To Aru Majutsu no Index - Favourite Character(s) Poll

[LevelSeven]

Spoiler for fizix:

Originally Posted by Fizix

How so? Not sure I'm following, I think I gave a reasoned response as to why certain characters are popular.

maybe i worded it wrong :/
but i meant hat it is literally colourful since a admin(or someone else) wanted me to stop with the " "colour-change" and than answer " (she/he meant she/he would gain eye cancer) and to prevent such a hhorrible thing im spoilering this stuff now

development isn't one dimensional;

agree.... to some extend...

her feelings for him causing her to be somewhat hostile, her not admitting her feelings for him, her feelings for him being realised, her feelings for him influencing her actions, her feelings for him causing conflict between them (which it does, to an extent) is all development.

this is a development of her char... true... i thought you specified it on a realationship between touma and mikoto...

My point was that their relationship as a whole and her feelings towards Touma are more complicated than most others and is developed over time.

i need to disagree with the bolded part...
it has more explored...yes... in comparison, himegami also loves touma...it doesnt mean it is less complicated (in terms of loving )
and development as char is so-so, she still changes back to how she was in the beginning... and in love-development it changed a bit... Vol.16 let her find out she loves him... but nothing more... the only way how they could develop it more is if touma starts to fall in love for her i know, will not happen :P

I also did not get the impression that she was in love with Touma after he helped her, nor that she instantly liked him (their relationship is more complex than that). She certainly began to like him after he helped her (I think she probably liked him before then actually), but I don't think I would use the word love; love is almost certainly something that came later down the line.

watch railgun S the next episode after the sister arc ended... watch Vol.5 and her different behavior.... she certainly fell in love for the MC
she only understood that she loved him in Vol.16, but the love existed after Vol.3

As an aside, I am not pro Misaka x Touma,

i too...

I'm not bothered whether Misaka and Touma end up together,

i too...

I would like to see closure to it though (simply because I like to see closure to things that have time invested in them).

i would like to see the end of the story before i die on old age... but i think in the next 10 years we will reach it hopefully

Firstly, I don't think all volumes are equal at all. I think the science side is structured and flows better. It has less characters (which allows the main ones to be developed more) and is more structured; it links together and flows in a clearer manner. The magic side is very erratic with character overload, I personally didn't feel that I really knew where I was with the magic side until the latter half of the OT novels.

not for the bolded part but for the text itself:i only meant in terms of writing, like the way he describes stuff and the situation, emotions etc...
what you mean is the plot...
and i agree with the bolded parts

On character development, there are a number of characters who are developed far beyond the others. You see their names constantly; here and elsewhere, discussion and interest revolve around these characters; they are highlighted in this poll and appear at the business end of other polls.

this...

I don't think she fell in love with him, I didn't get that impression. Incidentally I got the impression that she liked him before he helped her. I also got the impression that her feelings grew from liking him a bit, to a crush and then to love. Of couse you are free to disagree with that but that is the impression I got.

well, it is your opinion, and everyone POV is different but i thought that it was pretty clear that she loved him after she was saved, afterall she is a fictional char and touma is the hero of the fictional world... it would be strange to see something different

See my first points response though, by develops over time and isn't as shallow as most others in the harem, I am talking about the way it affects the characters, the way it affects their behaviour. There is more invested in the writing into that relationship and her feelings than others.

i can be wrong but isnt this simply her char development (which gets constantly reversed, *pointing at Vol.16*)...it has nothing to do with their realitionship right?

I agree, and it's a shame and is likely due to the bloated cast. Characters such Misaka and Accelerator are the ones who have had more development. I wish they were more developed and a few others too.

THIS!! but to be honest, i dont see much development in mikoto... she gets chances... many chances but it gets destroyed with the next volume...

I didn't really mean it like that. A lot of characters exist only as far as their role in the plot in the strictest possible sense; like they are plot devices or exist to carry out some kind of task or role as opposed to a developed character.

ahh, yeah, now i understand, but this is a trait of any chars who arent complete side chars

I guess though, the science side being as it is, it may follow that the characters on that side will generally be more developed.

nah, it isnt that the chars ar more developed on the science side, but more that the main chars belong to the science side... it is a difference...

You may disagree with all of this,

not with all

but those are my feelings on the series as a whole.

and i respect and understand them (to some extend)

In short, I think the science side is far better written and the characters that it presents are more developed and interesting.

THIS!!

My focus on Misaka was simply as I was responding to a point about her popularity, the general points here extend to several characters, mainly on the science side.

nah, like miraluka said, a tsundere char is a cash cow... they are easy to write and can be used in many situations... except for "dark"-stuff where seriousness/crazyness is needed

@miraluka

Yeah but AC's side, specially its dark side is more explored trough Accelerator and Shi age.

because as a fanfic-writer i can say that writing a dark-situation with a tsundere type like mikoto is really really hard, if not impossible...the only way to do it is to literally make a char who has a split personality... one is the mikoto we know and the other one is serious, mostlikely like accel :/

@hiss

Even now, he still has quite the hatedom. There are some who reasonably can't forgive him for the Level 6 Shift Experiment. The rest are people who are just butthurt because he made their waifu suffer.

this is easy... they simply need to say, clones are humans too.... and that is a rather complicated topic to discuss and will not come to any clear point, afterall it depends on each persons pov...

but to be honest, i would have liked him to stay a crazy OP monster, killing whoever comes to close like a dark and evil/crazy version of ollerus but this wouldnt allow him to show up this much, and...well, this isnt a story with "bad"-things

[Fizix]

@levelseven (not quoting as on a phone):

I take all of your points, they make sense, even if I don't agree.

On the Railgun series though, do we take that as true canon though? It is kind of fan service like. I only really enjoyed the first part of Railgun S. Series 1 was more like a teen girls social drama with a bit of light action thrown in.

But anyway, I got the emotional growth from index and while I get what you're saying with what Railgun shows, it doesn't quite mesh with index.* I know that if its written from an official source, you can't deny it, but if it conflicts or doesn't match what you've seen already, I'd imagine the first has to stand.

*shes kind if warmer (generally and towards him) in Railgun overall.

[Fizix]

I'd add (in response to you saying that touma x Misaka won't ever happen):

expecting any relationship with Touma and one of the girls is pointless, he won't even think about it unless they go Shirai on his ass and if one of them were to do so, it would be whoever got in there first. He would jump at a chance of any of them... He's a 16 year old boy afterall.

[Apoptosis]

Originally Posted by Fizix

I'd add (in response to you saying that touma x Misaka won't ever happen):

expecting any relationship with Touma and one of the girls is pointless, he won't even think about it unless they go Shirai on his ass and if one of them were to do so, it would be whoever got in there first. He would jump at a chance of any of them... He's a 16 year old boy afterall.

Lessar hasn't won yet though.

[Fizix]

Originally Posted by Apoptosis

Lessar hasn't won yet though.

Hmmm... I would hope not too... Isn't she only a scrape above Last Order in age? She's introduced as an early teen and I don't think any other age has been given? If it has I missed it.

Maybe I should rephrase; any of them that wouldn't result in him signing the naughty boys register. I was discounting any characters who I consider too young as a given.

But none the less, my comment was a joke so exceptions such as Lessar can fly.

As an aside, Lessar is another character I like a lot, I like characters with some personality/attitude/spunk/etc

[Miraluka]

LO is 1 years old aprox.

Lessar is 12 or 13 according to the novels.

[Fizix]

Originally Posted by Miraluka

LO is 1 years old aprox.

Lessar is 12 or 13 according to the novels.

Well I don't think I'd consider LO a 1 year old, she and the other clones are anomalies. For all intents and purposes she is 10 and is referred to as such in the novels. She was the easiest and closest point of reference for ages.

But anyway, thanks for confirming her age, Lessar being 12-13 removes her from my comment (even though it wasn't entirely serious in the first place) as it would be weird if he even considered it. "Any of them" did not include anyone who would be grim.

[dniv]

This is in response to an earlier post by Fizix calling Touma generic:

Sorry, I would like to step in briefly. Touma is my favorite fictional character so I'd like to clarify a few things.

First, let's agree that in order to demonstrate that a character follows a generic archetype you have to prove two things:

1. You need to prove that they have at least a few generic character traits.

2. You need to prove that they have few, if any, unique or rare character traits.

If you can't prove both of these things, then you can't demonstrate that said character follows a generic archetype.

TL;DR…

Response to Fizix

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

One other thing that I want to mention is that Touma has a lot of other aspects to his character which are largely NOT found in most works of fiction. So I'm not really sure I agree with you...?

I also believe that the Magic Side is written very well starting either with volume 13/20 or with NT volume 2, take your pick.

Edit:

I also agree with Fisix that Misaka has much more character development and worth than most people on this forum give her credit for. Even if many of her fans may appreciate her character for different reasons, it isn't false to say that she has a lot of meaningful character development.

And @Fisix: If you haven't read the Railgun Manga, I recommend you try doing that. It's like the Railgun Anime, but without the teen girls social drama dynamic that you criticize, and the second arc of Railgun S which many people on this side of the To aru threads, dislike. Also, what the manga shows about the relationship between them or whatever is very different from what the anime shows because that isn't really canon, while the manga is, and it is largely (or even completely) consistent with the Index novels/anime on those criteria.

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by dniv

I also agree with Fisix that Misaka has much more character development and worth than most people on this forum give her credit for. Even if many of her fans may appreciate her character for different reasons, it isn't false to say that she has a lot of meaningful character development.

The problem with Misaka is she is a consistent inconsistent character. All through out the series. Her tomboyish and violent reaction is consistent to her character. She is also consistent on being reset on each arc development.

Look at the first few arcs where she is the one helping others but when the problem reaches her and she can't fix it. She ended up trying to resolve it alone and not asking for help. Sure she preach that its fine to ask for help to others but what about her not asking for help? it happens in s1 anime or railgun. Heck, in sister arc she tried to shoulder the burden alone but still ended up getting helped from Kamijou and people get angry at kamijou for butting in her story. Later in the story it still the same. She's pretty consistent there in a way its actually bad and look half assed in developing. Its like she doesn't learn a thing but its not like you can blame her for not asking for help. She has a pride of level 5. She is strong and confident on herself. Plus she is also nice and kind. Doesn't want others to get hurt because of her. But lecturing others of your own character fault looks bad as a character itself. I'm not sure on the saying with the pot calling the kettle black fits here.

But that's just it.

She is consistent in being inconsistent.

Her character might look developing but it still the same some situation also felt out of no where. Specially in the latest NT with Touma appearing out of no where there without further explanation. That is bad story writing for me.

[Kenju of the Right]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Specially in the latest NT with Touma appearing out of no where there without further explanation. That is bad story writing for me.

are you sure you read the entirety of the aftermath of the incident
anyways lets take it over here http://forums.animesuki.com/showthre...28123&page=145

[tsunade666]

Originally Posted by Kenju of the Right

are you sure you read the entirety of the aftermath of the incident

I read the epilogue. it happen because of "her" but I don't see the connection first of who is having a birthday.

BUT

if you look at it from the perspective of the villain. He just pop out of no where.

[Fizix]

Originally Posted by dniv

This is in response to an earlier post by Fizix calling Touma generic:

Sorry, I would like to step in briefly. Touma is my favorite fictional character so I'd like to clarify a few things.

First, let's agree that in order to demonstrate that a character follows a generic archetype you have to prove two things:

1. You need to prove that they have at least a few generic character traits.

2. You need to prove that they have few, if any, unique or rare character traits.

If you can't prove both of these things, then you can't demonstrate that said character follows a generic archetype.

TL;DR…

Response to Fizix

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

One other thing that I want to mention is that Touma has a lot of other aspects to his character which are largely NOT found in most works of fiction. So I'm not really sure I agree with you...?

I also believe that the Magic Side is written very well starting either with volume 13/20 or with NT volume 2, take your pick.

Edit:

I also agree with Fisix that Misaka has much more character development and worth than most people on this forum give her credit for. Even if many of her fans may appreciate her character for different reasons, it isn't false to say that she has a lot of meaningful character development.

And @Fisix: If you haven't read the Railgun Manga, I recommend you try doing that. It's like the Railgun Anime, but without the teen girls social drama dynamic that you criticize, and the second arc of Railgun S which many people on this side of the To aru threads, dislike. Also, what the manga shows about the relationship between them or whatever is very different from what the anime shows because that isn't really canon, while the manga is, and it is largely (or even completely) consistent with the Index novels/anime on those criteria.

I'm sorry but I never called Touma generic, I said he falls into a general archetype, and nothing you've said there disproves that he adheres to an archetype, those things are what make him an example of a good character in spite of adhering to it.

You've just listed his personality traits and reasonings. A character can be a good example of an archetype or adhere to a general archetype, either partly or entirely and still be good or interesting. It fails when they apply to it entirely without reasoning or personality.

Regarding the unique aspects, most characters have that.

[Kenju of the Right]

youre wasting your finger strength Dniv, most of us know how great of a character Touma is,
he might fall into an archtype but far from generic

[dniv]

Originally Posted by Fizix

I'm sorry but I never called Touma generic, I said he falls into a general archetype, and nothing you've said there disproves that he adheres to an archetype, those things are what make him an example of a good character in spite of adhering to it.

You've just listed his personality traits and reasonings. A character can be a good example of an archetype or adhere to a general archetype, either partly or entirely and still be good or interesting. It fails when they apply to it entirely without reasoning or personality.

Regarding the unique aspects, most characters have that.

I didn't really read the whole conversation context for your post. I also agree that Touma adheres to some preexisting archetype, because all characters do (nowadays anyway).

The point I was trying to make earlier is that while it is true that this character type has been done before, I haven't ever seen that hero character type done in a way that doesn't sound contrived or that actually manages to explains the character's motivations for doing what they do, and why such a character who thinks that way could exist in the first place, and seem like a realistic, rationally thinking human being who isn't just messing around for the heck of it in order to fight the enemy.

[MrTerrorist]

Happy Saten Day!