History Characters / ACertainScientificRailgun

* LovableSexManiac: There's something very funny about her attempts to get frisky with Mikoto. In fact, upon seeing Mikoto's mother (who looks just like an older, bustier version of Mikoto), she [[BuxomIsBetter already got fixated on the latter's assets]], complete with [[RedEyesTakeWarning glaring red eyes]], and probably would have [[ThanksForTheMammaries taken a grab]] real fast were she not bound to a wheelchair after a particularly brutal fight with [[spoiler:Awaki.]]

[[center:[[WMG:''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' / ''[[Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun Scientific Railgun]]'' / ''[[Manga/ACertainScientificAccelerator Scientific Accelerator]]'' '''[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndex character index]]'''\\

** Besides the feminine suffix on "black", a ''kuroko'' can refer to a type of stagehand which dresses in all black to signify they're not part of the scene. This seems like an allusion to her power, that is the ability to move between places without traversing the intermediary distance in the same way ''kuroko'' stagehands can move across a stage affecting the scene.

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: One of the most active members of Judgment and one of the most effective.

* ShesGotLegs: Boy howdy! And the camera ''loves'' to remind us of that whenever she's in flight or arming the darts strapped to her thighs!

%%zce* CryCute: PlayedForLaughs as a RunningGag every time Mikoto gives [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold her]] either the cold shoulder or the jolt.

Mikoto's underclassman and roommate in Tokiwadai Middle School, a Level 4 Esper, and member of Judgment. She has an obsessive crush on Mikoto, who she calls "OneeSama" ("Sissy" in the dub), and is on the constant lookout for a chance to... get close to her (which Mikoto rarely allows, let alone appreciates).

-->"I'm/We're from Judgment(DESU NO)!"
-->"'''OneeSama'''!"[[note]] "Sissy" in the english dub [[/note]]

* FieryRedhead: Though less violent tempered than most girls of this trope, Kuroko still has the melodramatic and passionate personality that's typical of it.

%%%* TheLancer: To Misaka Mikoto.

%%%%* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Chapter 49 of the manga (Railgun T, Episode 4).

* PsychoLesbian: When on duty or doing anything not involving Mikoto, she's hard working and likes to help people. When Mikoto enters the picture, she sexually harasses her constantly.

* SingleTargetSexuality: She only expressed interest in both Mikoto and later her mother (who is almost the splitting image of her daughter, minus being more well-endowed). When [[spoiler:her memory is wiped by the Queen]] she rejects the idea that she's a lesbian, which makes the situation she's in baffling for her since she can't help fixating over Mikoto. It may be less of a case of being a lesbian and more a case of being a [[IfItsYouItsOkay Misakasexual]] ...

* TeenGenius: Can do 11th dimensional vector calculations.

* MoralityChain: Suprisingly (or maybe not), Saten is this to [[spoiler:Uiharu]] in Jailbreak arc. Saten prevents [[spoiler:her best friend]] from making wrong decision with a pinch on [[spoiler:her]] cheek and a soft scolding [[spoiler:despite having her own injury to worry about]].

* MsFanservice: The shower scene of the PSP game and the beach episode of Season 1 ''loves'' to remind us that anime Saten has the ''best'' proportions of the Railgun quartet.

* CuttingTheKnot: When faced with trying to outhack Mikoto, Uiharu doesn't try to do any drawn out battle of the brains or some superhacking - she merely accesses and then deletes all the data before Mikoto can acquire any of it, defeating her in one fell swoop.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In Chapter 49 of the Manga (Railgun T, Episode 4).
* LittleMissSnarker: Towards Kuroko.

* SaltTheEarth: When she unknowingly caught Mikoto trying to hack into Academy City's main data centre and was unable to stop her, she decided to unleash Omega Secret on the database (or at least made it look like she did), which is an encryption program so complex it would take even Academy City's super computer 200 years to decrypt. In addition, each file is encrypted randomly, meaning each individual file will take another 200 years to decrypt. However, the encryption process is truly completely random, meaning not even Omega Secret itself knows how to decrypt it. So in one fell swoop, Uiharu made the database completely useless not only for Mikoto, but Academy City as well.

[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexProtagonists Index Protagonists]] | '''Railgun's Main Cast'''\\

!!Mikoto Misaka
!!![[MagneticWeapon The Railgun]]''/''[[TheAce The Ace of Tokiwadai]]''/''[[ShockAndAwe The Electric Princess]]
[[quoteright:164:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/misaka_mikoto_8.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/RinaSato (Japanese) and Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (English)

Mikoto, also known as [[InSeriesNickname "Biri-Biri"/"Bug-Zapper"]], is the main female Science-oriented protagonist of the ''Index'' universe and near-eponymous protagonist of her own spinoff, ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun''. Her power is [[ShockAndAwe Electromaster]], and with it she is the third most powerful Level 5, the highest rank attainable for an Esper. Has [[BelligerentSexualTension a love/hate relationship]] with Touma.

* AccidentalMisnaming: Is rather annoyed that Touma keeps calling her "Biri-Biri" and kept telling him it's not her name. In the epilogue of the Sisters Arc, after she fails to give him her homemade cookies, she once again insists on him using her real name, to which he finally does indeed say it. Although the audience can't see, Kuroko mentioned that she had never seen that expression on her face before.
* ACupAngst: It does not help that some of Academy City's ''younger'' girls are ''better'' endowed than she is. And it's hinted that Misuzu (who's well endowed herself, also to her daughter's chagrin) wants to rectify this fast (through food). Considering she's no more than fourteen, one would have to wonder why she's so bothered about it. This is again PlayedForLaughs during her first meeting with Misaka WORST. Due to WORST being an age-accelerated clone of Mikoto, this should mean that Mikoto will (literally) grow out of this, but WORST trolls her about it, noting that she was grown using different hormones, and thus there's no guarantee that the others will reach her proportions.
* TheAce: She's known by the public as "The Ace of Tokiwadai", and she backs it up by being one of Academy City's most powerful espers, a straight-A student, and an excellent athlete.
* ActionGirl: She has slightly violent tendencies, and is ranked third among the Level 5 Espers.
* AlliterativeName: '''Mi'''koto '''Mi'''saka
* AllLovingHeroine: Sort of becomes one in the anime-exclusive arc in ''Railgun S''.
* AlmightyIdiot: [[spoiler:Gensei infects the Misaka Network and forces it into her to start a transformation to Level 6. Mikoto takes on an angelic form and becomes astronomically more powerful, but she's barely aware of what's going on around her or even who she is anymore. According to Gensei, it's because in her current stage of development she cannot become a "stable" Level 6 like Accelerator, and notes that by the time she's little over halfway-there with this forced Shift [[DeathOfPersonality her human self will all but fade away]].]]
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Her skin is notably a slightly darker tone than her friends.
* ArmorPiercingSlap: Subverted. Try as she might, Mikoto just cannot get a hit in on Touma.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Gensei co-opts Exterior and the Misaka Network to forcibly induce a level 6 shift on her, which basically means becoming an angel. However, while Accelerator could hit level 6 and retain his mind and body and Kakine has a chance of doing the same, in her current state Mikoto would lose her personality when she was halfway there and would self destruct when reached full power and tried to ascend, since there's no more room in Heaven for any more angels.]]
* AxCrazy: In Episode 4 of ''Railgun'' against Touma.
* BadassAdorable: She looks cute and innocent, which causes a lot of guys to hit on her. Unfortunately for them, she's also one of the strongest people in the city and has one of the most flexible powers in the entire story.
* BadassInANiceSuit: During the Daihaseisai Arc, when she and Misaki team up to raid the compound where Gensei Kihara is she dons the private security force's uniform and sunglasses, as unlike Misaki who can just alter everyone's memories to make it so that she was never there, Misaka ''needs'' the change of clothes to help hide her identity.
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: In the ''Railgun S'' season finale, she and Kuroko were launched to the edge of the atmosphere without suits. While seemingly unaffected by the vacuum, [[DownplayedTrope they were visibly choking before they made it back to Earth.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: Touma is the only one that can bring out her true tsundere side, though Kuroko's attempts to molest her are annoying enough to get similar results. It takes her around 15 novels to even realize and admit the reason for her behavior.
* BerserkButton: There are only two things that make her angry enough nearby objects start sparking: threats to the Sisters, and Touma.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Twice to Lessar in the second ''Railgun SS''.]]
* BigSisterInstinct: Loves the Sisters as though they really ''are'' her siblings, and would go to hell and back to protect them. [[spoiler:Which is exploited by Gensei Kihara.]]
* BlessedWithSuck: Her powers allow her to take on entire military factions on her lonesome, but she also has trouble interacting with animals since they can feel the electromagnetic field she gives off and instinctively run away from her.
* BloodKnight: Though more from her inability to forgive slights than actual bloodlust, because she will forgive you ''after'' pounding your ass in.
* BlushSticker: At times, especially as a child, if Last Order is any proof.
* BrainyBrunette: She can think faster than a supercomputer and is definitely a brunette.
* BreakingTheFourthWall: Once in ''New Testament'' Volume 2.
-->"If she let him get away, things would get very bad."\\
"To put it in concrete terms, it was possible that she would end up with no scenes for three whole volumes."\\
"Wait! Wait just a second!! This is my scene! If you’re going to do this, do it later!! Dammit, the guy-to-girl ratio here is completely out of balance. And is that group of huge breasts specifically targeted at me!? A-at this rate, I’ll be lost in the background…!! Did they create a forest to hide a leaf!?"
* BreakoutCharacter: She started as just another GirlOfTheWeek, but proved so popular that she began to both appear more frequently, though still had little effect on the plot until World War III. She muscled her way into the story proper during the start of the ''New Testament'' novels and even got her own spinoff which has proven at least as popular as the main series.
* BreakTheCutie: During the Sisters Arc, resulting in a HeroicBSOD.
* BreakTheHaughty: A lot of Misaka's early hostility towards Touma boils down to him knocking her down a couple of pegs. She starts of the story as [[DownplayedTrope something of a]] SmugSuper, but then when she challenges Touma to a fight, not only does he [[AntiMagic nullify all of her attacks]], but she also almost starts crying when he's about to strike. Touma subsequently throwing the fight after [[DontYouDarePityMe only serves to piss Misaka off]].
* BroughtDownToBadass: During the Sisters arc, she's been going around trashing facilities for several days without eating or sleeping and is completely exhausted. After using the last of her energy to fight off Frenda, she's pitted into combat with Mugino [[spoiler:and manages to use Frenda's explosives, a few passive effects of her electromaster powers and knowledge of the facility to bring Mugino down without enough power to use a single electric attack.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: To Touma.
* CelestialBody: [[spoiler:The final form she reaches of her Level 6 Shift turns her head down to her collarbones pitch-black with glowing lights that resemble a starry-night sky.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Her primary flaw in the early series is pride; as one of the most powerful espers in the city, it's hard for her to even consider that there might be things she can't do and needs help with. As the series progresses, she evolves into a character more capable of accepting support from others and trusting people (especially Touma) to be able to solve problems on their own.
** However she starts to backslide harshly later on in ''New Testament'' after she gets more involved with the actual ongoing world conflicts. [[spoiler: The fact is that despite her great prowess and power, she just is nowhere in the league of outright Magic Gods (To wit, not even No. 1 esper Accelerator comes close to that level). Her sin of pride ends up switching from "not needing any help" to "being absolutely frustrated she cannot truly help Touma" despite his protestations to the latter. This leads her to the Anti-Art Attachment and going down a potentially dark path in order to finally catch up.]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Despite Kuroko constantly warning her that since she is a civilian, she should leave the heroics to Judgment or Anti-Skill, she just can't help jumping in and helping. Ironically, Mikoto can't understand why Touma does the same thing.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Although it doesn't pop up too often, she's not too fond of how close Index is to Touma. And when he's seen hanging out with one of the Misaka sisters in episode 18 of season 2's ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', she gets angry with him.
* CloningBlues: [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexSisters The Sisters]].
* CodeName: See above.
* CoolBigSis: Acts like this, especially in the ''Railgun'' series. Less so in the main series, since she hangs out a lot more with Touma who brings out her {{Tsundere}} side.
* CryCute: Breaks down crying while [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold she]] cradles a hideously injured Touma in her lap after brutally electrocuting him, realizing his point about the futility of [[spoiler:trying to fight Accelerator to the death, noting how it will ultimately solve nothing.]]
* CunningLinguist: Besides Japanese, she knows other languages like English, French, and Russian. [[spoiler: It comes in handy when communicating with the French-speaking Cendrillon.]]
* CutenessProximity: Frogs, especially a mascot named "Gekota", so much so she thinks she sees a real-life version of it in the form of ''Heaven Canceller'', of all people.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Was planning on doing this, both in hopes that were she to lose to Accelerator on the first move, the calculations made for the experiment will be invalidated, as well as to atone for the suffering she put the Sisters through. Touma points out the flaws to her plan (even [[YouShallNotPass to the point of refusing to defend himself when Mikoto tried to zap him out of her way]]), that she won't be saved, and her death will not give the Sisters happiness, meaning in the end, no one will be saved.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: During the Sisters arc, she constantly sacrifices sleep and fights constantly to the point of nearly passing out to stop the project. [[spoiler:After seemingly wiping out every facility, more pop up and function in a way that actually benefits them if more shut down and then her last hope of using the Tree Diagram fails when she learns that it was destroyed. Upon learning this, she realizes she just can't stop the experiment and intends to go and commit suicide in a manner that will hopefully invalidate the premises the experiment was built on and end it.]]
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Frequently throws lightning at Touma whenever he does something to piss her off, and has tried hitting him with attacks that would very well have killed him if he didn't nullify them in time. Justified from her perspective because she thinks that he's just holding back and would just nullify them anyways. In the few times where he ''doesn't'' nullify them, she's shocked and realizes just how serious the situation has become.
-->'''Touma:''' If I had taken a direct hit just now, I would have died!\\
'''Mikoto:''' It wouldn't work [[AntiMagic on you anyway!]]
* TheDreaded: Once delinquents realize that they are trifling with ''The Railgun of Tokiwadai'', the smart ones will ''invariably'' [[OhCrap drop their weapons]] and [[ScrewThisImOutOfHere run in terror.]]
* ElectricTorture: PlayedForLaughs as a RunningGag -- this is how she usually rebuffs [[PsychoLesbian Kuroko's]] attempts to [[LovableSexManiac make out with her]].
* ElegantClassicalMusician: Skillfully playing the violin while wearing a lovely dress? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eldA_IhSIYc Yup.]]
* EmbarrassingNickname: Touma used to call her "Biri-Biri" ("Bug-Zapper"), a name she doesn't like.
* EnmityWithAnObject: A certain vending machine which once swallowed her 10,000 Yen (about $100) note. She often gets revenge on it by kicking or using her powers on it to induce it into giving free drinks.
* EroticDream: Has one of Touma in the beginning of Season 2 Episode 17.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Much to her chagrin. During the school festival episode multiple students try to give her gifts.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: [[spoiler:All her attempts to stop Level 6 Shift are squashed by Academy City's administration before Touma lent a hand.]]
* FeedItWithFire: Not only is she immune to all but possibly the most powerful electrical attacks thanks to her ability, she can piggyback off existing sources of electricity or static charge to perform even stronger and/or otherwise-impractical attacks.
* {{Flight}}: When she's over a body of water, she performs hydrolysis on the water particles so she can propel herself and fly.
* FullContactMagic: When firing off objects larger than her typical coins with her Railgun, Misaka punches them forwards.
* GoofyPrintUnderwear: Kuroko finds out, much to her delight, that Mikoto's panties share the same "thumbs-up bunny" logo that the T-shirt she was given as a present has... [[TooDumbToLive then she just had to sing that aloud]]. This is perhaps the reason Mikoto wears ModestyShorts.
* HairFlip: On occasions. With an electric arc between her head and her hand.
* HairTriggerTemper: Is rather quick to anger over the smallest of slights, and has a vengeful streak three-miles-wide towards those who personally wrong her (namely Touma earlier in the franchise, chronologically); that said, she WILL forgive (and even befriend) you ''after'' she has exacted vengeance by pounding you into the ground.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Subverted, as her quick ascent up Academy City's rankings is often held up as an example of how anyone can succeed with hard work, However, [[spoiler:with the revelation that the scientists behind the Sisters experiment obtained her DNA map when she was at a lower level, and the much later revelation of the existence of the parameter list, this becomes a DoubleSubversion, since these mean that Mikoto had actually been pegged for greatness very early on in her development and was helped along the way much more than the average student.]]
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: She gets put into this situation by Index, her friends, in front of Touma and their parents too (cue [[LuminescentBlush massive blushing]]). She keeps denying it, but [[EveryoneCanSeeIt no one believes her.]]
* TheHero: Her own series obviously focuses on the heroic deeds she performs when Touma isn't around.
* HeroicBSOD: She falls into one when she sees Accelerator killing one of the Sisters, and being unable to do anything to stop it.
* HeroWithBadPublicity:
** A plot point during the Shopping Mall Demonstration SS. [[spoiler:Using a method of spreading rumors of a possible nuclear attack by her, every rioter in the area targeted her with rifles, axes, and every other weapon they could.]] This also counts as MuggingTheMonster because [[spoiler:if she wasn't TheFettered, she could have simply electrocuted them all and been done with it.]]
** She is also known in the 7th District as 'that crazy bitch from Tokiwadai' for screwing with people's phones with her power.
* HeyYou: She has yet to call Touma by his name, even after she actually learned it. [[spoiler:Save the PSP game intro]].
* HighPressureEmotion: In more comedic scenes, she is prone to sudden puffs of steam to accompany her {{Luminescent Blush}}ing to emphasize how vulnerable and embarrassed she is about feeling romantic-love towards Touma.
* HollywoodHacking: Her ability to control electricity and electromagnetism allows her to hack low-level security with ease and even break into high-level computers like Tree Diagram with enough time.
* HonorBeforeReason: She has a big problem with asking others for help.
* HotBlooded: More so than the comparatively laid-back Touma.
* HypocriticalHumor
** She makes fun of Touma for losing a 2000 yen bill to that evil vending machine, but in her first year she lost a ''10000'' yen bill to it, which is why she feels so justified in kicking and shocking it. 2000 yen bills ''are'' quite rare, however, so having to spend it in the first place was bad enough luck on its own.
** She gets mad at Touma for always calling her Biribiri instead of her name, but she never uses his name either. He's always 'you' or 'that guy' or 'idiot'.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: First, she can release ''a lot'' more electricity than she normally does, it's just that she typically holds back to avoid killing people. Second, she can use metal objects other than coins for her railgun attack, and the larger the object, the farther it can travel (since her range is due to the object vaporizing from air friction). Best shown during her fight with the Doppelganger in the Dream Ranker Arc, where instead of being slack-jawed in shock and horror at the sight of the machine creating a skyscraper-sized {{Golem}} out of city debris, Misaka simply smirks and matches it by creating a similarly-sized {{Golem}} out of iron sand to fight it in a BehemothBattle.
* IdentityAmnesia: [[spoiler:She forgets who she is in her angel form]].
* IdiotHair: Had this as a child, a trait that Last Order shares with her. It's still drawn distinctly on her in the present, but it's finally fallen down.
* ImmuneToMindControl: Thanks to her high bioelectricity content, she is immune to mind control and mind reading. [[spoiler:But given the fact that her brain operates on the same wavelength as her clones, the Misaka Network, ''their'' minds can be hacked to get to Mikoto herself, which is the mechanism for Gensei's attempt to get her to ascend to Level 6.]]
* InfinityPlusOneSword: [[spoiler: Obtains the Anti-Art Attachment in ''New Testament Volume 13'' and immediately leaps up the power ranking tiers...[[CastFromHitPoints but is noted to be at a potential cost to her own health.]] Later on, she pairs with Shokuhou Misaki in order to mitigate the risk.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Short-tempered, vengeful and petty over the most childish-reasons, Mikoto is nevertheless kind-hearted and considerate to a fault, and unfailingly loyal to those who earn her respect/friendship.
* KindheartedCatLover: Mikoto has a ''huge'' soft-spot towards adorable baby animals, kittens in particular. To her disappointment, the ambient electricity generated by her sheer power causes discomfort in the poor little things, driving them away whenever she tries to play with them. This is a trait that the Sisters inherit from her.
* LastNameBasis: Virtually everyone refers to her as Misaka. This is inverted in the fandom, where (due to the vast number of characters who can be called "Misaka") [[FirstNameBasis she's almost exclusively referred to as Mikoto]].
* LightningCanDoAnything: Shooting lightning, magnetizing to walls, creating swords from iron sand, firing railguns, hacking electronics, creating a biological radar, stopping mind control, reading minds to a limited extent...it truly says something about her versatility that the two Level 5s ranked higher than her possess the powers of [[ThePowerOfCreation literal creation]] and vector control (as in, one of the basic laws of physics) respectively.
* LimpAndLivid: Accompanied by furious shaking whenever she is about to go ballistic on Kuroko for her latest act of immature stupidity.
* LittleMissBadass: Don't let her cute appearance fool you; this young lady is regarded as the third-most-dangerous person in Academy City for a ''very'' good reason.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Is constantly left out of Touma's adventures. Even late into the ''New Testament'' series, [[spoiler:where she actually does start to get involved more into the Magic Side]], she doesn't know about Imagine Breaker and thinks Touma can just negate things in general.
* LoveAtFirstPunch: Mikoto became interested in Touma after he first blocked her electricity while she was zapping some delinquents.
* MagnetismManipulation: Misaka Mikoto can do this as a side effect of her control over electricity. By modifying the flow of electricity in the air or on objects she can replicate the effect of an electromagnet, allowing for her to create a [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]] out of [[ImprovisedWeapon iron filings]] or cling to metal surfaces. Even her signature Railgun is based on generating a powerful electromagnetic field. When she goes all out, she can manipulate enough iron sand and dust particles to create massive CombatTentacles or form a skyscraper-sized iron sand puppet.
* TheMcCoy: Between Touma's [[TheKirk Kirk]] and Accelerator's [[TheSpock Spock]]
* MegatonPunch: The most common method to stop a clingy Kuroko.
* MistakenForGay: When Kuroko met Mikoto's parents, acting her usual perverted self towards Misuzu (who thinks it's towards Mikoto), with the latter lampshading that her daughter may be lesbian.
-->'''Misuzu:''' Mikoto, I didn't know you swung that way.\\
'''Mikoto:''' ''No I don't!''
** Happens again in ''New Testament'' 22R when [[spoiler: she and Misaki end up in a comprimising position by accident just as Kuroko walks in. Kuroko [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't take it well.]]]]
* ModestyShorts: The trope picture. Much to [[PsychoLesbian Kuroko's]] dismay.
* MsFanservice: Side by side with Kuroko, she is most often portrayed in shower scenes and situations that show/emphasize her trim-and-firm, athletic figure.
* MundaneUtility
** She can use her electrical powers to cook.
** Uses what she learned from the Power Curriculum, the same training that allows her to make micro-second calculations in order to utilize her ability, to count cards in poker.
** In one Railgun omake chapter, it's shown that when Mikoto and Kuroko are feeling lazy, they just stay in bed, with Mikoto activating appliances from a distance and Kuroko teleporting things.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: She's called the Railgun and is a Level 5. What did you expect?
* NewTransferStudent: [[spoiler:In ''New Testament'' 5, she's planning on taking the entrance exam for Touma's school.]]
* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Well, Mikoto is a girl, but the chaser is female. In any case, Kuroko's clingy, perverted and creepy behavior clearly gets on Mikoto's nerves while she's friendly and generous to everyone else not named Touma. And unlike Touma, poor Kuroko isn't getting the tsundere treatment but rather the VitriolicBestBuds treatment.
* NoKillLikeOverkill: She has powerful electromagnetic abilities that allow her to hotwire and remotely control cars. But when a robber tries to run her over, she simply fires her railgun at the car to send it careening over her head.
* NoSell
** An electric field around her prevents the Queen of Tokiwadai from tampering with her mind. Presumably, this also means that she's immune to other brainwashing and telepathic abilities. In chapter 61 (Railgun T, Episode 10), [[spoiler:Gensei Kihara finds a loophole. She's immune to a level 5's mind control, but the MISAKA network is not. So he uses Exterior to take control of them, fuses them to Mikoto, and then controls her indirectly through them.]]
** When she attacks the second to last lab in the Sisters arc, she runs into a prepared battlefield absolutely filled with various traps set by Frenda. However, no matter what Frenda throws at her she just defuses it or uses magnetism to avoid the attacks, leaving Frenda increasingly uncomfortable with the power her opponent must have.
** Tasers and other electrical weapons are also useless against her, since her power output matches or surpasses entire power plants.
* ObliviousToLove: She's actually oblivious to her ''own'' love. It takes her until [[spoiler:Volume 16]] to realize that she likes Touma.
* OccultBlueEyes: Combined with GlowingEyesOfDoom. [[spoiler:Her initial state during her forced Level Shift 6 has lightning-blue eyes (literally, because lightning is generating out of them) and she's effectively taking the first step to becoming an actual angel.]]
* OffhandBackhand: In her fight with Touma during the SchoolFestival (when [[spoiler:she's in her angel form]]), she doesn't even look at him. She just casually sends ludicrously large bolts of electricity at him while trying to think of a way to destroy [[spoiler:the Windowless Building]]. It doesn't work, because it's [[AntiMagic Touma]], but she still treats him as a persistent fly rather than a serious threat.
* OhCrap:
** Gets a pretty intense one when she grabs Touma by his [[AntiMagic right hand]], thinking that doing so would prevent him from blocking her attacks anymore, only to realize she can't use her ability ''at all'' now and it looks like she just gave him a free shot for a hook to the face.
** When fighting Accelerator for the first time and realizing he didn't even move to [[AttackReflector reflect]] her Railgun attack, her previous rage just flat-out deflates into a look of broken shock.
** In Chapter 108, [[spoiler:her face twists into shock when she realizes [[OurDragonsAreDifferent the dragon]] the criminal esper Kimi just manifested looks like one of the eight in Touma's arm that stopped her Level 6 Shift. She immediately manifests a giant iron sand doll to attack it, but with one attack it completely neutralizes her efforts and tries to smash her]].
* {{Ojou}}: Everybody in Tokiwadai treats her as one. While she has the wealth and the status, she prefers to act like a tomboy with childish tastes and is annoyed that everyone expects her to be a ProperLady.
* OneWomanArmy: She can take on entire Black-Ops ''battalions'' armed with automatic weapons with ease. Quite a few low-level mooks will surrender instantly when they realize who they're fighting. Heck, the description of a Level 5's power level literally amounts to being able to take on an entire military force on even ground.
* OneWingedAngel:
** [[spoiler:Beginning the Level 6 Shift comes with an appearance shift into a demonic form. She undergoes two separate transformations afterwards that make her look and become less human looking as time goes on.]]
** To a certain extent: [[spoiler: her usage of the Anti-Art Attachment has increased her powers to insane levels, to being potentially able to fight against Magic Gods, but because of its magical nature, it slowly weakens her, and will eventually kill her, if she is not careful.]]
* OneeSama: Kuroko and a legion of admirers address her with great respect and adoration. The former is certainly interested in her romantically.
* OnlySaneMan: She's the only one of the Level 5s that is considered publicly presentable and has become something of a mascot as a result despite her own quirks that keep her from being showcased ''too'' much. Accelerator and Kakine are antisocial murderers, Mugino appears normal but only until she gets angry (not to mention the fact that she's totally willing to murder others for her job), Misaki is paranoiac who can't trust anyone she can't mind control and abuses her powers, Gunha is a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} who's convinced he's a superhero, and the sixth Level 5 apparently never appears in public. Mikoto, [[{{Downplayed}} by contrast]], is just a {{tsundere}} tomboy with childish tastes. This is also only because the higher ups used mass media/rumors to create her ideal image and covered up Mikoto's various incidents.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Kuroko gets extremely worried whenever Mikoto ''doesn't'' zap or reject her.
* OurAngelsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:In chapter 61 of the ''Railgun'' manga and episode 10 of Railgun T, she begins to Awaken to her angel form when fused with the MISAKA network]]. In the next chapter and episode, while she is only [[spoiler:two percent of the way to level 6, she calls down the strongest lightning strike ever recorded, and is specifically mentioned to be dozens of times more powerful than normal. She also learned how to teleport by RideTheLightning.]]
* OutOfFocus: In the ''Index'' series, where, despite often being billed as a main character, she hasn't been very plot relevant since the Sisters Arc, albeit still making some of the biggest recurring appearances as a supporting character.
** Subverted to an extent, come the ''New Testament'' series.
* PaperThinDisguise: Her idea of "disguising" herself consists of wearing short shorts, a T-shirt, a baseball cap and a ponytail. Anyone who knows her can easily recognize her in it, even though [[ACupAngst she gets mistaken for a boy by security, much to her chargin]].
* PowerArmor: [[spoiler:She eventually builds her own version of the Anti-Arts Attachment]].
* RageBreakingPoint: PlayedForLaughs when Misaki mocks her about the Bust Upper Indian Poker card business and Mikoto, already ticked off by earlier mocking, angrily grabs Misaki's boobs in public and fondles them while shouting about how big breasts don't mean anything, only to immediately have a HeroicBSOD upon realizing how stacked Misaki really is (and how big boobs actually feel) and tuning the now-flustered Level 5 out.
* RecognitionFailure: Despite being the face of Academy City, the average citizen does not recognize her on sight, and many street thugs [[MuggingTheMonster assume she is just a helpless girl and try to mug or sexually harass her]].
* RedOniBlueOni: She's the impulsive Red to Touma's Blue.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: She's explicitly noted to be immune to electrical attacks when a girl tries using a taser on her. If she doesn't fry herself, what good is a taser going to do?
* TheRival: In the Index series her rival is Index for Touma's affections. In the Railgun series her rival is Shokuhou Misaki, the Queen of Tokiwadai, the other level five at Tokiwadai, though it mellows into a FriendlyRivalry eventually.
* RunningGag: Her love of things considered childish, including Gekota (a Franchise/HelloKitty like character), GoofyPrintUnderwear, childish pajamas and a frilly swimsuit, all of which she denies when asked about.
* SecretKeeper: [[spoiler:She accidentally finds out about Touma's memory loss in Volume 14, and promises him to keep it a secret.]]
* SelfMadeMan: Mikoto climbed all the way from Level 1 to Level 5 through hard work, but [[spoiler:this is also subverted when it was revealed that Academy City's higher-ups can predict an esper's development.]]
* ShesGotLegs: The camera loves to focus on this fact as much as Kuroko.
* ShrinkingViolet: Occasionally when around Touma.
* ShockAndAwe: The nature of her abilities. She's called "Railgun" for a reason.
** ConvectionSchmonvection: Averted against the AIM Burst - upon it deploying a barrier that nullifies electric shock, Misaka uses the massive amounts of heat generated by her lightning to ''melt the thing''.
** CursedWithAwesome: Has a constant electrical field around her and cats won't go near her because of it.
** ExtraOreDinary: Can use her lightning abilities to control magnetism and therefore control metal. Not only can she use iron sand to make a [[WhipSword Whip]] [[ChainsawGood Chainsaw]], she can even create a giant iron sand {{Golem}} that towers over ''skyscrapers''.
** FinishingMove: Her railgun was called as such a few times.
** HollywoodHacking: She can use her powers to directly interface with electronics and hack them, though she admits her way is more of a brute-force approach compared to PlayfulHacker Uiharu.
** KillSat: She can more or less drop cloud-to-ground lightning on targets. Her maximum output when using her electricity this way is ''1 billion'' volts. For reference, the strongest lightning bolt ever recorded in real life only had a voltage of 25.5 million, meaning that it's about 2.6% of what Mikoto is capable of. [[spoiler:And then there's the bolt she drops in Railgun T, Episode 11 on the Windowless Building, which is effectively so huge it resembles a PillarOfLight.]]
** MoneyToThrowAway: Downplayed. Mikoto's usual ammunition for her Railgun are arcade tokens which she can launch at three times the speed of sound using her electricity.
** PillarOfLight: [[spoiler:In her angel form, despite only being ''2%'' of the way to Level 6, she's able to call down a lightning strike so big it visually resembles one of these able to completely encompass the Windowless Building.]]
** PowerIncontinence: Whenever she gets angry she usually short-circuits an entire block.
** RideTheLightning: She create lightning tendrils that she can "ride" on for quick movement, to the point it looks like she performed a FlashStep or {{Teleportation}} via electricity. [[spoiler:She can teleport herself through her electric attacks when she's in her angel form, though exactly how this works is not examined in depth.]]
** SelectiveMagnetism: An integral part of her railgun.
** WallCrawl: By magnetizing herself, she can stick to walls and ceilings. Mugino nicknames her "Spider-Woman" for it.
** WaveMotionGun: Her railgun deals tremendous damage in a straight line, and it gets bigger and more destructive the larger the object she fires is.
* ShootingSuperman: In an early filler episode of the anime, the opponent of the week attempts to use a taser on her.
* ShownTheirWork: Unlike most of the {{Technobabble}} in the series, Mikoto's railgun is actually surprisingly plausible. The effects shown fall into ArtisticLicense a bit, but an MIT physics graduate found that the numbers we're given add up realistically. Even the lack of recoil is realistic; since Mikoto forms the rails for the gun out of nothing but electrically charged air, the recoil just produces a DramaticWind.
* ShutUpHannibal: Delivered to [[spoiler:Therestina]] via Railgun.
* SignatureHairDecs: Her head progressively collects cute hair clips over the course of the series. In the series, she has other hairstyles and accessories like ponytails and headbands
* SquishyWizard:
** She's one of the most powerful characters in the Toaruverse, but when Touma had his hand in hers to shut down her electric powers and had his other hand raised, she closed her eyes in fear and nearly started crying; as he himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]], it's hard to hit someone with a face like that. That being said she does '''not''' take kindly to him attempting to throw the fight out of pity for this vulnerability on her part. Or saying out loud the reason why he took pity on her.
** {{Subverted}} later on, as by the Jailbreaker Arc Mikoto shows during her fight with Kimi that she's evidently taken a few levels in physical ability by combining self-defense moves with dirty street-fighting, including stomping her foe's foot to pin them down and kneeing them in the stomach for a follow-up, which legitimately surprises Kimi who figured the most hand-to-hand combat Mikoto knew was some low-level self-defense moves that she herself, who had been brawling for much of her youth, would easily be able to deal with.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Before she starts to like him (probably), she always chases Touma around whenever she sees him because she wants to fight him. Or rather, she wants to beat him since he always nullifies her power and then gives her the slip. The one time he looks like he might fight back, she cowers away from his raised fist and he just gives up. [[DontYouDarePityMe Pissed at being looked down on]] as a Level 5 who has never had to really try to beat anyone in a fight, she starts chasing him around even more than usual.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: To her mother.
* {{Shorttank}}: And one who is quite embarrassed to show any sort of girlish behavior at that.
* SuperMode: In chapter 61 of the Railgun manga and episode 10 of the Railgun T anime, [[spoiler:Misaki's Exterior is used to force Mikoto to join with the MISAKA network in another attempt at a [[PowerLevels Level 6 Shift]].]]
* SwissArmySuperpower: Mikoto is an Electromaster, a type of Esper that can manipulate electricity. While it sounds straightforward, it has shown to be one of the most versatile esper powers in the series.
** She can of course zap people directly, either by shooting electricity herself or by causing lightning bolts to drop from the sky.
** She can manipulate the weather, causing thunderclouds big enough to engulf an entire city to appear regardless of the actual forecast.
** Control of electricity by extension means the ability to create and manipulate magnetic fields, which is almost a Swiss Army Superpower unto itself, with applications such as the manipulation of metal objects, the ability to cling to and walk on surfaces which incorporate metals, cause {{EMP}}s, generate and counter microwaves, etc.
** One of two of her most used power applications other than her lightning is her signature move and namesake, the Railgun. Creating what is essentially a virtual railgun in the air, she can impart enough force on whatever she chooses to fire that even small objects, such as the arcade tokens that constitute her normal ammunition, are capable of damage more resembling a rocket launcher.
** Her other major use of her magnetic manipulation is the creation of constructs formed from iron sand pulled from the ground. She has made chainsaw iron sword-whips, spears, mini-tornadoes, shields, drills, needles and even a giant iron sand puppet.
** Her ability causes her body to be naturally immune to electric attacks.
** Mental effects of all kinds are useless against her, as her AIM field passively corrects deviations caused by mental manipulation.
** Being able to control electricity also makes her a supremely capable and quick hacker, even of Academy City's military grade equipment, which has far better security than the rest of the world.
** She never does it herself [[spoiler:until forced to during an experiment to see if she could become a level 6]], but states that through the use of bioelectricity you can form a network of a large number of minds, which is the center of at least two incidents she's involved in.
** She can redirect attacks that are electron-based, even if they are not explicitly electrical, such as Meltdowner.
** She can jam enemy signals and disrupt targetting computers, though her method is something of a brute force solution that jams ''all'' local frequencies.
** If her muscles are paralyzed, she can manually control them by mimicking the normal functions of the nervous system. The tradeoff is that her powers by necessity must always be "on" and she's effectively a walking stun gun that a person can't touch without getting shocked.
** She can use the flash of lightning to temporarily blind people, and even combine it with the roar of thunder to replicate the effects of a stun grenade.
** She can replicate Junko Hokaze's ability, which is based on manipulating the electrical signals in the body's cells to draw out further strength and surpass human physical limits. However, she doesn't like this application because it reminds her too much of Accelerator's power. Junko also states that Mikoto is likely to be able to manipulate lasers, as light is a type of electromagnetic radiation.
** She can ionize small objects like metal cans and turn them into plasma. It's also suggested she might be able to do the reverse and return plasma to its original state.
** Finally, she passively generates electromagnetic waves at all times, which function as a sort of personal radar. It's impossible to launch an attack from her blind spot because she doesn't ''have'' a blind spot.
* TearsOfJoy: In the Railgun version of the ''Sisters'' arc, Mikoto cries when Touma is willing to help her to save her clones. She cries again when she sees Touma getting up after receiving major injuries from Accelerator.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The tomboy to Kuroko's girly girl given her rough manners and aggression.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: She wears shorts under her skirt, and when allowed seems to prefer to do away with the skirt altogether. She's a bit violent and seems to enjoy a friendly fight. She's also a complete sucker for cute childish Gekota items, and she likes large stuffed animals.
* TookALevelInBadass: While [[spoiler:her forced Level 6 Shift was stopped]], it's implied she still kept a general power increase as a side-effect, as the above-mentioned building-sized iron sand {{Golem}} and the massive city-spanning thundercloud was only ever seen being used after said events.
* TraumaButton: Briefly shown in her confrontation with Raifu. At first Mikoto hesitates to attack her after seeing her power in action, as it reminded her of Accelerator's vector control, and has to forcibly stop her shaking hand and remind herself there's no other esper with his ability.
* TriggerHappy: In the first episode of ''Railgun S'' she zaps a bunch of guys that had been chasing Saten (all at once) who were confronting Kuroko and Uiharu. She reminds Kuroko and Uiharu the shop they want to go to will close soon and ''then'' she says "By the way, who were those guys?"
-->'''Kuroko''' Couldn't you have asked that ''before'' you shocked them, OneeSama?
* {{Tsundere}}: Type A towards Touma. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Kiyama]], of all people, actually lampshaded it.
* UnknownRival: Touma met her one day trying to protect her from some thugs, but just pissed her off more than they did, causing her to attack all of them. He blocked her attack effortlessly, after which she kept challenging him to duels. After he loses his memory and keeps it a secret from everyone, they meet again and now she's ''really'' an unknown rival because he has no idea who this middle school girl is or why she's both hostile and resigned towards him.
* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:While destroying the facilities involved in Level 6 Shift Project (especially in the case of one she attacked after she found out Tree Diagram had been shot down, ruining her plan of hacking it to save her sisters).]]
* WeirdnessCensor: She already met several sorcerers and saw spells performed on a few occasions, but each time she either attributes it to esper powers or some other scientific explanation due to Academy City's abundance of espers. The one time someone tried explaining that's not how it works, they gave up before they even got to the point because Misaka asked a question while still trying to frame it from a scientific viewpoint.
* WhenSheSmiles: In Railgun S when the storyline starts to merge with [[ForegoneConclusion Index's Sisters arc]], after [[spoiler: six episodes of running herself extremely ragged, not sleeping or eating, all to try to stop the Level 6 Shift project.]]
* WideEyedIdealist: At first, she had an idealistic view about Academy City. However, after the events of the [[spoiler:Sister's Arc and experiencing first hand Academy City's dark side]], she became more cynical, but avoided showing it in front of her friends.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:Implied. Gensei Kihara states that once she's 53% of the way to Level 6, she will lose her human personality.]]
* WolverinePublicity: Mikoto appears in many promotions for the ''Index'' anime and her appearance in the openings suggest she is part of a trio with Touma and Index and will be involve in the plot. However, she only appears once a while, rarely hangs out with Touma and is only a supporting character at best following the Sisters Arc.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: One of her methods to stop a clingy [[PsychoLesbian Kuroko]].
* YouAreNotAlone: [[spoiler:When she properly reunites with Touma in ''New Testament'' Volume 2, she says this to him. The author even states that she's now "entering the fight", meaning she's going to involve herself with Touma's adventures with the Magic Side.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kuroko Shirai]]
!!Kuroko Shirai
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shirai_kuroko_7.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SatomiArai (Japanese) and Creator/AlisonViktorin (English)

Mikoto's underclassman and roommate in Tokiwadai Middle School, a Level 4 Esper, and member of Judgment. She has an obsessive crush on Mikoto, who she calls "OneeSama" ("Sissy" in the dub), and is on the constant lookout for a chance to... get close to her (which Mikoto rarely allows, let alone appreciates).

----

* TheDeterminator: In Railgun manga Chapter 121, she falls down when trying to climb the emergency ladder to escape captivity, and her head hits the ground in a pretty nasty manner. She refuses to pass out from pain and makes herself stay conscious with sheer willpower, because she has made a promise with Saten to "not suddenly disappear".

[[folder: As a whole]]

%%%* RedOniBlueOni: The Red to Touma's Blue.

* CryCute: Breaks down crying while she cradles a hideously injured Touma in her lap after brutally electrocuting him, realizing his point about the futility of [[spoiler:trying to fight Accelerator to the death, noting how it will ultimately solve nothing.]]

* CryCute: PlayedForLaughs as a RunningGag every time Mikoto gives her either the cold shoulder or the jolt.

* RapunzelHair: Not counting Kuroko (who has hers tied up in twin-tails as a rule), Saten's luscious long-black hair falls to her waist.

* IllGirl: In the manga, where she suffers from constant bouts of the flu.

* ForgotAboutHisPowers: Despite her often ingenious uses of her power, she sure gets punched in the face a lot for someone who can ''teleport instantly''. Teleportation ''does'' require some very complex mental calculations, though, so it may be difficult to use reflexively.

* TheEveryman: As above, Saten is a mere mortal amongst gods and angels. She possesses no special abilities, and for that reason she is the easiest character in the ''To Aru''-verse to relate to, hence her surprising popularity.

* LongHairIsFeminine: The normal, down to earth girl of the quartet of heroines.

* NiceGirl: She is a romantic dreamer whose greatest joy in life is sharing happiness with her beloved friends. She also has a very friendly and outgoing personality.

* BreakoutCharacter: She started as just another GirlOfTheWeek, but proved so popular that she began to both appear more frequently, though still had little effect on the plot until World War III. She muscled her way into the story proper during the start of the New Testament novels and even got her own spinoff which has proven at least as popular as the main series.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Is constantly left out of Touma's adventures. Even late into the New Testament series, [[spoiler:where she actually does start to get involved more into the Magic Side]], she doesn't know about Imagine Breaker and thinks Touma can just negate things in general.

** Happens again in New Testament 22R when [[spoiler: she and Misaki end up in a comprimising position by accident just as Kuroko walks in. Kuroko [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't take it well.]]]]

* NewTransferStudent: [[spoiler:In New Testament 5, she's planning on taking the entrance exam for Touma's school.]]

** Subverted to an extent, come the New Testament series.

* YouAreNotAlone: [[spoiler:When she properly reunites with Touma in ''New Testament'' Volume 2, she says this to him. WordOfGod states that she's now "entering the fight", meaning she's going to involve herself with Touma's adventures with the Magic Side. Sadly, she got dumped in the very end of ''New Testament'' Volume 3. Of course it didn't stop her from helping him in ''New Testament'' Volume 6.]]

* CanonImmigrant: Finally appeared in the main ''Index'' story in TheMovie, and is introduced to the light novels in ''New Testament'' volume nine.

* TheEveryman: As above, Saten is a mere mortal amongst gods and angels, and the easiest character in the ''To Aru''-verse to relate to, hence her surprising popularity.

* NiceGirl: A romantic dreamer whose greatest joy in life is sharing happiness with her beloved friends.

** Happens again in New Testament 22R when [[spoiler: she and Misaka end up in a comprimising position by accident just as Kuroko walks in. Kuroko [[ClingyJealousGirl doesn't take it well.]]]]

* FanNickname: The ''Raildex'' fandom calls them the 'Railgang'.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: Although it plays a minor part in ''Index'', it's cranked up a notch in ''Railgun''.

* AscendedExtra: Much like Saten, she's not really all that important outside the first story arc in the original manga. In the anime, her importance is significantly boosted.

* ActionGirl: [[TheEveryman Saten]] and [[MissionControl Uiharu]] less so, especially compared to [[ShockAndAwe Misaka]] and [[{{Teleportation}} Shirai]], but to degrees, all of them fit this trope.

* {{Teleportation}}: Her Esper power, "Teleport". She can teleport herself and things she is touching. She has a weight limit of 130.7 kilograms and a distance limit of 81.5 meters. When she was younger, she could not teleport herself, but learned how to do it after training.

* Deuteragonist: Kuroko is the second most important character after Mikoto.

* MeaningfulName: Her name literally means "Black Girl White Well", highlighting the contrast between her cutesy facade and perverted personality. Mikoto even [[LampshadeHanging points this out]] in ''Railgun'' Episode 2 before beating her senseless.

** Besides the feminine suffix on "black", kuroko can refer to a type of stagehand which dresses in all black to signify they're not part of the scene. This seems like an allusion to her power, that is the ability to move between places without traversing the intermediary distance in the same way kuroko (stagehands) can move across a stage affecting the scene.