A Certain Magical Index III

Episode 8

Last episode ended with Touma getting thrashed as badly as he's ever been thrashed – and given all the crap he's had to deal with, that's saying something. This left questions about how he was going to be in any shape to continue the fight. This week he lays unconscious on the sidelines until the episode's epilogue, which shows that he's going to try to get back in the fight. But what else would you expect from Touma?

In his absence, the Amakusa actually put up enough of a fight to take up the bulk of the episode. Itsuwa partly makes up for her uselessness last episode by taking the lead against Acqua of the Rear this time, and she does get in some decent attack and defense strategies. But as expected, they ultimately aren't a match for Acqua even with their specialized anti-Saint spell, so they're only delaying until the real “big gun” – Kanzaki – arrives on the scene. They trade their first blows this episode, but everything was clearly a set-up for their big face-off next episode.

I was pleased to see that the powers that be in Academy City were actually paying enough attention to send a probing attack against a powerful intruder like Acqua, even though nothing much comes of it by the end of the episode. Itsuwa mustering some fighting spirit after blubbering about her uselessness at the beginning of the episode was heartening, and the fight against Acqua did have at least a few good moves. However, this episode is a disappointment on the whole. For all the major plays, there isn't much fluidity to the actions, and I'm not referring to the animation quality in this case. None of the action beats have the impact that Index has proven capable of showing in the past; the execution just seems off all-around, even if the music is effective in other places.

The main problem is that the episode's script is much too in love with explaining itself. This has always been a problem for this franchise, where characters get so wrapped up in detailing the physics or philosophy behind their powers that the exposition gets in the way of the action or storytelling, but the writing's problematic nature spikes in this episode. As least the show does try to give its dialogue a sort of rhythm, as if explaining how the spell's effects work is part of actually casting them, but it isn't enough to offset the disruptions that these little blocks of exposition cause. The script also bogs down in other places, like the scene at the beginning where the head Amakusa guy chastises Itsuwa long enough for things to start dragging. On the visual front, there's a big gaffe when Itsuwa, after getting smacked through a floor by Acqua around the 17 minute mark, somehow gets her long-sleeved top destroyed without the blouse she was wearing over it getting harmed in the slightest. I'm pretty sure nothing about Acqua's power is supposed to be capable of doing that.

On the whole, this is a subpar episode, and not because Touma isn't around.

Rating: C+

A Certain Magical Index III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.