bragging about it. Kuroko is the kind of heroine a book like this needs to be readable.

Yuri in this (and almost all the other volumes of the series) is minimal. The cover provides about the sum and total of the Yuri, with a picture of Kuroko snuggling a Mikoto doll and later Kuroko leaping to embrace Mikoto, but this series was never really about the Yuri. It’s just the icing flowers on top of the cake. ^_^

The Level Upper arc has a bit more to go, then the story turns very dark indeed. For now, we will watch as Uiharu, Kuroko and Mikoto set out to get to the bottom of the Level Upper and save Saten-san.

Ratings:

Art – 7
Story – 7
Characters – 8
Yuri – 2
Service – 4

Overall – 7

In many ways I preferred watching Kuroko fighting, since she has limitations that Mikoto does not. All in all, a rollicking adventure, suitable for scifi fans of most ages.