[Chaos2Frozen]

I thought we should discuss some of the things the Author described about Touma in his latest afterword.

Spoiler for Vol 22 afterword:

Originally Posted by Author

About Kamijou Touma:

He’s a "relative" character at all times. If there are no magicians or espers who possess supernatural abilities around him, the ability to "negate" them can’t be shown. It’s the same when ideals clash with ideals; most of the time, you aren't taking the initiative but rather reacting to your opponent. If Touma’s opponent were a normal person who has an unshakable resolve, Touma will probably suffer defeat. Also, against that kind of opponent, "there is no reason to clash".

Now, if the Hamazura Shiage who has grown somewhat defeated Kamijou in a normal fight, there will probably be a balance between the three main characters. That would be very interesting; what do all of you think?

So to defeat Touma you need two conditions.

One, a normal person.

Two, an unshakable resolve ?

Lol, Shiage vs Touma part two? How did he lose to him in the first place?

Originally Posted by Author

In this volume, there are probably many readers who feel that Kamijou isn’t quite like how he is in previous volumes. Though, compared with character growth, the main reason is probably more due to his opponent being too abnormal. If we look at it as "The ability which can restrain a strong power is more powerful", then Kamijou Touma’s position has risen.

Originally, he’s an undefined character.

If he finds that his cat has gotten lost, he’ll do all he can to try and find it. If there's a threat to the world, he'll also use all his strength to stop it from happening. Even though he acts in a serious manner, as the nature of the event changes, the direction that he’s serious towards also changes. Kamijou is then such a magical character.

In other words, Touma changes according to his enemy?

In terms of Character development, how much have Touma actually changed? That's one of the big issue people have with Touma, he's already 'developed' in the sense that unlike Accelerator, there's no real need to change his character. He's already the 'perfect' hero.

Originally Posted by Author

Also, in this series, there have been several characters that can be called "Kamijou’s opponent". These are all characters that were made by taking some aspect of the character Kamijou Touma as a base, but with some changes added. In other words, Kamijou himself has many sides to him to begin with.

Any ideas as to what he meant?

Originally Posted by Author

The impression that the world of "Toaru Majutsu no Index" gives is that there are no overarching plot or characters that specifically pertain to it. Some are just picking various characters as the main protagonist and then telling the stories around them (this is especially true for SS2). Though every protagonist has a story that makes them shine for one moment, Kamijou Touma gives the feeling that for him, from the battlefield with shells flying past to having a Chinese hotpot cook-off, he would be a suitable character regardless of situation… but that’s not saying that he has many talents. Having a "so-called main character" who knows nothing but still charges ahead would probably make this story easier to write. If he is forcibly made into a "specialist of a certain area", then when it comes to problems outside his specialty, there would be deeper questions to worry about.

In other words, you can put [Kamijou Touma] in any situation and he'll fit right in as the 'main character' ?