A Certain Magical Index/Characters/Level 5 Espers

The most powerful espers in Academy City, the Level 5s hit the Superpower Lottery big time. They are capable of overwhelming shows of force and ability, at almost god-like levels. They are both revered for their powers and despised for the privileges that come with them. It is important to note, however, that esper levels are a measurement of how effective an esper is at using their powers, not necessarily their skill at Blowing Stuff Up.

Only six of the seven confirmed Level 5s have been revealed, appearance and all.

-

Tropes shared between the 6:
 * Badass Nickname
 * Blood Knight: They are a bit too eager to get into fights.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: This doesn't help matters.
 * The Dreaded
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast
 * One-Man Army: Bonus points to  for defeating actual armies.
 * The strongest among them are arguably Physical Gods.
 * Red Baron: Their nicknames have often come to define them in the public over their real ones: Especially Accelerator, who claims to have forgotten his real name after repeated use of 'Accelerator'.
 * Superpower Lottery

Accelerator
"See To Aru Majutsu no Index folder."

The One Who Has Touched the Territory of God


Academy City's second most powerful Level 5 esper, and the leader of SCHOOL. His ability, Dark Matter, allows him to create entirely new forms of matter that aren't bound by the laws of physics. Kakine's power is hinted to be related to Accelerator's in some way, and he is the only other esper with the potential to become a Level 6. He has a rather one-sided rivalry with Accelerator, with his fondest wish being to defeat him. -
 * Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: He's incredibly confident in his own power, looks down on everyone else, and hates the fact that Accelerator is stronger than him.
 * Berserk Button: When he's told his ability -- more specifically, his white wings -- would have appeal to kids for a demonstration during the Daihaseisai, he wrecks SCHOOL's hideout. Considering his one-sided rivalry with Accelerator, being told you have appeal to kids is the ego equivalent of a kick to the balls.
 * Bishonen
 * Curb Stomp Battle: He spent Volume 15 one-shotting everyone he went up against without getting a scratch,
 * Evil Counterpart: He's Accelerator with no standards.
 * Evilly Affable: Provided you don't directly oppose or hinder his objectives, he's actually a half-decent guy.
 * Green Lantern Ring: His ability, Dark Matter, basically does whatever he wants it to and defies the laws of physics while doing so.
 * Combo-Platter Powers: Just a few ways we've seen Kakine use his ability:
 * Attack Reflector: He was even able to reflect attacks Accelerator threw at him.
 * Light'Em Up: Seems to be his preferred method of attack. He can fire over 2500 forms of radiation from all over the electromagnetic spectrum. He does this by using Dark Matter constructs to reflect and refract light.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: The best way of describing how he defeated
 * Super Strength
 * Superpower Lottery: Being able to create a form of matter that can do anything you want at will is pretty amazing.
 * Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: When wouldn't tell him the location of, he tries to get the information out of her by stomping on her shoulder, dislocating it, and continuing to put pressure on it.
 * Jerkass
 * Lack of Empathy: Just as much as, if not more than, Accelerator.
 * Light Is Not Good: Despite his angelic appearance and using weaponized light as his main attack, Kakine isn’t a very nice person.
 * Meaningful Name: His name can roughly be translated as "Emperor of the Front Fence".
 * Not Worth Killing: He has absolutely no compassion or remorse, but he will sometimes leave his opponents alive if they are completely helpless or already dying, just because he thinks it would be beneath him to waste energy on them.
 * Satellite Character: His entire character is defined by his relationship with, and inferiority to, Accelerator.
 * Always Second Best
 * Green-Eyed Monster:
 * Not So Different:
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You
 * The Resenter
 * Unknown Rival
 * The Sociopath
 * Villain Ball:
 * Would Hit a Girl: Let's see: He fights with and defeats, attacks both and  and leaves them for dead, nearly kills , wanted to use the innocent and adorable  as bait so he could , and then stabs  after she
 * Satellite Character: His entire character is defined by his relationship with, and inferiority to, Accelerator.
 * Always Second Best
 * Green-Eyed Monster:
 * Not So Different:
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You
 * The Resenter
 * Unknown Rival
 * The Sociopath
 * Villain Ball:
 * Would Hit a Girl: Let's see: He fights with and defeats, attacks both and  and leaves them for dead, nearly kills , wanted to use the innocent and adorable  as bait so he could , and then stabs  after she
 * Villain Ball:
 * Would Hit a Girl: Let's see: He fights with and defeats, attacks both and  and leaves them for dead, nearly kills , wanted to use the innocent and adorable  as bait so he could , and then stabs  after she

Mikoto Misaka
"See To Aru Majutsu no Index folder."

Shizuri Mugino
"Voiced by: Ami Koshimizu"

The fourth Level 5 esper, and the leader of ITEM. Her power, Meltdowner, converts electrons into a highly destructive form of matter that exists somewhere between particles and waves. While kind and gentle to her friends, she has a unpleasant personality once angered. -
 * Ax Crazy: When she’s pissed off:
 * Ax Crazy: When she’s pissed off:

"Mugino: "Three-two-one-go!" : "FUCK!""
 * Barrier Warrior: She can make shields of energy that are tough enough to withstand Mikoto's electric attacks.
 * Beauty Is Bad
 * Beauty Is Never Tarnished: No matter how badly she gets hurt or how insane she becomes, she still looks beautiful.
 * Beware the Nice Ones: While she's a Cool Big Sis to her teammates, offending her is a bad idea. Pissing her off reveals a very different side of her.
 * Blood Knight: Battle-hungry? Check. Unnerving temper? Check. Obsesses over after their fight? Huge check.
 * Comedic Sociopathy:
 * Mugino is pretty good at this, such as this little exchange when she was giving  a countdown to come out before she roasted  . Mugino did not give a nice slow count, as was usual. Instead…
 * Mugino is pretty good at this, such as this little exchange when she was giving  a countdown to come out before she roasted  . Mugino did not give a nice slow count, as was usual. Instead…

""The kind of person that can’t stand it when you can’t complete a video game without 100% accuracy." "If you fuck up even slightly, you fly into a rage and won’t accept it even if you complete the game." "When someone like that fucks up even slightly, they find another goal in order to write it off. When you aren’t able to get 100% accuracy, you instead go for a high score and are satisfied with that.""
 * Cool Big Sis: To those she considers friends.
 * Cute and Psycho: Her default personality.
 * : As of New Testament,
 * Disproportionate Retribution: Her form of payback.
 * Early-Bird Cameo: Along with the rest of ITEM, in Episode 12 of Railgun. In the manga version of that scene, there was a completely irrelevant conversation that had nothing to do with the plot.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Misaka Mikoto, look down at the Not So Different below.
 * Evil Laugh: "Gya-ha-ha!!"
 * Frickin' Laser Beams: Her entire method of attack revolves around these.
 * Beam Spam: Carries special silicon cards to facilitate this effect.
 * Stuff Blowing Up: The end result of her power.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Huh, now why do her tropes and voice sound so frighteningly familiar?
 * Implacable Woman. Seems to be the Level 5 most fond of this, especially during her first fight with Shiage.
 * Knight Templar: The kindest way of describing her.
 * Lack of Empathy: Cheerfully greets the family of those she has murdered by introducing herself as the murderer.
 * Laser Guided Tykebomb: Over the course of numerous fights with Shiage, he comes to the realization that Mugino used to be a mostly normal girl who actually cared about her friends. Academy City just decided she's much more useful as their own personal assassin/enforcer.
 * Ms. Fanservice: In NT2 she says that she's the level 5 in charge of sex appeal so she wears see through underwear.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: She's a Level 5 esper with an ability dubbed "Meltdowner"...
 * Not So Different: Both she and Mikoto have more in common than they realize: not only do their powers involve manipulation of electrons, but they also come from wealthy families, have an annoying yet lovable sidekick who adores them, are Cool Big Sises to their friends, are Genre Savvy enough to wear shorts under their skirts to avoid Fan Service, and tend to let their pride and anger win over reason. They would be best friends if they weren't enemies to begin with.
 * Ojou
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Towards Mikoto and later
 * The Perfectionist: Here's Shiage's descriptions:
 * Laser Guided Tykebomb: Over the course of numerous fights with Shiage, he comes to the realization that Mugino used to be a mostly normal girl who actually cared about her friends. Academy City just decided she's much more useful as their own personal assassin/enforcer.
 * Ms. Fanservice: In NT2 she says that she's the level 5 in charge of sex appeal so she wears see through underwear.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: She's a Level 5 esper with an ability dubbed "Meltdowner"...
 * Not So Different: Both she and Mikoto have more in common than they realize: not only do their powers involve manipulation of electrons, but they also come from wealthy families, have an annoying yet lovable sidekick who adores them, are Cool Big Sises to their friends, are Genre Savvy enough to wear shorts under their skirts to avoid Fan Service, and tend to let their pride and anger win over reason. They would be best friends if they weren't enemies to begin with.
 * Ojou
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Towards Mikoto and later
 * The Perfectionist: Here's Shiage's descriptions:
 * The Perfectionist: Here's Shiage's descriptions:

""Hamazura’s body slid across the roof. He managed to stop himself and then looked around in surprise. He saw Mugino standing a good way back on the track. She must have jumped from the bridge just as he had. Her hand was stuck deep in the ground. The power cables for Academy City railroads ran through the ground. Mugino had used her power to sever the power cable in order to stop the train."
 * Precision F-Strike: While she becomes more of a Cluster F Bomber over time, enough to be the second most foul-mouthed Level 5 after Accelerator. Her truly serious F Strikes still make you fear for your life, along with whoever she uses them on. Example:

"From a few hundred meters away, Shizuri Mugino said something."

"Hamazura couldn't hear her voice, but he understood it from the movements of her mouth."

"'I – am – going – to – fucking – kill – you.'"

"From atop the train, Hamazura took in what Mugino had said. The Level 5 who had forcibly stopped the train smiled so it looked like her face was split in two."

"'…!!'"

"All of the hair on Hamazura’s body stood on end.""


 * Made even worse when you see her face, taking a Kubrick Stare while mixing in a bit of a Psychotic Smirk and Slasher Smile at the same time.
 * Pride: Her biggest fault is her pride. It’s because of this that
 * Sanity Has Advantages: If she wasn't so insane, she would have . Or would never have . Or wouldn't have even . Sanity definitely has advantages.
 * Sir Swearsalot: Her mouth is NOT as beautiful as the rest of her face.
 * Skirt Over Slacks
 * Slasher Smile: Though she is quite fond of Kubrick Stares, Psychotic Smirks, and combinations of the three where applicable.
 * Social Darwinist: Played straight until Volume 22, where she subverts this hard by lashing out at Academy City's "Parameter List",
 * Willfully Weak: It's strongly implied that she's actually quite a bit more powerful than Mikoto, except she lacks immunity to her own power and as such has to limit herself. So she holds back on a large part of her raw power because if she truly went all-out with an attack, the recoil would kill her.
 * Willfully Weak: It's strongly implied that she's actually quite a bit more powerful than Mikoto, except she lacks immunity to her own power and as such has to limit herself. So she holds back on a large part of her raw power because if she truly went all-out with an attack, the recoil would kill her.

The Queen of Tokiwadai


The mysterious fifth Level 5 Esper. Being the second Level 5 to attend Tokiwadai, her followers and Misaka’s followers often come into conflict. Her ability, Mental Out, involves the manipulation of memories and the human mind. She is also the leader of the largest clique in Tokiwadai. -
 * Amplifier Artifact: Appears to be using a remote control (see image above) when using her Mind Control powers, and its been hinted that the remote is necessary for her to use her powers effectively.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In chapter 41, she shows up to threaten Misaka through her friends implying that she sees Mikoto making new friends as an attempt at forming a rival faction. Her next move is to use her power to confront Misaka with the possibility of being zerg rushed by a mass of uninvolved students who would simultaneously be used as shields. Yep, she's a bitch alright.
 * Buxom Is Better: Which Mikoto grudgingly acknowledges, and also seemingly how she suspects that the Queen might not even be a middle-school student.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: She was first mentioned in the first volume of Index as someone who might have been able to fix Index's memory loss. Her recent appearance in the Railgun manga may indicate that the author may have a role for her in the future.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": She is usually referred to as the "Queen of Tokiwadai" rather than her actual name.
 * Eyes of Gold
 * The Faceless: Despite first being mentioned in the very first volume of Index, she never makes an official appearance until . Justifed, as she apparently uses her power to communicate through others.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Ojou: According to Mikoto, she's the most Ojou of all the Ojous at Tokiwadai, which really says something. She, however, subverts the traditional archetype by being quite frivolous, making silly poses, not caring for her weight, and saying cliché anime lines. It's just that she erases certain people's memories and that her fangirls don't say anything about it.
 * Opera Gloves
 * Telepathy: Academy City's most powerful telepath.
 * Mind Manipulation: Seems to be her forte.
 * Brainwashing: One of the uses of her ability.
 * Fake Memories: Can implant them and erase them.
 * Mind Control: Another application of her power.
 * Psychic Surgery: She can transplant emotions and thoughts.
 * Superpower Lottery: She’s like Aizen on steroids.
 * Unknown Rival: Has no interest in any conflict with Mikoto, and the feeling’s mutual; it's their followers who are rivals, not them personally.
 * Fandom Rivalry: An in-universe example of it.
 * The Voiceless: Uses mind-controlled proxies and her own followers whenever she needs to communicate.
 * Wingding Eyes: She has stars in her eyes, possibly contact lenses. But considering this is a Japanese author who's writing this series, it could be natural...
 * Zettai Ryouiki: With lace.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: With lace.

The Sixth
The mysterious sixth Level 5 Esper. Not much is known about this person, not even their gender. The only time this person has been specifically mentioned canonically is when the Daihaseisai committee was searching for the levels 5s in chapter 43 of the Railgun manga. Despite locating all the other level 5s, the sixth couldn't be found, which had been expected to some degree.


 * The Ghost: Has yet to make their debut. Is known to exist by process of elimination, but nothing has been revealed about them.

The Attack Crash


The seventh Level 5 esper, Gunha is a Gemstone, an esper who was born with his powers. His ability is nameless and absolutely impossible to define, though it allows him to create strange explosions, attack at twice the speed of sound, and recover from being shot in the head or heart with no pain. He is classified as the lowest Level 5 precisely because nobody understands his immense power. He has a strong sense of justice. Despite the large entry here, he's only made a few appearances so far (SS Volume 2 of the light novels, chapter 44 of the Railgun manga, and in the questionably canon Toaru Jihanki no Fanfare short story) and has yet to get involved in either story's main plot. - "Yokosuka: Please, just beat me with an attack that sounds like it's worth losing to at least. Not that Amazing Punch attack."
 * Badass: Despite getting Worf'd, he's still undeniably badass.
 * Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Happens with Yabumi Haratani. Whenever Gunha gives out an explanation for his powers, Haratani ends up calling him on it, followed by Gunha responding with a dumbfounded variation of "Then what did I just do?" Gets lampshaded by Mikoto.
 * Born Winner: Being a Gemstone, he was born with his esper abilities.
 * Calling Your Attacks: "Amazing Puuunch!"


 * Combo-Platter Powers: His power is stated to be impossible to define, and manifests in a variety of ways, including:
 * Deflector Shield
 * Nigh Invulnerability
 * Stuff Blowing Up
 * Super Speed
 * Super Strength
 * Teleportation
 * Determinator: He repeatedly gets back up during his fight with Ollerus despite being totally outclassed.
 * Early-Bird Cameo: Appears unnamed in one of the memories of a Level Upper user during the AIM Burst phenomenon in Chapter 15 of the Railgun manga, well before his actual first appearance in Chapter 44. Witnessing Gunha's amazing power appears to have been the catalyst for that esper to use the Level Upper in the first place.
 * Foil: To Touma. Mikoto even wonders if they know each other after Gunha is able to withstand her electrical attacks.
 * For Great Justice: Making the world a kinder and gentler place..... one ass-kicked villain at a time.
 * Hero of Another Story: His high school teacher notes that he misses school to help people all the time (just like Touma), yet we've barely seen any of it.
 * Honor Before Reason
 * Hot-Blooded
 * How Do I Shot Web?: An unusual example in that he knows how to use his powers, but he has no idea how they work (Touma is probably the only one in the series with similar issues). Ollerus tells him that he might have stood a chance in their fight if Gunha actually knew how his powers worked and took better advantage of them.
 * Lampshade Hanging: At one point, he gives the same kind of fake scientific explanation for his abilities as everyone else does, only to be met with a flat statement that what he just said was completely impossible and makes no sense.
 * Large Ham
 * Meaningful Name: His names can be translated as "Supremacy of the Military Court".
 * Megaton Punch: His Amazing Punch attack.
 * Nice Guy: By Level 5 standards, a pure, good-hearted and righteous boy like him is a veritable saint.
 * Now That's Using Your Teeth: He catches a railgun from Mikoto using his teeth. It was only at 30%, but still...
 * The Paladin: Although without the religious implications.
 * Shout-Out: In his first appearance in SS Volume 2 (and in the Railgun manga and in the Fanfare side story) he makes a dramatic speech that is immediately followed by explosions of colored smoke behind him.
 * Verbal Tic: He believes in being gutsy over everything else to such a degree that he tries to insert something about 'guts' in as many of his sentences as he possibly can.
 * Wearing a Flag on Your Head: He wears a shirt emblazoned with the Rising Sun.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist
 * The Worf Effect: Gets curb-stomped by Ollerus. Going by what we now know about Ollerus, though, Gunha never stood a chance...
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Thinks he's The Hero of a Sentai anime.