Summary:

After a rash of small firework-like explosions around town, Kuroko tells Mikoto of how they’ve detected the rapid acceleration of gravitons prior to each explosion. The culprit is essentially turning aluminum into explosives, and the only person in the city who theoretically would be able to do this is currently in the hospital and thus has an alibi. Mikoto wants to help with the case, but Kuroko doesn’t want her getting involved. Mikoto, however, gets her chance after Uiharu accidentally leaves behind her Judgment armband, and Konori runs into her and mistakes her as a new member. She’s surprised to find that a lot of Judgment work is menial, such as having to clean up after people, but she also gets to do her share of helping people in need, and it’s harder than she expected. In the middle of this, Konori gets a call from Kuroko and Uiharu who had run into a little girl who had lost her bag. Remembering how Uiharu had told her earlier that the culprit was putting aluminum in children’s bags, Mikoto assumes this to be a dangerous case and searches all over the place with Konori.

While she’s doing this, Mikoto happens to pass by a couple of thugs who proceed to beat up a kid, and by the time she tries to break things up, the thugs have already backed off and the kid is already injured. The kid doesn’t show her any thanks though and instead is pissed off that she didn’t act quicker. In any case, Mikoto and Konori eventually find the dog that took the bag in a playground, and Mikoto is able to save the bag from falling into a fountain, though she herself gets soaked in the process. Even worse for her, she finds out that there was no bomb in this bag. In the aftermath, Kuroko and Uiharu arrive with the little girl and reunite her with her bag, and they’re surprised to see that Mikoto was helping Konori. For her part, Mikoto has a new appreciation for what Kuroko and Judgment does. Sometime later, two members of Judgment try to evacuate a convenience store, and one of them gets caught in a huge explosion that originates from a stuffed animal.

Preview

Well I guess that preview totally gives away who the culprit is. Not that it’s supposed to be a huge surprise, but at the same time, they don’t have to be so blatant about it. The episode itself wasn’t too bad though, and I loved watching Mikoto be hapless for once, particularly with her fear of bugs. I think my main problem with it was that, aside from some character development for Mikoto and a bit of set-up for next episode, a lot of the stuff about helping the little girl find her bag felt relatively inconsequential. It wasn’t until the epilogue part of the episode that things got exciting, and that’s mainly because there was an explosion and someone finally got hurt. Having read some of the manga, I know what they’re building up to, and while it’s not unexpected, it’s still worth mentioning that things are proceeding a bit on the slow side. On the bright side, next episode should be a lot more interesting to watch.

27 Comments

  1. Yea, I hope Railgun will pick up the pace soon. The story isn’t grabbing my attention at all. I’m also getting a little bit tired of all those scenes with Mikoto blushing/being embarrassed.

    pierce
  2. @Maximatum99: To sneak into a patrol, that much seems easy. To get access to secure information, well I’d like to think that Judgment members would have individual login/passwords (i.e. “something you know” credentials)

    Kylone
  3. This chapter was a total failure :S except the last scenes with Kuroko and the explotion. In the manga this chapter felt like a filler and the studio didn’t do anything to improve it.
    BTW this chapter showed me why Mikoto shouldn’t be in Judgement.

    @Omni: Why you didn’t made a better analysis of this chapter’??

    Lero
  4. Having read some of the manga, I know what they’re building up to, and while it’s not unexpected, it’s still worth mentioning that things are proceeding a bit on the slow side.

    but they have to stretch it out to 24 episodes with even less material to work with than index has! As long as they don’t pull the same shit as suzumiya, it’s all good! … but i hope all studios learn not to troll their fans like that =/

  5. What wrong with the kids ? Lifting onee-sama skirt like that!!! If I tried to pull a stunt like that I won’t be alive to this day… Anyway more shorts shots! woot I said it before Shorts rulz this season.
    Yes it felt kind of filler but it was a nice workout for mikoto. Being able to blow things up all the time can’t solve everything. “Oh I want to open this door, *railgun blast, *door blows to smiterings, yes that’s a way (yes I know it is the fun way). Still was that the best way? Sure not. This control should prove useful for her soon.

    Island Esper
  6. @Exia: What do you mean a first? At the third original arc, it was confirmed that 10000 people were killed BY A SINGLE ESPER. Sure, they were clones, but they were people nonetheless.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Show Spoiler ▼

    magnumslinger
  7. LOL at Kuroko flashing herself hysterically near the end, as usual.

    @Exia, I don’t think that Judgment guy died… I’m not spoiling, am I? He’s a minor character anyway, so… :p

    I don’t know whether it has something to do with my fetish for sailor uniforms or what, but I find myself liking Saten and her down-to-earth attitude (as Exia puts it) as well as her fanboy-pleasing habit of lifting poor Uiharu’s skirt all the time, despite her minimal involvement in the plot so far. Though having read the first manga arc, I’m hopeful of seeing more of her soon.

    Kinny Riddle
  8. @RyougaZell: It might be more of the fact that if it was a bomb and it was dropped on the ground, Mikoto wanted Konorii to be careful with it when she took it.

    @Neo_NMO: eh, there is more than one arc to the railgun manga, and we are only at the very beginning of the first one. I dont understand the bit about how much materiel index had to work with, the anime only covered the first third of the light novels.

    longhaul
  9. About deads in the series:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    @magnumslinger: Accelerator is still alive and have big protagonic roles since he got shot in the head XD.

    @longhaul: Index anime covered 6 of 21(still on going publication) volumes of the light novels…. geez just when the better events(vol 7) were going to start.

    Lero
  10. I must be the only person who finds Touma annoying as hell and I’d prefer it if they’d keep him out of the series, but I know that’s unlikely to happen. Unfortunately.

    What exactly is Uiharu’s power? I must’ve missed their explanation if any. I’ve only seen/recall her mashing away at a computer, so her ability is like hacking?

    duh
  11. Umm, is this some kind of… shonen series where all you expect is action???
    NO, it’s not.
    Actually, i find very interesting that they make some character development. I read the first chapters of the manga, and when they jump from make friends and stuff, to… suddenly being involved with Judgment, and the case and everything… i find it, boring… for one reason, there is no really background… maybe assuming is a side-story. But, apart from being a side-story, the anime is being developed as a very interesting story.

    This growing background will turn eventually, into building up some more emotion, when some really exciting parts come… if there are no motivation, background, and emotional build-up… it’s empty. It would be the tipically ‘fight-to-save-the-day’ thingy i’m so bored about.

    Xanathos
  12. Show Spoiler ▼

    In anycase, I think To Aru Majutsu No Index (main story and spin-off) will be given the “Zero No Tsukaima” treatment. Let’s just hope they get to the more exciting parts….

    The Moondoggiebuiscuit @ Gakuen City
  13. @The Moondoggiebuiscuit @ Gakuen City: For now the only one with a “Zero No Tsukaima or Shana II” treatment is Railgun with those time swaped chapter and those weird adds in the anime like chapter 3.
    I found Touma funny and charismatic because his big dettermination against powerful enemies although knowing his power weakness.

    Lero
  14. It’s funny that i’ve learned about gravitons in biophysics a few weeks ago and nowadays their existence is still only theoretical, there are still no means of detection for them – in other words, everyone knows what gravity does but not what it is XD It was really nice to see the characters speaking about the fact that in the future they’re able to detect them lol I love futuristic stuff. It was a nice episode, can’t wait for the next.

    Murasaki Ayame

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