「Eternal Party」

It’s that time of the year again. The end of the summer season heralds Railgun S’ final episode, and it’s an one whose title couldn’t be more fitting. Because when you have virtually everyone in the cast coming together for the last hurrah, it really is an eternal party, and there ain’t nothing like fighting off 20,000 powered suits for some early morning exercise. Add in a side of “bringing some justice” and what we end up getting is an action packed ending that highlights what Railgun’s been about all throughout it’s two season run: friendship. And while some may have some qualms with some of the over the top developments (some of which were quite similar to the Index movie) here this week, I gotta say, I quite liked how they finished things off here.

Granted, it’s probably because I’m a sucker for when series give us some throwbacks to the past, but yeah, there was a whole lot of that this episode, and it was a pretty darn nice touch having both themes from Railgun and Railgun S playing all throughout the conflict. Combine that with the return of ITEM, the general “GAR” nature of the episode, as well as the fairly nice resolution Shinobu gets in regards to her “creations”… and you get a finale that provides us with a conclusive ending, sets up for the Index movie, finalizes the “ties” between the Sister’s Arc and this one, and tops things off with a nice contrast with the Sister’s Arc too (in regards to this arc’s more upbeat nature). Sure, Aritomi ended up being quite the terrible villain, but all things considered, I feel like they did a pretty decent job doing what they did in a mere 7 episodes, even if it did end up paling quite a bit in comparison to the Sister’s Arc overall.

Either way though, the fact of the matter remains that we won’t see any Railgun for a little while now that this season’s come to a close, and I’m admittedly quite sad about it. There just ain’t quite anything like waking up for the weekend with some BiriBiri, and I’m going to miss how they go about “handing invitations to another’s party without asking” (to quote Aritomi). With that said though, I’ll let the screencaps tell the rest of the story here, and shift down to the Final Impressions (you’ll find this below).

Full-length images: 15.

 

ED3.24 Sequence

 

Quick Final Impressions:

In looking back at Railgun S, this was one of those cases where it was a clear tale of two halves—the first half being the Sister’s Arc and the second half being the Febri Arc. Generally, the first half was arguably a masterpiece in every sense of the word. Not only did it provide us with spectacular, emotional developments, it demonstrated that it’s possible to still make something great even if viewers know what’s going to happen, and it’s generally something that few series dare to try, let alone succeed with.

Sadly however, the overall appreciation of the series is lessened somewhat by the second half, which ended up being an all original filler arc. As I’ve stated previously, this filler arc doesn’t end up being “bad” by any stretch of the word, but the thing is that it comes on the heels of arguably one of the best arcs of any series I’ve seen in awhile, and it’s really a bit ironic, because one can say that many of us felt the second half was worse than it was precisely because of how great the Sister’s Arc was.

With that said, I feel like Railgun S as a whole did ultimately meet everyone’s expectations in the end—even if that ends up mostly due to the Sister’s Arc more than anything—and it’s essentially all that matters at this point. Now that we’ve gotten here however, it’s sadly time to bid adieu to the lovable cast for the time being, and I’d just like to take this time to once again thank viewers for viewing/commenting both on my Railgun S posts and on the site in general. Hopefully my posts have contributed at least somewhat positively toward your viewing experience in regards to Railgun S, and I hope you’ll join me for my future coverage of other series as well. Until then, it’s a fond farewell, and I guess I’ll see you guys around.

102 Comments

    1. They seem to operate in two year intervals recently. I highly doubt it will be all that long as the Index movie made at least 490 million yen in theatres and sold pretty much 40,000 units in Blu-ray sales and Railgun is doing around the 15,000-ish area.

      It’s not a cash cow series like Madoka, Monogatari, SnK or K-On! (one these things is not like the others…), but it’s a moneymaker. Something that can’t be said about many other anime.

      Kuntzy
  1. I will miss watching Railgun and co… Great show, epic OP, characters…

    Even though this arc wasn’t that all that, this last episode definitely made up for it. Although we have unexplainable things like how they can breathe just short of leaving the atmosphere and so on, I guess “Judgement-to desu yo”, Misaka sisters, Kongou + Wannai + Awatsuki and ITEM (Mugino + Frenda!!) definitely made this episode awesome.

    Kongou airline Eketerina II S….my goodness….

    Meanwhile to anyone who is suffering from Railgun withdrawal….

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhHwyrPIXq8

    mianghuei
    1. Actually I think it was “Judgement desu no”; Kuroko has a habit of ending her sentences with the feminine copula “no”, and they did say to “say it like Shirai-san”.

      INFERTakuya
  2. Even if people complain about how this last arc was filler, especially with this ending I think it was a pretty good addition especially because of the added character interactions from people such as Kongou and Shinobu (especially her since this is so much better than being forgotten) And whatever else the ending fight was awesome, so even though the start was kinda uninteresting this episode was worth it.

    HakumeiJin
    1. My issue was not so much that it was filler (because I still enjoyed the arc) but that there were big conflicts with established timeline and characterization. An example being the final line about going to Liberal Arts City when not only should it have already happened but its aftereffects were already cameod in an earlier episode.

      Longhaul
      1. timeline fit perfectly this is Febri arc is directly after Sister arc but before angel fall but before and at the same time as angel fall arc then you got Touma fake date then Kazakiri hyouka (Cherry cromwell incident) then Liberal art then Orsola arquines ,next is road to they Endymion psp game then tree diagram remnant and miracle of endymion and finally Daihaseisai, i really want to see index III really badly railgun III is fine too!

        PeTdo
      2. Ur right; the febri arc takes place during from angel fall right up until the morning of the 30th of august i believe. This arc happening during angel fall wouldnt matter because people around the world were not aware that they had switched bodies so technically, we are watching this arc from the perspective of the characters. Obama (kuroko), throughout this arc is wearing a tokiwadai school uniform trying to molest his(her…shlis??) onee-sama all the while showing off shlis badass teleporting skills without she or anyone realizing that her appearance has changed. Oh and when the arc ended some time has passed; probably two days or so because Mikoto is now sporting her flower hairclip and which is why you see accelerator in the hospital and Toma back in school due to the start of the new term

        sonicsenryaku
      3. I’m a bit confused with the timeline for this one. The last shots show that Last Order is already with Accelerator, but a few episodes ago, Mikoto was talking about someone following her (referencing Mitsuki). Does this mean the Three Stories Arc is done?

        akoe2
  3. Damn I’m going to miss this show. Overall i even enjoyed the filler arc because it ended on a high note and managed to tie in some actual people and events into it to make it legitimate (even Endymion Tower…or Elevator?) Gotta love the girl power being shown here, a few off the top of my head:
    Kongou- she sure had a lot of screen time to show her epicness in this ep which i liked, I didn’t even know that her family owned an airline.
    Wannai & Maaya- I’m just glad those two got the chance to showcase their powers with them teaming up,looking cool while doing so as I might add~
    Kuroko- a best friend anyone can ever hope for, she’ll have your back. Like how they had her team up with Misaka briefly like they did at the end of season 1.
    Saten- who needs powers when you have a bat and fast reflexes?! Gotta love that she still keeps to her true perverted self even in the middle of a battle, plus her piloting the mecha was so kickass “Just so you know I’m a level 0!”
    Mugino- goes to show cheap mechanical duplications can’t go up against the real thing, which apparently pisses off the real thing
    *insert every other female character from this episode!)
    Lastly is of course Misaka- the beloved Railgun who finally accepts the helps from others and saves the day (even the help from “Starry-Eyes”) and saves her Lolis…and ends up with two! Accelerator and Touma have some competition.
    In the end I didn’t care this was a filler, granted the antagonist weren’t that great, but everything else was good for a 7 ep arc…though I do say I kind of wish to see more of Kuroko Obama.

    SDFGS
    1. Oh well, this was definitely a power-of-friendship fest, and everyone went to the party…
      Even if the villains boss was terribly pathethic (he was not deserving Touma’s punch, Mikoto armor-piercing slap was more than enough!), the finale really was great, with plenty of action, and everyone contributing in their own ways. As I hoped, even Mugino and ITEM showed up (trying to copy Mugino’s powers looks like biggest, bright red idiot ball STUDY did pick up, although they have collected enough of them to play game of snooker…) Also, as I hoped, we do get a closure on Shinobu (she looks great in her goth outfit – now I know where did Febri’s first outfit come from…) who gets to take care of Febri and Janie abroad (I guess dr Frogface made the necessary arrangements to keep the girls well away from Academy City’s assorted mad scientists, while Kongou’s father conveniently provided means of quietly smuggling them out of the city). Finally, we do get a glimpse of what is to come with mention of the trip to Arts City…

      ewok40k
  4. If I were to make a watched/expected/got chart for Railgun S I would have to say I got what I wanted and hoped for.

    Looking forward to the enevitable third season of either Index or Railgun.

    Longhaul
      1. IMHO he had luck with adapting the 5th version of the Sisters Arc. After having that much adaptations and years since 2007 you only had to make it better and/or stretch it, isn’t like there was more material to adapt like Liberal Arts… oh wait.

        Now compare it to the Silent Party Arc.

        Wilfriback
      1. Season I:

        – Touma getting his right arm cut off.
        – Touma finding a bloody dead Sister after Accelerator killed her.
        – Tsuchimikado losing his insides out because magic.
        – Accelerator getting a shot in the head.
        – Kazakiri getting her head broken by a flying brick.

        To say some I remember.

        Wilfriback
  5. Railgun S was a good season.

    sister’s arc was amazing, depsite the fact that its last few episodes were basically a recap to the arc in Index..it was still very good.

    Febri arc wasn’t that good as sisters. it had its own flaws due to being filler, but put that aside, except for the last episdoe, the others in this arc weren’t too much interesting, and everything was quite expected, in very much contrast to Railgun arc we know, cause the previous season had an amazing finish arc.
    still, this arc was nice, the last episode was very..intense. pretty much reminded me the final parts of the movie – integration of all characters with intensive fighting scenes. though it was for only an episode, it was done very well.

    I don’t know too much about it, but rumor has it the filler,especially last episode, isn’t consistent well with the novel’s timeline.

    eventually, I agree that Railgun S did meet the expectations and I really enjoyed it throughout the entire series. well done studio JC STAFF. I hope for Index 3 ASAP.

    thedarktower
  6. On a side note,
    I wonder why Warner Bros. is one of the investors/owners of this show.

    Are they realizing some anime, like Railgun, has HUGE international audience so it would be a good idea to start making investments to secure international rights?

    Neck Neck Neck
    1. It’s actually Warner Bros. Japan. They’ve been in anime for a little bit now actually. Recently they’ve been apart of Accel World and Little Busters, but they’ve also been apart of flops like Kami-sama no Memo-chō, so it’s not really about the North American side of things.

      It’s very much like Sony except backwards. Sony is a Japanese company, yet their subsidiary, Sony of America, is a major player in Hollywood and the American music industy.

      Kuntzy
  7. I am genuinely surprised at how many power-less Judgement members there were. You would think of a volunteer force intended to protect the peace in a city of espers, most of the members would have combat-related abilities. (Not all, but at least half).

    Also, I can’t be the only one who thought: “I bet 10,000 Sisters could stop 20,000 robots quite easily.”

    I am very happy to see Shinobu’s story get some resolution, as opposed to her just being forgotten like in the manga.

    Rasen
    1. While its true Judgment is pretty crappy against espers or magicians, wait till u see the grand ‘finale’ of the original Index series Show Spoiler ▼

      Klaz
  8. This last episode really gave me goosebumps, especially when seeing the electric currents for the railgun.

    I will admit, I was wondering if there would be a final battle but the maneuvering of all the characters really impressed me, from Kongou’s ejection attacks to Mugino’s meltdowner.

    In overall, the railgun series really gave put an impression on me, loving all the scientific adventures Misaka is experiencing in Academy City. 🙂

    Dualash
  9. Um… Zephyr… I think the link labled “creations” is linked to the wrong picture, since it’s currently going to Mikoto and friends sleeping, rather than any of Shinobu’s “children.”

    …Why do I always have to be the one who points this out? Doesn’t anyone else click on those links?

    Wanderer
  10. Best parts of the episode is the intro Judgement! I already love it everytime Kuroko says it, but to have a big cast of known characters and what almost seems like all the students of Academy City do it was just great. I can’t forget about Ekaterina II S, Alteisen’s big sister, Kyosuke would be proud ;p.

    This has to be one of the only anime series that shows love to all of its characters by having an ensemble style episode or movie like Index’s. With so many good characters to choose from it’s hard for me to choose a single favorite so I just group them together (I’ll always love the sisters the most <3)

    Season 3 please

    Magoiichi
  11. My only complain is that Shokuhou got introduced in episode 1 and never seen again till this ending sequence, WTF lol. Hope she gets more screentime and a relevant role in Season 3, if there is one.

    YanDaMan
    1. Oh she will, believe me. The only reason she was introduced is because introducing her in the same way as the manga would screw up continuity so they decided to include her in this season as a treat. Her fanbase has pretty much exploded in popularity since her introduction.

      Kuntzy
  12. OK ending for an OK filler arc IMO. We finally got some action and there was a lot of it which made it fun to watch. While the filler didn’t reach the level of the Sister’s Arc (which was outstanding IMO), I’m actually glad that the director/producers went this route.

    Fillers can be risky. Those that I’ve watched rarely turn out as well as the original material. However, why I like the use of a filler in this case so much is that the director/producers made a conscious effort to take whatever time was necessary to do the Sisters Arc right. Whether it was 12, 15, or in this case 16 episodes that were needed to do the best job possible, that’s the amount of time they would take.

    For me, it’s a much appreciated deviation from what seems to be an increasing number of adaptations which either make significant, typically unnecessary modifications to the original material, and/or cut out large chunks of material while rushing ahead in order to finish at a “good” ending point.

    So even if the filler wasn’t quite up to the usual Railgun standards, I think the season as a whole was a great success. One last item: I entered the the season as a big Arai Satomi (Kuroko) fan. I still am, but I might be an even bigger Satou Rina fan now. She did an absolutely outstanding job as Misaka’s VA IMO – especially for Episode 14. Just brilliant.

    More than ready for the next season of Railgun or Index. Just keep them coming.

    daikama
  13. While the Febri arc wasn’t anything special it doesn’t make the series as a whole any worse.

    The majority of this season was the Sisters Arc and it really was a masterpiece. The highs and lows of that arc will be something I’ll remember for quite a while. They came through big in that respect. The best episodes in the Sisters Arc could go up against any series that was airing at the same time. Mikoto had some great character development at the end of the day.

    This episode and the arc in general was somewhat a long epilogue. It tied some things up such as with Shinobu while cementing where Mikoto stands after what she has been through.

    Is sad to say farewell to Railgun for a while. But it certainly will be back.

  14. Bang up last episode. It way outshone the Index movie ending even though they both threw as many cameos into the mix as possible. Any episode that has the Sisters in it is a good one IMO, no matter what the rest of the episode is like. Satisfying way to end the show.

    1. Wonder will the new Accelerator spin-off add on to that parallel timeline.
      They couldn’t be planning a Hamazura Shiage/ITEM spin-off (and further add on to the timeline), right?

      Woah, the Index-verse.

      iron2000
  15. This was a good action-y ending. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and I am happy to see Shinobu escaping the clutches of the city with Febri and Janie. Yeah, I enjoy happy endings. Shinobu’s earned hers; it wasn’t just handed to her.

    Bit of a contrast to the Index movie: despite both of them having a big crew assemble for the final battle, Railgun handled it much better, because everyone who was here had a plot-justifiable reason to be here. Even Judgement’s arrival as reinforcements makes sense and was foreshadowed. And that’s all part of what makes it feel pretty awesome in this case, rather than cheap the way it felt when everybody and their cat showed up as the cavalry in the movie.

    Wanderer
    1. lol what?

      -So you have Judgment, esper who… have power! But kept watching with their shields.
      -You got Saten driving a mecha by reading the manual.
      -Mugino not attacking Misaka out of anger(she is that crazy).
      -Pathetic villains that even call themselvs the darkness of the city. Really, these guys will be stuffed in some oven and burned down to crisp and the real dark side would call it a day.
      -Shinobu escaping from the City. JFYI every student has nanomachines inside them. So tracking them to find them isn’t that hard and even if that doesn’t works there is other mechanisms in the air to track them down, observe and hear any sound they make and have about 4 or 5 satellites to observe them even if they’re taking a bath.

      Getting outside AC isn’t that easy.

      – They just stuffed every single character they could cram and save the day with the power of friendship.

      Wilfriback
  16. Haha, in true Railgun fashion they offer us a finale filled with cheesiness and diabetes inducing friendship momentss and yet I loved every moment of it. It helps when they play 4 of the 5 Railgun openings (they missed the best one though) as inserts (F*ck yeah fripSide!).

    Silent Party wasn’t as good as the Sister’s Arc, but it held it’s own and managed to be a rather nice complimentary arc. It was quite the difference in moods from the Sister’s Arc in that Mikoto was willing to rely on her friends as opposed to the “I have to shoulder things on my own” attitude she adopted in the previous arc.

    Now to wait for Index s3. Wouldn’t mind Railgun s3 happening first though. Need more Misaki.

    Kuntzy
  17. Despite the quick conclusion, I like how they put the first and season OPs in this episode. It sounds really awesome.
    Anyway, overall it was really enjoyable. I kind of like it more than the first season. The Sisters Arc was perfect, while the Febri Arc was pretty nice.
    Thank you. I had a great time reading your reviews on this every week, Zephyr.

    Seorori
    1. Daihaseisai Arc would take as much episodes as Sister’s Arc, maybe more.
      Not to mention that it isn’t over yet.
      And… Show Spoiler ▼

      Mugino and ITEM’s appearance is already good enough for this season. 🙂

      Seorori
  18. You would think that Pacific Rim would at least sport some giant sized Pile Bunkers… But yeah… guess we can chalk up the crazy imagination of the Japanese due to that little nuke the US dropped on them…….

    I am gonna miss Railgun and hope we can see more of Railgun in the future.

    Also I still hold on some hope that the Index series gets another shot at an anime with Railgun S’s director. While I have no complaints on the quality of the Index series.. I and like many of the others here enjoy the Railgun series oh so much more….

    Radler
  19. It wasn’t too bad as an anime original.

    The original arc for Season 1 saw the redemption for Kiyama-sensei, the antagonist for the Level Upper Arc.

    The original arc for Season 2 saw the redemption for Nunotaba, partly responsible for the Level 6 Shift project.

    Rather than just being a bland filler that’s easily forgotten, these anime originals actually address gaps not accounted for by the manga, and add to the franchise, making it richer.

    Even the space elevator Endymion makes a cameo. The movie taking place way after this arc, between the Remnant Arc and the Daihaseisai Arc, so Endymion is not yet ready.

    echykr
  20. Nice season and I hope a third one comes along, after a third season of Index of course. The anime original arc is nice, along with the reference to the Index movie. It just “feels like Railgun”.

    There’s plenty of things to do in both timelines and I hope Index and Railgun would continue the path they had been treading. One that, for me, can be a measure used on how one does a sci-fi, highschool, fantasy anime.

    TheMoondoggie
  21. Gotta love that “Judgemento desu no” by everyone, and Kuroko goes “WHAT?!” and Misaka laughs her heart out upon hearing this. 🙂

    I can’t deny I feel a bit sad and I am going to miss this series. I’m going to miss seeing my Onee-sama in action (even her childish antics). This is one of those anime series that I always look forward to every week. There’s still a lot of story to tell in the world of To Aru Majutsu no Index. I really hope there’s more to come and hope JC Staff does it very well again.

    Misaka Mikoto’s dialogue in this episode:

    “I know someone who was already too strong and still tried to become stronger. I know people who despise not having any powers, just like you, who did inhuman things, trying to get them. I know people who thought that they were just puppets, and silently accepted a cruel fate. And I know a complete idiot who thought that they could just die, if that’s what it took to protect them. But who’s stronger or weaker, who comes out on top or bottom. None of that matters.”

    Yuhsaku
  22. Always a bit heartbroken when a season of Index or Railgun comes to an end. Can’t wait to see more – I hope next time they do Index, it’s as high quality as Railgun S was.

    Something I absolutely love about the franchise is the cameos. They have such a huge cast, but work with it so well – and when Mikoto or Touma show up in each other’s series I always swoon. The way they work with the extended cast makes the world feel like it has a lot of depth, and when I’m watching I always find myself saying ‘I hope _____ shows up soon!”

    Harpy12
  23. im going to miss railgun, the last part was epic as expected,
    how long i waited for misaka doing her ultimate move towards last boss *missle* lol, i definitely goin to missed each and every railgun shot that misaka present XD

    frost
  24. It’s heavily implied Mikoto asked a huge favour from Shokuhou to wipe off the memories of STUDY in order to buy Nunotaba’s freedom. (Just what kind of pride would Mikoto lose in order to ask such a request is from Shokuhou up to the imagination of the fanfic writers and doujin artists, considering every doujin out there has depicted Shokuhou as a crazy dominatrix. :3 )

    Pity that that’s about it for her appearance in the Febri Arc, as I was starting to like her.

    I know we already have four Level 5s appear in this series, and I’m not so greedy as to ask for them all to appear in the same scene, but I was kind of hoping for at least more dialogue time with Shokuhou.

    echykr
  25. Giant robot! Space!
    Not bad 😛

    Misaka’s growth from lone wolf to team player.
    In turn affecting Shinobu.

    They managed to flash out the character of Kongou, was surprised at her mechanic skills.
    Not the empty “hohohoho” rival anymore.

    What STUDY’s plans are were obvious but I never thought deep about the star status of espers and the neglecting of academic talent.
    Isn’t it Academic City?
    Seems like its really a big laboratory with a fixed plan in mind (Aleister Crowley’s plan?) and most what we saw was just some side show.
    Would be good to have some prequel to how Academic City started, perhaps with (young?) Aleister Crowley as protagonist. lol, ‘Aru Mahou/Kagaku no Crowley’ 😛

    That giant robot kind of reminded me of the Jinki, the cockpit specifically.

    Was the movie after this or before, I see the missile is being launched from that place from the movie.

    Why was Aritomi so bent on making it at Academic City, we could venture elsewhere outside Academic City to make it big, somewhere where they value his talents.

    lol, fly them elsewhere as the Silent Party arc is in the middle of an already established canon.
    Perhaps we will see Janie and Febri later on, or maybe sooner if another side arc get inserted in the hopefully next anime season? Or perhaps a side novel or manga?

    Big scale battle finale, yup I’m satisfied 😛
    Maybe not.
    I want more 😀

    iron2000

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