A Certain Scientific Railgun (とある科学の超電磁砲)

It looks like those guys are bothering her.

You think we should call Judgment and get them down here?

Here we go.

Never a dull moment in this place.

Lovely Academy City.

Welcome to our amazing city,

a thriving urban area

with a population of twenty-three million.

Eighty percent of which are students.

The city itself is like a giant experiment,

standing at the very forefront of the scientific community.

It's estimated that the technology we use here,

is twenty to thirty years more advanced

than you'll find anywhere else in the world today.

Now, then.

Can you tell me what all the students are here to study?

Esper powers!

I can't wait til I find out my power!

The city has a tip--top public safety system,

so you parents will never have to worry

about your precious children while they're here.

Please rest assured that...

Ow.

What was that?

Did we hit something?

The traffic signals are out.

Damn!

Nothing's going right.

Who in the world is that?

Hold it right there, punk!

In the name of Judgment!

I was right. You're the hoodlum

they named in the alert, aren't you?

It looks like today isn't your day.

Damn.

This is Kuroko Shirai.

I've just captured one of the criminals.

Uiharu, where are the remaining targets to apprehend?

Take a left at the end of the alley,

then another left five meters after that.

Copy that! On it!

Halt, in the name of Judgment!

We've been alerted to your activities.

Come quietly, or I'll be forced to....

What happened here?

Oh. Hey, Kuroko.

Sissy!

Honestly!

How many times do I have to say it before you understand?

Maintaining the public safety of Academy City

is a job for Judgment, not regular citizens.

You can't keep doing that sort of thing on your own.

Are you listening to me?

Well, Sissy?

I can't help it if I get there first, can I?

I'm always done by the time you guys even show up.

You can't just beat up another student

without authorization.

The city directors get all twitchy when that happens.

In that case, maybe you guys should try

getting there a little sooner.

Academy City isn't living up to its name.

They've got security posted all over,

but they can't even eliminate petty criminals.

They can claim to be scientifically advanced

all they want, but...

Sissy...

Chaser!

I don't see how those advances really impact our lives.

What am I going to do with you?

How come you still insist

on wearing those dowdy shorts under your skirt?

Why were you even looking?

I wear these because it's easier to...

Trouble detected with vending machine

seven--one--one--six--five.

Destruction of property suspected.

Destruction of property suspected.

Now, was that really necessary?

You could've gotten into trouble.

Oh, no.

We're going to have to hurry.

Hm? Oh. That's right.

We have our System Scan today, huh?

Those are waves.

A star.

Waves.

Circle.

Next, 38 degrees.

Right.

Off by point two millimeters.

Very good. Next student please.

Recording 78 meters and 23 centimeters.

Distance from target, 54 centimeters.

Overall rating, Level 4.

I'm feeling a little bit off today for some reason.

Maybe my work with Judgment yesterday exhausted my...

Making excuses for your poor performance?

Don't you think that's a little pathetic?

Even for you, Shirai.

Shut it, Mitsuko Kongo.

At the rate you're going,

it's pretty obvious I'll reach Level 5 before you do.

-Won't that be exciting? -Hmph.

I'd greatly appreciate it

if you'd avoid comparing your abilities with my powers.

The differences between grasping three--dimensional space

and eleven--dimensional space are simply...

It will be a nice change.

I've always found it annoying

to have a first--year student like you

talking down to someone like me.

She never developed the ability to listen

to anybody's voice but her own.

Geez. Was that some kind of explosion?

Since you transferred in this term as a second year,

there are probably some gaps in your knowledge of the school.

A certain student is having her abilities

tested at the pool right now.

And she's the real Ace of Tokiwadai.

If they didn't use the water in the pool to act as a buffer,

they couldn't accurately measure her destructive powers.

What do you think?

Are you ready to face one of those blasts head--on, huh?

Recording initial shot speed

at one--thousand--thirty meters per second.

Rapid--fire ability, eight shots per minute.

Pattern grouping, eighteen point nine millimeters.

Overall rating, Level 5.

Huh? You heard it from across the school grounds?

It was incredibly loud.

Girls were nearly jumping out of their skins.

Good grief.

It's so annoying that's the only way to get an accurate reading.

Sometimes I think an ability like yours

would be a lot more convenient than mine.

Isn't it amazing how the grass is always greener

on the other side?

Yeah, yeah, spout all the platitudes you want to...

Say whatever you want.

It doesn't change the fact that you're Tokiwadai's Ace.

You can thrust out your chest with pride

based upon that alone.

The Ace, am I?

Although, I may be wrong.

This small chest of yours might be too modest

and bashful to be thrust out.

But, oh! It's this very modesty

that lays at the heart of your undeniable sensuality, Sissy!

This simple yet elegant temptation

is almost too much for one girl to bear!

My poor heart might break!

There's already something broken in your head.

I was just trying to bond with you, Sissy.

Shut up!

-Let's see. -U--i--ha--ru!

Oh, I see that you're sporting

the light pink polka--dots today.

I can't believe you!

What do you think you're doing, Saten?

Oh, come on, just relax.

We're classmates, aren't we?

There's no need to be so bashful about it.

Here, let's try again.

It'll make you feel better.

You're awful, you know that?

Sorry, sorry.

I got carried away.

Want to see mine to even the score?

No, thank you.

Sometimes I think you're pure evil.

Oh, I forgot. How'd it go?

How did what go?

Well, what do you think, silly?

You had your System Scan.

Oh.

An absolute disaster.

I'm still ranked a Level 1,

just like I've always been way back to grade school.

You should have heard my homeroom teacher,

"Are those flowers on your head just for show?

Use their blooming power

to encourage your own abilities to blossom!"

Oh, wow.

There's so much in that speech

I could make fun of, it's too easy.

But, that aside,

try to keep your chin up, 'kay?

Level 1 is a whole lot better than nothing, if you ask me.

Unlike my pathetic Level Zero.

I am officially incompetent.

Now, now. Don't worry about me.

I make sure to enjoy every day as much as I can.

Long as I do that, it's okay!

That's a good philosophy.

Here. Listen to this.

It'll cheer you up.

It's Hitotsui Hajime!

-What's this song? -You wouldn't have heard it.

I downloaded the pre--release early.