A Certain Magical Index III

Episode 16

The most frustrating aspect of Index III is its maddening tendency to throw out a plethora of content without providing the connective tissue necessary to bring it together in a sensible fashion. Nowhere is this more evident than in episode 15 – and given the trajectory of some previous episodes, that's saying something. Maybe this is all supposed to make sense to novel readers, but this mostly-anime-only fan was left scratching his head at many points.

This confusion started almost from the beginning of the episode. Last week did suggest that Hamazura and Accelerator were on convergent paths in moving to deal with Spark Signal terrorists for different reasons, though I don't recall any implication that Accelerator's task was going to involve Takitsubo. We'll set aside for a moment the ludicrous way that Hamazura gets helicopter-lifted to the building to Takitsubo, because this scenario does allow him and Accelerator to meet for the first time. Hamazura errantly jumping to conclusions leads to a smackdown he can't wriggle out of and a reminder from Accelerator about the path he needs to be on. That's all well and good if Hamazura is being built up as a protagonist, I guess, and he certainly seems to win points with Takitsubo for the effort.

Most of the rest is characters randomly popping up and doing stuff. The guy in the A.I.M. suit is suddenly having his name bandied about like everyone should know him, a super-agent pops up to warn and then duel Accelerator, and the guy whose companion was saved by Accelerator last episode shows up to help out too. He's strongly implied to be involved in the Dark Side of Academy City, but the particulars remain unclear. Stephanie Gorgeouspalace pops up to battle Kinuhita, leaving viewers to wonder how she so nimbly tracked her down, and multiple references to DRAGON are made; the title for next episode suggests that we'll finally find out what it is next week, but for now it's just a MacGuffin. Could Last Order be in danger over this too, because of the whole business with Angel in the last series? Let's not forget that two more of Etzatl's Aztec compatriots also show up and may not be peaceable with him, the old woman shows up again to be a significant player, and even that little boy Accelerator rescued last episode makes a surprise return appearance.

There's something to be said for having characters the protagonists have helped out show up again to solidify their impact on the story, but this series is taking that to ridiculous levels. Some of the action scenes this time are pretty good, and I like the relationship that's forming between Hamazura and Takitsubo, so if this series could just get the Dark Side of the Academy story going at a steadier pace, then it might amount to something. Right now it's messy enough to be the story's weak point.

Rating: C

A Certain Magical Index III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.