บท 327: Speculation
In A Certain Scientific Railgun, after entering the "Sisters" arc, a new male character appears—none other than the figure who had shown up during the "Level Upper" arc, Kamijou Touma. As soon as this character reappeared, many fans started discussing him.
"Is this guy the legendary Biri-Biri's 'cheat grandpa'? Every time something major happens to Biri-Biri, this guy always shows up out of nowhere. He appeared in the Level Upper arc, and now he's back with the Sisters."
"Biri-Biri? Who's that?"
"That's Misaka! Kamijou calls Misaka Biri-Biri because of the buzzing sound she makes when using her electricity. I think it fits her well."
"This guy feels like a main character, but he doesn't show up much in the slice-of-life parts. It feels a little odd."
"Yeah, I feel that too! It's almost like he's supposed to be the main character, but the author deliberately hides him away."
"I actually want the Porter to create a manga with Kamijou as the main character!"
"I don't care what Porter does. As long as he makes a new manga, I'd be fine with a pig as the main character! After all, you can tell from this series that even if the beginning isn't great, there will always be a 180-degree twist later on."
"Exactly! I started reading for the yuri, but now I'm hooked because of the Sisters!"
It's clear that, in this world where anime is so popular, readers are quick to pick up on certain things. And they were right to notice something odd.
This was something Ren couldn't help but acknowledge—they had figured it out.
In the original anime adaptation of Railgun, the production was indeed top-notch. But in Ren's opinion, the animation team was like a certain famous web novel author, known for inserting personal preferences, altering the plot, and adding lots of yuri elements.
This had a devastating effect on the story. The anime version of Railgun altered the timeline, removed significant connections with Index, and cut many scenes with the male lead, Kamijou Touma.
As a result, the spinoff and the main series felt disconnected, with an increased focus on yuri, leading to a large number of split fanbases and yuri fans.
Even though the Sisters arc existed in the anime, it still gave viewers the impression that Academy City was a place full of hope and light, where Kuroko was just a pervert, and the four main girls were bound together by unbreakable bonds. It made it seem like teamwork could solve anything, and that espers were invincible.
In Ren's previous life, this approach worked because Index had already been established as the main story, so no matter how much the anime deviated, there were still tons of fans.
But things were different here. In this world, Railgun was published first, and since Ren planned to release Index later, he needed to plant seeds for it in Railgun, setting the stage for the darker tone of Index.
As a result, the Railgun in this world had a darker, more serious tone, following the grittier themes of Index. The "Sisters" arc felt much more intense compared to the version Ren remembered from his previous life.
This difference left readers feeling like something was missing, as if they weren't seeing the whole picture.
At that moment, Daniel was reading the latest installment of Railgun.
He glanced at his fan community, noticing the discussions, and he couldn't shake that feeling.
"It feels like Railgun is a branch of some larger story," he muttered to himself, then suddenly paused. "Wait... could it be?"
He thought back to other side stories he'd read in the past. They had a similar feeling.
But...
Those stories had all been written after the main plot was established, with the side stories branching out later.
After thinking about it some more, Daniel decided it was probably unlikely. Surely he was just overthinking it.
After all, Railgun already had so many elements that it could easily stand alone as a complete work.
If Railgun was really a side story, then the main series would have to be massive! The plot would have to be incredibly complex, with a huge amount of content.
If the Porter actually managed to create such a work, it could very well be an epic manga of historical proportions.
The more Daniel thought about it, the more excited he became.
If the Porter really did release a story like that, it would be a huge treat for all the fans, right?
But...
"That's probably just wishful thinking," Daniel sighed. "After all, Railgun is already an excellent story. It's hard to imagine it being a mere side plot."
Now, looking back at how dismissive he'd been about the series in the beginning, Daniel couldn't help but feel like he'd been proven wrong.
Yes, the early parts of the story had been slow, with too much focus on daily life, but looking back now, it was clear that all of that was setting the stage for the Sisters arc.
Before, Misaka Biri-Biri had been portrayed as an invincible, cool, and powerful character—an electric princess who was nearly flawless except for her chest size and safety shorts.
But now?
This once proud and unstoppable Biri-Biri was now sneaking out every night, tirelessly destroying research labs.
Despite her best efforts, she couldn't change the fate of her sisters being slaughtered.
Truthfully, she didn't have to do any of this.
If it were most people, upon discovering that clones of themselves were being killed, they'd probably want to stay as far away as possible. After all, the kind of people or organizations capable of such actions were clearly powerful and dangerous.
But Misaka didn't do that.
She didn't run away. She chose to fight.
Even when facing a massive organization, she didn't back down.
It made readers feel for her, empathizing with her struggles.
Now, in hindsight, if the early chapters hadn't been filled with so much setup, the emotional impact of the Sisters arc wouldn't have hit as hard.
The Porter's method of creating such dramatic highs and lows hadn't changed.
Thinking back to Hitman Reborn and Madoka Magica, Daniel realized the Porter had always enjoyed taking readers to emotional highs before abruptly plunging them into despair.
"Same old cruel sense of humor!" Daniel muttered, continuing to read the latest chapter.
"This guy really is the male lead, huh?"
The more Daniel read, the more he believed it.
After all, in the latest interaction between Misaka's Sister No. 10031 and Kamijou, it seemed like her emotions had developed significantly.
After saying goodbye to Kamijou, Sister 10031 clutched her chest as if in pain.
To Daniel, this chest pain symbolized the emotional turmoil she felt, knowing she would soon be the next experiment subject. She was grieving her final farewell to Kamijou and her original sister, Misaka.
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