"A Certain Scientific Railgun" is a manga that has been serialized in Dengeki Comic Daioh since 2007 as a spin-off of "A Certain Magical Index". Its official name is "A Certain Magical Index Gaiden, A Certain Scientific Railgun". The first season of the anime was broadcast in 2009, and the second season, "A Certain Scientific Railgun S", aired in 2013. Both seasons are 2 cours long. In this article, we'll introduce the charms of Saten Ruiko, the representative non-powered character from Railgun!
Synopsis of Railgun
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
A city called "Academy City" has a total population of 2.3 million, 80% of which are students. Students in the city learn to develop psychic powers as part of their curriculum, and students are mainly divided by level. There are levels ranging from Level 0 (non-powerful) to Level 5 (esper), and students are constantly studying every day to reach higher levels. A Certain Scientific Railgun is a story that centers around Misaka Mikoto, one of the seven Level 5s in Academy City, and follows her as she takes on various incidents related to the city's darkness.
Saten Ruiko (CV: Kanae Ito)
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
A first year junior high school student at Sakagawa Junior High School, she is best friends with Uiharu, who is a member of Judgment, and is in the same class as her. In Academy City, where abilities are absolute, she is unfortunately a Level 0 powerless person, but she usually behaves cheerfully and doesn't seem to care much about it. However, she also has a side to her that is like a normal middle school student, where she occasionally feels sad about her powerlessness due to unexpected events. She has a generally cheerful and kind personality, and is good at housework, and although she may seem easygoing at first glance, she is a very homely girl. She treasures the amulet given to her by her mother. Although she is Level 0, she does have the ability to use aerodynamics (aero hand), the same as Konno.
Saten's History of Action
The First Bank Robbery
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
I'm sure Saten hadn't appeared in the original work yet at this point, but she appears in the anime from the first episode. In the beginning, she was probably more than a named mob character but not yet a main character, and as you'd expect from a high-ranking psychic, she would make comments that showed her jealousy and envy, but after meeting Misaka and Shirai, that side of her disappeared. During the first bank robbery, while trying to evacuate, she found a child who hadn't made it out in time, and since Shirai wasn't nearby, she showed her bravery by putting her own life on the line to protect the child. She was assaulted by the robber at that time, and Misaka, seeing what was happening, lost her temper and the matter was resolved. Saten is great.
Sisters Edition
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
At first, he was desperate to find the money cards that were being handed out in the back alleys, crawling around on the ground like a cockroach (lol), but it seems like he was able to get a lot of cards with his mysterious sense of smell, which is great. He didn't have many scenes in the second half, but in the end he became Misaka's baking master and did his best to soothe her.
Gensou Ote (Level Upper) Edition
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
Unfortunately, he got hold of the Level Upper, and while he knew it was not good to rely on such a thing, he was frustrated that he was powerless and could not protect anything. Unfortunately, he used the Level Upper and fell into a coma. The friendship between Uiharu and Saten in this scenario was wonderful.
Messy Release (Poltergeist) Edition
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
This scenario showed Saten-san's kindness as she was close to Harugami, who is Koto's current situation. And she managed to turn her biggest weakness of being powerless into her biggest strength. Machines that only work on people with powers are irrelevant to Saten, and she came into action with her deadly metal bat.
Silent Party Edition
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
He's been active since he looked after Febri, and in the final battle, he was inspired to act like a judge by swinging a metal bat at Bali in the final chapter of the first season. And after diligently studying the instruction manual the day before, she even piloted Konno Airlines' masterpiece robot, Ekaterina II. It was a moment that proved that Saten can do anything even if she's level 0 and otherwise perfect.
Saten's charm number 1: her overwhelming looks
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
It's not that the others aren't cute, everyone is cute, but Saten is in a class of her own (lol). She has long black hair, which is a classic. Her figure is also outstanding for a first-year junior high school student, and considering that such a cute girl could have been a mob character, this change in direction is a great success.
Saten's charm point 2: Overwhelming maternal instinct
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
Maybe because the other three she hangs out with have strong personalities, Saten seems very normal, and she kindly embraces the weaknesses of the others, or rather, she skillfully guides them in the right direction. At the end of the Daihasei Festival, Misaka and Kamijo's folk dance, and when it came to Noko Kamijo, she made a super nice pass to the useless Misaka (it hasn't been animated yet, so please check out the original work)
Saten's charm point 3: her overwhelming sense of justice
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
Because she's a Level 0, Saten is often the one who gets caught up in things, but if she sees someone being treated badly, whether it's a friend, acquaintance, or even a complete stranger, she can't just leave them alone. Even if it's a battle between people with special abilities and she feels out of place, she doesn't run away. That's cool, Saten.
Saten's charm #4: Saten is a homely girl
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
The other three Railgun Girls are all different, so Saten stands out, but she can cook and is good at making sweets. She manages to accomplish this with skills that are hard to believe for a first-year middle schooler. Unfortunately, Misaka's housekeeping skills are poor, so she asks Saten for help.
Saten's charm number 5: Saten is quite trendy
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
She is particularly sensitive to trends and rumors, and is knowledgeable about popular music and recommends it to those around her. When it comes to trends, leave it to Saten! That's the feeling. She is a modern young person after all.
Saten's charm point 6: She loves urban legends
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
She is extremely knowledgeable about urban legends, and even believes in unfounded rumors. As a result, she may get stuck in a big problem or cause trouble for those around her, but thanks to Saten, she has been able to discover many things, so it's still a positive thing (lol)
Saten's charm number 7: She has a very good personality
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
In the very beginning, Saten was a little bit cynical (even before she met Misaka, she assumed that anyone who was high-level was a hopeless person with a bad personality), but after she got to know Misaka and the others, her natural good nature really came out, and as you can see from how quickly she got to know Misaka and the others, she can make friends with pretty much anyone. I'm talking about the original work, but when she talked about Frenda, it really made my heart ache.
Saten's charm #8: Ui haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
She and her best friend Uiharu are really good friends, and they have a tremendous amount of trust in each other. They make up for each other's immaturity, and their passionate friendship explodes during the Level Up phase. A good bond emerges between them, and Saten is always flipping up Uiharu's skirt. I'm forever waiting to see when Uiharu will get revenge. In an anime OVA or something, she kept repeating the line, "Am I wearing pants?", which made me laugh so much.
Saten's charm number 9: When she makes a mistake, she reflects on it properly
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
She deeply regrets having gotten involved with Level Upper, and when she received supplementary lessons for that she was forced to do some pretty tough things, and everyone around her asked her why she had to do such things, but Saten, with a straight face, told them that since she cheated, it was only natural that she should be punished. She's not just cheerful, but she's also a mood maker in that respect.
Saten's charm #10: The three characters who can be given the honorific "san"
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
This is a joke (lol), but if you were asked to name an anime character who can be given the honorific "san", wouldn't Saten be the first one that comes to mind? If you ask me who the others are in the top three, I'd have a hard time answering... Mami-san and all... That being said, Saten-san is amazing, being called "san" by her big friends even though she's only in the first year of middle school! (lol)
Summary of Saten-san's charms!
Source: A Certain Scientific Railgun ©Kamachi Kazuma/Fuyukawa Motoi/ASCII Media Works/PROJECT-RAILGUN S
Anyway, Saten has a nice personality, is cute, and is a little absent-minded. In battle stories, strong characters often play an active role, but Saten is much more active than characters who are only half-strong, so she is the perfect representative of powerless people. I hope you all enjoy Saten's cuteness in the anime and the original work! Thank you for reading to the end.
