# A Certain Scientific Railgun (2009)

> Middle school esper Mikoto Misaka and her friends in the Judgment team fight crime in a high-tech city where students wield supernatural powers.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/28558

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 73
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, action, comedy
- Network: TOKYO MX
- Cast: Rina Sato, Satomi Arai, Aki Toyosaki, Kanae Itou, Minako Kotobuki, Nozomi Sasaki, Atsuko Tanaka, Atsushi Abe
- TMDB rating: 7.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1515996/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: playful, cheerful, energetic, affectionate

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its lively action, bright characters and fun spin-off take on the Academy City world.

## Synopsis

A Certain Scientific Railgun (2009-2020) is a Japanese anime action comedy series produced by J.C.STAFF and broadcast on TOKYO MX, spun off from the wider Academy City franchise. Its engine is Mikoto Misaka, a famously powerful electro-manipulating esper whose railgun attacks make her a local celebrity, and her middle school friends Kuroko Shirai, Uiharu and Saten, who serve alongside her on the Judgment law enforcement team. Voiced by Rina Sato as Misaka and Satomi Arai as Kuroko Shirai, the cast carries the show's lively friendship at its core. Each episode is largely self-contained, built around the crew responding to a new danger or quirky incident across the techno-metropolis, with a serialized backdrop of the larger franchise. Set in Academy City, a futuristic Japanese city where espers train in special schools, the series blends bright school life with flashy supernatural combat. Its tone is playful and affectionate, with teasing banter, flirtatious rivalries and bursts of spectacle that keep the mood buoyant. Fans of To Aru Majutsu no Index, Persona 4: The Animation and Psycho-Pass will find resonance in its ability-driven city, its teenage heroics and its sharp, stylish action. Across three seasons and seventy-three episodes, it remains an easy, entertaining watch for anime fans who enjoy female-led ensemble adventures.

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