「追跡封じ(ルートディスターブ)」 (Tsuiseki Fuuji (Ruuto Disutaabu))
“Pursuit Prevention (Route Disturb)”

Whether you care for long expositions not, they’re one of the defining points of this series and we’re given a big dose of it this week. Personally, I’m not a fan of it being overused for story progression, but surprisingly didn’t mind when a good chunk of this episode was devoted to explaining Oriana’s abilities and why she has the nickname “Route Disturb”. Admittedly, that’s mostly attributed to the fact that she had just shown up recently though. It may be hard to believe, but I was actually curious about her character beyond her scant choice of clothing. The way the story played up the Stab Sword that she’s transporting helped in that regard, considering that both Stiyl and Tsuchimikado didn’t hesitate to use some extreme methods as professionals to locate Oriana. Leading up to the latter’s use of a Senjutsu Enjin circle to help locate her autonomous counter spells, a.k.a. Shorthand, I did get a good laugh from seeing them make use of Touma’s Imagine Breaker as they pleased. Neither Stiyl nor Tsuchimikado hesitated to throw him right in front of Oriana’s traps, which just goes to show how “professional” they are when it comes to using a civilian as a human shield. While I’m sure Touma is more than willing to help out in this operation, it was pretty hilarious to see how pissed off he was because they didn’t run it by him first. Instead, it was just a shove from behind with a blast coming at his face, and Stiyl telling him it’s his turn. Such misfortune.

Incidentally, I do like how Touma’s become an integral part of this operation. This includes how he dispelled the Shorthand effects from Stiyl and how he was the one they banked on to destroy to magic inscription once it was found. Rather than just being thrown into one mess after another, Touma’s a bit more privy to what’s actually going on from the start this time, so that’s a nice little change of pace. Still, it didn’t save him from surprises like being shoved into the mud in order to sneak into the middle school where the Shorthand was, for those who actually like to see Touma get abused every now and then. Ultimately, that comedic turn of events did pave way for the most enjoyable portion of this episode. As I’m still suspect of how Touma and Tsuchimikado could ever pass off as middle schoolers, the sight of Mikoto irked over exactly what he was doing there was absolutely hilarious. I can’t quite say the same thing about the cut-throat ball-toss game between Tokiwadai and Minamisawa that followed suit, but in terms of more Touma x Mikoto misunderstandings, this had to be one of the better moments to date. Given all the time he spent confusing her with his misleading words, he could have just as easily told her not to touch that pole because it’s rigged with a trap and spared her from all those thoughts. As such, I would’ve been ripping on Touma for bringing any potential electric punishment upon himself, had I not been enjoying Mikoto’s flustered face at all the stuff he was spouting out about protecting her.

In light of that, sensibility can go out the window for all I care, since Mikoto’s dere side made up for it almost immediately. Unfortunately, Seiri ends up being the victim because the two of them were rolling around in the dirt together for too long, which by the looks of it, suggests that Touma’s ready to punch Oriana in the face. It still amuses me how Touma will always preach about all this righteous stuff, but hitting girls is never one of them. To his credit, it looks like he’s a true believer in “equality” between sexes.

Blogging Note: Much like STAR DRIVER, I’ll be covering this series from now on. This should translate to much more timely posts on a consistent basis.

 

Preview

49 Comments

  1. Why does Touma look like Naruto. And Mikoto is the reason I watch. Her Derek does really make everything awesome again. She’s like.. Ika now or something. Whereas my whole day is good again when I see her. Haha

    Shirt
  2. Even while reading the novel, I was confused on how freaking far was it was from one pole to the other if it takes forever to check even one. Touma should have just physically touch and rub each one to be safe and run through them all. Judging by Touma and Tsuchimikado’s cross city marathon they are running, they should have had plenty of time to run through each pole.

    xcswmboy
  3. I have boobs, you must obey…

    “I smell the stench of defeat!”
    Yeah…300 or so Minamisawa students with little to no ability against 30 or so Tokiwadai students with high-level abilities… Yep, one heck of a lopsided match indeed, if not for Touma and Tsuchimikado deciding to muck things up. 😀 Loved Mitsuko Kongo’s cameo though.

    As always, don’t push yourself Divine. You’ll need the energy for the other series you’re already covering this season. Fighto!

    Incognito
  4. I am feeling bad for Seiri now… she is like constantly getting the short end of the stick… first getting wet, then was seen naked, then this… Touma, you got to take care your rare harem member who has right proportion 🙁
    More BiriBiri for the win!!

    jrj
  5. Oriana isnt your average villain though… she isnt gloating to enemy’s face, makes her escapes quickly, sets her traps carefully and about the only thing I don’t like about her was setting up dangerous spell in a civilian-crowded area. Oh and she’s hawt even in work clothes 😛
    deredere Mikoto is so sweet…
    Tsuchimikado impresses me with his willingness to take magical punishment. Sure he doesnt treat Touma any better than magical lightning rod, but he is taking much worse hits. I wonder where his true loyalties lie, besides obvious reporting to the Academy City Big Boss.

    ewok40k
  6. Well I cant say I was a fan of Suzaku’s writing style, but its still too bad that had to be done.No matter I do prefer Divine’s posts as I seem to share similar opinions about shows. Just dont overwork yourself.

    As far as the episode itself, you had to feel for the middle school that had a 10 to 1 numbers advantage and still were not looking forward to going against Tokiwada.

    Longhaul
  7. umm is it me or hasn’t any one notice the huge cloud bursts during the sports competition. i mean I know they have powers and all but isn’t more like to get hit by those bursts and damaged than badly hidden traps? I know it has happened since the previous episode,no one just took notice. all I am saying is “my goodness their sports festivals are brutal!!!”

    love how Biribiri goes dere dere

    Jack Vojack
  8. Anyone else annoyed by these whiny Saten fanboys? BAW, WHERE’S SATEN, this show sucks without her. Ever since Index II started, they won’t stfu. Apparently her completely hijacking the Railgun anime wasn’t enough. In the Railgun source material, she’s a minor character. So there’s absolutely no reason for her to appear in the Index anime. For ***ks sake, she doesn’t even go to the same school as Mikoto.

    That whole “4 girl group” dynamic in the Railgun anime is an illusion anyway. JCstaff just wanted to cash in on the K-On wave. So instead of an anime focused on Mikoto, we got “cute girls doing cute things”.

    A certain annoyed person
    1. As a part Saten-fanboy myself, I’ll have to say that your patronizing attitude is totally uncalled for.

      So far I’ve not seen too much excessive whining and bitching about Saten’s absence, just some jestful wishful thinking, knowing full well she most probably won’t appear.

      Nobody is asking you to pay attention to those posts, they were merely making a harmless opinion and had no intention of trolling anyone, unlike you.

      Kinny Riddle
      1. …it seems to me you take the show a little more seriously than most of the readers here. No, not everyone doesn’t like Saten is a troll, unless they go out of their way to troll about it. Honestly, what could possibly be the problem with seeing more of a character? Perhaps you should stop putting so much damn effort Into hating fictional characters, quit trying to decide which series is better, and just sit back and enjoy the show.

        Da5id
    2. Agreed!!
      This Index, not Railgun!!
      Index > Railgun!!

      Never been great fan of Saten too, i like Briri biri but i dont worship her like many do and think she is the only soul of this anime when she’s a mere side character…

  9. I like Saten the most of the Railgun cast, her action with the baseball bat in the finale was top-notch, but this just isn’t her show. Deal with it, grit your teeth and pray for Railgun season 2.

    ewok40k
    1. I never understood why people thought that scene was so “epic”. She just walked down a hallway, found the control panel, then smashed it with a baseball bat. She didn’t meet any resistance or anything. Which really just reflects badly on the villain of that arc, having no one guarding her one weakness was just foolish. Then again, that entire situation was just a plot device so Saten could be useful. I mean, its not even like they have a lack of people without esper powers in the city. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me? But if I had to choose to bring a powerless person with me for that mission, I would pick an adult who is trained for it, over some random middle school girl with a bat.

      A certain annoyed person
      1. well, cue the tropes: Adults/Police are useless… in real world bunch of teenage vigilantes would be pretty much useless altogether, and might I add chances of creating mecha-armed mercenary army in the midst of city as controlled as tha Academy City was slim to begin with…

        ewok40k
    2. Are you implying that Railgun was actually Saten’s show and not of The Railgun herself? (Which I would not deny since J.C. Staff has actually managed to make it seem that Saten has any relevance in the story)

      However, whilst I can’t deny a prospective 2nd season of Railgun could occur; a season 2 of Railgun would practically render JC Staff’s 4 girl ensemble non-existent. Unless, you know, they want to horribly change the story in order weasle those other guys in. Do people really want that shit to happen?

      Gaze of Providence
  10. Oooh, Touma you sure are one sly fox. First you roll poor Biribiri over in the dirt, and then you proceed to embrace an unconscious Seiri afterwards. 🙂

    Anyway, Mikoto just gets more and more dere as time passes. She was rarely that dere even in Railgun.

    And speaking of Railgun, woot for cameo for Kongo Mitsuko, but when will it be Saten-san or Konori-senpai’s turn? ToT

    Kinny Riddle
  11. Well, I for one really enjoyed this episode, long exposition or not. Actually, I don’t even see how Index can be criticised for such a thing anymore since it’s what the show is known for. Loved the biri-biri parts as always, i’m curious as to where this season will end in terms of the LN.

    Science
  12. What happened to Suzuku? I don’t mind Divine blogging this, but Suzuku actually read the light novels and could clear up issues regarding how the anime glosses over important information. Plus, it’s just adding on to Divine’s workload.

    I have to say that the animation for this episode is horrible. J. C. Staff should have just made it mainly consistent like in the first season of Index. Instead, we get gorgeous animation in one episode and crappy animation in another. That scene with Kuroko teleporting in the sky in the Remnant arc looked nice, but there was no point in putting that in since Kuroko took the normal route originally and there was no reason for her to do acrobatic tricks in the sky while she was injured. I sense favoritism for Mikoto and the rest of the Railgun cast, and I don’t like it.

    To clear up some things that might have confused people:

    Oriana’s way of attacking, Shorthand, is basically writing mini-grimoires that contain spells. However, her grimoires are too sloppy and self-destruct after a certain amount of time. They’re centered around four elements – water, wind, fire, and earth. Oriana deliberately mixes the wrong combination of words and colors (for example, the color of fire is red but she would write “firesymbol” in blue) to invoke an unstable spell and produce a certain effect or attack, which is dangerous. It’s like purposely mixing together random elements in chemistry to produce an explosion.

    In the original light novel, when the basket (which is 30kg) was about to crush that girl, Touma actually managed to pull both of them out of the way but an explosion that resulted from esper powers colliding made it fall towards their direction again (just his luck) before being shot by a railgun.

    If you’re annoyed by how people have to tell Touma to cancel things, it’s because Touma’s learned to be careful. IB is not an all-purpose solution to everything. If perhaps the counterspell made people turn into an unstable supernatural existence like Hyouka, then IB would kill them. Touma does not know anything about magic and has to rely on a professional’s advice to know what he can or can’t cancel safely. In Seiri’s case he was also shocked before Tsuchimikado snapped him out of it.

    Suzushina Yuriko

Leave a Reply to Kinny Riddle Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *