Daihaseisai

Clockwise from top left: An aerial view of Academy City during the festival, Touma and students of A Certain High School prepare for a match, the Night Parade festivities begin in a bath of colorful light and fireworks, an unfortunate school forced to compete against Tokiwadai Middle School.

## Information

### **Side**

Science

The **Daihaseisai** (大覇星祭（だいはせいさい）, *Daihaseisai*?, lit. "Grand Champion Star Festival", alt. "Daihasei Festival") is an annual large-scale sports festival which takes place in Academy City. Occurring between September 19th and September 25th, during which Academy City is partially open to outside visitors, the week-long, city-wide, inter-school sporting competition sees students from all schools competing in various athletic events, with the use of esper abilities permitted.

The Daihaseisai is a major milestone in story of the *Toaru* series, with two story arcs occurring during the events of the festival, one in *Toaru Majutsu no Index* and one in *Toaru Kagaku no Railgun*.

## Principles

The Daihaseisai is an annual sports festival which is held in Academy City. Similar to sports days held in schools elsewhere but on a much larger scale, the Daihaseisai takes place over seven days, between September 19th and September 25th, and is city-wide, with students from every school in the city involved in the festival, competing in a variety of athletic events.

With nearly all of the students in the city being espers, use of esper abilities is permitted and encouraged in events, with the stated purpose of observing large-scale mutual interference between different abilities (listed in student pamphlets). The performance of each school is also used to evaluate their esper development programs and determine the budgets they receive.

One of the main purposes of the Daihaseisai is to support and improve Academy City's public image, with the festival being targeted towards outsiders who know little or nothing of the city's advanced science and esper abilities (as opposed to the similar scale cultural festival, the Ichihanaransai, which is internally focused). The city is open to the outside public during the festival and packed with visitors, including both students' families and tourists. Cameras are also allowed inside and the Daihaseisai is broadcast worldwide, with potential ratings comparable to even the World Cup due to the unique draw of esper showdowns not seen in normal sport matches. As such, the festival is an inherently viable propaganda and political tool for the city.

### Competition

The inter-school sports competition that makes up the bulk of the Daihaseisai is comprised of a wide variety of athletic events, held throughout the week at various points across the city. Events can be held in stadiums, sports grounds, on roads, and across entire districts, depending on their nature. Timetables are distributed listing the planned times for all events in a particular day, though certain circumstances can cause times and venues to change on the day. There is a two hour lunch break in the timetable between midday and 2:00 PM.

Every school in Academy City and most of its students are involved in the competition, with over 1.8 million participants. As such, most schools prepare in advance and train their students for the upcoming competition. An example of this would be Tokiwadai Middle School, more so during the story's first year after they came second to Nagatenjouki Academy in the previous year, setting up a school-wide P.E. lessons for the Daihaseisai. Although the exact uniform differs between schools, most of the students participating are basically wearing their P.E. uniforms, usually having short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Because they are of different schools, some of them wear shoe covers or track attire. Some students from special schools even put on aikido clothing, camouflage pants, or armoured suits (non-driven) that are made from special materials.

The number of a school's students participating in a match differs depending on the nature of the event, from a single contestant to a pair or small team, or even a school's entire team. Each school divides its students into a red team and a white team, with colored headbands and sashes worn to indicate team membership, with a school's red team competing against another school's white team in events and vice versa. Event participation can also be divided based on year and gender.

Schools are ranked according to scores based on wins and losses, with wins from both red and white teams earning points to add to their school's overall score. The school with the highest score at the end of the festival is crowned champion, though in practice the only schools really competing for the championship are the top five schools, with changes in the top five rankings typically being a reshuffling between them. In both the most recent Daihaseisai and the one before it, Nagatenjouki Academy came in first place, with Tokiwadai Middle School being runners up.

* Contestants preparing to use their abilities in the Wrench Pole Competition
* Contestants using their abilities right from the start in the Three-Legged Race
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Competitors are allowed to use their esper abilities and encouraged to do so under the excuse of observing large-scale mutual interference between abilities,The large-scale clash of hundreds of esper abilities during the Daihaseisai has been rumored to create Shadow Metal. Although it has been shown that the metal can be produced through clashes of powerful abilities, it has not been shown whether any is produced during the regular clashes in the Daihaseisai, which is why high-class schools with high-level espers, such as Tokiwadai, excel during the Daihaseisai.

* Saten and Uiharu in front of festival stalls
* Maika selling specially-prepared food
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Although the Daihaseisai is mostly a large-scale sporting event, students are not bound by the athletic events at all times. They are merely required to reach the competition area by a specific time and participate in the event, and aside from any additional obligations, they are free to spend their time how they like, with various attractions and stalls to enjoy. Schools are even allowed to set up stores to get some earnings like the management or home economics schools that Tsuchimikado Maika is in.

#### Rules

Rules vary depending on the event in question, though there are several common ones between many of them. With events taking place over a wide area, such as the Balloon Hunter, airborne Homing Cameras are used to keep track of competitors, monitor the event to assist with adjudication, and allow for communications to and from contestants.

Although esper abilities are permitted, there are a number of rules concerning their usage. Aside from supporting their own efforts, participants can use their abilities to impede and interfere with an opponent, however they cannot deliberately use them to directly injure an opponent. In cases where events are held in the general public, abilities past a certain threshold, specifically the Level 5s, are forbidden in case they harm people, like when Mikoto was in the 'borrowing-items race' she could not use her powers as it was too dangerous, even if she restrains herself. These restrictions don't apply in other matches where it is only school versus school. Using powers to influence adjudication is obviously not allowed.

Competitors are not allowed to take items unrelated to the event into the competition area.

### Management

Given the scale of the Daihaseisai, physical preparations begin several weeks in advance of the festival, in early September. Alongside the individual preparations carried out by each school, city-wide plans and preparations are overseen, organized and carried out by the Daihaseisai Management Committee, together with Judgment and Anti-Skill. Tasks performed by the committee include reviewing the layout of the roads to prepare for the oncoming traffic, as well as refereeing competitions. In the days following the festival, though workers remain in alert mode, while the equipment is being removed, the students receive a short break.

The Daihaseisai allows for students to be out at night time (they are normally discouraged from doing so, with traffic set to stop when schools completely close) to enjoy various night events along with visitors, the most notable being the Night Parade which occurs every sunset during the festival. Night tours are also conducted during the festival.

Although normal teaching and certain research activities are halted during the festival, non-Daihaseisai research activities are not completely suspended. Several research-orientated events are held during the festival period, such as an ability researchers conference in School District 9 (planned for 2PM on September 20th (Day 2) in the story's first year).

#### Committee

The **Daihaseisai Management Committee** (大覇星祭運営委員会, *Daihaseisai Un'eiiinkai*?) is the student group which is responsible for organizing and overseeing the Daihaseisai. It is separated into divisions according to levels of education - for example, Fukiyose Seiri is part of the High School Division. They wear armbands and labelled hoodies to indicate their position on the committee.

Though not possessing the special privileges of Judgment and Anti-Skill, they plan and oversee the preparations and running of the festival, as well as carrying out any special requests concerning the festival made by the Board of Directors. Though they help to run the athletic events in the competition, committee members are not exempt from participating in events themselves and have to arrange their duties and work schedule so it doesn't affect their own matches, requiring them to memorize maps and schedules, and have good planning and adaptive capabilities. Their extensive obligations leave them with very little free time.

#### Guests

Visitors are given entrance IDs with a GPS transmitter attached, which is used to track their location from headquarters and assist with managing the many festival attendees. When a lost child notice is received, it is used to pinpoint their location and have the nearest Judgment member meet and care for the child until their parent arrives to pick them up.

Security robot cameras and the airborne Homing Cameras are also used to help locate and guide visitors.

#### Security

Due to the circumstances of the Daihaseisai, in which the city is open to outsiders, security at the city wall has to be relaxed during the preparation period and the festival itself. However, the chance that this kind of situation creates for terrorism, theft or other crimes by individuals from both inside and outside the city is not overlooked. As such, Judgment and Anti-Skill are deployed throughout the festival (though members of the former still have to take part in their matches), both to keep peace and order, and to aid visitors.

Many schools prohibit access to their premises during the week, in order to avoid outsiders (both from outside the city and from other schools) from seeing their esper development facilities and technology, with the only exception being their own students. School Garden remains off-limits to outsiders, and the students of Tokiwadai Middle School stay at hotels rather than their dormitories during the festival. Anti-Skill are deployed to important power development and research facilities to prevent entry. Sports grounds are also heavily guarded to prevent people from stealing DNA maps for high level espers.

There are also hidden security issues concerning infiltration and interference from the Magic Side, which were illustrated in the most recent Daihaseisai with the actions of Oriana Thomson and her plot with Lidvia Lorenzetti to use the Croce di Pietro and place the city under the domain of the Roman Catholic Church. Due to the precarious circumstances between the Magic Side and the Science Side, the center of which is Academy City, and the treaty between them, both sides were limited in dealing with the situation. Scientific security forces such as Anti-Skill and Judgment could not be allowed to face the magical infiltrator, due to the risk of unauthorized access to the other side's techniques and causing problems with other magical groups. At the same time, Academy City could not make an exception and officially let a group from Necessarius in to deal with the infiltrator, as other external factions would either demand the same permit, under excuses such as "protecting citizens of our country who are in the city as tourists", or forcibly rush in regardless. Refusals would create disputes which would snowball into conflict and many would use the opportunity to sneak in and carry out sabotage work. In the end, Stiyl Magnus was sent into the city under the cover of being a "friend of a resident and being there for sightseeing", working with Kamijou Touma and Tsuchimikado Motoharu while staying away from Index, whom the other factions were focusing their magical detection spells around.

#### Infrastructure

For transportation, other than the rerouting of traffic flow by the committee, the Daihaseisai marks the widespread use of automated buses in restricted conditions in spite of the difficulty of using them, while ordinary vehicles are banned, though taxis, delivery trucks, and ambulances and likely other emergency vehicles are still allowed.

### Known Events

#### Others

* 1st: A seven day, five night, two person trip to northern Italy.
* 2nd: A three day, two nights, two person trip to Shimoda City in the Izu Peninsula.
* 3rd: 20,000 yen meal voucher
* 4th: NP3 Player

## Background

In the past, there have apparently been a number of incidents during the Daihaseisai which have not been made public, including spiritualists attempting to bomb a stadium and anti-AI people attempting to destroy an unmanned helicopter.

In previous festivals, the top rankings have mostly been fought for and occupied by the top five schools. In the year before the main story, the festival's champions were Nagatenjouki Academy with Tokiwadai Middle School as the runners-up.

## Chronology

### Toaru Majutsu no Index

#### Orsola Aquinas Rescue Arc

*Main article: Orsola Aquinas Rescue Arc*
Tsuchimikado Maika mentioned the Daihaseisai along with many other activities and events in the second semester. Preparations for the festival were underway across the city, including at Touma's school, with Touma being asked to set up (and take down) a tent. Security at the outer wall was noted to be somewhat lax during the preparations and run-up to the festival.

#### Tree Diagram Remnant Arc

*Main article: Tree Diagram Remnant Arc*
Shirai Kuroko mentioned that School Garden won't open to outsiders even during the Daihaseisai.

#### Daihasei Festival Arc

*Main article: Daihasei Festival Arc (Index)*
Prior to the opening ceremony, Touma made a bet with Mikoto (who was on the opposing red team) that his school would beat hers, with a penalty that the loser would do what the winner said for a day. In their first event after the ceremony, Touma's school were up against an private elite sports school in the Wrench Pole Competition and lacking motivation, but became considerably more motivated after seeing Tsukuyomi Komoe belittled to the point of tears by an opposing teacher. Not long after their victory, Touma was dragged off by Mikoto as part of the Scavenger Hunt. According to Uiharu Kazari, the first few hours were quiet on the Judgment front, with the only notable incident being an attempt by a corporate spy to steal DNA maps through a grilled squid stall.

The first day also saw a plot by Lidvia Lorenzetti and Oriana Thomson to place Academy City under the domain of the Roman Catholic Church using the Croce di Pietro (initially under the guise of a trade involving the fictional Stab Sword, with Oriana in the city as a decoy). Due to the delicate situation at the time of the Daihaseisai, Stiyl Magnus and Tsuchimikado Motoharu were deployed, the former in the city under the cover of being a "friend of Kamijou Touma and being there for sightseeing", and also acted carefully to avoid other magical groups from using their presence and activity as an excuse to sneak into the city. They also kept away from Index as the magical detection spells used by those groups were likely to be focused around her. Touma subsequently spent most of the day helping them in their pursuit of Oriana instead of competing in the Daihaseisai.

During the course of their pursuit, aside from their own injuries, Fukiyose Seiri was hospitalized by one of Oriana's traps, which Touma and Tsuchimikado had intruded into the Ball Tossing Contest to deal with, and Himegami Aisa was seriously wounded by Oriana herself when she mistook her for an enemy due to her cross. One of the automated buses was also blown up by Stiyl during the chase. The pursuit ended in a confrontation at dusk in School District 23.

After Oriana's defeat, Lidvia's plot was thwarted when the light created by the Daihaseisai's Night Parade at 6:30 PM blotted out the starlight necessary for the Croce di Pietro.

After the events of the first day, Touma was briefly hospitalized but returned to participation on September 20th, starting with Group A of the male's Cavalry Battle, though his misfortune continued throughout the week. He also lost his bet with Mikoto, with his school unable to keep up with Tokiwadai's score and being utterly defeated in a direct clash on the third day.

#### La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc

*Main article: La Regina del Mare Adriatico Arc*
On the last day of the festival, Touma won the first place prize at the Visitor Numbers stall; a seven day trip to northern Italy, which would result in him and Index being in Chioggia and getting involved in the incident involving La Regina del Mare Adriatico.

#### Academy City Invasion Arc

*Main article: Academy City Invasion Arc*
On September 30th, when students were picking up their winter uniforms, measurements and orders for which were made around the time of the Daihaseisai, Touma accompanied Mikoto as part of the penalty game for having lost their bet during the festival. It was noted that the underground mall they visited, which had sustained damage during the incident on September 1st, was repaired quickly due to the Daihaseisai occurring soon afterwards. Later on, Accelerator passed a load of leftover child-focused medical kits from the festival.

#### Skill-Out Uprising

*Main article: Skill-Out Uprising*
During a conversation amongst Touma's class as to where they should all go out for dinner, one of them referred to something which was launched during the Daihaseisai. At this point, they were also said to now be familiar with Index since she had barged into class five times since the start of the Daihaseisai. In a discussion with Yomikawa Aiho about her freeloader moving out, Tsukuyomi Komoe mentioned how Nagatenjouki Academy were the champions of this year's Daihaseisai, beating Tokiwadai Middle School.

### Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

#### Daihasei Festival Arc

*Main article: Daihasei Festival Arc (Railgun)*
The Daihasei Festival Arc in *Toaru Kagaku no Railgun* takes place at the same time as the one in *Toaru Majutsu no Index*, primarily covering events on the first two days of the festival, though it mainly focuses on the second day rather than the first. Additionally, while the Daihaseisai still serves as a backdrop for the main events of the arc, there is more focus on the games early on, with Misaka Mikoto herself participating.

During the preparation period, the higher-ups requested performances from the Level 5s at the opening ceremony, though the committee were only able to get Shokuhou Misaki and Sogiita Gunha for the athlete's pledge. On the day, Gunha ended up improvising after forgetting his lines.

On the first day, Mikoto participated in and won the Three-Legged Race with Kongou Mitsuko in place of the wheelchair-bound Shirai Kuroko. While Mikoto was going to change into a clean uniform after getting her one dirty, Misaka 10032 ended up being mistaken for her by Wannai Kinuho and Awatsuki Maaya (who did not participate in any events on the first day and roped into the Balloon Hunter event. During the event, which ended in Tokiwadai's defeat, she was discretely injected with an incapacitating nanodevice (meant for Mikoto) by Baba Yoshio, collapsing after parting ways with Mikoto and subsequently being taken in by Shokuhou Misaki (who had her race plans foiled earlier). Unaware of this, Mikoto watched the night parade before spending the night at a hotel.

On the second day, after learning of Misaka 10032's disappearance, Mikoto's attempts to find her missing Sister were impeded by Shokuhou's manipulations to keep her away, including her friend's memories of her being erased, and she was forced to accompany Shokuhou Misaki's clique outside of her events, which included the Balloon Sandwich with Kongou (who agreed to help after hearing her circumstances). After a failed attempt to escape beforehand, when Kongou was hospitalized by Baba Yoshio, Mikoto broke away from the clique in anger, who were hindered in finding her by their own event timetables and Shokuhou herself being absent. Following Baba's defeat, Kouzaku Mitori hacked into the Daihaseisai's guest tracking system to locate Misaka Misuzu so she could take her hostage.

Due to the automated bus fleet being suspended for inspection after the previous day's explosion, traffic jams started popping up across the city as a result of the festival losing its chief form of transportation. One of these traffic jams obstructed the vehicle Shokuhou and Mikoto were riding in as they were rushing towards Exterior after the former learned that Kihara Gensei was targeting the device when they captured his decoy at the conference in School District 9. This forced Shokuhou to use Exterior's power to have the drivers ahead clear the road and make a path for their vehicle. Around the same time, Touma was participating in the Borrowed Item Race, his target being a lucky charm. Borrowing one from Saten Ruiko, he went to return it afterwards and subsequently overheard Xochitl mention to her that Mikoto was being targeted.

After the Windowless Building was struck by lightning and strong electromagnetic waves were detected in School District 2, as a result of the forced Level 6 Shift attempt on Misaka Mikoto, under influence from Shokuhou, an Anti-Skill higher-up ordered an evacuation of visitors and residents from the affected areas, which were to be blocked off with no access even to Anti-Skill, in order to avoid casualties. The stated reason given for the evacuation given to the public was the presence of a large storm cloud moving over the city. Outdoor events were temporarily suspended and a number of events were moved indoors, with guests told to follow the instructions of the committee and seek refuge indoors. A number of Homing Cameras were sent into the affected areas to help stragglers evacuate, though they were unable to get in close in School District 2 due to the strong electromagnetic waves.

After the conclusion of the incident on the second day, while returning memories she had erased, Shokuhou covered up Mikoto's absence from the second day's events as the result of an upset stomach. In the subsequent days, Saten got first place in the Baseball Bat Race, Wannai Kinuho participated in a Cavalry Battle, and Kongou managed to recover in time to team up with Mikoto again. Near the end of the festival, Saten arranged for Mikoto to dance with Touma at the Folk Dance after noticing her reaction to him, with Uiharu briefly restraining Kuroko.