A Certain Scientific Accelerator (TV series)
The series stars Nobuhiko Okamoto, Rina Hidaka, and Yurika Kubo, with Sayumi Watabe, Nozomi Sasaki, Yuko Kaida, Ryota Ohsaka, and Ayumi Mano joining the main cast. In October 2018, a TV adaptation of the manga to be directed by Kamanaka was announced, with Sugihara joining him in March 2019. "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" first aired in Japan on July 12, 2019, consisting of 12 episodes, and concluded on September 27. Premise. After saving Last Order from being infected with a virus and surviving the gunshot inflicted by Ao Amai, Accelerator must wipe out the  dark side of Academy City to protect her and the remaining clones of Mikoto Misaka called "Sisters", with a magician who could manipulate the dead named Esther Rosenthal joining him. Cast and characters. Additionally, Aki Toyosaki and Kanae Itō make cameo appearances as Kazari Uiharu and Ruiko Saten from "A Certain Scientific Railgun" franchise, respectively. Production. Development. A TV adaptation of "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" manga series was announced at the Dengeki Bunko 25th Anniversary Fall Dengeki Festival event on October 7, 2018, as part of several projects under "A Certain Project 2018", with Nobuharu Kamanaka confirmed as the director . Kamanaka hoped that creating the series would be "fun to see" how Accelerator and the world around him "fit together". On March 23, 2019, J.C.Staff was announced to be producing the series, with Kenji Sugihara and Yohei Yaegashi joining the staff as the series composition writer and character animation designer, respectively. The series confirmed to be consisting of twelve episodes. Writing. Asami Ishikawa, Noboru Takagi, Masaharu Amiya, and Tsuyoshi Tamai served as episode scriptwriters. Yurika Kubo stated that the first episode of "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" was written originally for viewers to get into the "Index" franchise, while the remaining  episodes adapted the manga series. The portrayal of Academy City's dark side is one of the major elements of the franchise, but "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" differentiates from "A Certain Magical Index" and "A Certain Scientific Railgun" due to Accelerator, who came directly from the dark side, leading the series, making its atmosphere "unique" and "dark" that "flow[s] from start to finish". The series takes place before the events of "A Certain Magical Index III". Casting. In the October 2018 announcement of "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" anime, Nobuhiko Okamoto and Rina Hidaka were confirmed to be reprising their roles  from "A Certain Magical Index" as Accelerator and Last Order, respectively. In March 2019, Kubo joined the main cast as Esther Rosenthal, with Sayumi Watabe, Nozomi Sasaki, Yuko Kaida, Ryota Ohsaka, and Ayumi Mano confirmed in May 2019 as Hasami Hitokawa / Huotō, the Sisters, Aiho Yomikawa, Mikihiko Hishigata, and Hiromi Hishigata, respectively. Kamanaka chose Watanabe to play Huotō due to her ability to give "strong" and "weak" performances, which were key points for her character; Ohsaka was chosen to play the series' antagonist due to his "agitating" roles; Mano was selected for her "cute acting" that was needed for her  character's "naive" nature. In June 2019, Akane Fujita, Aoi Koga, Yuka Nukui, and Nozomi Nishida were announced to be playing the dark side organization Scavenger members Rita Īzumi / Leader, Naruha Sakuragi, Tarōmaru Seike, and Itsuki Yakumaru, respectively. Aki Toyosaki and Kanae Itō reprise their respective roles from "A Certain Scientific Railgun" as Kazari Uiharu and Ruiko Saten to cameo in the fourth episode. Music. Maiko Iuchi, the composer of "A Certain Magical Index" and "A Certain Scientific Railgun", was confirmed in March 2019 to be composing the series. The Sixth Lie and sajou no hana performed the opening and  ending theme musics titled "Shadow is the Light" and "Parole", respectively. Reiji of The Sixth Lie revealed their decision to make the opening theme a "thick digital rock song" due to Accelerator being the "strongest", which Arata Yamaji, the manga illustrator, described as the "strongest weapon" for the series. Marketing. On March 23, 2019, a promotional video and TV commercial for "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" were released, with additional two promotional videos featuring the opening and ending theme musics streamed on June 22. On June 29, 2019, the series' first episode was screened in advance at Yunika Vision in Shinjuku , while a stage greeting with the cast was held at Toho Cinemas. Release. Broadcast. "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" began airing in Japan on AT-X, Tokyo MX, BS11, and MBS on July 12, 2019. Home media. On July 12, 2019, Crunchyroll began streaming "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" outside of Asia, while Muse Communication began distributing it on their Muse Asia YouTube channel. Funimation began streaming the series in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on July 26, 2019, and Netflix released the full season in India on September 1, 2020. The series was released  on Hulu in Japan on March 24, 2022. The first Blu-ray and DVD volumes of the series were released on October 30, 2019, the second volumes on December 25, and the third and final volumes on February 28, 2020. Each volumes contain four episodes and a bonus novel written by Kazuma Kamachi titled "A Certain Magical Index SS: Biohacker", which follows Toma Kamijo meeting his senior schoolmate named Seria Kumokawa and a Tokiwadai Middle School student named Ayu Mitsuari. Reception. Theron Martin of Anime News Network rated the first episode of "A Certain Scientific Accelerator" 4 out of 5  stars, describing the overall production "at least... impressive" despite his concerns with Kamanaka and Sugihara due to their previous works and the show a "sharp enough addition to the franchise that... should not disappoint any established fan of the franchise".