A Certain Magical Index/Characters/Academy City Leadership

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


The people running Academy City behind the scenes. As one would expect, they are all mysterious individuals with various agenda for the entire city.


Academy City Founders

Aleister Crowley

The Wickedest Man In The World

Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki

An ancient magician who resides within the Windowless Building, the founder and General Superintendent of Academy City. He rules Academy City from the shadows, having a higher authority than even the directors. He has a hand in almost everything going on within the city, and spends most of his time weaving innumerable plots together. Possibly the Big Bad of the entire series, though his motives remain mostly unknown save for two -- creating an Artificial Heaven, and wanting Shiage Hamazura double-dead for messing with his calculations for his many plans.

  • 0% Approval Rating: He made an enemy of close to everyone on the Magic Side because he decided to do scientific research instead of magic.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: When he scolds Fiamma after his A God Am I plan fails, he outright says he has achieved such a thing -- though it isn't far-fetched to say that he hasn't attained the highest position yet.
  • Assimilation Plot: His vision, as revealed in Volume 6 to some degree, is to set up an Artificial Heaven of AIM fields encompassing the entire world by spreading the MISAKA network worldwide and using the influence of Kazakiri Hyouka on it. Basically, by creating a world covered in AIM, all magic will be destroyed and all humans will have access to esper powers. Whether this is his primary Evil Plan or merely a backup plan of sorts is yet to be seen, as he seems to have several other plans for Academy City.
  • Bishonen
  • Big Bad: Certainly a possibility, but...
  • Big Brother Is Watching: His People Jars has access to all the data being processed in Academy City, from security cameras to communications equipment. On top of that he also has a special network of nano-machines called UNDERLINE spread throughout the city that gets him information that even other security systems don't have access to.
  • Brain In a Jar: Sort of. Everything except his consciousness is sustained by machinery, so it's more a case of Body In A Jar.
  • The Chessmaster: Probably the greatest in the series; he does little else.
  • Code Name: His magic name is "Beast666".
  • A Day in the Limelight: NT Volume 18 focuses on his backstory, showing what made him the man he is today.
  • Deceptive Disciple: Is hinted to be one to Aiwass.
  • Didn't See That Coming:
    • Crowley's plans are derailed spectacularly when Shiage beats Mugino. Shiage was supposed to die in that confrontation, meaning he’s now an unknown variable.
    • At the end of NT Volume 13, he's caught completely off guard when Kakeru appears and banishes the remaining Magic Gods. Justified, as Kakeru literally didn't have his power until very recently.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: His hunting of Shiage could be interpreted as this. See It's Personal below for the details.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: It doesn't help that the production art gives him a bustline. A rather impressive one at that.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He genuinely cared for his daughter Lilith. His current goal of destroying magic is because he believes it's what led to her death.
  • Flying Broomstick: Rides one to rescue a falling Touma at the end of NT Volume 18.
  • Gambit Roulette: Oh so very many. Some of his plans are designed to fail from the start so that another can succeed. A good example would be the Sisters project, which was supposed to fail from the start so that the MISAKA Network would spread worldwide for his Artificial Heaven plan to succeed. And he doesn't care even if his actual plans fail.
  • The Heretic: He was the most famous magician of his time and the unofficial representative to the Magic side. His defection to the Science side was not well-received, since he is the best magician, and by defecting to Science, he unofficially proclaimed the superiority of the Science side. This earned him the hatred of close to everyone on the Magic side.
  • Hidden Agenda Villain: For much of the series, it's unclear just what, exactly, his goal is. More light is shed on this in New Testament, with NT Volume 18 giving the full explanation: he wants to destroy the phases and return the world to its pure state.
  • Historical Domain Character: With a Historical Villain Upgrade, considering that the nickname of The Wickedest Man In The World was said of the real Aleister Crowley.
  • It's Personal:
    • Aleister, for the first time ever, is livid when Shiage absolutely fucks all his plans up the wazoo with what Aleister considers "dumb luck." Now he won't rest until the guy's dead.
    • His vengeance against the Magic Gods is also this. He won't stop until they're dead, seeing them as responsible for his daughter's death.
  • Mad Scientist / For Magic!: He was said to have sacrificed his wife's life in a magical experiment. His daughter's whereabouts are unknown, although he was said to have used children no older than his daughter for his experiments.
  • The Man Behind the Man: To all of Academy City.
  • Manipulative Bastard: And what a bastard he is.
  • Me's a Crowd: In response to Lola/Coronzon taking over his original body, he divides himself into 1,083,092,867 copies, each representing one of the possibilities he could have taken.
  • Mysterious Past: Until NT Volume 18.
  • Not So Omniscient After All:
    • He wasn't able to predict Shiage, a genuine Level 0, defeating a Level 5. This temporarily disrupts his plans, though he manages to get things in order by New Testament.
    • He also never realized that Lola Stuart was actually his daughter, Lola Zaza Crowley, or that she was possessed by Coronzon the entire time.
  • People Jars: Floats upside down in one.
  • Physical God: He defeated Fiamma of the Right before the guy knew what was happening.
  • Rapunzel Hair: It goes down to his ankles.
  • Reality Warper: He is capable of omnipresence, in a limited form. And NT Volume 11 reveals that he can control Jungian archetypes through something called the Archetype Controller. This is how he created the science side, and if he wanted, he could destroy the magic side easily.
  • Simple Staff: The Blasting Rod, said to follow him only out of pure respect. It's also a staff that's capable of overpowering Fiamma's Holy Right.
    • Chekhov's Gun: The Blasting Rod was introduced back in Volume 10, when Aleister was pondering whether to take direct action or not.
  • Spanner in the Works: Aiwass eventually remarks that, despite constant re-calculations, Crowley's plans are beginning to come apart at the seams thanks to the combination of Touma, Accelerator, and Shiage.
  • Superpower Lottery: The third most powerful character yet introduced, only outranked by Aiwass and "The Invisible Thing" sealed by Imagine Breaker, although he really doesn't do much except sit around inside his People Jars, that is, until the volume 22 epilogue, where he curb-stomped Fiamma.

Heaven Canceler

Voiced by: Yutaka Nakano

A high ranking Academy City doctor whose face resembles a frog, leading to his nickname, "The Frog-Faced Doctor". He often treats Touma's injuries after his latest escapades. An old friend of Crowley, as chief doctor he built and oversees the machinery that keeps the ancient mage alive. He is a kind-hearted old man who faithfully follows his Hippocratic Oath and treats the injuries of everyone who comes to him, good or bad.

  • Awesome McCoolname: Heaven Canceler. It doesn't get much more awesome than that.
  • Badass Boast: Not your usual boast, but still pretty badass and fitting for a doctor.

"Don't die. As long as you don't die, I can save you."

“Really? Pity, I thought I found a compatriot.”

  • Embarrassing Nickname: Frog-Faced Doctor, though he doesn't know people call him that.
  • Fan Nickname: Dr. Gekota.
  • The Medic: It's all he does. The only thing he can't cure is very specific, brain-related injuries, such as Touma's memory loss.
  • The Messiah: Takes one to heal one.
  • Mysterious Past: Many, many years before the start of the series, Heaven Canceler was the one who saved Aleister's life while he was both on the verge of death and being hunted relentlessly by pissed off magicians, taking refuge in a small European village. While he was treating him, Heaven Canceler inspired and urged Aleister to create Academy City in Japan, saying he would help him in any way. Despite being one of the two de facto creators of Academy City, he decided to remain a doctor as he always has been.
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Let's be honest: If you hear about someone named "Heaven Canceler", you're going to do everything you can to avoid that person.
    • Or not, since the name implies that, being a person who can cancel the will of Heaven, he can essentially save people who might otherwise be said to be "destined" to die.
  • Nice Guy
  • Only Known by Their Nickname
  • Spanner in the Works: While the Hound Dogs were near his hospital he jams their communication system, only to talk with a former patient who happens to be one of the Hound Dogs.
  • What The Hell, Villain?!: Calls out Crowley on his immoral activities, but takes no action due to his Hippocratic Oath.


Board of Directors

The twelve individuals in charge of Academy City, they hold absolute power over all aspects of the city, with only Aleister himself above them. So far only four members have been revealed.

Tsugutoshi Kaizumi

The man in charge of Gemstone ESPer research. He is known to be involved with Seria Kumokawa.

  • Cool Old Guy
  • Fatherly Scientist: He's in charge of all the research being done on Gemstone Espers, and views them as more than just research material.

Monaka Oyafune

The mother of Suama Oyafune, one of Touma's teachers. She persuades Touma to intervene in the tensions between Academy City and the Roman Catholic Church, since the Board of Directors refuse to take action.

  • Big Good: Tsuchimikado calls her as the number one good person in the Board of Directors.
  • Cool Old Lady
  • Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: She's not that mad a scientist, but may count by being part of the Board of Directors. Her daughter is Suama Oyafune, a Hot Teacher from Touma's school.
  • Manipulative Bitch: Her specialty is using her position as the Board of Directors and using agreements and powers that she was given in order to pull strings.
  • Motherly Scientist: One of the people in the board of directors who cares about the students.
  • She Knows Too Much: Defied the first time, subverted the second time. She orders Motoharu to shoot her to prevent the Academy City from finding out that she was in contact with Touma. On the second time, SCHOOL is ordered to assassinate her, but the people from ITEM comment that it doesn't matter whether she lives or dies, as she isn't involved in important matters pertaining to the dark side. She recovers from Motoharu's gunshot.
  • Token Good Teammate: One of the only two such members of the Board.

Shiokishi

The man in charge of Academy City's military research. He reveals DRAGON's identity in Volume 19.

Thomas Platinaburg

The man who funds ITEM. It seems that he is involved with Academy City's dark side.

  • Hoist by His Own Petard: Gets killed by the assassin he hires after she finds out that he funds ITEM, the group which injured her partner. Also because while he had arranged for her to receive an Academy City life support system for said partner, he also arranged to have a tiny transmitter implanted into said partner's body that had the capability to shut down at least four of his organs when activated. Fittingly, he is killed by that very transmitter because Stephanie saw through his scheme, removed it and implanted back into him, literally killing Thomas with his own weapon.
  • Revenge: He hasn't forgotten that Accelerator shot him in the chest, so he hires an assassin to kill him.

Hisako Yakumi

The member of the Board of Directors who focuses primarily on medicine. She is the main villain of NT Volume 7, being behind the Agitate Halation project.

  • And I Must Scream: Most of her is eaten by Fraulein, leaving her unable to do anything except suffer until the latter decides to finish the job.
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Her ultimate goal was to become an AIM thought being. She succeeds in this - but even incorporeal beings aren't invincible.
  • Creepy Cockroach: She makes use of a swarm of cockroaches, whose brains have been damaged by radiation to make them willing to eat anything. This allows them to attack targets anywhere, by chewing through any obstacles. The "creepy" part is outright weaponised, as Hisako deliberately chose cockroaches (instead of, say, termites) to disrupt an enemy esper's concentration and hence their ability.
  • Didn't See That Coming: She couldn't predict that Fremea would gain the courage to stand up to her. She also had no idea of Fraulein Kreutune's existence.
  • Eaten Alive: Her original body is eaten by her own cockroaches, but this was intentional. Her final fate is being eaten by Fraulein Kreutune, though a small part of her is deliberately left to suffer.
  • Hoist By Their Own Petard: Subverted. Saiai disrupts the scent that Hisako used to control the cockroaches, causing them to devour their own master. But she deliberately allowed this, as part of her plan.
  • Mad Scientist: Definitely. But it's later revealed that she had a Kihara's thought processes implanted in her head, so she may not have been this originally.
  • The Man Behind The Man: She turns out to have been behind many of the schemes in earlier volumes, all as preparation for Agitate Halation.
  • Older Than He Looks: She's actually 70, but looks young due to Academy City's anti-aging research.
  • Thanatos Gambit: She allows herself to be eaten by her cockroaches, as the final step before becoming an AIM thought being.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She orders the death of Fremea when she is no longer useful to her plans, though it fortunately fails.
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