The Accelerator (一方通行アクセラレータ Ippō Tsūkō (Akuserarēta)?, lit."One-Way Road") is the name used to refer to the strongest esper currently residing in Academy City.
He is the second protagonist of the Science Side in the Toaru Majutsu no Index series. First appearing chronologically in Toaru Majutsu no Index as an antagonist, he later becomes the primary male protagonist of the Science Side after being defeated by Kamijou Touma. His journey to a more "heroic" role in the story progresses after meeting and saving Last Order, and is forced into an ironic twist of fate where his life now depends on the Sisters, clones he previously killed by the thousands. He is also a major antagonistic character in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun and the protagonist of Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator.
In his role as a protagonist, he is forced to deal with the cruel dark side of Academy City and the secret conspiracies surrounding it. As the most powerful esper of Academy City, his existence and powers are tied to the plans of Aleister Crowley, the founder of Academy City, alongside Kamijou Touma.
Appearance
Accelerator appears as a skinny teenager and has pale skin, moppy white hair and red eyes. This is caused by his ability, as it blocks ultraviolet rays, thereby preventing his body from producing melanin. His ability also has an effect on his hormones, as he stated in both the novel and manga series that it was because of his power he has "...this genderless body," although there is definite evidence stated throughout the series that he is a boy. In the novel/manga/anime, when Last Order asked him "Then are you male or female?" he gave the equivocal answer, "Can't you tell?" While in the novel he is shown to have a slim, androgynous body, a bathing scene depicted him as bare-chested and obviously male.
He also seems to have an affinity for black and white-themed clothing. He changes his initial clothing from a black shirt with white striped patterns to a white shirt with V patterns. He starts wearing a choker-style electrode to aid him with mobility, computation and communication, although he states that it makes up for less than half of his former calculation abilities, and uses a cane.
When he is enraged or excited such as when fighting a strong or amusing opponent e.g Kamijou Touma during their first encounter, he breaks into a wide grin and laughs, giving him a maniacal and sadistic appearance.
Personality
Due to the potential of his ability, Accelerator has been targeted by assassins and researchers throughout his life. As a result, he believes only in power and trusts no one. While fighting, he invokes fear and has a sadistic tone. He willingly joins the SISTER experiment to gain a reputation as the most powerful and feared psychic so that no one would dare be foolish enough to challenge him and won't hesitate to kill any who get in his way. The Sisters' memories of his behavior during the experiment may suggest that he is, in a way, a pacifist; because his power won't disappear, the only way he sees an end to the fighting is to be so strong and sadistic that no one would dare to raise a finger against him. He even seems to attempt to frighten the Sisters out of fighting or otherwise encourage them to refuse their battles.
After meeting Last Order, he strives to protect her (although he states he does not like her company, he tolerates her). He saved her from Amai Ao's plot and from being pursued by the Hound Dogs. He treats Index in a similar fashion, such as when he buys her lunch while searching for Last Order and by protecting her from the Hound Dogs. By Volume 19, he has mellowed out to the point that he actually lectures a child in order to prevent him from getting himself killed after a hostage situation.
His attitude towards Touma was hinted at throughout the novels after Volume 5, when it is shown that he both idolizes and is slightly jealous of Touma's heroic personality, and is outright shown when he and Touma finally come to blows in Volume 20. By comparison according to Heaven Canceler, Touma and Accelerator are very similar, but their methods are like opposite sides of a coin; Touma is able to protect his loved ones without killing and is able to stand by their side, while Accelerator protects his loved ones through violent methods and even admits that he is unable to stand by Last Order and Yomikawa's side. Deep down, he is someone that aches for the light, as shown when Yomikawa was able to walk up to him and slowly take a gun from his hands before he tried to finish off Kakine after their fight, and later when he refused to hurt a Misaka WORST clone and tried to heal her wounds after she tried to kill herself.
Aiwass has also commented on the differences between Touma and Accelerator – stating how Accelerator craves for the wholesomeness of being a 'hero' like Touma, even to the point that he declared himself evil because he believes he cannot reach that level. He is someone that tries hard to redeem himself.
Accelerator was shown to often underestimate his enemies earlier in the series, which led to his loss against Touma. However, after nearly being killed by Kihara Amata and fighting Komaba Ritoku, he no longer underestimates his enemies. This fact is noted by one of the terrorists in Hula Hoop in Volume 19 as possibly being the most terrifying thing about him: he always uses exactly how much force he needs to in order to defeat his enemy: no more and no less. If he ever underestimated his enemies, it would have given them an opening they could have exploited, but since he didn't, he simply wiped them out.
In Vol22 After-word the author states that what Accelerator wants most is not a lover but a family, and states Last Order is like his child he has to take care of. Also in Vol22, Misaka Worst said half-jokingly she wants the same fatherly treatment he gives to the other Misaka clones
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