Saturday, November 7, 2009

Yuri Manga: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun volume 1


The "teen psychic" niche has been done to death in manga- but while Kamachi Kazama and Fuyukawa Motoi's Railgun manga isn't revolutionary, it's a fun, fresh take on a stale concept- with 1/2 cup snappy writing, 1/2 cup likeable characters, 3 1/4 tbs well-executed action, and a dollop of yuri. (No substitutes.)

Like the anime, the manga centers around Misaka Mikoto, the third highest-ranking level 5 psychic in Academy City, wielding the same electricity-manipulating super-powers. (Including her signature railgun.) She's still best friends/roommates with Shirai Kuroko, a Level 4 teleporter and über-competent member of the law-enforcement group known as Judgement who thinks that Mikoto is the hottest thing since fire was discovered. While Uiharu is still a Level 1 working as part of Judgement and Saten is still her skirt-flipping bff (and a Level 0), they don't play as major a role in the manga as they do in the anime. I especially miss Saten being a major player (there are a few other small changes to her character, like her immediate idolization of Mikoto, and being clearly interested almost from the outset in the Level Upper). Volume 1 mostly follows Mikoto, Kuroko, Uiharu, and (to a lesser extent) Saten's involvement in cases being handled by Judgement, from the mundane (Mikoto's frantic search for a girl's backpack that she mistakenly thinks has a bomb in it) to the major (a terrorist planting bombs throughout Academy City to target members of Judgement). By the end of the volume, Mikoto and Kuroko have figured out that a rumored device called the "Level Upper", which can ostensibly boost one's psychic ability, is the probable cause of several psychics displaying a higher level of power than Academy City's data indicates they should. Plus, Index's Touma gets a larger share of time than he has in the anime, and Kiyama Harumi hardly appears at all. (Tear.)

This volume zipped by pretty quickly as I read it. It was simply fun light reading- and that's all that it needed to be. While some of the aspects that didn't carry over to the anime seem negative in retrospect, I didn't really notice them as I actually read. It's kind of interesting to note the differences between the anime and manga versions of the same story, however- the anime has not only downplayed Touma's screen time and increased Saten and Kiyama's, it has more of a padded out slice-of-life "Judgement-case-of-the-week" feel than the manga. The anime spotlights the yuri more frequently, but from the beginning, the yuri in the manga seems to be more smoothly integrated. (Dispersed more evenly throughout instead of "Look!! An all-yuri episode with no plot!! Now an episode with a plot (of sorts) and hardly any yuri!!") I also liked Kuroko's way of expressing her feelings for Mikoto early on better- like wrapping a blanket over Mikoto after she falls asleep out of exhaustion, as opposed to panty-stealing. (Although my favorite yuri moment in this volume is probably the ice cream scene.) The anime also ramped up the sex appeal a little more (the "Undressing Woman" anybody?), but both versions are pretty low on fan service. (Subsequently, I imagined this silly little dialogue in my head-

Mikoto- Wow, I'm getting my own manga!
Kuroko- But of course. You're too good to remain a side character, Onee-sama.
Mikoto- Oh, hey look, it's going to be in Dengeki Daioh!
Kuroko- ...
Mikoto- I should really keep the shorts on, shouldn't I?
Kuroko- You know your audience well, Onee-sama. But there's no need to go that far...
Mikoto- No- now I'm certain there is.)

The art is good, with appealing character designs. The action scenes are where the art really shines (although the layout and use of angles throughout the manga are both done very well), but the ordinary conversation scenes could really use more background detail at times. One detail that put a damper on the ending of the volume for me was the character design for one background character- you'll know who if you read the final chapter of volume 1; a jarring error in an otherwise well-presented series. Fuyukawa's biggest strength is the energy in his artwork and his spot-on timing, coupled with Kamachi's snappy dialogue. (This works beautifully in the scenes featuring Kuroko or Mikoto giving their opponents a verbal and physical smackdown.)

Volume 1 of the Railgun manga isn't brilliant, but still enjoyable and worth checking out.

Story: B
Art: B
Overall: B

As an aside, this panel especially amused me-


Oh, Mikoto and Kuroko, how much you have yet to learn. :P (What would Mikoto x Kuroko be nicknamed, anyway? Mikoko? Kuroto? Railoporter? Telegun?)

BGM- "Idea" by Wizard

10 comments:

Snark said...

Sadly, I think I'm gonna give the Railgun manga a pass, I'm just not into the characters enough to really be bothered.

I am however willing to revise my opinion if Mikoto and Kuroko finally just sex each other.

P.S. said...

Considering I am reading JoJo Bizarre Adventure, an action pseudo horror with guys using psychic powers, it might be intersting to read a story with a near all female cast.

As for the last panel. Ouch!

Guest said...

hehehe. i personally think they are already more than friends even though they don't realise it.

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Snark- You'll probably have to rely on doujinshi for that. ^^; But yuri fan though I am, I'm fine with their relationship going either way (girl friends or girlfriends).

@ P.S.- Indeed (that panel... -.-;). lol But yes, if you already like action with fantasy elements, this is an entertaining title. ^^ (Although it isn't as intense as JJBA- based on what I've read.)

@ Guest- A lot of Railgun fans would probably agree with you. ^^

Blowfish said...

So the Yuri isnt such paintakingly obviously inserted to attract viewers?
Seriously all that Yuri Fanservice in its full dose really killed the anime for me.
I was actually really looking forward to the anime but Korokos penetrant attempts made me facepalm more than once.

I can take some "Yuri" when its evenly spread among a series but not when the whole second episode is dedicated to it.

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Blowfish- Well, I found Kuroko pretty annoying at the beginning of the Railgun anime, but she grew on me and now I like her quite a bit, along with the rest of the cast. (Pretty strange, isn't it? -.-;) I don't mind yuri service (and I certainly don't mind having a yuri-centric episode), but the transition between "ACTION-ACTION-ACTION!" in episode 1 and "ROMCOM-ROMCOM-ROMCOM!" in episode 2 felt really awkward to me (and ep 2 aired when I still found Kuroko annoying, hence my reaction to it). But I would recommend giving the Railgun anime another shot; it's a fun series, and I look forward to it each week.

Guest said...

To be pretty honest, I only got into Railgun for the Yuri, aha. I've the got the manga at home, damn, it's way different compared to the series. i find the anime much more entertaining. The last bit of the recent episode was absolutely classsss.

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Guest- I haven't seen the latest episode (episode 7) yet, but I'm looking forward to watching it later today. ^^ Based on the first volume of the manga, I don't think the anime is too dramatically different; the anime plot has made some very noticeable changes, but it retains the spirit and general direction of the original quite well.

Rincewind said...

How to call Mikoto x Kuroko? WIN. Absolute WIN. :D

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Rincewind- That works too. ^^ Especially post-episode 7.