English Dub Review: A Certain Magical Index III “The Right Seat of God”

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OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Styil Magnus interrogates Lidvia Lorenzetti and Biagio Busoni, members of the Roman Catholic Church and previous antagonists (who were each the weakest parts of their respective arcs) about what they know regarding their church’s plans, as well as what they know about The Right Seat of God group. Lidvia tells him about the concept of “Original Sin” and how members of the Right Seat have somehow managed to dilute their own sins, allowing them to use the powers of angels (which are also a thing in this franchise, FYI). But their ultimate goal is to obtain the “Right Seat of God” itself.

In France, Toma gets separated from Tsuchimikado while parachuting down, but lands in a nearby stream. He’s pulled to shore by Itsuwa of the Amakusa Church. Toma explains his mission: They’re there to find the Document of C, which can make whatever the Pope says be understood to Roman Catholics as accurate information and have everyone follow it as it if was the truth, even if it’s proven false (insert joke about a political party you don’t like here). That means 1.3 billion minds they can potentially control and use against Academy City for more than just protests, but it needs to get to the Vatican to work properly, so Toma’s group has to secure the document before that can happen.

The two get lunch and Itsuwa goes over the concept of “Geoducts”, essentially Ley Lines, which have their own obscure Christian history attached to them like the Document of C, but what this basically means is that the Pope will be able to use the Document from Italy even while it’s in France as long as it’s in a church or something under his domain. The drawback is it takes a while, giving Toma and Itsuwa time to go find it before that can happen. But before they can make further plans, protesters recognize Toma as a student from Academy City (I guess because he’s Asian and wearing a school uniform…?) and give chase. Toma figures this is just a diversion by the Roman Catholics, so he and Itsuwa head to the Document.

They soon reach the Papal Palace, make contact with Tsuchimikado, and make a plan to disrupt the Geoducts while they grab the Document, finding one in an abandoned museum. Their efforts are interrupted by Terra of the Left, another member of the Right Seat of God.

OUR TAKE

Ah, good ol’ pseudo-Christian mythology mixed with obtuse magic terminology. It’s like you never left, Index! This episode is more like what I remember the show to be, warts and all, so it’s nice to be getting back to what makes the “magic” side of the story so quirky. This is also the third arc to take place mostly in an area outside Academy City, and the second to be entirely outside of Japan, but it’s all business this time so there’s no time for wacky vacation shenanigans. Though we do get plenty of humor through Toma and Itsuwa’s interactions early on.

If I remember correctly, this is also the first time Itsuwa has been more than a bit character, and so has a lot more lines than she’s ever had before, so luckily her voice actress from Season 2, Krishna Smitha, is back to lend to her general pleasantness as the nicer one of Toma’s many love interests. Sadly, unless she has her own spin-off show in the works, I don’t think she’s doing very well in the running for him.

Less interesting is George Manley as Terra of the Left, who also had very few lines last season but now takes center stage, though as the antagonist of this arc. After much talk this episode about the Right Seat, as well as the showdown against Vento of the Front at the end of last season, Terra’s not looking like much more than a boring mini-boss. It might have to do with their being so much else happening around it, but I remember the Vento fight being really cool and intense, especially since she had such a neat look and power set. Though while Vento had the “yellow goth battle nun” look going for her, Terra looks like one “DAMAGED” forehead tattoo away from looking like a Joker knock-off. We don’t get a full look at his own powers this time, so I’ll save my thoughts on that for next week.

It also looks like next week will be the end of this arc, which is another sign of how much this season may have to rush itself to fit in the nine or ten volumes of material it plans to cover. While this particular arc may seem pretty uneventful so far, hopefully, this won’t end up harming the adaptation as it moves forward, especially once it gets into the latter half.