Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index

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47 volumes and still ongoing. Over 50 if we count the side volumes. And yet Certain Magical Index is a novel that keeps on giving. What started as somehow simple (yet still original) concept of interactions between magic and sci-fi has long expanded into something much more elaborated.

But well, if you're reading a review for the third series of the novels, you're most likely already somehow acquainted with this franchise and the world of Index. You're most likely just checking on how the newest entry is doing. Worry not, it's doing great, at least so far. What I really like about Index is ... how it still manages to surprise me even though the power of the protagonist is really simple and only reactionary (well, on a paper) and let's be honest, it ultimately keeps following the same formula of Kamijou beating people up. Keyword here being "almost", as it's those little tweaks and turns that make the series enjoyable to read. By this time I really expected for Index to become repetitive bullshit and I'm glad to be able to say my expectations were wrong.

Another notable thing is how Index deals with plot armors. Kamijou might seem as having one, but that is not the case - not only he has to frequently suffer on the way to his goal as the miraculous victories aren't gifts free of change, it also just doesn't feel plot-armorish at all. It's not that the plot gives Kamijou armor, it's Kamijou who will keep punching not just Gods but the story itself until it gives him a way to follow his selfishly selfless goals.

Although the new series starts with some light comedy that did manage to get some chuckles out of me, it quickly turns into one of the most serious-feeling arcs in the novel (the author really just keeps one-upping himself, doesn't he?) in which the strong points mentioned above truly shine as the scale of the story continues to expand.

Even with just two volumes out at the time of writing this review, Genesis Testament is off to a stellar start and I hope it will keep it up with further continuation.