There’s no doubt at all that A Certain Magical Index is very, very, for the want of a better term, shonen-y.  It’s the very definition of pulp, a story full of entertainingly over the top villains, a reality where everyone has superpowers or magical abilities and a punch to the face is the cure for all evils. Except that actually Index is a bit better than that, and this song is an interesting reflection of it.

Normally shonen themes are pretty upbeat – shouty rock anthems, singalong pop songs, the kind of stuff that kids will like and bands can plug. ‘PSI-missing’ is very different. For a start, it’s a song driven by synth and keyboard rather than guitar and drums, going for a techno vibe which is refreshingly different. It’s also a surprisingly quiet song to open such an action packed show. Mami Kawada’s vocals are almost haunting and the entire song is infused with a sense of ghostliness and melancholy quite unlike what you’d expect. It’s the perfect match for the shadowy, secret world of Index. Visually it’s not quite as impressive but we still get a nice look at a bunch of the characters (plus bonus cameos from Saten and Uiharu!) and Kuroko gets to glomp Miska so it’s all good. There’s also cool teases of the dead-eyed Misaka and Kanzaki and Accelerator messing shit up that whet the appetite for their eventual appearances. Basically it does the job of an OP brilliantly – after watching this, you’re eager to get into that world and see what the hell is going on.