「残骸 (レムナント)」 (Zangai (Remunanto))
“Wreckage (Remnant)”

So we’re back this week for the sixth installment of Toaru Majutsu no Railgun II. It was great seeing Kuroko-neesama and Mikoto-chin back for another episode complete Uiharu-chwan, but where’s my Saten!? She still hasn’t shown up in this season of Railgun’s run and I’m starting to get antsy. That aside, we had a more serious episode of Railgun than usual, with Kuroko-neesama getting the beat down from Musujime Awaki (Sakurai Harumi), a fellow teleporter who uses the ability Move Point to teleport any object she wishes. I wonder if after the issue with all this remnant stuff is resolved will she join the side of Judgement desu no and enjoy Crêpe with Mikoto-chin and the others while living a fun and carefree life in the average days of Academy City?

Okay, now that I have that out of my system, I must say that I enjoyed this episode. While I know some people have complaints of the extremely fast pacing, which is to be expected as J.C.Staff is adopting one novel in only two episodes, I found that it’s better to look at the anime for what it is, an anime; it’s not a novel with moving pictures, and basing your opinion of an episode solely on whether J.C.Staff adapted the novels word-per-word is a bit narrow-minded. Everything that needed to be explained was, and following the plot was simple enough even if little details were glazed over. Also, in J.C.Staff’s defense, volume 8 is the shortest Index novel written thus far with only 245 pages in all, so they are somewhat justified in cutting the volume down to two episodes, especially considering that they need the space for the upcoming arcs and we already had an entire 24 episode anime dedicated to Mikoto and Kuroko. That said, I must admit that the pacing did feel fairly disorienting, going from Mikoto and Kuroko in the bath at one moment to them suddenly in the shopping district to Kuroko taking on a case, with pretty much no transitional scenes separating these events. Even looking at it purely from an anime-only viewer’s perspective, the episode will come off as feeling extremely rushed and will take at least a second sit through to get a feeling for what exactly happened. Still, like I said, I enjoyed the episode a lot despite that, mostly because we get to see a very brief taste of the darker side of Academy City, which deals in underground affairs. Seeing more of moe Mikoto never hurts either, and this time with her new flower hair clip.

And of course I can’t forget to mention the first appearance of Last Order and Accelerator this season, which isn’t how a lot of people were expecting his grand re-entrance to play out, I’m sure. Still, the Accelerator fan girls will be pleased to get a full body nude shot of Accelerator (NO I’M NOT PANNING THAT SHUT UP) and whenever Last Order is around you can expect a HNNNNNG attack, especially as Misaka as Misaka takes a bath while splashing in the water. Now if they would just GET RID OF THAT FUCKING TOWEL. I expect its removal in my BD releases. Last Order: Biggest piece of jailbait ever. For those wondering why Accelerator is in a bath with Last Order, and at Yomikawa’s apartment no less, if you remember back in the last episode of season one Yoshikawa Kikyou asked Yomikawa to take care of Accelerator and Last Order for her. It was easy to forget and I’m sure a lot of people did, so go rewatch the end of episode 24 of the first season if you need a refresher.

Also, I don’t want to sound redundant by commenting on the production values of the show each episode, but they’re so varying that I feel like I have to. This episode was, without a doubt, the best animated episode of Index II so far, at the very least on par with episode 1. The lighting, shading, and character designs were all on point and absolutely gorgeous, and while background art has never been an issue this season, this episode in particular had some beautifully animated buildings and roads, with buildings in Kuroko’s acrobatic scenes looking as if they were all animated window by window. Next episode seems to out do even this one in terms of production values, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how the final showdown between Kuroko and Awaki is animated. Oh, and I just have to mention Awaki’s seiyuu, Sakurai Harumi, who performed the voice of Yurippe in Angel Beats!. It was great hearing that sexy voice again, and I’m hoping she does her epic “hohoho” laugh next episode.

 

Preview

*This episode covers volume 8 Chapter 1 to Chapter 3 “Between the Lines 3” (pages 20-142). The prologue of volume 8 was skipped, as it was covered in the first episode of Railgun. Also, J.C.Staff kind of bounced around some scenes that are important to the set up of the conclusion of this arc, which causes me to believe certain things that were skipped this episode may be animated next episode; we’ll see.

71 Comments

  1. what the… didn’t know Awasaki was voiced by Yurippe’s seiyuu -_-;; didn’t recognise the voice…

    Anyway, as I did not read the novel, the director have put TOO MUCH STUFF in this episode which, for us it’s hard to understand what the hell is going on. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but I bet majority of you guys are confused right now or watched the episode twice in order to understand the plot 😛

    However, it was a nice episode though: nice animation, BGM, new character etc… looking forward to see next episode!!

    Tenshi
  2. Well Suzuku, that’s just like your opinion man, but for me this was absolutely the most rape J.C. Staff has ever done to an adaptation of an Index light novel.
    The episode completely failed to capture Kuroko’s torment after being beaten by Awaki, and seemed like Kuroko could teleport flawlessly even with injuries, which she isn’t supposed to do.

    A lot of better scenes (Mikoto beating Awaki’s espers)could’ve been added if J.C. Staff removed the shower scene, which they seem to love so much, that they did it twice already.

    Mother of mercy.

    Gaze of Providence
    1. Read it again, it’s there.

      As a reply to your spoiler post: no, it is perfectly legitimate for Accelerator to show up here instead of later, if the above scene wasn’t present it would probably mean people are going to complain that Kamachi pulled a Deus ex machina for having Accelerator appear for no apparent reason at all.

      Gaze of Providence
  3. It’s good to have somebody who read the novels to post this. It gives a perspective of how J.C.Staff is doing their work. Still, Railgun rules. I mean, they took 13 episodes for an story, and the rest for another one (kind of related to the first one). Here they’re trying to peel all the novels in a fast paces story. Although they improved the “technobbable” thingy… still there’s a long way to go… and i don’t blame the production team, of course.

    Xanathos
  4. interesting to see the railgun and index universes collide. i had that railgun vibe in the beginning of this episode but going further in the episode it felt more “index-like”. Perhaps b/c of those blue backgrounds of the city. it was a good fit and seeing the transition of railgun to index, i sorta wished more of the railgun “exclusive” characters could appear in index, even though they’re barely in the novels.

    fishies
  5. Railgun is greater than Index 🙂 Was a little lost with the jumping around in the episode, but overall a decent episode

    Do they understand that fan service isn’t needed to make a anime series popular? focus on the storyline and skip wasted scenes

  6. Um….isn’t this to aru majutsu no index 2? The railgun series focuses on misaka as the main character and the index series focuses on touma as the main character. Both series take place in the same city with the same characters, but the plot is completely different. There is no to aru majutsu no railgun 2…but there is a to aru majutsu no index 2.

    syaimaral
    1. In case you haven’t already realized, there is a thing called sarcasm, mate.

      And with due respect, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Suzuku was merely being sarcastic with the “wrong” series title. Considering the episode has a more Railgun feel to it, as well as many of the Railgun characters returning.

      Kinny Riddle
    2. If you guys also note, its put as ‘To Aru MAJUTSU no Railgun’ NOT To Aru Kagaku no Railgun. I find it kind of funny personally, and quite frankly didnt notice it the first time i looked at the post lol

      noobiesnack
  7. To Aru Majutsu no Railgun II – 06

    Ah, Suzuku, I see you’ve finally gotten the name of the series correct. 🙂

    Mikoto, Misaka 10032 and Last Order – all in one episode, what more could one ask for? 😀

    Oh, there’s also plenty of Kuroko and Uiharu as well. Though no Saten around to flip Uiharu’s skirt. 🙁

    I know Yomikawa was asked to babysit Last Order and Accelerator, but surely she didn’t have to get both to share their bath time together, did she? Unless it was for her own entertainment, of course. And good thing Accelerator isn’t really that much of a lolicon, or at least, he’s very restrained when it comes to it. XD

    Kinny Riddle
  8. Index, how audacious of you to go and ask why the weather forecast’s been inaccurate lately. I wonder who it was that destroyed the Tree Diagram supercomputer satellite back in season 1? Hmm…

    https://randomc.net/image/To%20Aru%20Majutsu%20no%20Index/To%20Aru%20Majutsu%20no%20Index%20II%20-%2006%20-%20Large%2029.jpg

    PS For some reason, I just could not get turned on by Kuroko in her lingerie. Must be her excessive psycho-lesbo antics that did it for me. If it was Biribiri or Saten, I’ll be sure to faint from too much nosebleeding. lol

    Kinny Riddle
      1. I think it was the first arc in the first season, when that Index chick went all bat-sh*t berserk and had her beam-of-deadly-death deflected into space, resulting in the tree-diagram satellite blowing up.

        Or something like that.

        Don’t really remember much (aside from the Falcon Punching)

        Litho
      2. On the 6th episode of season one, Kanzaki pulled the tatami mats out from under index’s feet to give Touma a distraction so he can negate that feather thingy, but as a result she slipped and that huge laser went right up and destroyed the satellite.

        Suppa Tenko
    1. If you connect the dots, it would be that satellite that got hit by Index’s Dragon’s Breath back in episode 6 of the first season.

      Mikoto later references this in episode 12, that the supercomputer Tree Diagram was hit by an unknown attack from the surface of the earth.

      Gaze of Providence
  9. This episode was better in my opinion than the previous five with Index and Touma. I guess I enjoy Kuroko and Misaka in Railgun more than Index 2 itself. The story of this episode made more sense to me than the mini-arc we just went through. Easily this is the best episode so far.

  10. Nice episode indeed, I was so engrossed with watching it that I totally forgot it’s supposed to be Index instead of Railgun haha. I’m just wondering how this plays a plot in progressing the Index story? Even though Index and Railgun are both related to each other.

    Tenkou
  11. I was pleasantly suprised because I thought J.C. staff were only going to take a single episode to show volume 8. I agree that the shower scenes were kinda a waste of time and also that they absolutely failed to show Kuroko’s torment at the hands of Awaki. I’m pretty sure kuroko’s ability gets severly limited in the light novel due to her injuries, yet here she seems to go home, get bandaged up and is as good as new. J.C. really need to focus on the small details and stop wasting time on fan service scenes.

    Science
  12. Overall a good episode, BUT I STILL AM RAGING AT THE FACT THAT THEY LEFT OUT SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THE ACCEL/LO BATH SCENE. It explained why Last Order remembers Accelerator as well as being totally adorable, and I’m mad that J.C.Staff made it so short but left in the useless beginning with Kuroko and Mikoto shopping and taking a shower. The episode also didn’t show Awaki totally pwning Kuroko. For those who want to compare, it’s both scenes are here: http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=To_Aru_Majutsu_no_Index:Volume8_Chapter_2

    Suzushina Yuriko
  13. Heh I liked the episode, as I love the Railgun side of the things too.
    Kuroko has stepped into a real minefield where even lvl 5 Mikoto has real problems with forces she is taking on.
    Fans of every gender and orientation may rejoice for the service.

    ewok40k
  14. You do realize that Saten didn’t exist until the Railgun manga was published right? Don’t expect to see much of her, if at all. Maybe a few second cameo at best but there IS a reason why she wasn’t in the OP.

    fragb85
  15. I think what makes railgun much better is that they dont add too many new characters and also character development for the side characters, that said railgun was more enjoyable than index(both the character and series)

    amado
  16. This is boring. Pointless fan services. It was fun to have them but after a while it is getting old. The plot isn’t exciting at all. Most importantly when will science and magic finally collide !? It’s either a science episode or a magic episode. It’s lame.

    dusthoof
    1. Magic and Science colliding is exactly what the characters are trying to prevent, but it is of course inevitable.

      Keep on watching cause Touma’s actions is cooking up a storm.

      Gaze of Providence
  17. Surprise teleporting naked dropkick! Haha, I’ve been raring to see this scene ever since my brother (who reads the light novel translations) told me about it.

    And I see what you did there Suzuku. (LOL, nice one.) Heck, I noticed that the BGM used during Kuroko and Mikoto’s after-school shopping trip is the same one used in Railgun.

    Anyway, there I was, rejoicing at that scene and wanting to see more of Kuroko’s psycho lesbian antics… What the? Kuroko gets pwned by Awaki? HOLY S***, that’s one hell of a mood whiplash. Now I can’t wait to see how Touma intervenes in this mess.

    Incognito
  18. so next week will be conclusion of this arc?? that sure is short arc…
    oh well, at least we get to see not just moe biribiri, but also psycho-pervert teleporter and hopefully a battle involving imagine breaker 😀

    jrj
  19. Nice! I like your joke Suzuku.

    Well, this episode surely got a lot of Railgun-side fans going, and I admit it was good even though like you said there’s quite some stuff cut out just to fit into two episode, with the next one bringing vol 8 to a close.

    I had the most fun with Awaki’s appearance along with that BGM though. And the fact that Awaki pwned Kuroko.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Strike
  20. I actually enjoyed this episode a lot. And looking at it as an anime fan and not a light novel reader, the pacing was good. Gag at first, foreshadowing later and action at the end without too much useless stuff inbetween.

    That said, I’m always curious as to whether people that have seen/read other adaptations already might just be spoiled (or even elitist).

    SpacyRicochet
  21. Have to agree with what was said about the production quality in this episode – that was movie level stuff there as Kuroko was jumping through the city. Very beautiful to watch. I’ve always been a fan of the art style in anime and this ranked up there with the best of them – and although I dont see anything coming close to Haibane Renmei this was still a treat for the eyes.

    Good series is good.

    Thundershock81
  22. @Suzuku: I can’t remember who but Omni/Divine was/are serious when it comes to the series’ title. Can you change it back to Index??? I know it can be a joke but still the joke kinda sucks at this point.

    Really, people must stop linking Railgun with Science IN Index, it seems they still don’t know who is THE BOSS when it comes to science IN Index, and no, isn’t Mikoto nor Kuroko.
    In resume: Index’s Science side =/= Mikoto and co.

    @Kabayongtao: Unlike Index who calls Touma by his name alwasys, never, even from Index’s wikia, never and there are 22+ volumes of light novels.

    @Teikou:
    1. Is the aftermath of the Sisters Arc from Kuroko’s POV.
    2. Awaki Musujime is introduced <— the guide to Aleister's lair and also an important character for the Dark Side of Academy City.
    3. Shows Accelerator's current state and his return to take his role as protagonist in this serie (just wait the next episode, you will see).

    Dante
  23. aww, I thought the fight between the teleporters would be more epic. maybe the second round would be. have yet to read the novels but the railgun manga kind of explained the reason why misaka took up this course of action in detail so the episode was all right for me.

    Rainyday
  24. One thing to note, Suzuku. Accelerator, Last Order and Yomikawa were still inside the hospital. The first two weren’t discharged yet.

    Of course, this season is relatively faster in terms of pacing when compared to last season, since there’s a lot more action, but I’m a bit disappointed by the lack of focus on round 1 of Kuroko vs Awaki, like why Kuroko suddenly got her body tilted (she was teleported by Awaki like that, and one point I like to note about that is that Awaki actually mentioned that teleporters’ powers cannot work on each other.)

    Teh_ping
    1. Ah that’s right, thanks. And yeah, I’m a bit disappointed as well, but I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything since I read it. That said, next episode should be a lot less rushed, so hopefully round 2 will make up for the disappointing round 1.

  25. A serious Kuroko?? Never thought I would ever see that in a million years. Anyway agree on how fast things are moving this season, but then some people were complaining about last season being a bit slow. I think it’s fine seeing this part of the story getting animated, but I’m gonna have to go read the novel to get more out of it.

    CL100100

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