「大覇星祭」 (Daihaseisai)
“The Daihasei Festival”

Well Railgun is certainly back in business. After a full barrage of character introductions and quick teasers it’s full on biribiri as we get the first true teasers of story to come and the shenanigans just waiting down the line. Railgun may indeed may be taking its time right now, but somehow I imagine few are going to be complaining.

With the focus of the Daihaseisai arc being obviously sports it should not prove surprising our first proper taste of Railgun’s return would be in this category. Simplistic/cheesy footrace or not, hard denying this series has always had a knack for making the most cliché fun and we more than got that in spades in this week. Our uncommon pairing of Misaka and Kongo of course were going to win (obviously), but nothing says you cannot lighten the moment with some choice humour or some always rambunctious (read: insane) Kuroko. Oh and mama Misaka? I don’t think there’s any complaints on that front. Might take some effort to remember where this moment fell in Index II, but I think the intention—and adorable embarrassment—came through just fine. Yes, you can expect a Touma appearance before too long, because nothing says Railgun like a little Misaka tsundere action.

As for our other matters, well, we have some time to wait yet. The clashing philosophies between our two featured level fives for example is bound to yield some tasty scenery before too long considering their festival prominence, while Misaki’s continued emphasis both in scenes and OP/ED should be clue enough as to where the first part of this arc is going to focus its main efforts (as though last episode’s mention of the Sisters by Misaki wasn’t foreshadowing enough). Then comes the unfortunate (yet hilarious) wrangling of one of the Sisters into the festival fun, because nothing says entertainment like deadpan clones making fools of poor unfortunate minor villains. Sure, these boys (and girls) may be part of the underground group MEMBER (and Aztec members (heh) to boot), but if the Index-verse has any important lesson to learn, it’s that wannabes like this always end up impaling the short end of the electrified stick.

It’s still early days for the world and plot of Railgun T, but one way or another you can bet it won’t take long before the fireworks begin in earnest.

ED Sequence

ED: 「nameless story」 by Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets

9 Comments

  1. Unfortunately Index 3 never showed Xochitl in her disguise like it was supposed to, so this is the first time seeing it for some people. Also, when Etzali visited her in the hospital, she was meant to briefly mention a debacle that occurred at a place called Liberal Arts City that led to her punishment where she was meant to die assassinating Etzali.
    Railgun S made several mentions to the girls preparing for a field trip that you won’t be seeing this season. It took place between Railgun S and Railgun T and it may not surprise you to learn that the place they went was Liberal Arts City.

    oranges
  2. Kana Ueda fans are already spoiled for choice with Rin-faces Ishtar and Ereshkigal this season, but it’s still good to see the return of Railgun‘s resident meganekko, Mii Konori. (Man, I still can’t forget that swimsuit she wore back in Season 1…)

    Had a laugh at Sogiita Gunha improvising his “athlete’s pledge”…to the discomfort of Misaki. That being said, (and without going into spoiler territory) is the opening credits (foreshadowing?) scene of him teaming up with Touma really gonna happen this season?

    Other thoughts:
    – Flustered Mikoto is gold. As does Mikoto hiding from her imouto clone. Ditto Kuroko’s facial expressions.
    – Mikoto and Mitsuko tied together… (Lewd thoughts acting up again…)
    – Hamsters that steal undies? Hehe, Kazuma would be proud.
    – Can’t wait to find out what kind of trouble is lurking in the background.

    Incognito
    1. Essentially, Index and Railgun are two separate storylines set in the same universe running in parallel with one another, sharing the same character pool with a LOT of crossover, but with different protagonists and (mostly) covering different events.

      Index is the main series, while Railgun is a spin-off.

      Railgun does not have more animated stories than Index, however – both have three anime seasons (though obviously Railgun’s third season only just started), Index has a movie, and Railgun has an OVA, so at most I’d say they’re equal on that front.

      Veltharis

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