History Characters / ACertainMagicalIndexProtagonists

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[[center:[[WMG:''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' / ''[[Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun Scientific Railgun]]'' / ''[[Manga/ACertainScientificAccelerator Scientific Accelerator]]'' '''[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndex character index]]'''\\
[-'''Main Characters'''\\
'''Index Protagonists''' | [[Characters/ACertainScientificRailgun Railgun's Main Cast]]\\
'''Science Side'''\\
[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexSchools The Teachers and Students of Academy City]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexAcademyCityLeadership Academy City Founders, Researchers and Law Enforcement]]\\
[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexDarkSide Academy City's Dark Side]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexSisters The Sisters]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexAcademyOther Other Science Side Characters]]\\
'''Magic Side'''\\
[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexEngland England and its Allies]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexRomanCatholicChurch The Roman Catholic Church]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexGremlin GREMLIN]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexTrueGREMLIN True GREMLIN]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexMagicOther Other Magic Side Characters]]\\
'''Other Characters'''\\
[[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexOther Other Light Novel, Manga, and Anime Characters]] | [[Characters/ACertainMagicalIndexExtra Audio Drama, Video Game, and Movie Characters]]-]]]]]
This page is for the protagonists of ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex''. Touma is the primary protagonist, though later in the story Accelerator begins getting his own focus, and finally Shiage becomes the third protagonist. According to Aiwass, they all represent a different type of heroism: Touma does good [[ChronicHeroSyndrome because it is a natural instinct for him]], Accelerator fights [[TheAtoner for redemption]], and Shiage fights [[{{Protectorate}} to protect his loved ones]].

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:As a whole]]

* ActionSurvivor: With the exception of Accelerator, Touma and Shiage have been shown to use their wits in order to survive against/defeat superpowered foes.
* AntiHero: [[UnscrupulousHero Accelerator]] and [[PayEvilUntoEvil Shiage]]. And one can argue that '''Touma''' can be considered this, if not for his [[BlueAndOrangeMorality rather strange code of]] [[AboveGoodAndEvil ethics]] and [[ClassicalAntiHero his own flaws and insecurities]].
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: All three of them use tactics, strategy, [[AntiMagic and]] [[AttackReflector their]] [[MacGyvering arsenal]] to defeat their enemies.
* BadassOnPaper: Touma and Shiage to varying degrees.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: [[MookHorrorShow Touma]] is borderline neurotic, tactless, and is often the punchline of every joke (sometimes literally) in any comical situation; [[BadassNormal Shiage]] is slightly better, if only due to his fetish for bunny girls giving him nosebleeds regularly.
* CombatPragmatist: Both Touma and Shiage, the latter to an even greater degree.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Touma and Shiage, [[OverlyLongGag once again]].
* TheDreaded: Touma to the Magic Side, Accelerator to the Science Side. Shiage himself is a special case; his [[SpannerInTheWorks ability to dismantle carefully laid plans]] has made him the prime enemy of [[spoiler:''[[TheChessmaster Aleister]]'' ''[[BigBad Crowley]]'' ''himself'']].
* FighterMageThief: With [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower above-average strength]], [[MadeOfIron endurance and stamina]], a [[AntiMagic power]] [[FightsLikeANormal with limited range]], and [[ActionSurvivor tons of combat experience]] [[MageKiller against magicians and espers]], Touma is the Fighter of the Trio. Accelerator's StoryBreakerPower and SuperIntelligence makes him the Mage, and Shiage's the Thief, with his [[JackOfAllTrades versatile skill set]] and being a GuileHero allowing him to keep up with the former two [[BadassNormal despite being a Level 0]].
* FireForgedFriends: First starting off on the wrong foot, they become very loyal friends who help each other out and team up in certain situations.
* FreudianTrio:
** '''[[TheMcCoy Touma]]''': [[IdealHero Compassionate, uncompromising and idealistic]]
** '''[[TheSpock Accelerator]]''': [[SociopathicHero Sadistic, ruthless and cynical]]
** '''[[TheKirk Shiage]]''': [[PragmaticHero Mild-mannered, opportunistic and practical]]
* GuileHero: [[ImprovisationalIngenuity Touma]], [[GoodWithNumbers Accelerator]], and [[TheStrategist Shiage]].
* MadeOfIron: All three of them to varying degrees, with Touma shrugging off injuries that would kill normal humans, Accelerator being barely tough enough to keep up with Touma and Amata Kihara, and Shiage able to walk off falls from great heights and having had a screwdriver stabbed into ''his ear''.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism: Stories involving Touma tend to lean almost always into the Idealistic side of the scale, while those with Accelerator and Shiage go [[DarkerAndEdgier on the opposite end]]; it's not mutually exclusive in terms in tone however, as Touma's adventures offer as much violence and brutality as the Dark Side Stories do.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Touma Kamijou]]
!!![[AntiMagic He Who Purifies God and Slays Demons]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kamijou_touma.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AtsushiAbe (Japanese) and Creator/MicahSolusod (English)

Touma is the primary protagonist of ''A Certain Magical Index'' and a recurring character in ''A Certain Scientific Railgun''. By all accounts, Touma is an unremarkable tenth-grader in Academy City with a power rating of Level 0--one which belies his dreaded power, [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]], with which he can cancel any power--magical, esper or divine--with his right hand alone, but also at the expense of his luck. Possessing a strong sense of justice, he helps anyone in need and will not hesitate to challenge stronger opponents, even if he has to protect erstwhile enemies. This willingness to help those in need has resulted in him [[HaremGenre receiving the affection of many women]].

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* ActionSurvivor: Save for Imagine Breaker and a SpiderSense, he gets hurt like any normal human would, meaning he can be killed by opponents way more powerful than him and conventional weaponry such as guns and knives. And while a capable fighter he is [[CurbStompBattle easily defeated]] by [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours experienced warriors, martial artists]] and [[ZergRush multiple opponents]]. Mostly due to [[GuileHero his wits]], [[TheDeterminator tenacity]], [[UnluckilyLucky unpredictable luck]], [[MadeOfIron incredible resilience to pain and injury]], and [[TheMedic Heaven Canceller]] does he barely manage to survive.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: A rare heroic example. As explained by Aiwass, Touma cares little about society's concepts of good and evil. He doesn't even have a consistent set of morals he follows in every occasion like Acqua of the Back, he simply does what he considers the right thing to do in a particular situation. That is why he will defeat an antagonist only to turn around and help them if he feels they deserve it, like when he saved Fiamma of the Right or when he decided to side with Othinus despite mostly everyone else in the world wanting to kill her. Even Touma lampshades on this after [[spoiler:Fiamma claims he isn't such a good person because he lied to Index about his situation.]]
* AboveTheInfluence: Just ask [[InnocentFanserviceGirl Index]].
* AccidentalPervert: Poor guy constantly ends up bumping into a girl, either accidentally groping her or seeing her naked. Taken to ridiculous extends when, during a stay in Italy, he walked in on Orsola in the shower, then Index opens the door of an adjacent one where she's in, giving Touma a second eyeful. In general, he doesn't seem to understand the concept of knocking before entering a room. He's apparently the only man who has seen Kaori Kanzaki naked and lived.
* AchillesHeel: Imagine Breaker can only negate the power itself, not the aftereffects. Then there's the fact that it only works from the right wrist down, so if a power hits somewhere ''besides'' his right hand first, he's screwed. It cannot instantly negate a power if it is extremely massive or maintained by an outside source... which he exploits to his advantage in Volume 20 [[spoiler:during his second fight with Accelerator, grabbing one of the latter's wings and throwing him off-balance, allowing him to get close.]]
* AcquaintedWithEmergencyServices: He's very well acquainted with the hospital staff in Academy City, given he usually ends up there after fights with espers or magicians. In particular, the "[[NoNameGiven Frog-Faced Doctor]]" gets to know him pretty well. On at least one occasion he showed up at the hospital despite not being badly hurt in the incident just to say hi to the staff and brag that he didn't get hurt this time.
* AdaptationExpansion: The 'Invisible Thing' in his right arm comes out as his finishing move in the PSP games.
* AdaptationalNiceGuy: In the light novel, Touma used to [[SkippingSchool skip a lot of his classes in one semester]] because he thought that being forced to enter remedial classes for one week during summer vacation was a light punishment compared to '''four months of truancy''' he had done in one semester. This small detail of naughtiness is cut out from both manga and anime adaptation (aside from Komoe simply telling Himegami and Index on one occassion that "Kamijou-chan had been a naughty boy since his first school day"). After his memory loss, Touma becomes a better student and always attends his classes as long as he isn't involved in some misadventures.
** In general, most of Touma's rougher edges (neurosis, self-loathing, occasional violent tendencies, etc.) [[BeneathTheMask and internal narrations]] in the novel are cut out from the anime, making him more affable as a result.
* AdaptationalWimp: Most of his death-defying and world-shaking feats of heroism from the books are either cut out or toned down in the anime, making most of anime Touma's battles seem less impressive. Case in point: Touma and Accelerator's 2nd battle during WW3 in the anime is a ''very'' toned down version of how things played out in the novels (Compare Accelerator battling him with '''''100 wings''''' on the get-go vs a mere 2-5 wings in the anime).
* AesopAmnesia: He never learns to knock before entering a room, and to watch where he's going and what he says. He also almost always leaves the others out of the loop and tries to solve everything on his own because he doesn't want to worry them, even though the others will surely help him.
* AllLovingHero: He just wants to protect everybody.
* AllThereInTheManual: In the aftermath of ''Railgun T'' Episode 14, the ''Railgun'' manga editor Ogino Kentarou posted on Twitter [[spoiler:the individual powers of the eight dragons that emerged from Touma's arm during Daihasei Arc with the exception of the "Angel Dragon", as Mikoto was still fighting said dragon in the Jailbreaker Arc at the time of the anime's airing to avoid spoilers.]]
** [[spoiler:The white dragon that emerged from Touma's arm first "The First Dragon" specializes in [[AntiMagic decursing]] and [[MindRape psychological]] attacks. If it should bite a person, their very memories could be destroyed.]]
** [[spoiler:The eyeless black dragon "The Blind Dragon" also specializes in psychological warfare, in that its mere presence causes a person to become overcome with [[SupernaturalFearInducer terror]] and confusion.]]
** [[spoiler:The blue dragon "The One-Eyed Cobra Dragon" is a [[MakingASplash water dragon]] that [[WeatherManipulation summons rainstorms]]. Its fangs also [[UniversalPoison carry the undiluted concept of poison]] so anything living it bites will either die or suffer a FateWorseThanDeath.]]
** [[spoiler:The green dragon "The Four-Eyed Dragon" possesses multiple vision-based abilities such as [[MasterOfIllusion illusion]] and [[HypnoticCreature hypnotism]] that are powerful enough to blur the line between dreams and reality. It also has [[MakeMeWannaShout a powerful scream]] that can destroy Shadow Metal.]]
** [[spoiler:The red dragon "The Corpse Flame Dragon" is an [[{{Dracolich}} undead]] [[PlayingWithFire fire dragon]] WreathedInFlames that can use an EnergyDrain that can also function as a LifeDrain.]]
** [[spoiler:The blue-white crystalline dragon "The Ice Crystal Dragon" is an [[AnIcePerson ice dragon]] reputed to be as [[SuperToughness strong and tough as the very planet itself]].]]
** [[spoiler:The yellow dragon with a pointed head "The Spearhead Dragon" is a [[ShockAndAwe lightning dragon]] that emits electricity from its body and shoots [[EnergyWeapon lasers]] from its mouth]].
* AlmostKiss
** Itsuwa almost-kisses Touma while lying in bed in Volume 16.
** He also had another one with Fukiyose in Season 2 Episode 8.
* AlmightyJanitor: He's not really powerless--his Imagine Breaker is simply outside of Academy City's [[PowerLevels power rating system]]. This is especially true since Aleister incorporates Touma in his plans that involve removing his various problems.
* AlternateCharacterReading: His name is written as "上条 当麻". Kanzaki reinterprets it in Volume 1 as "神浄 討魔", which is his epithet: "He Who Purifies God and Exorcises the Devil". In the epilogue of Volume 14, Kamachi gives an alternate reading to his surname: "神上", which means [[spoiler:"He Who is Above God"]]. His given name can also be read as "透魔", meaning "Invisible Demon", [[spoiler:which is also the name of the thing inside Touma's Imagine Breaker.]]
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Touma is frequently more concerned with the individuals than the long-term consequences.
* AmbiguousDisorder: While it doesn't usually get brought up in the series, it's clear that Touma's loose morality along with a number of other possible cases after his ordeal against [[spoiler:Othinus]] is enough for readers to take note of.
* AmnesiacResonance:
** Despite losing his memories in the very first volume of ''Index'', Touma's reflexes are still as sharp as ever, as he can block Mikoto's lightning just as well as he could before through nothing but muscle memory, which is why it takes Mikoto a while to realize something's up.
** In addition, it's noted that by those who knew him before he lost his memories that fundamentally he still hasn't changed that much from the NiceGuy AllLovingHero he used to be. Granted, part of it ''is'' him trying his damndest to act the same to avoid that awkward conversation, but it just comes naturally to him.
* AntiMagic: Imagine Breaker.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Touma is very good at analyzing the powers of others to search for weaknesses and blind spots that he can use to beat them. In fact, part of his fighting stle is based on how he subconsciously analyzes the involuntary movements of others, like their body language and facial expressions, to predict their attacks.
** This even extends out of battle as seen in Volume 20, where he was able to determine the location of an enemy camp by using a simple map he bought from a local store in Russia.
* AxCrazy: Deliberately invoked in Season 1 Episode 9 to disorient Aureolus.
* BadassOnPaper: He has defeated [[SuperpowerLottery very powerful]] [[OneManArmy individuals]] and [[PhysicalGod beings of unimaginable power]], amassed connections with individuals of political significance (such as the Royal Family and the US President), ended WorldWar3 ''with a single fist'', and eventually developed [[TheDreaded a reputation amongst magicians and power users, as someone not to be trifled with]]. He is also a teenaged kid struggling with his classes due to [[ButtMonkey perpetual poverty and misfortune]], and [[StrongButUnskilled a rather lousy fighter]] [[GoodOldFisticuffs with a mean right hook]] when up against [[MyKungFuIsStronger martial artists or highly trained soldiers]] (with the WW3 thing there were several factors unrelated to Touma which indirectly sped up its end).
* BareHandedBladeBlock: He can do this as long as he's facing a magical weapon. [[spoiler: He even managed to catch Fiamma's [[{{BFS}} 40km long]] FlamingSword!]]
* BarrierWarrior: Touma lives by the concept that "the best offense is an ass-kicking ''defense''".
* TheBeard: Mikoto tries to get Touma to pretend to be her boyfriend to discourage another guy who keeps following her around--the grandson of her school's superintendent--so she doesn't get tempted to blow him off [[ShockAndAwe the usual way]].
* BelligerentSexualTension: With the {{tsundere}}s in his harem.
* BenchedHero: Briefly in volume 16, [[spoiler:Touma is taken out of action after his first confrontation with Acqua that leaves him critically hospitalized.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a pretty laidback, [[TheIdealist optimistic]] and [[HumbleHero down-to-earth]] NiceGuy once you get to know him.... but God forbid if you hurt innocent people on ''his'' watch. He's also been noted to be ''very terrifying'' when someone makes him really mad, as seen when he chased and almost killed a terrified Aureolus Dummy by strangling him with his own chain after he killed several innocent students in front of him. Even a mass murderer like [[CuteAndPsycho Salome]] is left unnerved by an angry Touma when he discovers she and the others members of the Kamisato Faction had used Mikoto Misaka and the Tokiwadai students as bait for Yuiitsu Kihara. [[spoiler:It becomes more pronounced in [[DenouementEpisode NT22R]], when he literally goes murderous towards the Emanation, for taking his identity to manipulate several characters and stealing his Imagine Breaker.]]
* BeyondTheImpossible: Several characters note that Imagine Breaker doesn't make any sense and defies the laws of both science and magic.
* BigDamnHeroes: Is quite fond of these, usually coming out of nowhere. Examples include:
** In the Sisters arc he interrupts Accelerator, who's beating down one of the Sisters.
** In the Amakusa arc he faces 250 battle nuns by himself, all to protect this woman he met earlier in the day.
** In Season 2 Episode 7 he and Mikoto save Kuroko from falling to her death, then [[spoiler:''punches a 4500kg object mid-teleport, breaking several laws of physics as he interferes with the 11th dimension to send it back'']]. Yeah, Touma's been messing with space and time to save people.
** He pulls off his best one yet in New Testament Volume 4 by [[spoiler:breaking into a [[ItMakesSenseInContext separated reality]] to grab Marian's hand before she can draw Dainsleif, and then bringing two characters back to life just by being there.]]
* BlasphemousBoast: Pre-amnesia Touma often told people his right hand was capable of negating miracles from God. Of course, he does later start backing up these claims... [[spoiler:and then there's that "Invisible Thing" inside him.]]
* BlessedWithSuck: Touma's power also negates his ''[[CosmicPlaything luck]]'' (which is probably the reason why he's attracting such deadly trouble in the first place), causes him to be classified as Level 0 because his power can't be detected by normal means, and is hardly useful in mundane situations, either. Imagine Breaker prevents telepathy from affecting him, so he can't hear telepathic warnings. Healing magic is automatically negated in his presence. He can't be teleported to safety, etc.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: His code of ethics is rather... odd.
* BookDumb: He is very good at fighting, surviving, and figuring out his opponents' weaknesses. And with his tendency to monologue for hours he is deceptively verbose. Likely because his fights constantly make him miss school, he has poor grades and is ignorant about a lot of topics like language, geography, history, and mythology. At one point, his companions, who are all from England or Italy, start talking about the Japanese surveyor and cartographer Inō Tadataka. He has no idea who that is, causing his companions to say that he must be a slacker to not know his own country's history.
* BornUnlucky: Imagine Breaker gives him bad luck, but on the other hand gives him a great advantage against supernatural foes. However, before he entered Academy City, [[spoiler:he caused misfortune to people around him as well, but that stopped at one point, hinting something caused the misfortune to not spill out onto the world.]]
* BornWinner: He's had Imagine Breaker since birth, with all its benefits and drawbacks.
* BrilliantButLazy: He can actually do well in certain subjects, such as practical physics and geography. However, he tends to apply them only in a pinch, has a hard time grasping the rest of the Power Curriculum Program, and is bad at other subjects, particularly those concerning language.
* BrokenHero: [[DarkAndTroubledPast Born with a power which ostracized him from his peers, nearly got him killed and his life secretly filmed by tabloids]] ''[[DarkAndTroubledPast during his childhood]]'', [[DarkAndTroubledPast failing to save a friend from committing suicide, then being beat up with every inch of his life protecting a young Shokuhou]], all before he met Index. Despite this and the constant misfortune he faces [[AllLovingHero he remains one of the most compassionate characters in the series]] and [[TheFettered will willingly risk life and limb to protect Academy City and the world]].
* BrutalHonesty: He can be rather tactless at times. During his first real meeting with Misaki Shokuhou, he bluntly told her to adjust her position because he could see up her skirt.
* BullyHunter: Even if said bully has magical power, Touma always has his trusty right hand to fix that. It is for this reason that he has won the affection of Misaka's Sisters.
* BusmansHoliday: He '''''always''''' ends up having to fight bad guys and save the day, even during his vacations.
* ButtMonkey: For Touma, [[CosmicPlaything every day is a bad day]].
* CantHoldHisLiquor: Played straight when Hamazura recommends that Touma drink [[spoiler: after the latter returns to Academy City.]]
* CatchAndReturn: Later in the series, he realizes that since Imagine Breaker cannot instantly negate very powerful attacks, then this means he can use his right hand to catch very powerful attacks and throw them back.
* CatchPhrase
-->"Such misfortune."[[note]] Changed to "Damn/Rotten luck" in the English dub.[[/note]]
-->"[[ShatteringTheIllusion I'm going to break that illusion.]]"
* CharacterFilibuster: Drops two to three minute long speeches off the top of his head at least once an arc (though usually more than that), usually to [[BreakThemByTalking deconstruct the antagonist's motives or get someone to help him]]. See the DareToBeBadass entry for just one of his many examples of this. Not bad for a high school student who is struggling through remedial classes.
** Does this to himself at some point during NT 9. Tearjerker ensues.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: As the series progresses, Touma's memory loss became less of an issue, more so after the Angel Fall arc. Given that readers are introduced to him shortly before the fact, it's understandable that his characterization wouldn't change all that much, given little is known of the "old" Touma. This is only discussed again when he faces [[spoiler:Terra of the Left]] and only regains importance when [[spoiler:Fiamma uses the revelation to make Index go berserk.]] [[spoiler:Then [[DenouementEpisode the Kamijou Arc]] has it reveal that an Emanation of Touma formed as a result of the damage from the conflict with Coronzon as well as his own regrets and subconscious wishes, the entity sought to usurp Touma's identity, taking most of Imagine Breaker and his other powers with it, as well as possessing the memories which he had lost, serving as the PostFinalBoss of New Testament.]]
* CharacterMagneticTeam: With Index.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: He's a normal human except for Imagine Breaker, and yet he possesses exceptionally high levels of endurance, allowing him to survive injuries that could normally kill most people and continue fighting. He has also demonstrated some impressive feats of strength, with his punches [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom launching people through the air]] and cratering the concrete when they land, and once knocking away a gigantic metal cross with his left arm.
* ChickMagnet: Nearly every girl he meets ends up falling for him. Index and Komoe theorize that this is another side effect of Imagine Breaker, both from a magical and scientific perspective.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Quoth the guy...
-->"I don't need a reason to save someone."
** [[spoiler:Taken to a certain extreme in New Testament Volume 4. Kagun Kihara seems to truly believe that Touma can and will save anyone within sight, given the omnicidal catastrophe set off in that arc. He wasn't too far off from the truth; at the end of the volume, just when all hope seems lost, it's Touma's unexpected presence that manages to prevent further deaths. Ironically, he was also too late to save Kagun, as Marian and Touma himself lampshaded.]]
** Lampshaded by Thor, who chastises Touma for not immediately going off to save Fraulein Kreutune. Justified because Touma was going through doubts over the events of New Testament Volume 3.
---> '''Thor:''' Lies? Secret plans? I don’t care about any of that. A girl named Fraulein Kreutune is being imprisoned. That should be enough for you to go save her. What does it matter if there is more to the story or if someone else has some other goal!? If there is a girl closed up in some dark room being treated cruelly, that should be enough for you to go save her! I thought that was who the ‘wonderful enemy’ I had imagined was! Was I wrong!?
** Mikoto also admits that she likes this aspect of him.
** Later deconstructed in [[spoiler: NT Volume 9, where it's revealed that he has ''several'' self-worth issues due to [[HisOwnWorstEnemy self-loathing]], and after he's placed in a utopian world created by Othinus, he decides to give up and [[DrivenToSuicide end his life to protect the world Othinus created]]... until [[HiveMind the Will of the Misaka Network]] convinces him that it's alright to fight for his own sake rather than to fight for others. She also lampshades it, saying that if Touma knew she was slowly disappearing in the new world Othinus created, Touma wouldn't have hesitated to save her at the detriment of the world, [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre but it was more important for her to convince Touma to fight for himself, to prevent Touma from giving up again in the future]].]]
* {{Cincinnatus}}: To a certain extent. No one's calling him to become the leader of a country, but so far, he has amassed millions of connections with individuals with political power (like the Queen of England and the President of the United States), is friends with people who can [[OneManArmy decimate armies within minutes]], and has developed [[TheDreaded a fearsome reputation]] among magicians, some espers, [[spoiler:and eventually, some alleyway punks]]. What does he do with ALL of that power? ''NOTHING''. He'd rather finish his homework than deal with it.
* ClassicalAntiHero: Cynical, pessimistic, sarcastic, terribly frank, naive, slightly slow-witted and reckless beyond measure, and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality a lack of moral clarity]], offset by [[AllLovingHero his uncompromising and unwavering desire to help those in need, unconditional kindness,]] [[HumbleHero humility and modesty]] Touma is a ''very flawed and complicated man'', no doubt a result of [[MyGreatestFailure personal tragedies]], a ''bleak'' DarkAndTroubledPast, [[CosmicPlaything chronic bad luck]] and [[AmbiguousDisorder several issues]], who nonetheless endures his pain and burden to help others. Even after losing his memories, [[WideEyedIdealist a brighter outlook on life]] and [[TrueCompanions a close circle of friends and aquaintances]] barely keep him from [[HeroicBSOD losing it altogether]].
* CluelessChickMagnet: His constant stream of bad luck earns him much sympathy from almost every single girl in his class, earning him the ire of most boys (probably except Aogami and Motoharu). The people who have met him try to justify this by saying that his Imagine Breaker even cancels the RedStringOfFate. No fated lover means lots of possible options...
** {{Exaggerated|trope}} with the fact that all the Misaka clones are in love with him due to [[HiveMind what he said in the Accelerator battle]]; ALL TEN THOUSAND OF THEM. [[note]] Technically only 9969 of them as Misaka 20001 (Last Order) and 20002 (Misaka Worst) are closer to Accelerator than to Touma.[[/note]]
* CodeName: On the Magic side, he's known as "Imagine Breaker".
%%* ColdBloodedTorture
* CombatClairvoyance: Several characters speculate that through the many fights he has been in, Touma has unconsciously developed "Precognition", which allows him to detect any incoming supernatural attacks. Only supernatural ones, though, so "natural" attacks like punches or bullets he has to avoid/tank normally.
* CombatPragmatist: He's not above using psychological warfare on one guy, throwing a shovel full of dust at another, or splashing '''boiling coffee''' to a terrorist's face to blind him. He fights dirty.
** [[JustifiedTrope Though if]] [[SuperpowerLottery you look at]] [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours the people he fights against]], you can hardly blame him.
* ConvenientlySeated: Touma sits on the second-last seat next to the window.
* CosmicPlaything: Once you get far enough into the series, it isn't a question of whether God hates him or not, it's a question of ''how many'' hate him.
* CreepyGood: Not through a creepy power (if you consider the Invisible Thing separate from his powers) or personality, but through his ''unconditional kindness and compassion''; case in point, Leivinia Birdway, who knows all about people's inner desires and usually exploit them to get the upper hand, is both annoyed and ''unnerved'' at Kamijou's suicidal willingess to [[HeroicSacrifice to use himself as a scapegoat to save others]] and lack of sinister intentions, even calling him "insane". And even ''[[MadScientist the Kiharas]]'' fear the boy, with his humanistic drive to do good opposing their ruthless and unfettered ForScience approach.
* CripplingOverspecialization: Touma himself at times notes; that for all his [[MageKiller skills]] and [[TheDeterminator abilities]] he can't hope to [[OneManArmy take on multiple foes and win]], [[MagicallyIneptFighter lacks purely offensive abilities]], [[MyKungFuIsStronger will mostly lose to more experienced fighters]], can't fly, isn't tech-savvy like Mikoto, Accelerator or Shiage, can't drive, and his [[AntiMagic sole power]] [[ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman is only useful in certain circumstances and situations]].
* CursedWithAwesome: [[spoiler:His powers are actually of divine origin, but doesn't learn of it until New Testament Volume 2, after which he endeavors to learn more about it.]]
* TheCynic: It's heavily implied that pre-amnesia Touma was this, and not without good reason considering his DarkAndTroubledPast and constant misfortune. After his memory loss, the "current" Touma [[WideEyedIdealist inverts]] this.
* DareToBeBadass
-->"Just answer me one question, Magician. Don't you want to save Index? You guys have been waiting for this, haven't you? A method where you don't need to take away Index's memories... a method where you don't need to be Index's enemies... a method where everyone is smiling and that everyone wants... that leads to the ultimate happy ending! You've been waiting forever for this, haven't you?! For this development? What have you guys been clenching your teeth all this time for?! Didn't you swear you'd save this one girl with your own hands? You'd like to be the main characters of the story too, right?! Quit being content staying a side character! Didn't you put your lives on the line to protect this one girl?! Then it's not over yet! It hasn't even begun! Quit getting depressed in this kinda long prologue! You can reach her if you stretch your hand out! Let's get this thing started already, Magician!"
* DatingSim: According to Aisa, his life is a walking DatingSim.
* DavidVersusGoliath: All of his fights, but especially the ones against [[spoiler:Accelerator, Fiamma of the Right, and Othinus.]]
%%* DeadpanSnarker:
* DeathOfPersonality: Pre-amnesia Touma is gone and never coming back.
* DecoyProtagonist: Pre-amnesia Touma is this.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: He's made an art of it.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Almost all of his former enemies become his allies later.
* {{Delinquent}}: Touma's not really a delinquent, but to most outsiders, he probably seems like one (the spiky hair doesn't help). It's not like he's ''not trying'' to do well in school, but it's pretty much gotten to the point where the forces of karma are against it.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:As a child, he apparently caused so much misfortune to others, that a man tries to kill him because ''simply shaking Touma's hand'' caused him to lose his job, and had his '''entire life''' secretly become a reality show by a greedy television company.]]
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: Touma saw his right hand as a useless bother, and couldn't find a good use for it. Then he meets Index, and realizes that his hand is the only thing that can save her, and with a glorious rant as narration does so, only to lose all his memories. In his place is the "second" Touma, who always helps people and values his hand as a saving tool.
* {{Determinator}}
** Besides the ''many'' times he gets back up, battered and bloody, by the power of his sheer will, [[spoiler:he channeled a power even stronger than the "Invisible Thing" in order to stop Fiamma once and for all.]]
** Touma utilizing this trope against his fight with Accelerator causes the latter to start worrying about potentially losing a fight for the first time. Unlike other thugs who tried to take him on before, and regretted it the moment he lopped one of their limbs off, Touma has a very fierce look on his face that makes the latter rather uneasy despite getting hit a lot of times.
** This was pretty much the only thing he had going for him against Othinus. He essentially refuses to break so many times (implied to be on the order of '''''billions''''') that Othinus just gives up. [[spoiler:And after Othinus surrenders to the combined forces of America, the UK, and Academy City Touma, who at this point is aware of her change of heart, fights '''''the entire world''''' just to save her.]]
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: He literally punched out Innocentius (a 3000° fire demon), Accelerator, Ellis (a massive concrete golem), [[spoiler:Fiamma of the Right, and even the '''ArchangelGabriel'''.]]
* DieHardOnAnX: When the plane he and Index are riding on is taken hostage by terrorists, it's up to Touma to put a stop to the terrorists' plans, ''a la'' [[Film/DieHard John McClane]].
* TheDreaded: Although most of the Science Side have no clue who he is, since he's a "level zero" on paper (although ''Accelerator'', the most dangerous Esper in the Dark Side of Academy City, is ''afraid of him''), most of the Magic Side is utterly terrified of him and his Imagine Breaker. It gets to the point that [[spoiler: GREMLIN is perfectly willing to destroy the world if it means taking Touma with it. It works.... 10031 times to be exact.]]
** In ''New Testament'' Volume 4, there's [[spoiler:Kihara Byouri, a sociopath who fought GREMLIN (the same Magic organization designed to '''FIGHT TOUMA''') with a cheerful (if not disturbing) smile on her face. The one time she ever shows fear was when Touma's name was brought up. The narrative itself seems to imply that Touma is the worst possible opponent for a Kihara to face. In contrast, Amata, another Kihara, shows no fear when he was pitted against Accelerator, the most powerful Esper in Academy City.]]
** After the events of ''New Testament'' Volume 10, he develops a reputation as the guy who'll [[SpannerInTheWorks foil your plans,]] [[WorldsBestWarrior kick your ass,]] and [[ChickMagnet steal your girl.]] He's depressed and annoyed about this, but ''can't actually refute any of it.''
* DrunkenMaster: [[spoiler:After taking a bottle of beer (which Shiage encouraged him to), completely drunk on his way back home, he nonchalantly dodged one of Mikoto's bolts, and scored up a harem implied to be in the ''millions'']].
* DudeWheresMyRespect: He's saved people, the city, and even ''the entire world'' on several occasions. And he gets absolutely no respect for it. Not even the '''''freaking President of the United States''''' endorsing him can get people to cut him some slack.
* TheDulcineaEffect: He will work his ass off to save anyone, even if he's only known them for a few minutes.
* EnemiesEqualsGreatness: A large premise of the latter half of the first series is that because Touma defied great entities, Accelerator, the Catholic Church, etc, he is considered a great figure. Itsuwa even lampshades this at the start of the 16th volume.
* EnemyWithout: [[spoiler: In the Kamijou Arc, after defeating Coronzon Touma's Imagine Breaker is separated from him longer than usual, causing it to form an Emanation of himself with all his combat experience, Imagine Breaker, and the memories he lost in the past (both the memories he lost back in July, and those of Shokuhou's).]] [[spoiler:They then proceed to take his identity and manipulate numerous people, including Mikoto, Index and the aforementioned Shokuhou, forcing Touma to team up with Accelerator, Shiage and Rimea, alongside Takitsubo, Dion Fortune, and Qlipyah Puzzle 545 to stop them.]]
* EvenEvilCanBeLoved: [[spoiler:It applies to him during the first recreation of the world by Othinus during NT 9, Version_Alpha, where everybody's perception of Touma's previous actions are to see him as an "Incarnation of Violence" rather than a hero.]] [[spoiler:It's best shown where Komoe broke into tears just when she was about to kill him, and to a lesser extent, his parents still acknowledging him as their son despite agreeing that Touma had to be killed.]]
* EvilLaugh: Deliberately invokes this during his battle against Aureolus Izzard, with a SlasherSmile for additional bonus points.
* ExtremityExtremist: Tends to concentrate on right-hand punches.
%%* FamousNamedForeigner
* FastballSpecial: Performs a variation of one where [[spoiler:Acqua launches him using his [[{{BFS}} Ascalon]] straight at Carissa to destroy Curtana Original.]] It earns extra points due to Touma and [[spoiler:Acqua]] doing it wordlessly in true BashBrothers fashion, and the ridiculous bullet-like speed Touma is sent flying.
** Also gets tossed by [[spoiler:Gunha]] in the Railgun manga (which takes place before the above).
* {{Fetish}}: For CoolBigSis-type girls. He doesn't talk about it much.
* FighterMageThief: [[MadeOfIron The ]] [[GoodOldFisticuffs Fighter]] to Accelerator's Mage and Shiage's Thief.
** SwordAndSorcerer: He'd be [[BarrierWarrior the Sword]] with most offensive espers and magicians when teaming up with, but the narrative specifically emphasized this with him and [[MagicKnight Thor]].
-->''If one thought about it, Kamijou’s ability to negate only the enemy’s magic and Thor’s direct firepower was the ideal combination.''
** In the ''Biohacker'' SS, as the [[ActionSurvivor more combat-oriented]] and [[CowardlyLion (mostly) courageous member]] of the 3 pre-amnesia Touma fills the Fighter role from the get-go with Mitsuari as the Mage ([[SquishyWizard very powerful telepathy similar to Shokuhou's but is physically weak]]) and Seria as the Thief ([[JackOfAllTrades genius tactician, skilled driver and lockpicker and while a capable fighter]] she relies on Touma to do the fighting).
* FightingYourFriend: While he's a vocal supporter of DefeatMeansFriendship, he really doesn't take well to this. Case in point; [[spoiler:in NT 6 he spends the whole fight against Thor panicking and worrying about his injuries, only fighting so that he can put him down and make him get treatment once it's apparent he can't get out of it. In NT 7 he's reduced to tears and broken screaming as he's beating Tsuchimikado down. By the end he's shaken enough to threaten a relatively innocent old man to make sure he'll be alright.]]
** [[spoiler: Basically the entire plot of [=NT 10=] as friends, allies, and acquaintances all pop up to eliminate him and Othinus.]]
* FightsLikeANormal: Since his only power is to nullify others' powers with his right hand, he has to get down-and-dirty to deal damage.
* {{Fingore}}: While Index is in John's Pen Mode, several of his fingers audibly break with visible blood as he holds back the Dragon's Breath spell. He also breaks two of his fingers by [[spoiler:destroying Gungnir]] but shrugs it off.
* FirstEpisodeTwist: He loses his memories irrevocably. This goes on to have ''massive'' implications for the rest of the series. Pre-memory loss Touma, however, was a very different person, and is treated as a PosthumousCharacter. [[spoiler: There's also the satellite that He and Kaori destroyed in their attempt to restrain Index... it's one of the cruxes of the Sisters arc.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Touma goes from an unknown existence in Academy City to the mortal enemy of the Catholic Church and many other magical groups over the course of the series.
* GenerationXerox: Shares his father's chick magnetism.
* GlobalIgnorance: He is very ignorant about topics like geography and history, which the other characters find really annoying. He tries to use the excuse that he's a Japanese student and shouldn't be expected to be knowledgeable about countries like Denmark, but none of the other Japanese characters have this problem.
* GoodCannotComprehendEvil: He says he just doesn't get why people are assholes who grab power at the expense of others, constantly asking them [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood why they don't use their abilities to make the world a happier place]]. However, this doesn't diminish his effectiveness at all. Just because he doesn't know why people do bad things, doesn't mean he's unaware that they do.
* GoodIsNotSoft: He is one of the kindest and most compassionate people in the series... and ''everybody'' gets shocked when he starts beating up bad guys and saving people without expecting any reward at all.
* GoodIsNotDumb: Just because he's ''naive'' doesn't always mean he's ''unaware''; he shows he can be just as cunning as his more intellectual allies and the enemies he faces, if not even more. And unlike [[ImplacableMan Accelerator]], [[ShockAndAwe Mikoto]] and [[TheGunslinger Shiage]], [[AntiMagic with the]] [[MagicallyIneptFighter limited]] [[GoodOldFisticuffs resources]] [[MadeOfIron he has at]] [[TheDeterminator his disposal]] Touma shines best with [[IndyPloy the creative uses he employs with his power and wits]].
* GoodOldFisticuffs: His general fighting style. Justified in a lot of cases, because his right hand nullifying the enemy's abilities is generally the only thing he has going for him. In the battle against [[SuperpowerLottery Accelerator]], he can ONLY hit him with his right hand, and brings a new meaning to winning [[{{Pun}} single-handedly]].
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold:
** Despite all his death-defying feats of heroism, most of Academy City is completely oblivious to his existence. He can save the world and then get in trouble for missing school. Not that he's interested in becoming famous, though. He even let Mikoto get the credit for saving everyone from the Graviton Bomber.
*** Subverted later on, when he meets with [[spoiler:a false]] Aihane Etsu that brags his name to try and scare him with his identity only to be scared out of his wits due to his reputation the unaware Touma has in the dark side of Academy City.
** Mind you, this is [[SubvertedTrope not the case]] [[TheDreaded with the Magic Side]].
** In NT Vol 9, [[spoiler:he goes through a Hell that would have broken any other man, then manages to get ''Othinus'' to pull a HeelFaceTurn. Only Othinus and the Will of the Misaka Network know about this, leaving everybody else confused as to why he's suddenly defending Othinus, the world's enemy.]]
* GuileHero: [[BrilliantButLazy He might be unmotivated and willing to go along with people who'd presumably know better but he can really get into his enemies' heads]] and he was arguably far more effective when he was moving independently during World War III. It becomes even more noticeable in NT where he's much more prone to sneaking around on his own incentive.
** He becomes a scarily competent [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] during the Ichihanaransai Arc [[spoiler:where he flawlessly leads both major factions by the nose with little effort while carrying out his own objectives]]. Albeit he was admittedly [[BewareTheNiceOnes vengeful]] about [[spoiler:Birdway's]] manipulations preceding that.
* HasAType: Admits he has a thing for [[CoolBigSis reliable older girls]]. Doesn't really talk about it that much, though. Ironically, amongst his harem the one who fits the bill best is Kanzaki, but even she's rather shy when it comes to the concept of romance.
* HealingFactor: [[spoiler:Subtly implied throughout the novels and anime, then made explicit when he ''regenerates his right arm'' after Fiamma severed it.]]
* HandicappedBadass: [[spoiler:His PTSD from Othinus' Infinite Hells has done nothing to curb his [[TheDeterminator unbreakable will and heroic spirit]].]]
* HeroicBSOD: Had many moment of regret and depressions but never lingered on them and let himself be set back but then came [[spoiler:Baggage City on top of Hawaii]] which left him a [[JadeColoredGlasses disillusioned mess of]] [[BrokenAce trust issues]] and [[ItsAllMyFault irrational guilt]]. It took Thor forcing his way into his life, repeatedly punching him in the face and breaking HIS illusions with a [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech "Reason you currently suck" speech]] snowballing into a verbal fight then a full blown brawl to snap him out of it.
* HeroicNeutral: Most see him as an IdealHero while he claims to be doing it all for himself, but he's mostly this (still blurring the line since a true HeroicNeutral wouldn't go nearly as far as he does for the sake of total strangers in need). [[PlatonicLifePartners Index]], [[BestFriendManual Thor]] and [[TheOmniscient Aiwass]] are the only ones to really notice this side of him so far. [[HeroWorshipper Accelerator]] too stopped putting him on a pedestal by NT.
* HeroicResolve: After getting beaten by Accelerator, he stands up after Mikoto shows up. Curbstomp ensues.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Despite everything he has accomplished, he still considers himself a mere Level 0, and openly says everybody else can do things he cannot. He also freely admits that his fighting style and skills are not suited to fight multiple opponents, opponents with superior speed, opponents who can fly, and opponents who have superior fighting skills.
* HeroismWontPayTheBills: Saving everyone doesn't pay. He constantly struggles to pay for his rent, groceries, hospital bills, etc.
* HonorBeforeReason: To the ''severe'' detriment of his own health. He absolutely refuses to ignore or abandon anyone in trouble. He also used to have a problem with asking others for help.
** And just when you thought Touma couldn't ''possibly'' get any worse with this trope, [[spoiler: in [=NT9=], he doesn't hesitate at all to protect a girl who is now the target of ''the entire world''.]]
* HopeBringer: When all seems lost, he inspires almost everyone that everything will be all right. Part of it is from Imagine Breaker, the other is from how nice and reassuring he is. [[spoiler: {{Exaggerated|trope}} in New Testament Volume 4, where his very presence inspires Maria Kumokawa and her friends not to be afraid of [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]].]]
* HotBlooded: Not usually, but piss him off enough and he'll definitely be pumped up and raring to punch your lights out.
* HowDoIShotWeb: He has no idea how Imagine Breaker works (to be fair, ''nobody'' knows how Imagine Breaker works except Aleister and Aiwass) and it takes him a while to figure out its limitations and that he can use it to play CatchAndReturn with powerful attacks.
* HumbleHero: He'd rather goof off with his friends and cook meals for Index than to take credit for his heroic deeds.
* HyperAwareness: Constant misfortune and fights with Skill-Outs and power-users gave Touma a sharp instinct towards danger; he almost always notes how things seem ''wrong'' whenever Magicians show up and cause trouble, ''before'' they show up; this is more emphasized in the books than anime (such as his initial encounters with Stiyl Magnus and Kaori Kanzaki both pre- to post-amnesia).
* ICantSenseTheirPresence: Because of Imagine Breaker, he cannot be detected by scanners for psychic energy, which causes him to be labeled a Level 0. In the Deep Blood arc, Stiyl Magnus explains that magical characters can't sense him either because Imagine Breaker erases mana in his presence. However, Stiyl then explains that an experienced magic user could simply look for an area where they can't sense anything and find him that way. The organization GREMLIN does just that to keep track of him.
* IdentityAmnesia: After Volume 1, though he doesn't particularly care.
* IdealHero: The guy will do anything, say anything, help anyone, fight anyone ([[WouldHitAGirl gender be damned]]), and throw himself in front of any person who is in need simply because he wants to. His IncorruptiblePurePureness is so intense that he's even gotten multiple (and in some cases, all-powerful) villains to join his side. Even though he personally identifies as a HeroicNeutral, it doesn't change the fact that if he sees someone in trouble, he'll lend a helping hand if he's able.
* ImplacableMan: Got your arm chopped off? Keep going. Have a car dropped on you? Walk it off. Get hit with a massive bolt of electricity ''twice''? Gonna have to do better than that.
* ImprovisationalIngenuity: Kamijou does this sort of thing on a daily basis, armed with only his quick wits and a right hand that can [[AntiMagic cancel all manner of supernatural abilities]] on the fly. He has managed to beat several characters who are far more powerful than him, including [[WorldsStrongestMan Accelerator]]; a character with a SuperpowerLottery that makes him seemingly NighInvulnerable.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Shovel, sand, a piece of rebar, a hairdryer, hot coffee... anything Touma can use to even the odds against his enemies.
* InnocentCohabitation: Living with Index (and later [[spoiler:Itsuwa and Othinus]]). And thanks to memory loss, he doesn't even know why.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Has a habit of insulting people with causal comments.
* InSeriesNickname: Called "Kami-yan" by Tsuchimikado and Aogami (just "Kami" in the dub).
* InterruptedSuicide: [[spoiler:He briefly gives up hope when Othinus puts him in a world that doesn't need heroes like him and decides to jump off a building, but the Will of the Misaka Network stops him and convinces him to keep going.]]
* IWorkAlone: He rarely asks for any help from his more powerful friends, and prefers to do things himself.
* TheJinx: Part of his bad luck includes vending machines, ATM machines, his refrigerator, and other devices breaking down around him. It stops being funny when his ''parachute'' malfunctions. In fact, "Jinx" was his EmbarrassingNickname before he moved to Academy City in the dub.
* KidHero: Starts the series at 15, later turns 16.
* TheMcCoy: Between Accelerator's [[TheSpock Spock]] and Shiage's [[TheKirk Kirk]].
*** TheKirk: Amusingly, he's this to Mikoto, who is ''much more'' HotBlooded than him.
* KnightInSourArmor: Eventually becomes this after the events of New Testament 4, having been used in the plans of several people. [[spoiler:Thor]] knocks it out of him.
* LanguageBarrier: He only knows Japanese and a bit of basic English, which often puts him at a disadvantage with foreigners. His attempts to learn more English and other languages have met with constant failure. But this is actually subverted because even though ''he'' only really knows Japanese, ''everyone else'' with any sort of importance knows Japanese due to Academy City's influence and are willing to translate for him.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia:
** Gets it in the ''very first volume'' thanks to being hit by the aftereffects of Index's [[WaveMotionGun Dragon's Breath]] on the head, which obliterates all of his memories before that point.
** It is revealed that [[spoiler:around a year before the series, Touma was seriously injured and nearly died while protecting Misaki. The operation that saved his life damaged his brain to the extent that he will never remember Misaki, past, present, or future. This extends to even after his second case of amnesia.]]
* LighterAndSofter: Downplayed. In the novels, while not reaching to the [[DarkerAndEdgier extent]] [[{{Gorn}} as]] [[AntiHero Accelerator and Shiage's]] stories do, Touma's battles with Magicians are [[BloodierAndGorier far more violent and brutal]], with collateral damage being more prevalent in earlier books, and his flaws of self-loathing, cowardice and near-suicidal recklessness are emphasized more. Most of these are cut out in the anime, making Touma more of a typical anime hero than is usual.
* MadeOfIron: To wit, he has...
** Survived his encounter against Kaori and managed to throw a punch in her face '''after''' he got his ass handed over to him.
** Challenged Accelerator and ''won'', despite [[ShockAndAwe being mortally electrocuted by Mikoto]] shortly beforehand.
** Chased Oriana Thompson all over Academy City by ''running'' before fighting.
** Defeated several Skill-Outs and Shiage in combat shortly after getting shot in the side.
** Got beaten within an inch of his life by [[spoiler:Acqua]] but survives, then goes to [[spoiler:the Amakusa Catholics']] rescue and managed to buy them some time for [[spoiler:the "Saint Destroyer" spell]] even while still recuperating.
** [[spoiler:Defeated Accelerator ''again'' after the latter "awakened" and went berserk.]]
** [[spoiler:It's also implied that his ability to sense AIM Fields and intercept incoming attacks resulted from his growing attuning to the supernatural beatdowns delivered to him on a constant basis.]]
** [[spoiler:To avoid getting questioned and possibly arrested by Anti-Skill, he escapes from the hospital a short time after being shot several times.]]
** [=NT8=], 9 and 10 is basically an ''extremely'' long day for him, the course of which he [[spoiler: fought various Gremlin magicians to get to Othinus, then faced Othinus' attempts to break his mind by creating ''millions'' of different worlds where he was forced to experience various horrifying things, then went up against (takes a deep breath) Accelerator, Misaka, 150 Five Overs, Index, Birdway, Sasha, Vasilisa, Kanzaki Kaori, Acqua of the Black, Knight Leader, Second Princess Carissa, Silva, Brunhild, Thor, Agnese Sanctis and her nuns, Marian Slingeneyer and her summons such as Ocelot, Surtr, and even ''Vishnu'', and for the final boss, Othinus herself. This list can be expanded.]]
* MageKiller: By negating their spells, magicians become extremely vulnerable to getting punched in the face by him.
* MagneticHero: He has a gift for getting people to want to follow him, which he doesn't notice.
* ManlyTears: Being a fighter doesn't stop him from feeling for friends and foes alike.
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: [[spoiler:What he went through when Othinus tried to break him as she changed the world countless times. Among other things, the narration mentions that he was cornered and beaten to death, getting slandered for a number of false accusations that results him in being executed through hanging, being forced to distribute his flesh to his acquaintances in order to save them after getting stranded on a mountain while waiting for rescue, paralyzed for life and being buried alive, all while ''decomposing'', stranded in space after the Earth was rendered uninhabitable, and getting destroyed by a giant robot or an asteroid.]]
* MartialPacifist: He always tries to talk things out with his opponents before resorting to kicking their ass. Amusingly, when told that [[spoiler:the entire world is his enemy]], his first thought is to study English so he can talk to them.
* MartyrWithoutACause: He always says he needs no reason to help, but always ends up badly injured. [[spoiler:This becomes his key personality come the ''New Testament'' series.]]
* MeaningfulName:
** His surname is translated as "He Who is Above God" ("La Persona Superiore a Dio" in Italian).
** His name can also be translated as "He Who Purifies God and Exorcises the Devil".
** His given name can also be roughly translated as "[[spoiler:Invisible Demon]]".
* MinoredInAssKicking: Many of his more powerful opponents view him as a weak nobody without his Imagine Breaker, and in Othinus' case, the Invisible Thing as well ([[AmbiguousSituation or is it?]]). But time and time again, the narration shows that Touma's true strengths belie is his unrelenting [[{{Determinator}} determination]] for a better world without sacrificing the happiness of anyone, refusal to kill anyone, and most importantly, his unyielding, unconditional kindness.
-->'''Othinus:''' "'''Martial arts, a gun, a knife, or any other obvious offensive power would only increase your ability to 'cut people off'.''' You would be no different from the cruel agents of revenge who delight in robbing people of a chance to reform and then tossing the majority rule loser into the abyss, all while calling it a punishment. Kamijou Touma, that is not your strength. '''Your greatest weapon is the powerful arm that reached into the abyss and saved even someone as hopelessly evil and rotten to the core as Magic God Othinus.''' That ability to connect is your ultimate trump card, so make no mistake and do not reach for a cheap answer. You couldn’t defeat the High Priest? This Kamisato guy wiped out all of those Magic Gods? You should be asking 'so what'. You should be looking down on Academy City for letting the High Priest die and on Kamisato for killing the Magic Gods without saving a single one. What is wanted from you is not violence on the same level as World Rejecter. '''It isn’t the power to kill. It is the power of human reason that can envelop that violence.'''"
* MookHorrorShow: When Touma fights, readers/viewers see a high-school boy fighting and winning against opponents who are objectively much more powerful than him thanks to his [[{{Determinator}} tenacity]], hard-earned [[BadassNormal street fighting skills]], and a PowerNullifier right arm. His opponents, however, see a fighting machine who can [[AntiMagic nullify their powers of any kind]] and [[ImplacableMan rise from a severe beatdown]] as often as needed. When even ''Accelerator'' dreads him, you know Touma is a household name among some power users.
* MoralityChain: To Othinus. Ollerus has stated that if Touma were to die in front of Othinus, she would become an even bigger monster than she was before.
* MyGreatestFailure: As Seria mentions to Misaki in NT 11, [[spoiler: Touma's failure to save Mitsuari Ayu from comitting suicide was something he could never get over]]...
** MyGreatestSecondChance: ...[[spoiler:which drove him to not repeat the same mistake when Misaki was about to do the same thing during their first meeting.]] However, tearjerking ensues when he [[spoiler:loses his memories of Misaki (along with being unable to remember her at all), leading him to live with the above example before losing his memories altogether in the Index Arc.]]
* MyHeroZero: Mocked as a Level 0, total ass-kicker.
* NeutralNoLonger: Most arcs boil down to this. He likes peace and doesn't actively go looking for trouble. But he acts if he sees something he personally finds tasteless even if the other person has a FreudianExcuse or even a legitimately [[WellIntentionedExtremist good reason]] regardless of [[TrueNeutral which side they belong to]].
* NervesOfSteel: Even when under extremely stressful situations, Touma ''almost always'' keeps his wits on him, doing what needs to be done regardless of the odds.
* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: Both played true and averted. When he was little, he was outcast by the people in his hometown due to his bad luck, and was called the "The God of Plague"/"Jinx". When he moved to Academy City, he ended up becoming just your typical, unknown and unimportant Level 0, with just a few people belonging to the dark side of Academy City knowing about his importance to Aleister Crowley. On the other hand, he's infamous among the magic organizations outside Academy City, with people in the Magic Side wanting to kill him, join him, use him, date him, potentially marry him, "use" him, or all of the above.
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: To Index in the beginning of the series, and [[spoiler:again in the ending of Volume 22.]]
* NiceGuy: He's always friendly to everyone, ''even to his enemies''.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: While most of his actions do at least some good, many of his decisions cause ''a lot'' of trouble later on. However, while Touma knows his actions may have negative consequences in the future, he still won't hesitate to save those in front of him because worrying about the future is not a good reason for inaction in his opinion.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: No matter what he does or who he saves, Touma always has to face the dire consequences. He will suffer terrible injuries in the place of others, and his efforts will never be rewarded. He even has to pay for the resulting hospital bills.
-->'''Aisa:''' "In other words, even if he does anything for Himegami, Kamijou is just helping others pay the bill meaninglessly. In most situations, what he pays would often become his wounds."
* NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech:
** A simple one in the conclusion of NT Vol 7 when he is asked, "What are you going to do now?"
-->"The same thing as always. [[EarnYourHappyEnding No matter how many times I reach game over and no matter how many times I must pathetically hit continue]] , [[{{Determinator}} I will not stop moving forward]]."
** Near the end of NT Vol 9 where he declares that he's finally fighting a battle for his own sake instead of to save someone.
* NormalFishInATinyPond: He himself has acknowledged that while Imagine Breaker makes him one of the most powerful fighters in Academy City and the Magic Side, when up against normal opponents, he's just a regular guy who street fights. Fortunately, he happens to have gotten ''really damn good'' at street fighting.
* NotDistractedByTheSexy: Whenever he fights, Touma would never care whether the woman he's fighting is exposed. In general he seems to ignore a girl's sexiness if she's unclothed, instead he reacts due to the UnprovokedPervertPayback that usually follows.
-->'''Kazakiri:''' "He's also the kind of guy who speaks to you with a straight face even when you're naked..."
* NotSoDifferentRemark:
** [[spoiler:Heaven Canceller]] compares Touma's ideals with Accelerator's: Both want to save those they care for, except Touma wants to do it without sacrificing anyone, while Accelerator is willing to kill if needed.
** [[spoiler:Othinus realizes that his adventure in [=NT9=] caused him to become just like her, a traveler trying to return home, and that he's the only person in existence who truly understands her.]]
* TheNudifier: His right hand is the bane of people wearing magical clothing, as Index found out the hard way.
* ObliviousToLove: In ''spades''.
** In Volume 18, his reaction to Itsuwa having a LuminescentBlush is to [[ComicallyMissingThePoint think that she must be wanting to save Index]].
** It's even more ridiculous in the case for Index, [[spoiler:who blatantly expressed her love for him early in the series]]. Either he's aware of it and just not reciprocating, or he's mistaking it for platonic love.
** However, he's not oblivious to ''other'' people's love. He can often tell if someone has feelings for another, like when he listened to Ouma Yamisaka talk about the girl he was trying to help over the phone.
* AnOddPlaceToSleep: Tends to sleep in his bathtub, even though it is uncomfortable, because Index tends to sleepwalk and attack him.
* OlderThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:His battles and ordeals against Othinus' Infinite Hells during NT9 left him with the [[SeenItAll experience, outlook, and emotional stoicness]] of a man ''[[TimeAbyss couple magnitudes older than the Universe]]'' despite looking and occasionally acting like a neurotic, teenaged boy.]]
* OneCurseLimit: Due to the drawbacks on his Imagine Breaker, Touma is actually immune to any magical curse and can dispel curses on other people.
* OneManArmy: Once took on about 200 battle nuns all armed with swords, spears, and magic with his bare hands and survived. Then he faced a ''massive'' crazed mob in NT Vol 7 and held his own until the others arrived to help.
* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Subverted. '''Obviously'''.
* OurHeroIsDead: [[spoiler:At the end of Volume 22, lasting through NT 1. He makes a triumphant return [[MoodWhiplash that is quickly cut short by a swift kick to the balls from Birdway]].]]
* OutOfTimeOutOfMind: After experiencing what is told to be ''billions'' of worlds of torture and death (some of which he spent an entire lifetime in) during his fight with Othinus, Touma seems to come back from the experience relatively the same, even joking about it at times. He tells Othinus that he subconsciously rearranged his own memories so it would look like their continuously repeating fight would instead feel like a single one to him. However, the trope seems to be averted at times, like how Touma still has trauma whenever he hears the word "Magic God" or encounters one, such as when he met St. Germain and it pretended to be one.
* OutsideContextProblem: At first, none of the villains had ever heard of him and were at a loss at dealing with him and his Imagine Breaker.
* TheParagon: If you get preached to or punched out by him, chances are high you'll become quite heroic somewhere down the road.
* PatrickStewartSpeech: Gives one to [[spoiler:Fiamma in Volume 22, pointing out that if humanity was really as wicked as he claimed, then Fiamma would have been able to wipe it out instantly, as his power is increased by [[ThePowerOfHate the malice in his enemies]].]]
* PerpetualPoverty: Thanks to [[BigEater Index]] and his general bad luck, he's always short on cash.
* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:The "Invisible Thing", according to the power level chart, is the second most powerful being introduced in the story. Which implies that Imagine Breaker could be even more powerful than that.]]
* PowerIncontinence: Imagine Breaker is ''always'' on. Which sucks because he could accidentally negate and destroy something he doesn't want to just by touching it, like someone's magical outfit. [[spoiler:Kazakiri is made of AIM, so he can never touch her with his right hand or she may be erased.]]
* PowerLevels: Although technically classified as Level 0, in practice his power is greater than pretty much anyone else in the series. Even the almighty "Breath of Saint George's Dragon" only manages to make his hand bleed a little from the strain of holding it back. At first Academy City's power ratings are implied to be flawed. Then it turns out that [[spoiler:this is only partly true -- the ratings are largely determined by a person's usefulness to Crowley's master plan. While Touma's power is, on paper, enough to ensure him a high ranking, it is so problematic analyzers had to brand him Level 0.]]
* PowerLimiter: [[spoiler:Imagine Breaker actually works as the seal to the "Invisible Thing".]]
* PlatonicLifePartners: To Index [[spoiler:and later Othinus]], much to her dismay.
* PlotPoweredStamina: He has quite remarkable stamina for a kid, as he once chased after Oriana around Academy City ''for several hours'' during the Daihaseisai Arc, and despite the constant running he rarely stops to take a breath.
* PreAssKickingOneLiner: Every time he utters his {{Catch Phrase}}s.
* ProperlyParanoid: Touma is extremely suspicious of a generous bounty of good luck, believing that it will ultimately screw him over. When he [[spoiler:won a trip to Italy in Volume 11, he went through every possible scenario of what could go wrong, from a terrorist attack all the way to landing in an airport controlled by either Necessarius or the Roman Catholics. Ironically, he actually wasn't too wrong about his guess. This results in a BrickJoke in Volume 17, where his plane gets involved in a terrorist plot and after foiling their plan, the plane lands in a Necessarius controlled airport.]]
* PunchedAcrossTheRoom: He often launches people through the air when he punches them, especially if he gets a running or jumping start. The punchee sometimes makes a crater on landing. Taken to the extreme when he punches [[spoiler:Princess Carissa]] after getting a warm up from being used as a FastballSpecial by [[spoiler:Acqua of the Back]], where his punch not only breaks her weapon, but hits her in the face so hard she goes flying ''clean through part of the wrecked Buckingham Palace'' and away from it. The light novel describes her as ending up 2-3 ''kilometers'' away from the palace.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens
-->"God, if the world really goes by your rules then I'm gonna smash that illusion apart!"
* RedBaron: "Imagine Breaker" especially from from the Magic Side.
* RedOniBlueOni: Blue to [[{{Tsundere}} Misaka's]] Red, Red to [[AntiHero Accelerator's]] Blue.
* RescueRomance: Many of the girls in his harem fall in love with him after he saved them in some way.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Imagine Breaker protects him from alterations in reality.
* RunningGag:
** Whenever he gets injured he always ends up in the same hospital, in the same room, treated by the same doctor. Even on that rare moment when he ''isn't'' fantastically injured, he'd still pop up to greet the staff.
--->'''Touma:''' "Hey, frog-man! I didn't get injured this time!"
--->'''Heaven Canceler:''' "That's not something most people would be proud of..."
** Then there's his habit of [[AccidentalPervert walking into girls in unfortunate situations]].
* SacredFirstKiss: He loses his (to his [[LaserGuidedAmnesia knowledge]], at least) first kiss at the end of ''Genesis Testament'' Volume 1 to [[spoiler:Anna Sprengel, of all people.]] Granted, it loses some impact since [[spoiler:she did it to infect him with a black pill containing St. Germain microbes that would infest and kill him from the inside]].
* SaveScumming: [[spoiler:After over 10,000 battles with Othinus, he memorized her attack patterns to the point that he can nearly effortlessly evade her attacks.]]
* SaveTheVillain: Touma will save both friend and foe as much as he's able. [[spoiler:He saves Carissa from being killed by Fiamma despite her just minutes before having been trying to kill him and his comrades ''and'' willing to kill her family to achieve her goals, saves Fiamma later despite him starting WorldWarIII, and saves Othinus despite her ''killing him'' millions of times over]]. [[spoiler:When he chooses to fight the world in order to save Othinus and ''succeeds'']], Queen Elizard points out on national television that while there are many stories of saints slaying dragons to save the people, Touma is the type of hero who manages to save the people ''and'' the dragon.
* ScreamingWarrior: On occassions he will become this, partly to hype himself up during combat, [[HorrifyingHero and partly to unnerve his oppoenents]].
* SealedInsideAPersonShapedCan: [[spoiler:The "Invisible Thing", though exactly ''what'' form it takes tends to vary (be it dragon head, at least ''eight'' different serpentine dragons, and just a vague ''thing'' which is visualized in the anime as a constantly-shifting mass of energy that pools out of the remains of his right arm), assuming they're not multiple ''separate'' things.]]
* SelectiveObliviousness: If someone directly confronts him about his popularity with women, he'll say he has no idea what they're talking about.
* SharingABody: In ''Genesis Testament'' Volume 2, he briefly experiences this with [[spoiler:the St. Germain microbes infesting his body once they gain enough strength to communicate with him and the outside world.]] Luckily, he ends up being a HeroicHost when [[spoiler:he convinces St. Germain to help him defeat Anna Spengel]], with the two of them even switching who's in "the driver's seat" to use their specific abilities against their foe.
* ShellShockedVeteran: [[spoiler: He is traumatized by his battles with Othinus. Though he hides it well, he sometimes gets triggered when something reminds him of them.]]
* ShatteringTheIllusion: His Imagine Breaker is more than capable of doing this, both literally and metaphorically.
* ShounenHair: Has distinct spiky hair. [[spoiler: Later subverted when it's revealed he actually styled it from a fashion magazine he read before.]]
* ShroudedInMyth: By the latter half of the New Testament novels, the name "Kamijou Touma" has spread so far that even two-bit street punks have heard the name, though they know next to nothing about him. The legend among them states that "Kamijou Touma" is an invincible force of justice that destroys all evil in his path and will sweep every woman he comes into contact with off her feet. Touma has a minor breakdown when he hears of this.
* ShutUpHannibal: Whenever a bad guy tries to justify his or her actions, Touma will almost always manage to prove they're nothing but hypocrites and then punch them into next week.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Never mind Imagine Breaker's theorized ability to attract women. Touma's a genuine NiceGuy, and that turns women on (especially after he rescues them).
* SitcomArchnemesis: Towards Kuroko over Mikoto's affections. Touma doesn't really mind her or have any strong opinion about her, but Kuroko openly hates him and often calls him "ape" or "monkey" instead of his actual name.
* SkewedPriorities: He often focuses on something other than what everybody else is thinking about, mostly having to do with his PerpetualPoverty.
* SpannerInTheWorks: While not as good at this as Shiage, he can derail any complex plan by simply showing up and kicking ass.
* SpecialOddHand: Touma's right hand, the Imagine Breaker, has the ability to negate any supernatural powers, including the effects of psychic, magic, and divine powers.
* SpiderSense: [[spoiler:Touma had this power all along (or at least has been slowly developing it), but it's only recently been pointed out. He can sense changes in AIM Fields from Espers and, implicitly, Mana from Sorcerers. This allows him to react before an attack has even been properly launched.]]
* StockLightNovelHero: PlayedWith, despite being one of the [[TropeCodifier earliest]] and [[UnbuiltTrope most copied examples]]. While his Imagine Breaker definitely makes him near-unbeatable against magicians and espers, he can be easily defeated by others who are more skilled in combat than him/without powers/do not rely solely on their powers. Furthermore, his [[MadeOfIron ability to take a beating]], [[{{Determinator}} indomitable willpower]], and being an AllLovingHero make him more of a StockShonenHero than a StockLightNovelHero. However, it is played straight in his case of being a ChickMagnet and having lots of girls [[UnwantedHarem having the hots for him, much to his dismay]]. If anything, he could be seen as a sort of "Missing Link" between the StockShonenHero and the StockLightNovelHero.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: You wouldn't think he'd qualify for this, seeing as how he's the main character. However, in ''Railgun'', where Mikoto is the protagonist, Touma essentially becomes this. This is particularly obvious in the Sisters arc, where Touma [[spoiler:essentially takes on the BigBad of the arc on his own while all Mikoto can do is watch]]. Since the two stories happen in the same city and often overlap, this can't really be avoided.
* StoneWall: Touma is a fairly average street fighter, but his [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]], combined with SpiderSense, makes him NighInvulnerable against superpowered foes.
* StoryBreakerPower: [[spoiler:The "Invisible Thing" that even made Fiamma think twice about his chances to defeat it. Imagine Breaker is a slightly borderline case, as it can counter any power, but in turn, it can be countered if the opponent uses [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim conventional weaponry (e.g. guns)]] or has [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours superior hand-to-hand combat ability]].]]
* StrongerThanTheyLook: Regularly punches people [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom across the room]] on a daily basis, and has once knocked away a gigantic metal cross without help.
* SuperheroParadox: Several antagonists showed up just because he showed up, and a few people like Etzali even blame him for it.
* SuperpowerLottery: [[spoiler:When his right arm is chopped off, he develops a power that makes everything Fiamma has pale in comparison. This is with Fiamma having been [[BeyondTheImpossible stronger than God]] at the time.]]
* SuperReflexes: Since his AntiMagic hand is useless if he can't react fast enough to bring it up to counter attacks, he needs these practically as RequiredSecondaryPowers. It does help his body seem to just move on instinct when he's faced with supernatural powers, [[spoiler:although it's ultimately proven that what Touma has is a serious case of unconscious SpiderSense that he ''thinks'' are SuperReflexes. He can react to the powers of espers, magicians, and even divine beings before they've even fired, but against mundane forms of attacks he's just better than average and wouldn't last long against a professional fighter]].
* SuperStrength: More subtle than usual, thanks to his CharlesAtlasSuperpower he's strong enough to causally send people [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom flying through the air]] with little effort, has causally thrown around things like safes and tables like softballs, and in an impressive feat of strength once swatted away a massive cross weighing several thousand pounds ''with his left, unpowered hand''. Even his foe was shocked at his feat. [[UnskilledButStrong Had he learned martial arts or boxed he might've defeated Motoharu in their first fight...]]
* SupremeChef: Has learned to cook due to living on his own for several years. A good thing because of Index's bottomless stomach.
* TaintedVeins: In ''Genesis Testament'' Volume 2, [[spoiler:which denotes the spread of the St. Germain microbes through his body and how they're slowly inadvertently killing him]].
* TaughtByExperience: Thanks to his quick learning and constant battles with magicians, espers and trained martial artists, he could analyze magic himself without the need of magicians, and quickly find the weak point in his opponents' spells, fighting styles, and personalities where he would use them to his advantage to force them to draw or defeat them.
* TechnicalPacifist: Touma normally can't bring himself to kill anyone. This is lampshaded by [[spoiler:Heaven Canceller]] when he compared Touma to Accelerator in regards to how [[NotSoDifferentRemark both protect the people they care about]].
* ThatManIsDead: Admits in private that he is not his pre-amnesia self.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx6YL1ld0iY Gensou Koroshi (Illusion Killer/Imagine Breaker)]]", which can serve as a [[{{Leitmotif}} leitmotif]] along with its allegro cover, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ofmj4ouopc Break Through]]".
* ThinkNothingOfIt: He helps people, not for praise, honor, or reward, but simply because it's "the right thing for a man to do".
* ThirdPersonPerson: On occasion.
* ThouShallNotKill: He tries to find a way in which a problem can be solved without killing another person, [[HonorBeforeReason no matter how irrational it may seem]]. Accelerator even stated that this is what separates [[HeWhoFightsMonsters himself]] to [[AllLovingHero Touma]].
* TranquilFury: Surprisingly enough, he has displayed this trait a few times, primarily when he is enraged past a certain breaking point. The greatest example is in [[spoiler:Volume 2, where he witnesses Aureolus Dummy murder several students. Touma is so enraged by this that he completely clams up and proceeds to effortlessly beat him down, even using the Dummy's own chain to choke him to death. He only manages to stop at the last minute when Aureolus Dummy begs for his life, and Touma [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizes that he doesn't have what it takes to kill another human being]].]]
* TraumaCongaLine: NT Vol 9, where [[spoiler:Othinus traps him in ''many'' recreations of the world, each worse than the last. It didn't break him.]]
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Move over, [[Franchise/DragonBall Son Goku]], we have a new contender.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset: There can be only one Imagine Breaker, and he has it. Specifically, it is not that he happens to possess Imagine Breaker but rather [[spoiler: Imagine Breaker exists solely in Kamijou Touma's right arm and nowhere else.]]
* UnluckilyLucky: He's extremely unlucky, thanks to the Imagine Breaker canceling out the good fortune he would otherwise receive. However, it also negates the powers of both [[MagicVersusScience magicians and espers]]. He has the bad luck of getting dragged into a battle against powerful members of both factions, but also the good luck of having the power to defeat them.
* UnluckyEverydude: Nothing ever goes right for him.
* UnskilledButStrong: Naturally talented and powerful, [[SuperStrength capable of shattering concrete with a single punch]], but with no known formal training, instead of relying on his Imagine Breaker, street fighting methods, and instincts. When up against trained martial artists like [[ActionGirl Kaori]] and [[TheSpymaster Motoharu]], he gets his ass handed to him, and the latter even recalls that Touma wasn't even able to land a single hit on him. Fortunately, he is a quick learner and [[TookALevelInBadass eventually he grows out of it]].
* UnwantedHarem: All the other guys in his class hate him for unwittingly making all the girls fall for him, joking that unless he is stopped, humanity may go extinct because of his charm. This goes up a notch when he made ''all'' surviving Misaka's Sisters fall for him after defeating Accelerator. And he's ''just getting started''...
* UnwittingPawn: He's always someone's pawn without realizing it until it is too late, [[spoiler:which winds up crippling Academy City because of his involvement with GREMLIN. In New Testament Vol. 5, he finally gets sick of it and manages to form a plan that outwits GREMLIN and Levinia Birdway's faction at the same time. NT Vol 10 reveals that he has been this to the true GREMLIN -- as in, ''the Magic Gods from all of the world's religions'' -- for a while. The entire conflict with Othinus was merely a trial to manipulate Touma's growth.]]
* WarriorTherapist: In some ways, it's his ''modus operandi''. Notably subjected are Misaka, Accelerator [[spoiler:(twice)]] and [[spoiler:Unabara]]. He even strives to learn English just so he can [[spoiler:talk the whole world out of WorldWarIII.]]
** It's lampshaded by Thor about how he follows his usual speeches with his trademark punch.
* WeakButSkilled: His only power is the [[AntiMagic Imagine Breaker]] which is limited to his right hand and can't negate powers that are too strong, but he is still able to regularly take out SuperpowerLottery Winners because he uses it so well.
** Though Touma is really [[spoiler: a SuperpowerLottery Winner himself. Other than the Imagine Breaker, he has the Invisible Thing Imagine Breaker is sealing and something else that is even greater than the Invisible Thing and made everything Fiamma had pale in comparison. It's more like Touma doesn't really understand and cannot control his other powers.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: The original Touma "died" after saving Index in the first arc because St. John's feather wiped every last trace of his memory and personality.
* WeirdnessMagnet: He will somehow always find himself conveniently dragged into whatever major incident is happening at the moment. Justified due to Imagine Breaker erasing his luck and people wanting to use him as their pawn so they intentionally ensure that he somehow gets involved.
* {{Weredragon}}: [[spoiler:In ''New Testament'' Volume 22 R, losing Imagine Breaker and it gaining its own Will separate from him results in him gaining the ability to turn into a dragon. The Emanation can also transform into one, albeit with different colors.]]
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Even though nobody really knows he exists and his accomplishments will never be acknowledged, he will '''never''' choose to walk away from somebody in trouble.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: Given that his only ability is that his right-hand cancels out all supernatural events, Touma's strategy in combat tends to boil down to "run up and punch them in the face".
* WideEyedIdealist: He believes in a world where everybody can be happy and nobody has to be sacrificed. Until he gets it, he won't stop fighting.
* WifeBasherBasher: Even though he's more than willing to [[WouldHitAGirl hit a woman]] if she tries to cause a lot of harm, he ''will'' hunt you down like a dog and kick you into the middle of next week if you harm helpless and nice girls.
* WildCard: Is seen as one by the Magic Side. It's because he knows about the Magic Side, is not actually an Esper, and with no real affiliation with Academy City other than being a student there. As a result, he is often manipulated and used by the Magic Side to further their overall goals and interfere/solve problems that they cannot deal with. Some magical groups fear the creation of a "Kamijou Faction" consisting of people from both the Science/Magic sides that Touma had met due to his wild card status, which could destabilize the balance of power between the Science/Magic sides. Aleister Crowley himself relies on Touma having this status in order to further his overall plans, and thus freely allows others to use him, but should he ever choose a "side", he would immediately be captured and confined.
* TheWoobie: In-universe example. While his misfortune is pretty much exclusively PlayedForLaughs in the context of the story, apparently all the girls in his class feel sorry for all the bad luck he has to go through. It's part of the reason for the offscreen parts of his harem.
* TheWorfEffect: In ''New Testament'' Volume 4, [[spoiler:One-Eyed Othinus casually beats the crap out of him and tears off his arm. The "Invisible Thing", which is easily more powerful than Fiamma, emerges from the stump... and Othinus [[NoSell casually crushes it]]. She muses that it was boring. Ollerus had to come in time to fight her into a draw before she can finish Touma off...]]
** [[spoiler:Touma has had his hand chopped off by Aiwass multiple times, and every time the Invisible Thing would try to hurt the being. Each attack was repelled as quickly as blinking.]]
* WorfHadTheFlu: [[spoiler: ...But when Kamijou's right hand was cut off by Kamisato's World Rejecter, the IT again appears, and nearly kills Kamisato (who can casually defeat [[TheArchmage magical gods]] like Othinus with a flick of his wrist), making Touma question if the Thing that defeated Kamisato ''was'' the same one Othinus easily crushed earlier, which begs the question if there are several Invisible Things inside Touma's arm.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: While he's normally a gentleman, dare hurt innocent people, and Touma ''will'' smash your face in, male or female.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: When he is attacked by a huge crowd in NT Vol 7, he mows them down with clotheslines.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: In a mental sense. The "current" Touma at the end of the very first volume is essentially a new person who's unbounded by the Pre-Amnesia Touma's DarkAndTroubledPast. [[spoiler:That being said, this later becomes {{inverted|Trope}} after his ordeal in Othinus' Infinite Hells in NT 9.]]
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [[spoiler: On the receiving end of this by the Will of the Misaka Network, who convinces him to fight Othinus to return to his world, after Othinus breaks Touma with her "perfect world".]]
* YouAreNotAlone: Tells this to [[spoiler:Misaka at the conclusion of the Sister's Arc, who returns the favor at the end of New Testament 2.]] Ironically, while he tells people he would help them no matter what, he never seeks help from others and always tries to do everything on his own.
* YouLeaveHimAlone
** ''Railgun'' shows that he first encountered Mikoto while trying to rescue her from a bunch of delinquents hitting on her, with everyone else in the vicinity displaying BystanderSyndrome. He'd quickly learn that Mikoto was in no danger, as she ends up inadvertently zapping the delinquents in an outburst toward Touma for condescendingly speaking of her as a rude brat not worth their attention. At the beginning of the series proper, he tries to shoo away another group of delinquents from her, this time trying to save ''them'' from Mikoto.
** His challenge to stop Accelerator from murdering Misaka 10032, armed with nothing but bravery, kindness, and a mean right jab.
** To ''the entire world'' after he decides to [[spoiler: save Othinus.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Accelerator]]
!!![[SuperpowerLottery He Who Wields the Power of God]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/accelerator_toaru.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/NobuhikoOkamoto (Japanese) and Creator/AustinTindle (English)

Accelerator is the most powerful Level 5 Esper in Academy City, gifted with "Redirection", a type of power that lets him manipulate and control vectors of anything that his body comes into contact with. His most commonly seen use of this power is for defensive purposes, in which his entire body is surrounded by a thin invisible vector field, with manually configured filters for what is allowed to pass through (mostly air, to allow him to breathe). This field will reverse the directional vector of anything that comes into contact with it, effectively acting as a reflector for any and all attacks. Accelerator may also choose to alter the magnitude value as well, to send the attack back at the attacker with x times the original force. [[PowerIncontinence His powers are also automatic]], so ''anything'' that tries to hit him, regardless of whether he's aware or not, gets sent back where it came from -- '''hard'''.\\\
He was part of an experiment called "Level 6 Shift", which ostensibly aims to turn him into the first Level 6 Esper by having him kill 20,000 of Mikoto's clone Sisters--only to be stopped dead by Touma. After the experiment was canceled and some soul searching, he pulls off a HeelFaceTurn and starts on his long and hard path to redemption by saving and protecting the very last Sister created -- a little girl named "Last Order".\\\
Stars in his own spinoff manga, ''Manga/ACertainScientificAccelerator''.

-----
* NinetiesAntiHero: Accelerator is an {{anime}} version of this type of AntiHero, despite being lanky and thin instead of overly muscled. He's snarky, edgy, and very much 'did what I had to do' in attitude. He sees other Villainous characters as pathetic and tries to teach them how a 'Real' villain should act, usually by toying with them and all but torturing them.
* AboveGoodAndEvil: [[spoiler:What he ultimately becomes after his CharacterDevelopment following his rematch with Touma and confronting Misaka Worst. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], this makes him much closer to being like Touma just as he decides it isn't worth trying.]]
* AchillesHeel:
** Due to the nature of his Auto-Reflect ability, expertly timed pulled punches can get ''attracted to him'' instead of being reflected.
** Accelerator can't reflect something if he doesn't know the correct vector equations for it, which will reduce the effectiveness of his barrier anywhere from simply deflecting the attack instead of reflecting it completely (most forms of magical attacks which have different vector equations than a physical attack) to getting bypassed (objects which do not follow normal laws of physics, such as [[spoiler:Kakine's Dark Matter]], in which case he has to manually 'feel' and find out the correct vector calculations to redirect it). Finally, he can't redirect any attack which has no vector equation in the first place (i.e. scalar quantities), which is why he speculates [[HollywoodVoodoo voodoo doll]]-like effects might be able to bypass his AIM.
** Accelerator still requires air to breathe, light to see and sound to hear, so his Reflector ability allows some things to go through. Meaning that someone who can control matter indirectly [[spoilers:like Kakine and his Dark Matter]] can turn interactions Accelerator normally calculates as "safe" harmful.
** Since his brain injury, he needs an electrode collar to walk and talk, let alone use his powers. Consequently, he can be incapacitated by messing with the electrode or simply making him fight long enough to exhaust the battery.
* AdaptationalBadass: In the Sisters Arc, the novel explicitly makes it clear about Accelerator's physical weakness; Touma merely uses '''basic jabs''' to fight back, but due to Accelerator's lack of endurance it is equivalent to getting hit by a heavyweight boxer. The anime and manga of both ''Index'' and ''Railgun'' however show Accelerator tank Touma's right straights and hooks (which require more power than jabs to knock out an opponent) and keep fighting even when logically a single hook would've knocked Accelerator out cold (though it slightly Justified in Railgun's case as the fight is viewed from Mikoto and Accel's POV).
* AdaptiveAbility: In order to bypass Accelerator's AttackReflector [[spoiler:Kakine]] deduces that it only works with particles Accelerator can calculate the vectors of, so he uses [[spoiler:Dark Matter ability]] which doesn't follow the world's physics. After getting hit a couple of times, Accelerator simply adds this new ability to his math and renders it ineffective.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Though he will loathe to admit it, Accelerator sees Touma as his personal idol, and as time goes by, he adopts his philosophy, at least until the later stages of New Testament.
* AlwaysSaveTheGirl: Last Order, Esther, Hasami, Index, Yomikawa, Yoshikawa, Misaka WORST, Fremea, Birdway (almost in ''New Testament'' Volume 3), Qliphah Puzzle 545, etc. At this rate, like Touma he will also end up with an UnwantedHarem.
* AllGuysWantSororityWomen: PlayedForLaughs, but seriously, It's a wonder why he puts up with Misaka WORST.
* AlternateCharacterReading: His given name is spelled in kanji as "一方通行" (one-way road).
* AntagonistAbilities: He has a passive AttackReflector so effective that not even Misaka, who's also a Level 5 Esper, can touch him. Should he go on the offensive, he has a TouchOfDeath that blows up his opponent's heart by reversing their blood flow or their bioelectricity. And that's not even mentioning the myriad applications of his SuperpowerLottery... though [[HeelFaceTurn he eventually becomes a protagonist]].
* AntiHero: He is a card carrying example of the NinetiesAntiHero. He has a rough but simple name, [[SuperpowerLottery is ridiculously powerful]], [[ImplacableMan doesn't care about hurting people who get in his way]], and is a badass with angst and sarcasm to boot.
* ArcVillain: The main antagonist of the Sisters Arc.
* AttackReflector: His Redirection ability automatically reverses any oncoming vector he runs into. As a result, he's nigh-untouchable against the vast majority of attacks in the series. There are only a handful of ways to get around this, including pulling back one's fist as it approaches Accelerator so that it will reverse the vector back into Accelerator's face (which takes ungodly precise timing), using an attack that doesn't follow the normal laws of physics (i.e. magic and [[spoiler:Dark Matter]]), or to negate it all together (the way Touma does).
* TheAtoner: To his credit, Accelerator has come to know the error of his ways and is trying to be a better person. [[GoodIsNotNice Not that he's going to be particularly nice about it, though.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Briefly at the end of World War III, [[spoiler:in which his black distorted wings turn pure white as he ascends to the Aeon of Horus]]. It happens again near the very end of New Testament [[spoiler:when he defeats Coronzon by creating a whole new cosmic tree based on science, unlike the magical Kabbalistic Tree of Life, signified by his white wings briefly turning into platinum, similar to Aiwass]].
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Very good at reverse engineering techniques and devices, can learn on the fly how to convert air into plasma, can comprehend the movements of electrons, and [[spoiler:able to figure out the correct vector calculations to manipulate Dark Matter.]]
* AxCrazy: Throughout his initial appearances, though it's worth noting that even before his HeelFaceTurn, he never attacked random people; he'd actually prefer to just be left alone. Only if you attacked him first would he retaliate as brutally as possible. He participated in the Level 6 Shift project under the notion that the clones he was killing weren't actual people (helped by their near-inhuman lack of emotion or sense of self-preservation) and expressed reluctance about the possibility of having to kill Touma [[HeKnowsTooMuch for seeing the experiment]], becoming more giddy about it when Touma insisted on challenging him. In fact, he was even rather friendly and cordial when he met the first Misaka clone, and only became extremely jaded and cynical after discovering what the experiment actually entailed.
** [[spoiler:As of ''New Testament'', after ascending to the Age of Horus, he shows a composed and cool attitude towards his opponents and refrains from killing them, as Umidori can attest.]]
* BadassBoast: Has many of these moments.
-->"I strive for something beyond the strongest, that challenging me would be the most ridiculous thought ever, that fighting me would be an unforgivable sin!"\\
\\
"The strongest in Academy City? Level 6? Your pathetic titles don't do me justice. Nothing in existence can stop The Accelerator!"
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Musujime Awaki (they even mockingly call one another husband and wife), and later on, Misaka WORST.
* BerserkButton: If you value your life, don't push his Sisters' Button. Pushing it is liable to cause Accelerator to go on a warpath.
** Turns out this was what motivated him to go after Awaki and destroy the Tree Diagram Remnant. He will not have a potential repeat of the Level 6 Shift.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He sees Last Order like a little sister and so he spends time with her and looks out for her.
* BigDamnHeroes: Much like Touma, he's begun to develop a habit of doing this, which generally translates as "You're all screwed" for the opposing party.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Suffers from this for quite a while, until Touma tells him it's a load of crap.
* BlessedWithSuck: His powers make him the strongest Esper in Academy City [[spoiler:and currently the only one who can reach Level 6 without losing his mind]], but they also make everyone else intensely interested in him. Said interest got to the point where he was causing destruction at an incredibly young age (not helped by the fact by then he was barely able to control his powers). He also has to consciously let light enter his eyes and gravity affect his body.
* BloodKnight: While he does enjoy his fights, [[spoiler: he would really like to avoid getting into them in the first place. In fact, that's the reason why he sought more power in the first place.]]
* BlowYouAway: One of his most common uses of his power as the series goes on. One time, he even boasts that the entire atmosphere is his weapon.
* BreakoutCharacter: Was so popular with the fans that he was redeemed and made the {{Deuteragonist}}. He also got his own manga spinoff in late 2013.
* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:For a good part of the series, to the point of calling himself [[CardCarryingVillain a villain beyond all redemption]], but since his rematch with Touma, he has stopped caring about good and evil, realizing it only weighs him down from his new sworn duty to protect his friends.]]
* BrokenAce: He is pretty much good at everything he does. He even displayed a perfect control at a subatomic level and considering his tormented childhood, he's this, [[spoiler:at least until Volume 22, where he turns over a new leaf.]]
* BroughtDownToNormal: Played with. After Volume 5, he can only use his powers when his brain is connected to the MISAKA Network, thus making him somewhat of a normal. But then he "awakens" his true nature of Esper powers and can now regain his full power plus some by summoning black, angelic wings at the cost of losing all control. [[spoiler:Then he ascends into the Aeon of Horus, gaining white wings and capable of retaining his mind]].
* BroughtDownToBadass: On two separate occasions (the fight against the Hound Dogs in the warehouse during the September 30 incident, and during the Skill-Out uprising shortly afterward) he has found himself facing a large number of armed Level [=0s=] with only a handgun to defend himself. He still manages to take down all his foes and accomplish his objectives.
* CardCarryingVillain: Even post-HeelFaceTurn, he'd still consider himself already way beyond redemption. Touma and Last Order would beg to digress, [[spoiler:and as of ''New Testament'' he's finally succeeding in leading a new life.]]
* CatchAndReturn: While he typically just reflects attacks by flipping the directional value, he can also catch an attack and amplify it before throwing it by simply increasing the magnitude as well. [[spoiler:Leads to moments where he teams up with Hyouka Kazakiri and Shizuri Mugino, catches their blasts and makes them more powerful before throwing them at the enemy.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: He's introduced as an AxCrazy antagonist in Volume 3 [[spoiler:with a DarkAndTroubledPast]]. After a humbling defeat by Touma and gaining a sense of purpose in protecting [[MoralityPet Last Order]], this trope is in full force. Being BroughtDownToNormal is his LaserGuidedKarma devastating enough to [[TheAtoner make him reconsider his actions]] and, in a twist of {{Irony}}, defend one of the last surviving Sisters as part of his long hard path to redemption.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: [[spoiler:Since he decided to start anew in ''New Testament'', his responsibilities have increased a lot, and he barely manages to handle them.]]
* TheComicallySerious: Watching him fight with Last Order or get caught up in any sort of comedy scene is hilarious because of how he [[GoodIsNotNice acts most of the time.]]
* DeathGlare: His ''default'' expression, though it is noted he has developed a softer expression and voice around small girls, like Last Order and Birdway, which the latter lampshades.
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:He's trying to redeem himself for all his sins, so he tries to protect the remaining Sisters and the people he cares for even if at the cost of his life. In New Testament Vol 6, Shizuri Mugino (who is also trying to redeem herself) calls him out on how stupid this is, saying it's better to struggle to live, so that they can continue to protect their loved ones.]]
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Sort of. While they never become ''actual'' friends, he develops a profound respect for Touma after his first defeat. Following his ''second'' defeat at Touma's hands, and snapping him out of his HeroicBSOD, he ends up practically worshipping him as an idol.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: He essentially becomes the second protagonist after Touma since his defeat.
* DramaPreservingHandicap: Due to his brain damage, he can only use his powers while being connected to the MISAKA Network using his battery-powered choker, which works for 15 minutes at a time. He is later given a new one from GROUP technicians with double the operating time. Still, because the Sisters can't match him in sheer processing power, even then his calculation ability is weaker than before. His connection to the Network can also be disrupted by electromagnetic forces or somewhere deep underground.
** Also, his employers put a kill switch in his new choker to disable it when he goes against what they want. Accelerator later recovers his choker's blueprint from Heaven Canceller to attempt to build a new one, only to see that it is nearly impossible. He instead uses his custom cane in Volume 19 to discover what frequency is used to mess with his choker, and blocks it out using a sort of jammer installed in his cane.
** Whenever he "awakens" his black wings, all of the above-mentioned handicaps no longer apply, as his wings give him more than enough computational ability to match and even surpass him when his brain was intact. He does have a new handicap though, since he cannot control himself whenever the black wings manifest. [[spoiler:After he ascends to the Aeon of Horus and gains white wings, even that no longer applies to him.]]
* TheDreaded: Everyone in Academy City fears him, with the exception of Touma, Shiage, Last Order, his legal guardians, and some [[BullyingADragon bullies who are]] TooDumbToLive.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: When they first meet, Last Order asks him if he is a guy or a girl because she can't really tell. Accelerator explains that repelling sunlight made his gender hormones underdeveloped.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Back when he was a villain, he couldn't fathom why Mikoto and Touma were trying to stop him from killing the Sisters. He concluded that Mikoto's reason was that she was embarrassed that people with her face were being slaughtered so easily. This was a result of him rationalizing his actions by telling himself the sisters weren't really humans.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Quote the guy...
-->''"They may all look the same to you, but there are different kinds and different levels of evil. A first-class villain doesn't target honest lives."''
** [[spoiler:This is even lampshaded by Accelerator himself during his fight with [[TheRival Kakine]].]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Not even Accelerator remembers his original name, thus he considers "Accelerator" his name, so it could technically be a case of HisNameReallyIsBarkeep.
* EvilLaugh: Does this a lot, and it's pretty spectacular in the anime.
-->"KHKHKHKHKHKHKHKHKUKUKUKHIKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!!"
* FacepalmOfDoom: Gives one to Amata Kihara just before killing him.
* FailedASpotCheck: Back before his brain damage, he often uses his powers to filter out unwanted background noises, so he would sometimes fail to notice events happening around him.
* FightOffTheKryptonite: When fighting Amata for the last time. Not only can the latter [[PowerNullifier nullify]] Accelerator's powers, but can hit him. Accelerator keeps attacking until his collar battery runs out, removing his powers and mental ability completely. Despite being in a state where he shouldn't be able to think, let alone stand, Accelerator [[{{Determinator}} gets back up and keeps fighting]], doing more damage than he did ''with'' his powers, largely because his [[AttackAttackAttack "strategy"]] caught Amata off-guard. Accelerator keeps this up for a while until [[spoiler:he awakens for the first time]], where it elevates to a CurbStompBattle.
* FightsLikeANormal: With his handicap Accelerator uses guns and weapons while dping missions with GROUP. He drops this [[TookALevelInBadass after ascending and gaining more power]].
* FighterMageThief: [[SquishyWizard The Mage]] to Touma's Fighter and Shiage's Thief.
* FingerPokeOfDoom: With a single touch, he can pulverize objects or reverse the blood flow in people.
* {{Fingore}}: Touma broke his left index finger in the ''Railgun'' version of their fight in the Sisters arc.
* {{Flight}}: From manipulating air into mini-tornadoes behind his back.
* GenderFlip: Yes, Accelerator has one called Yuriko Suzushina! What started as a joke on Accelerator's gender by the novel artist, Yuriko became a hit with the fans.
* GodhoodSeeker: His goal early on was to become so powerful that it “would be a sin” to fight him.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Following his HeelFaceTurn, Accelerator starts to wear white color outfits.
* GoodWithNumbers: His calculation skills are phenomenal, so much so that [[spoiler:it takes the remaining 9,969 Sisters to replicate these skills after he loses them to brain damage.]]
* GoodIsNotNice: Accelerator doesn't hold back his harsh attitude even to those he is sworn to protect.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Following his HeelFaceTurn, the most you could probably say about how much the way he deals with problems has changed is that a) they ''probably'' aren't all dead and b) he's become more concerned about dragging innocent people into the crossfire. It seems he still can't really wrap his head around the concept of "property damage" yet, though.
* GravityMaster: Gravity is nothing but another vector. He even has to ''consciously'' allow it to affect him.
* GreenEyedMonster: He idolizes and at the same time is jealous of Touma for his ability to save people without using lethal force.
* TheGunslinger: After Volume 13 he almost always carries a pistol in case he can't find a good time to use Redirect. If he doesn't, he'll usually strip a hapless {{mook}} off. And while not quite as good as Shiage, he is still ''very'' deadly with one.
* HairTriggerTemper: It's not hard to get Accelerator into a bad mood, courtesy of a childhood of dealing with violence.
* HandicappedBadass: Even after getting shot in the head and needing a cane to walk most of the time, he's still the #1 Esper.
* HasTwoMommies: After he and Last Order are adopted by Aiho Yomikawa and Kikyou Yoshikawa.
* HeelFaceTurn: A good deal of his character arc is spent {{Deconstructing}} how ''phenomenally difficult'' it is for someone who's spent most of his life as a Heel and killed thousands of people to reform, and equally important, to consider himself a Face.
* HeelRealization: In Railgun, we see the fight with Touma from his perspective. Touma's words coupled with the actions of the Sisters has it finally sink in that the Sisters ''are'' alive. He keeps fighting, but he doesn't keep fighting competently because he just doesn't want to win anymore. Further, part of Nunotaba's plan was the hope that if he saw the Sisters actually hesitating or afraid to go through with the experiment he might have a crisis of conscience and refuse to continue [[spoiler:but Last Order herself blocked that plan.]]
* HeroicBSOD: A few times. His worst is in Volume 20, [[spoiler:when he was forced to fight Misaka WORST, resulting in him losing all faith in the world and lashing out against in with [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Black Wings mode]]. It took a visit from [[WarriorTherapist Touma]] to snap him out of it]]. He also suffers another major one in New Testament volume 6 when he faces [[spoiler:the resurrected Kakine, who recreates the Misaka Sisters to remind him of his traumas]].
* HeroicNeutral: Long before he joined the Level 6 Esper project, Accelerator was a frequent target of assassinations and unscrupulous researchers because of his tremendous powers, and was forced to kill to protect himself. This simple desire to be ''left the hell alone'' eventually led him to join the Level 6 experiment, under the reasoning that since his powers won't go away the only way the get people to leave him be is to become so powerful that the idea of fighting him is an absurdity. After Touma beats the snot out of him, he becomes a slightly more traditional example, being mainly concerned with [[MoralityPet Last Order]] and a small group of his closest associates.
* HeroicRROD: During the WWIII arc [[spoiler:he has to cast a spell to save Last Order.]] It works, but he damn near explodes in the process.
* HeroicSacrifice: He doesn’t die, but saving Last Order from Amai’s virus required him to shut off his AttackReflector in order to focus all his calculating power on ensuring he doesn't make a mistake and end up irreparably damaging Last Order's mind, leaving him vulnerable to a gunshot that causes irreparable brain damage.
* HeroicWannabe: Since his HeelFaceTurn he wants to be a hero like Touma, to the point he imitates him by using only his right hand. In Volume 20, he comments that using the right hand doesn't suit him.
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:In Volume 15, after losing his mind against Kakine, he goes on a rampage, causing massive destruction. Even then there’s only one thing he doesn't do: kill.]]
* HeroWorshipper: He becomes something of a Touma fan after his defeat. It seems to be subverted by New Testament 6, though.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: He's from the Dark Side of Academy City.
* HeyYou: He hardly ever addresses Touma by name. He instead refers to him as "Hero". He also tends to address Last Order as "brat".
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Tried to keep Elizalinians safe by getting away from their country to keep them from getting involved in his battles... [[spoiler:only to be discovered by Misaka WORST, to his great embarrassment.]]
* HotBlooded: He gets easily riled up even without his powers!
* IdolSinger: No, seriously. He gets his own comedic idol spinoff, ''A Certain Idol Accelerator-sama'', and still has the same personality he has here.
* IgnoreTheFanservice: When he enters the shower only to find Yoshikawa, Yomikawa, and Last Order naked inside, he just gets pissed that they didn't lock the door.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Moments before Touma lands the final blow during their battle, Accelerator remembers the true reason he participated in the Level 6 experiment. By acquiring a power that cannot be contested by anyone, Accelerator hopes that he will no be challenged by anyone else and maybe one day, he will have friends of his own.
* ImAHumanitarian: He gives a few comments on the taste of human finger and cheek meat. The former is too chewy that it must be spat out, while the latter just tastes like normal meat. The people he killed and ate are Misaka 10031 and a Hound Dog operator.
* ImNotAHeroIm: He refuses to be called a hero, because a hero would be able to save the day without killing anybody. He refers to himself as a villain or "evil" instead.
* ImprovisedWeapon: Technically, he fights by making an ImprovisedWeapon of ''everything'' around him.
* IncomingHam: All the damn time, but ''especially'' around Amata Kihara.
-->"KIIIIIHAAAAARAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"
* {{Irony}}: The use of his powers after he took a bullet to the head depends on the very girls he butchered in his quest for godhood not too long before.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Shows spades of this post-HeelFaceTurn.
* TheJuggernaut: If his powers are active, the only ones who can stop him are Touma and ''divine beings''.
* KnightOfCerebus: The stories centered around him carry lots of blood curdling, unwholesome cynicism and brutality which the yarns centered around Touma lack.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: For the sake of the people he cares about like Last Order, Yomikawa, Yoshikawa, etc.
* LackOfEmpathy: At least until Last Order came into his life and showed him that even he had hope of connecting with the rest of humanity as a human rather than a murdering monster.
* LamePunReaction: When Accelerator tells Worst to be careful with Last Order, she responds with, "well, shucks! This is what Misaka is worst at!" Accelerator isn't amused, telling her she's lucky she's useful to him because she still has "a chance to not be killed after a terrible joke like this."
* TheLawOfDiminishingDefensiveEffort: He eventually learns not to rely on his powers so much to avoid hits.
* LeanAndMean: He is often noted to have a fairly scrawny build, likely because his powers relieve him of the need for physical exertion.
* LevelGrinding: The whole point of the Level 6 Project. He also becomes increasingly more skilled with his powers with every fight he is in.
* LightIsNotGood: Accelerator dresses in light colors, has white hair, is gorgeous, and even can sport an almost angelic appearance. He's also ''enormously'' [[AxCrazy insane]] and is easily angered. [[spoiler:This is inverted later by his HeelFaceTurn, where he doesn't become a straight-up example of LightIsGood, but is probably getting there.]]
* LogicalWeakness: He's StoryBreakerPower incarnate, but like all humans, he still needs to breathe. Should the available oxygen around him somehow be taken away (like say, an explosion consuming it all, or a vacuum suddenly being forced into existence around him), his vectors won't make air where there's none and he'll suffocate, at least when he is not in an "awakened" state.
** His ''Reflection'' works by reversing the direction of incoming vectors to repel any attack, so if an opponent manages to reverse said vectors themself right before Acccelerator's ''Reflection'' does, they'll be able to bypass it. Kihara Amata exploited this, who pulled back his punches and kicks to overwhelm the level 5 esper.
* LonelyAtTheTop: As a kid, which was what convinced him to accept the experiment at first. He thought if he could achieve ultimate power no one would try to fight him and he would be accepted.
* MadeOfIron: Despite his frail appearance and overreliance on his powers, he possibly takes more blows from Touma than anyone else in their first fight, and he only gets tougher afterwards; later he takes massive beatdowns from Kihara Amata and he can still give the guy a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
* MagicalSensoryEffect: After he manifests his wings for the first time, Accelerator is able to sense magic and magicians (notably Etzali), his fingers trembling and a pressure in his chest. Before he learns what magic is, he doesn't understand what's happening, only that he can sense supernatural powers not originating from Academy City. Interestingly, these are the exact same symptoms as Sasha Kreutzev's after she was possessed by the ArchangelGabriel, hinting at a connection between the wings and angelic power, corroborating Index's words that they are "something like" Telesma.
* ManlyTears: [[spoiler:Mixed with TearsOfBlood.]]
* MartialPacifist: Despite being a power-hungry GodhoodSeeker with little regard for human life, Accelerator doesn't actively seek people for fight, most of his fights are done in self-defence, and his passive ability deals with threats for him. He's only killing the Sisters because Level 6 Project treats them as {{Expendable Clone}}s, and he mainly joined so people would be too afraid to try attacking him. Last Order also speculates that his pre-fight [[IShallTauntYou taunts]] are a way of checking if a Sister would rather avoid fighting.
* MindOverMatter: His power, Vector Redirection, though it is noted to be distinct from actual Telekinesis Espers.
* MisplacedRetribution: When Last Order becomes seriously ill and he has no idea how to help her when he runs into Touma, he angrily attacks him, blaming him for being a hero, yet not doing anything to help her. Touma defeats him and points out he can't be everywhere at once.
* MookHorrorShow: Heaven helps you if you have to fight him. Even after he's given a massive DramaPreservingHandicap and without using his powers, he still handily takes out a group of assassins to rescue Misuzu Misaka.
* MoralityPet: The most important people in his life are Last Order and their guardians, Yomikawa and Kikyou.
* MundaneUtility: Among other things, he can redirect annoying background noise away from him so it doesn't bother him.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The ''Railgun'' manga shows much of his fight with Touma from his perspective. As the battle wears him down, horror slowly crept into his InternalMonologue, when he realized that the Sisters are actually human and that [[spoiler:he only wanted to be strong so no one would dare to challenge him again, then he wouldn't have to kill or cripple anyone else and he would finally have friends of his own]]. The implication: he lost because his will to fight was being sapped.
* MysticalWhiteHair: His hair is white because he naturally reflects all unwanted radiation that could allow him to develop any kind of normal pigmentation.
* NameAmnesia: Accelerator mentioned that he once had a "normal name", but he forgot it. Volume 05 states his last name consists of two kanji and his first name three, yet his name had no real meaning in it.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Though there are [[IdiotBall people who still think he can be defeated]].
* NecessarilyEvil: As he explains to a little kid that wants to help him, only Accelerator himself should have to bear the burden of being the villain who kills the bad guys to protect people. A hero would save the bad guy too.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: [[spoiler:During his fight against Kakine, Kakine was ''stunned'' when he noticed Accelerator was restraining himself the whole time to protect the people around them.]]
* NobleDemon: While working with GROUP, whenever anyone asks him what he is he always claims to be a villain despite always saving innocent lives, minimizing damages, and putting his own life on the end. To Accelerator, you cannot claim to be a hero while knowingly trying to kill your opponent. Only someone like Touma who saves even his enemy can be considered a hero.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: He briefly engages in this with Kihara Amata shortly before "awakening" his black wings. Notable because at the time he was essentially ''brain dead'' and managed to do more harm to Kihara than with his powers.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: While trying to save Last Order and the Sisters he's so busy with his power that he can't even spare the energy to block a simple bullet. We see it start tunneling through his skull... but his power block it before it can do ''too'' much brain damage. It does leave him partially crippled, however.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: [[spoiler:Heaven Canceller]] compares his ideals with Touma's who both want to save those they care about, except he's willing to kill if needed, while Touma wants to do this without many casualties -- a philosophy he always wanted to emulate.
* ObliviouslyEvil: According to the ''Railgun'' manga, Accelerator was honestly convinced that the clones were not really people or alive. To make sure of this, he would always talk to them beforehand to see if they didn't want to fight and when they did he would then proceed with the experiment. When he realizes mid-fight that they were people all along, he stops trying to really win. Even accounting for this, however, his regard for life is pretty low: He attempts to kill Touma and Mikoto for getting in the way.
* OddFriendship: Him and Birdway in ''New Testament'' Volume 3.
* OneManArmy: Even ''without'' his powers, he can use his marksmanship to take out an entire group of assassins. With his powers, he is practically untouchable.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He used to have a real, normal name. He even tells how many characters were in it but doesn't remember what it was. He's only called Accelerator now.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: He's the strongest of the seven Level 5s and capable of ''slowing down the Earth's rotation for 5 minutes''. It's also not just that he's able to, he ''casually'' manages that to use the absorbed force, which mind you can easily split a ''continent'' in half, to launch an attack at Aleister Crowley's Windowless Building, although [[NoSell to no]] [[MadeOfIndestructium effect]]. That being said, Aleister does barely ''feel'' the attack.
* PerspectiveFlip: [[spoiler:His rematch against Touma]] was shown entirely from Accelerator's perspective.
* PhotographicMemory: After looking at a massive page of computer code, he comments that memorizing it is easy. It may only be for what he sees. He's forgotten his real name and [[spoiler: he needed help to remember the lyrics of Index's healing song.]]
* PhysicalGod: ''Especially'' when he sprouts forth his wings. By the time he "awakens" his [[spoiler:white wings and ascends to the Aeon of Horus, his powers are approaching those of ArchangelGabriel]]. ''Then'', [[spoiler:he gains platinum wings similar to the ones ''[[EldritchAbomination Aiwass]]'' has. Combined with his feat of creating an entirely new cosmic tree upon reality, it makes him quite possibly the strongest character in the series to date.]]
* PowerfulAndHelpless: He experiences this when he realizes that for all his world-shaking power, he can't do anything to help Last Order when she becomes seriously ill during World War III.
* PowerGivesYouWings: Grows black, supernatural energy wings whenever he "awakens" the true nature of Esper powers. In fact, as Accelerator gains progressively stronger forms, his wings change color to suit. He gains [[spoiler:white wings after ascending to the Aeon of Horus]] at the end of WWIII. Much later near the end of ''New Testament'', [[spoiler:his wings turn platinum in order to defeat Coronzon.]]
* PowersDoTheFighting: Accelerator's power is passively on reflect, causing enemies to defeat themselves even when Accelerator is unconscious of the attack.
* PragmaticVillainy: Even when he considered himself a villain, he buys his groceries and meals instead of taking them by force. When questioned about this by Last Order, he explains that although he's powerful enough to just take anything he wants, it's too much hassle to have to deal with the authorities and others futilely trying to fight him off. Buying stuff without making a fuss means he gets it quickly and without any problems.
* PunnyName: Accelerator's name in kanji means "one-way street", referring to his personality.
-->"I'm sorry, from here on the path is only a "one-way street"! You can't advance, just hide your tail and cry your way to home!"
* PutTheLaughterInSlaughter: He has a disturbing, squeaky laugh whenever he's about to or is already doing something brutal and he enjoys it very much. His laughter can go on quite a bit too.
* PreMortemOneLiner
-->"Now then. I'll teach you one thing about the aesthetics you lack... This is what a truly first-class villain is, fool."
* RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Misaka WORST and Touma's red.
%%* RedemptionEarnsLife
* RedEyesTakeWarning: He has them naturally thanks to his albinism, [[spoiler:but when he goes full-on berserk from seeing Kakine stab Yomikawa, his ''entire eye'' turns red as he goes on a rampage]].
* RedemptionDemotion: In process of trying to turn his life around by saving Last Order, he has to turn off his AttackReflector to focus on her brain, leaving himself vulnerable to a headshot that would have otherwise been no issue. He survives but now relies on an electrode to walk and talk, let alone use his powers. The electrode has a battery that dies faster while using its powers, and it's susceptible to jamming. He admits to Awaki that he's not even half as powerful as before... but he's still Academy City's #1 esper.
* ReformedButNotTamed: It takes him quite some time before he even starts to get the hang of helping people without causing mass destruction.
* ReluctantWarrior: The driving force behind his quest for godhood. Accelerator's power has made him a [[BullyingADragon target for assassinations and unscrupulous researchers throughout his life]]. Since his powers won't go away, the only way to make people stop picking fights with him is to become so powerful that the idea of fighting him is an absurdity.
* RetiredMonster: Originally he began as this post-Sisters arc: not really openly repentant for who he was or what he had done aside from a (denied and ignored) sense of guilt, but not doing anything villainous. The Radio Noise Project was over and that was that, so he went back to his normal daily yet empty routine (just with more punks coming down on him thinking they could take him out). He gets better when he's gained a great sense of remorse for who he was, to the point he breaks down when faced by Misaka WORST.
* TheRival: Holds a bitter one with the #2 Level 5, Kakine Teitoku, AKA "Dark Matter." While it's clear Accelerator wants to have as little to do with Kakine as he can, the latter has made it clear his hate and desire to kill him so that he can usurp his place as the #1. From Accelerator [[spoiler: obliterating Kakine's original body to Kakine nearly breaking Accelerator's mind]] each of their confrontations have ended with each of them nearly killing the other.
* {{Sadist}}: Accelerator understands the kind of pain and agony he can inflict on someone and will occasionally relish in his ability to easily torture someone with just a touch, though he usually limits this to the people who attack him (despite knowing who he is) or those he cares about (at which point it doesn't matter if they know their relationship to him or not). The Necromancer Arc in particular stands out, where he not only gleefully electrocutes two people by turning their own bio-electricity against them until they fainted from the experience but also tried to squash the leader of Scavenger by dropping a mecha on top of her, while he stood laughing maniacally.
* SarcasticClapping: When Awaki Musujime figures out he no longer has his famous "Auto Reflect" always active, he answers with this trope plus a little speech.
-->"... Ah, but just because I've become weaker doesn't necessarily make you stronger, does it?"
* ScreamingWarrior: Especially noticeable when he's up against Amata Kihara.
* ShoutOut: His flashback to his first Esper power awakening strongly resembles several scenes with Testuo in the film version of ''{{Manga/Akira}}''.
* SirSwearsALot: This boy's ''normal everyday vocabulary'' would make Creator/SamuelLJackson blush in embarrassment. He very rarely even calls Last Order by name, preferring "kusogaki" (lit. "shitty brat") instead.
* SincerestFormOfFlattery: For quite a while he tries to copy Touma, such as using only his right hand to fight, or finishing up by punching the enemy in the face. However, he quickly realizes just how difficult this is, causing his inferiority complex to grow even larger.
* SlasherSmile: He never smiles normally, only viciously grinning in anticipation of bloodshed.
* SociopathicHero: He has violent and sadistic tendencies but it's reserved for curb-stomping bad guys.
%%* SophisticatedAsHell: .
* SourOutsideSadInside: He's extremely bitter and has a jaded view of the world and himself, but he secretly wished to have friends of his own, as his TragicBackstory reveals that he couldn't fit in with other children because of his dangerous powers that harmed anyone who tried to get close to him.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The Magic Side doesn't really have a clue who he is. [[spoiler:In Volume 22, he manages to reflect a massive wave of Telesma (the much more powerful Angel version of Mana) that was about to crash onto the Earth, foiling Fiamma of the Right's final vengeance and shocking the hell out of him.]]
* TheSpock: Between Touma's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] and Shiage's [[TheKirk Kirk]], although he has some [=McCoy=] traits of his own.
* SquishyWizard:
** His automatic and near-perfect defense means that he’s NighInvulnerable. Still, if it's turned off for whatever reason, or otherwise negated, he's physically weak with almost zero defense and endurance.
** Perfectly illustrated in his first fight with Touma. As it drags on, it starts to [[CombatBreakdown devolve into a fist fight]] and Accelerator ends up getting his ass handed to him, despite Touma still suffering from the effects of being blasted by Mikoto's lightning attacks not minutes prior. Touma is only throwing quick, light jabs so he can retract his arm before Accelerator grabs it, but even that is overwhelming for someone who hadn't experienced the slightest ounce of pain in years.
* StockLightNovelHero: In a way, he fits this to a T. If it only weren't for the fact that he used to kill 10,032 people to become a Level 6, so...
* StoryBreakerPower: He's immune to any attack based on normal physics and highly resistant to almost all magic, even the divine magic used by angels. Further, his power lets him fly, use superspeed and superstrength as well as basically anything else he can think of like control the wind. He's even a genius, so few people can even match him intellectually. Even with a DramaPreservingHandicap of only being able to use his powers for fifteen minutes (later upgraded to thirty) a day, there is ''still'' almost nothing that can provide a meaningful challenge to him that isn't [[StoryBreakerPower as broken as him]] or [[LogicalWeakness designed specifically to counter his powers]], even more so when he "awakens" his supernatural black wings, which bypasses his handicap and grants him even more power at the cost of his consciousness ([[spoiler:a deficiency that he overcomes later after he awakens his white wings]]). As a result, he gets fewer and fewer fights over time, and whenever he does, he is usually pitted against entities much stronger than him.
* SuperpowerLottery: His Redirection powers is one of the first among many, ''many'' examples this series has.
* SuperpowerMeltdown: Happens at least twice. [[spoiler:He goes into UnstoppableRage mode when Kakine stabs Yomikawa in front of him, and when Misaka WORST manages to BreakHimByTalking.]]
* TearsOfBlood: [[spoiler:The first time he cries.]]
* TerrorHero: A large part of what distinguishes Accelerator from the other two protagonists after his HeelFaceTurn, as [[TheDreaded his reputation alone]] can intimidate people into surrendering. Otherwise, he is more than happy to demonstrate his power by effortlessly mopping the floor with lesser mooks. He rarely fights without [[EvilLaugh cackling like a madman]] and occasionally takes the time to [[ToThePain describe exactly what he's going to do]] when he has someone at his mercy.
* TisOnlyABulletInTheBrain: Even though he [[spoiler:lost his abilities and some motor skills due to damage to the frontal lobe]], it could have been much worse as the bullet used was custom-made for countering powerful Espers like him.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdAg0mttwZk Ippou Tsuukou (One-Way Road)]]", which serves as his {{Leitmotif}} for the first season. For the second season, it is remixed as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2qXltD1-jc Saikyou no Nanori (Introducing The Strongest)]]" as his HeelFaceTurn is reaping its rewards.
** Railgun S gives us a new theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dprjunc5xPM "Ketsui to Kakugo"]] (Decision and Resolution), as a well as a scarier remix of Ippou Tsuukou titled [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8bzTI75AOc "Accelerator"]].
* {{Tsundere}}: Type A. Misaka WORST lampshades on this.
* TragicVillain: Because of his life from his childhood until he meets Last Order.
* TheUnchosenOne: According to Gensei Kihara in ''Railgun'', Accelerator is [[spoiler:the only known esper at that moment that can reach a "stable" Level 6; in other words, he won't turn into an AlmightyIdiot and will keep his mind and self upon ascending to true PhysicalGod level (unlike Mikoto, whose human mind and identity will likely be overwritten by the time she's little over half-way there)]]. Judging from what little has ever been shown of his origins, Accelerator was just a normal, random kid who happened to develop the StoryBreakerPower necessary to reach this point by happenstance.
* UnexpectedSuccessor: In the aftermath of the conflict against the demon Coronzon [[spoiler:the dying Aleister makes him the new Board Chairman of Academy City.]]
* UnskilledButStrong: In his first fight with Touma, Accelerator finds himself at a bit of a loss when he can't just [[CurbStompBattle curbstomp]] Touma like his previous enemies. Touma himself notes that once you get past his "unbeatable" defense, Accelerator's really just a skinny guy who's never been in a real physical tussle in his life, with no real skill in his strikes despite the raw power behind them.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: Before he was Accelerator, he was just a relatively-normal kid with above-average power. Then he got attacked by some bullies and accidentally broke their bones... and then he accidentally broke the bones of the teacher who tried to stop it... and then other adults... and then Judgement and Anti-Skills came to the scene... and by the end of it he was surrounded by unmanned attack helicopters and Anti-Skill robots like some sort of {{Kaiju}} monster and scared out of his 10-year-old mind.
* VillainousBreakdown: During the Sister's arc, he finds that Touma is the first opponent to not show any signs of backing down or regret like so many others who tried to take him out before. Touma also managing to land punches on him also causes him to start freaking out forcing him to develop a new attack in order to take him out.
* VocalEvolution: Creator/NobuhikoOkamoto provided a lighter tone in Season 1 compared to the lower, perpetual snarl in later seasons.
* WeirdnessCensor: Until ''New Testament'' where it is properly explained to him, he mistook any magic he witnessed for esper powers.
%%* WellIntentionedExtremist
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:Thanks to his TrainingFromHell by Amata Kihara.]]
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatOpposition: Among the most powerful Espers in the verse and yet, people try to hunt him anyways because for the sake of a challenge or wanting a bounty on his head. His attempts to become even more powerful are so that people will stop bothering him.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: He has white hair (due to reflecting sunlight) and starts off as a megalomaniac Esper who joyfully killed 10000 Misaka clones as part of his training, and isn't above killing anyone else who threatens him. Even after HeelFaceTurn, he's not without sociopathic tendencies.
* TheWorfEffect: A bunch of low level thugs come after him after word about his loss to Touma gets out. Without even bothering to do anything his power automatically leaves their limbs twisted wrecks. So, not so much.
** He gets a much more serious one when facing [[EldritchAbomination Aiwass]] just before he participates in World War III. Aiwass didn't even try when its platinum wings bypass through his vector redirection as if it wasn't even there, he could [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm barely comprehend what happened when the wings came into contact]]. When he manifests his black wings, it is still obliterated by Aiwass. Even after Accelerator tries to destroy Aiwass through its WeaksauceWeakness of requiring heavily saturated AIM fields to manifest, he ''still'' fails to defeat it. This is when Accelerator truly realizes his need to grow stronger.
* WorldsStrongestMan: He is the Number 1 Level 5 Esper in Academy City, the most powerful of them all by a wide margin. His reputation takes a hit when he loses to the first person able to damage him, however, and during World War III he learns even if he's the strongest esper he's not necessarily the strongest person with superhuman powers.
* WouldHitAGirl: Pre-HeelFaceTurn, he killed thousands of Misaka Sisters. Post-turn, he absolutely ''wrecked'' Awaki's face with his fist, and then [[spoiler:beat the crap out of Misaka WORST so hard he broke her arm.]] Just like Touma, he regularly faces female enemies without any hesitation.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shiage Hamazura]]
!!![[SpannerInTheWorks He Who Defies Finality]]
[[quoteright:160:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hamazura_shiage.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/SatoshiHino (Japanese), Creator/CliffordChapin (English)

A Level 0 and former Skill-Out gangster. As a former lackey, grunt, chaffeur, and informant of Team ITEM, he delved into Academy City's Dark Side and turned into an anomaly that made a habit of spectacularly derailing carefully-planned schemes, including Aleister's, which made him a wanted man. It must suck to be him.

-----
* ActionSurvivor: Compared to [[AntiMagic Touma]], he has no superpowers, so he relies on guile, weapons, and luck to win and survive.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Poor guy feels this way about [[spoiler:both Accelerator ''and'' Touma.]]
* AntiHero: While he's not quite as...''[[AxCrazy cavalier]]'' about killing as Accelerator, Shiage has absolutely no qualms executing people in cold blood if he perceives them to be a threat for even a second. Likewise, he has zero issues torturing for information. Anyone from sent from Academy City to hunt him down and kill him finds this out the hard way.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: He uses his intelligence to his advantage to outsmart higher level espers who underestimate him or rely heavily on their powers. He also is shown to be a great tactician.
* BadassBiker: Hopping onto the [[CoolBike Dragon Rider]] qualifies him. But, that thing is so technologically advanced that [[AllThereInTheManual just about anyone can kick ass with it]].
* BadassDriver: Most of what he does when with allied with high level espers. Its one of his few real skills and since he is very good at stealing cars as well he is able to employ his driving talents quite often.
* BadassNormal: Unlike Touma, he's a true Level 0 with absolutely no powers or abilities, yet still manages to [[spoiler:take down a Level 5 ''more than once'']]. Also, unlike Touma, that was ''without'' anyone's help.
* BadassOnPaper: One look at him and most people would dismiss him as nothing but an ordinary delinquent with a fetish for bunny girls. Who managed beat a ''[[PersonOfMassDestruction Level 5]]'' '''''[[BadassNormal all by himself]]''''', at the same time [[SpannerInTheWorks unintentionally flushing Crowley's plans along the drain]]. But alas, he has his limits (see CantCatchUp below).
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:Rikou was the only member of ITEM who didn't just treat him as an errand boy, spurring him to help her when she begins suffering the side effects of Body Crystal, even confronting the #4 Level 5 Mugino for her sake. Mugino once scoffed that he's quite egocentric to judge the quality of others' character by on how they treat him specifically.]]
%%* BewareTheHonestOnes
* BookDumb: He’s a Level 0 dropout, but that doesn't mean he's stupid in fights.
* ButtMonkey: He gets his ass kicked by Accelerator, who succeeds in killing his boss. He then took over as leader of one of the biggest Skill-Out gangs in Academy city... only to be beaten up by Touma and Accelerator on his first day! [[spoiler:Then he became an informant/errand boy for ITEM, who treats him with no respect. Then, when he finally manned up, he is forced to run away with his girlfriend after pissing off Aleister and a psychotic Mugino!]] Boy is he unlucky.
* CantCatchUp: Being a BadassNormal has its limits, especially if you hang out with exceptionally skilled and powerful people. In NT Vol 7, when they are attacked by a swarm of man-eating cockroaches, Saiai says he is useless in this situation and orders him to run while she holds them off, much to his chagrin.
%%* TheChampion: For Rikou.
* CombatPragmatist: Esper powers? Magic? Screw that! He's got a gun.
* CoolBike: [[spoiler:The Dragon Rider in ''New Testament'' Volume 1.]]
* CooldownHug: [[spoiler:Gives one to none other than Mugino. It works, and she joins his harem.]]
* DavidVersusGoliath: A completely powerless individual, and still he manages to beat down the opposition.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: He can't claim to win against someone with a SuperpowerLottery like Touma (in fact, he did lose to Touma in a straight-up fight), but he still [[spoiler:beat a Level 5 ''three times'']]. Then he [[spoiler:sends all of Aleister's plans down the drain.]]
* {{Delinquents}}: A former Skill-Out.
* {{Determinator}}: Another reason why he is called "He Who Defies Finality".
-->"Everyone has things I don’t. No matter how much I struggle, I just can't obtain them and yet I still have a final goal that I want to grab no matter what."
* DoNotGoGentle: In Volume 21, [[spoiler:the injured, powerless Acqua of the Back tells him to leave him be to die so Shiage can proceed with his objective. His response...]]
-->"...what about the person who is waiting for you at home? You've managed to survive such situations for a long time. That time you saved me and my friends, [[ThinkNothingOfIt it didn't seem like anything special to you]], as that was the path you walked. So a guy like you will never be alone. Even if you don't think about it, there are several people relying on you. What will happen to them? To die for the sake of the world, to die to protect others, who would accept such stupid excuses?! They are unacceptable! The reason you fight is not to let those waiting for you to not be able to do anything other than cry! Stand up, hero! '''[[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Stand up!]]'''
* {{Fetish}}: Has one for [[PlayboyBunny bunny girls]], shown when he forwards a porn video to his [[spoiler:ITEM]] teammates. It becomes his staple for the following volumes. He's so much into it that just having Saiai stick a bunny behind Rikou (thus making it look like she is wearing bunny-ears) is enough to give him a nosebleed.
* FighterMageThief: [[TheGunslinger The]] [[MacGyvering Thief]] to Touma's Fighter and Accelerator's Mage.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: [[spoiler:He was just a completely unremarkable Level 0. Then he sent all of Aleister's plans crashing down.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: He’s normally a kind, humble guy (as shown in Volume 15), but when push comes to shove he's willing to fight.
* GuileHero: Even to a much greater extent than Touma.
* TheGunslinger: He isn't just [[ImprobableAimingSkills skilled]] in the use of pistols, but is also quite proficient in high-power automatic rifles and spaz-shotguns.
** ImprobableAimingSkills: He shot down ''three people'' whilst ''falling out of a helicopter''.
* HeelFaceTurn: It can be easy to forget that this guy tried to [[spoiler:murder Mikoto's mother]] in his first appearance before he was defeated and turned over a new leaf.
* HeroicBystander: [[spoiler:Became one to save Rikou in Volume 15.]]
* {{Homage}}: To ''Series/KamenRider'' in ''New Testament'' Volume 1.
* HollywoodHacking: He can break into a full-on Academy City security system with nothing but a cellphone. A system which, no doubt, Aleister had a hand in creating.
%%* HonorBeforeReason
%%* HotBlooded
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Like most members of Skill-Out, he was resentful and insecure about not having an esper ability. [[spoiler: In New Testament, when he learns about magic, he jumps at the chance to learn it, only for Levinia Birdway to tell him he won't be able to use it, much to his disappointment.]]
* ImprovFu: His usual method of fighting higher level opponents, which works surprisingly often.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Mess with [[spoiler:his girl]], and he ''[[ThatsGottaHurt will make you talk...]]''
%%* JerkWithAHeartOfGold
* TheKirk: Between Touma's [[TheMcCoy McCoy]] and Accelerator's [[TheSpock Spock]].
* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Of Season 2.
* LoveRedeems: Used to be a criminal delinquent while in Skill-Out before meeting Rikou.
* MacGyvering: [[spoiler:Especially evident in ''New Testament'' Volume 3.]]
* MadeOfIron: Like many a protagonist, he's taken some serious damage and kept on coming, like getting shrapnel in his back and then a ''screwdriver'' in his ear.
* MyGreatestFailure: He regards [[spoiler:failing to stop Mugino from killing Frenda]] as this.
* MyHeroZero: Mocked as a Level 0, total ass-kicker.
* {{Mundanger}}: A rare heroic version. His determination to protect Takitsubo from an AxCrazy Mugino led to him defeating her ''all on his own'', which made [[BigBad Aleister]] [[TheChessmaster Crowley]], for the first time in his LongLived life, ''completely panic''.
* NiceGuy: [[spoiler:Even if his bosses are bitchy, demanding girls.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:You just made [[{{Yandere}} Mugino even more unstable]], and for that Aleister and his goons want you and everyone you care about dead.]]
* NinjaLog: Once replaced himself with a stack of cardboard boxes. Mugino [[LampshadeHanging even asked]] if he was a ninja.
* OddFriendship: With [[spoiler:Acqua of the Back]] in Volume 21, as well as Misaka WORST in ''New Testament'' Volume 3.
* OfficialCouple: With Rikou.
* ThePowerOfLove: [[spoiler:He will protect his girl from anyone who seeks to harm her, even if that person is Accelerator!]]
* PunchClockVillain: He's not a real bad guy, but his affiliations with Skill-Out and ITEM means he's taken plenty of unscrupulous jobs. Hell, his very first appearance involves him attempting to assassinate Mikoto's mother. All said and done, he's more or less TheHeart of whatever respective group he's a part of.
* PragmaticHero: No esper powers, no sorcery, no magical items, no ''real'' noteworthy skills. He has to rely entirely on his wits to stay ahead, which at times leads him to be ruthless.
* {{Protectorate}}: Despite the circumstances, he would protect ITEM, [[spoiler:especially Rikou]] from all dangers [[spoiler:including itself.]]
* PsychoticLoveTriangle: PlayedForLaughs, with [[spoiler:Misaka WORST and Umidori in ''New Testament'' Volume 3.]]
* RebelliousSpirit
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: At the beginning of ''New Testament'' volume 3 when [[DarkActionGirl Kuroyoru]] points out that he's alone with her.
* SmokingIsCool: In Volume 15.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:He was a complete nobody who somehow managed to screw over [[TheChessmaster Aleister]]'s plans time and time again, with the first act being defeating Mugino. The fact that he was capable of undermining such plans by his mere presence becomes discussed in the Coronzon Arc.]]
-->'''Accelerator:''' [[spoiler:While that board chairman was working on her godawful plan, there was someone she tried to have killed because he was a dangerous and unpredictable element. I know he came to England, but I want you to figure out if he ever made it to London. You can do that since all sorts of information finds its way to the capital, right? Now that I’ve experienced it for myself, I can tell. It’s a kind of stealth. His presence just disappeared. …So why does he exist? He barely has any presence at all, but at times like this, you never know when he’ll introduce a glitch onto the game board and make it all freeze up. He’s completely hidden. It’s the same uneasy feeling as noticing a mistake in the source code only to never find it again when you scroll back up. It shouldn’t matter, but if you ignore it, it could develop into a critical error.]]
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: His name is officially Hama''d''ura, but is pronounced Hama''z''ura.
* TheUnchosenOne: As far as everyone was concerned, he was a nothing but a powerless loser with no future. Then, all through his determination to survive and protect his loved ones, he becomes a major player whom Aiwass considers equally important to Touma and Accelerator.
* UndyingLoyalty: To [[spoiler:ITEM. Even after the team breaks up, his constant determination in keeping all the members alive results in Mugino's turn.]]
* UnwantedHarem: [[spoiler:As of Volume 22 he's officially a member of ITEM, who they refer to as "lackey".]]
* WeakButSkilled: While he has no supernatural power, he knows how to use a gun, is skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and is actually quite intelligent.
* WouldHitAGirl: Don't mess with his girl, even if you're a girl.
** Also, he was secretly recruited by the Dark Side to whack off Misaka's mom for trying to snoop in Academy City.
[[/folder]]

----

->'''Othinus:''' "'''Martial arts, a gun, a knife, or any other obvious offensive power would only increase your ability to 'cut people off'.''' You would be no different from the cruel agents of revenge who delight in robbing people of a chance to reform and then tossing the majority rule loser into the abyss, all while calling it a punishment. Kamijou Touma, that is not your strength. '''Your greatest weapon is the powerful arm that reached into the abyss and saved even someone as hopelessly evil and rotten to the core as Magic God Othinus.''' That ability to connect is your ultimate trump card, so make no mistake and do not reach for a cheap answer. You couldn’t defeat the High Priest? This Kamisato guy wiped out all of those Magic Gods? You should be asking 'so what'. You should be looking down on Academy City for letting the High Priest die and on Kamisato for killing the Magic Gods without saving a single one. What is wanted from you is not violence on the same level as World Rejecter. '''It isn’t the power to kill. It is the power of human reason that can envelop that violence.'''"

** MyGreatestSecondChance: ...[[spoiler:which drove him to not repeat the same mistake when Misaki was about to do the same thing on their first meeting.]] However, tearjerking ensues when he [[spoiler:loses his memories of Misaki (along with being unable to remember her at all), leading him to live with the above example before losing his memories altogether in the Index Arc.]]

** Due to the nature of his Auto-Reflect ability, expertly timed pulled punches can get ''attracted to him'' instead of being reflected. Also, Accelerator can't reflect something if he doesn't know the correct vector equations for it, which will reduce the effectiveness of his barrier anywhere from simply deflecting the attack instead of reflecting it completely (most forms of magical attacks which have different vector equations than a physical attack) to getting bypassed (objects which do not follow normal laws of physics, such as [[spoiler:Kakine's Dark Matter]], in which case he has to manually 'feel' and find out the correct vector calculations to redirect it). Finally, he can't redirect any attack which has no vector equation in the first place (i.e. scalar quantities), which is why he speculates [[HollywoodVoodoo voodoo doll]]-like effects might be able to bypass his AIM.