Academy City is a showcase of modern tech, 20 to 30 years ahead of the rest of the world; and it’s also the cutting edge when it comes to educating and developing espers, that is, people born with seemingly magical, but actually totally scientific, superpowers. Like Shizuri Mugino’s electron beam (level 5), Kinuhata’s nitrogen control (level 4), Takitsubo’s AIM locating ability (level 4, with AIM being the field emitted by espers), and…what it is that Frenda Seivelun does, again? Ah yes, comic relief (level 0)—and insanely impressive levels of close-quarters MMA, all while keeping that cute white beret in place! These four middle schoolers make up ITEM (acronym as yet to be defined), a group that mysterious higher-ups call on to right wrongs and beat up (or preferably kill) bad guys to keep the streets of Academy City safe and its reputation intact. They don’t work for the Student Council or for Judgement, the public face of law and order in the city; instead, they are part of the Dark Side. (Which probably explains Mugino’s yakuza-like sneer and perpetual bad temper.) So when an evil scientist who experiments on children seeks to secure legitimacy for his vile research by presenting a paper at a neuroscience conference on the outside, the girls will stop at nothing to prevent him. And they’ll darn right have a blast while doing it, too! That’s just how they roll. And yet…maybe not always???

Guys! What is this munificence that is bestowed upon us so unexpectedly?! Be honest, who among you knew there was a Railgun spin-off in the works?! (Or, for that matter, finally a S4 planned for that delightful series. I am now on top of all the news.) It’s been six years since we’ve (virtually) walked the sunny streets of Academy City, so…Welcome back! And for all new arrivals, welcome to this spin-off of a spin-off! (A Certain Magical Index being the OG, and A Certain Scientific Railgun, the spin-off that superseded the OG, a la Terminator 2.) For anyone new, don’t worry, you can dive straight into this series, as the key bits of worldbuilding are conveyed early on, with a skilfully light touch. (No infodumps, fortunately!) There are plenty of Easter eggs for franchise fans, and even a cameo of Railgun herself (along with Misaki and Gekota!) But in general, this is a newbie-friendly intro, with only Frenda being a known quantity from the other series, where she was a supporting character in a few seasons. The rest of the crew are delightfully new, and really quite striking characters: they have strong, clearly defined personalities right from the outset, with Mugino leading the pack in terms of charm, and super engaging voice acting (from Ami Koshimizu of Kill la Kill fame, and much, much more)—though she does sound more like a middle-aged woman than a middle schooler! (For that matter, she looks like an adult too…) The animation speaks of a quality J.C. Staff production, with great action sequences and character designs that are simple and clean, yet distinct. So far, there’s just a hint of the franchise-familiar rock music score, and no ED/OP; but what’s there is promising, and I can’t wait to see (and hear) the opening and closing next week! Because you bet your Judgement armband I’ll be there! One caveat, though: these girls do not pull their punches, so be prepared for it to get dark at some point. But based on the premiere, I’d say that this Dark Side crew’s story is a pretty good jumping in point for the franchise. So, here we go!

A Certain Dark Item is streaming on Crunchyroll.