Volume 22, Afterword
To readers who have followed this series book by book, long time no see.
To readers who bought all twenty-four books at once, nice to meet you.
I’m Kamachi Kazuma.
This time, it’s Volume 22. So now the "God’s Right Seat" arc has finally concluded... Starting back in Volume 11 with Vento of the Front, no matter what, this is an arc that has spanned ten novels.
This is a good opportunity to talk about the three main characters.
About Kamijou Touma:
He’s a "relative" character at all times. If there are no magicians or espers who possess supernatural abilities around him, the ability to "negate" them can’t be shown. It’s the same when ideals clash with ideals; most of the time, you aren't taking the initiative but rather reacting to your opponent. If Touma’s opponent were a normal person who has an unshakable resolve, Touma will probably suffer defeat. Also, against that kind of opponent, "there is no reason to clash".
Now, if the Hamazura Shiage who has grown somewhat defeated Kamijou in a normal fight, there will probably be a balance between the three main characters. That would be very interesting; what do all of you think?
In this volume, there are probably many readers who feel that Kamijou isn’t quite like how he is in previous volumes. Though, compared with character growth, the main reason is probably more due to his opponent being too abnormal. If we look at it as "The ability which can restrain a strong power is more powerful", then Kamijou Touma’s position has risen.
Originally, he’s an undefined character.
If he finds that his cat has gotten lost, he’ll do all he can to try and find it. If there's a threat to the world, he'll also use all his strength to stop it from happening. Even though he acts in a serious manner, as the nature of the event changes, the direction that he’s serious towards also changes. Kamijou is then such a magical character.
Also, in this series, there have been several characters that can be called "Kamijou’s opponent". These are all characters that were made by taking some aspect of the character Kamijou Touma as a base, but with some changes added. In other words, Kamijou himself has many sides to him to begin with.
The impression that the world of "Toaru Majutsu no Index" gives is that there are no overarching plot or characters that specifically pertain to it. Some are just picking various characters as the main protagonist and then telling the stories around them (this is especially true for SS2). Though every protagonist has a story that makes them shine for one moment, Kamijou Touma gives the feeling that for him, from the battlefield with shells flying past to having a Chinese hotpot cook-off, he would be a suitable character regardless of the situation... but that’s not saying that he has many talents. Having a "so-called main character" who knows nothing but still charges ahead would probably make this story easier to write. If he is forcibly made into a "specialist of a certain area", then when it comes to problems outside his specialty, there would be deeper questions to worry about.
About Accelerator:
From another perspective, Accelerator who's been written as a "dark hero" has traces of a Saint in him. He has the kind of feeling that a person who has committed a great sin but then stepped onto the difficult road to redemption in order to redeem themselves gives off.
As proof of surpassing his trials, his wings have completely changed colors... I’ve wanted to try writing a scene like this for a long time now.
From the bottom of his heart, what Accelerator wants is not a lover but a family. In spite of knowing nothing about what a family is, he's still been able to act as a parent for Last Order (though it’s unknown whether as a father or a mother), although there are some contradictions with how he acts as a child around Yomikawa and Yoshikawa (most prominently, the scene in Volume 15 where Yomikawa takes the gun out of his hands).
While being a symbol of his past, the title of a "Villain" had also given him a good reason to run away. In this Volume 22 where he surpasses being chained down by "Good" and "Evil", he undoubtedly will now head towards the direction of a "family".
About Hamazura Shiage:
In this war, regardless of it involving Kamijou Touma or Accelerator, both of them have been dragged into something beyond common sense. So, this character has the job of making the readers feel the atmosphere of "war".
Needless to say, what's been entangling him are his grades at school—i.e., being branded as a "Powerless Person (Level 0)"- though after seeing the results of the schools’ teachings and the system scans, being called by the upper levels of Academy City as "the typical child whose future has been misled by adults" would not be wrong. He's personally shattered the chains that were holding his heart down, and, at the same time, has saved his companion who's being weighed down by the chains of being an elite "Level 5".
Despite the fact that we’re talking about the Hamazura Faction that’s not on the Science side or the Magic side, the topics coming up are getting close to the core of everything. The so-called "specifically made potential espers who can rise to Level 5"... "Dark Matter" is a special exception, so it can’t be verified, but no matter if it’s Accelerator or the "Railgun", apart from being simply biological resources from the industrial point of view, they're simply "delicious", no? The seventh Level 5 who appears in SS2 should be fairly powerful, but why is he only the seventh? Regarding this kind of question, from this point of view, the answer should be more obvious... At first glance, the fifth seems to have little value, but when used in disciplines such as sports and medicine, there'd be great benefits.
...And, though this is only in jest, in terms of relationships and all related matters, I feel that Hamazura has made the most progress. In this type of situation, the only main character who can answer questions like “But haven’t you already chosen ]insert person here[?” is probably him. A certain spiky-haired boy somewhere else seems to have gotten into this problem as well.
Thank you to Haimura-sensei, who's in charge of illustrations, and Miki-sensei, who's in charge of printing. Because it’s the conclusion of the "God’s Right Seat" arc, there are many large-scale scenes, and the illustrations have probably gotten harder to draw. To have listened to some of my more troublesome requests, many thanks.
Finally, thank you to all you readers out there. For the "God’s Right Seat" arc to have a story this grand, your help and support plays a crucial role. To have supported my impulsive settings and developments, I am very grateful.
Then, we will conclude here this time.
Hope you'll flip open this book next time as well.
I’ll sign off here.
Next time: “The world that has been saved”!!
Kamachi Kazuma.