Of the three, Accelerator has had the most touchy anti-hero past, starting as one of the most popular antagonists before switching sides. Likewise, second to only Kamijou Touma (naturally as the anime’s main protagonist), Accelerator has some of the deepest lore amongst all characters — enough to warrant the creation of his own side series, A Certain Scientific Accelerator.

10 Accelerator Is An Esper

The world of A Certain Magical Index (and all of its spin-off series) is defined by a clear divide between the science-based espers of Academy City, and the Magic Side found everywhere else. Accelerator is an esper, and therefore, tends to interact with other major players on the Science Side of the universe.

Accelerator’s ability is highly technical, requiring him to solve complex equations in physics to manipulate vectors. Using his ability, Accelerator can cause massive amounts of destruction, redirecting bullets, launching massive bars of steel, and even fatally injuring people just by touching them.

9 Accelerator Is Academy City’s Number One

Just as Accelerator has a convenient ability, he also holds a high position in the politics of Academy City. Espers in A Certain Magical Index are ranked in terms of level, with Level 0 Espers having no ability and Level 5 Espers having the most manipulative abilities.

There are a total of 7 recorded Level 5 Espers in Academy City, including A Certain Scientific Railgun’s main heroine Misaka Mikoto (ranked 3rd of the 7). As for Accelerator, he is ranked first in terms of total power and usefulness.

8 Accelerator Is From The Dark Side Of Academy City

Generally speaking, Academy City (the urban setting of the A Certain series) has two faces which are explored directly in two of the three anime adaptations. A Certain Scientific Railgun focuses on the “Light” Side of Academy City, where Misaka Mikoto works with Judgement to fight crime. However, while the criminal side is present in this adaptation, A Certain Scientific Accelerator gives more focus to the Dark Side of Academy City.

Given Accelerator’s past (as a participant of the Shift Experiment), he is directly a part of the Dark Side of Academy City. At first, Accelerator was a member of the Dark Side’s human experiments, however, A Certain Scientific Accelerator focuses on his anti-hero fight against criminal organizations like the Scavengers.

7 Accelerator Is Enrolled In Nagatenjouki Academy

While his delinquent-like appearance would say otherwise, Accelerator is enrolled in a school within the constraints of Academy City. It may just be on the books (as Accelerator does not attend classes), but A Certain Scientific Accelerator’s namesake hero “attends” Nagatenjouki Academy.

While not as prestigious as Tokiwadai Academy, Nagatenjouki is considered one of the best schools in the entirety of Academy City. Interestingly, unlike the former, Nagatenjouki Academy does not discriminate between espers and non-espers — both attend the school regardless of their abilities.

6 Accelerator Was The Victim Of Human Experiments

Without a doubt, in both A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun, the Sisters Arc is considered to be one of the best. And one of the main factors for this popularity stems from the arc’s antagonist — the Sisters arc was the first appearance of Accelerator.

Here, Accelerator was forced to participate in the Level 6 Shift Project, in which he would be forced to kill 20,000 clones of Misaka Mikoto (the protagonist of A Certain Scientific Railgun) — in doing so, he would be able to “level up” to a Level 6 Esper. Luckily, Accelerator was defeated here by the protagonist of A Certain Magical Index, Kamijou Touma.

5 Accelerator Has His Own Side Series

Both A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun are very well-known for the size of their light novel selection and the popularity of their anime, respectively. However, there is a third anime adaptation in the universe that focuses on the story of Accelerator, A Certain Scientific Accelerator.

The (currently) one-season side series takes place around halfway through A Certain Magical Index’s first season (just after the Sisters Arc and meeting Last Order, to be specific). Unlike its two counterparts, A Certain Scientific Accelerator does not focus too much on the Magic or Science Sides, rather including characters from both (including Esther Rosenthal, a necromancer that acts as the series’ main heroine).

4 Accelerator Is Something Of A Babysitter

Along with Accelerator’s popularity in the series (and the anime and light novel community in general), his companion Last Order also receives a lot of admiration from the A Certain community. A member of the Sisters Network, Last Order is a young clone of Misaka Mikoto who acts as the master control of the network.

After her introduction, she quickly finds herself taken under Accelerator’s wings, with the latter acting as her guardian for her protection. As the series progresses, Accelerator grows a strong connection to Last Order — protecting the clone becomes Accelerator’s main objective throughout A Certain Scientific Accelerator and the late two seasons of A Certain Magical Index.

3 Accelerator Has An Unexpected Connection To The Magic Side

While Accelerator is typically seen as a Science-centric character, being the number one esper in Academy City, he does have a somewhat unexpected connection to the Magic Side of the series. Accelerator’s powers are stated to be connected to the plans of a major magical player in the series, considered by many to be the “real” main antagonist of the entire universe, Aleister Crowley.

This would be a major connection for Accelerator between both the Magic Side and Kamijou Touma, who is also considered to be strongly related to Aleister Crowley’s plans. While not necessarily confirmed, most fans of the series support the idea that Accelerator’s mysterious angel-like powers (that take the form of wings like Kakine Teitoku, the Rank 2 Level 5 Esper).

2 Accelerator Lost His Powers (Kind Of)

The events following the Sisters Arc represent a major shift in Accelerator’s role in the story, moving from an antagonist to an anti-hero that wants to use his to help others. Quite ironically, this shift in mindset initially shoots Accelerator in the back (actually, in the head). Following the incident with the Shift project, Accelerator meets Last Order — a child resembling Misaka Mikoto, who is actually the central hub of the Sisters network.

After Last Order is kidnapped shortly after, Accelerator comes to the rescue and is shot in the head by the scientist responsible for her capture, which causes his mental processes to fail to the extent of being unable to use his ability. Now, Accelerator must use a battery-powered electrode (ironically connected to the Sisters network) to use his ability, and this is where A Certain Scientific Accelerator starts.

1 Accelerator Was A Member Of GROUP

As a member of the Dark Side of Academy City, it only makes sense that Accelerator would become a participant in one of its most important events in A Certain Magical Index — the October 9th war (aka the Battle Royale Arc). The incident was a faction war between the Dark Side organizations at the time:

BLOCK ITEM - (including Rank 4 Mugino Shizuri and Hamazura Shiage) MEMBER SCHOOL - (including Rank 2 Kakine Teitoku) GROUP

Of the five organizations, Accelerator is recruited into GROUP along with Tsuchimikado Motoharu, Etzali, and Musujime Awaki. GROUP answers to Academy City’s Board of Directors, and therefore perform jobs that are too malice and secret for organizations like Anti-Skill or Judgement.

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