「バルーンハンター」 (Baruun Hantaa)
“Balloon Hunter”

Well Railgun is certainly back into its motions. From ridiculous sports to teasers and even outright trouble on the horizon, all the remaining bits and bobs decorating this scientific force have now entered the picture, and the time is nigh for getting to the good stuff. Oh and the Fist of Justice? Told ya so!

While sports festivals are about as cliché as anime gets, one has to admit the showcase of Tokiwadai skill (or lack of it) was pretty damn fun this week. Not only did we get another bit of comedic and well-deserved Sister attention with fighting talent and deadpan hilarity, but another succinct example of how esper powers aren’t always the magic (heh) bullet. When one relies on physical prowess to overcome all, mental aspects (e.g. planning, coordination, organization) take a back seat because hey, who needs to think when you can just smash face? Except of course where that talent cannot compensate. As the opponents of the moment showed (and one ever lovable teacher indicated) it pays to not become arrogant and always recognize/account for your own weaknesses, because doing so can often pull victory from the jaws of defeat.

Of course Tokiwadai’s loss wasn’t entirely down to differences in strategy. The deliberate targeting of Misaka through her Sister should be indication enough that this arc won’t be all about sportsmanship, and that Misaki also has her own cloning schemes afoot. It’s not immediately apparent that Misaki or her friends/allies ordered the incapacitation (our MEMBER culprit never realized who the Sister actually was for example), but considering how Index-verse stories typically go you can firmly bet on some connection between our well-endowed blondie and the mystery clientele. Still after already going through another (albeit unintentional) Sister-napping in Accelerator it’s going to be interesting seeing where this one leads, especially once the one true biribiri catches wind of it. Misaka is never one to leave a friend hanging after all, particularly those who are closer in ways few could ever be.

And yes, you damn well know Saten’s shadow metal is going to play a part in the festivities as well, because what would we ever do without the daily Uiharu forecast?

Preview

23 Comments

  1. I don’t know if you noticed it as I don’t see it in the review but one interesting part to note is the Misaki called Touma by name despite the fact that a) neither he nor Misaka mentioned it and b) she can’t read either of their minds to discover it.

    Halat
    1. Without getting into spoiler stuff, Shokuhou’s telepathy actually works on Touma just fine, but it inevitably makes his head feel weird and causes him to almost reflexively touch his head with his right hand, thus negating whatever she had done.

      So technically speaking, she can read his mind without issue, as long as she’s quick about it.

      V
      1. Interesting thanks. (Possible mild spoiler) While I haven’t read the LNs I have read this arc in the manga and from what I remember I thought she could send and but not receive, as it were, as long as he didn’t touch his head.

        Halat
  2. So far the Best Railgun series so far… (Not to start a flame war, but I wish
    the Index adaptations were as entertaining to watch.)

    So a few questions come to mind (please, don’t spoil):
    – Aren’t the sisters connected? Wouldn’t the other sisters notice?
    – Did the person(s) responsible really want to piss-off the _real_ Misaka
    (yeah, I know they don’t realize they got her (what are they — level 2s)
    “sister”)?

    Looking forward to see what happens next!

    mac65
    1. Oh you’re not the only one who thinks that regarding Index, I guarantee it! It was painful to say the least lol.

      As for the questions, yes the Sisters are connected and will know something is wrong with the one incapacitated (Accelerator showed this ability nicely). And the culprits probably expected to get away without alerting Misaka because kidnappings always work best when done secretively 😛

        1. Do spoiler tags work here now? I’ve tried using the regular method in the past(after the site upgrade) and accidently dropped a big spoiler once or twice because I had no luck.

          So yeah. .

          Lyfe
  3. Without getting into spoiler stuff, Shokuhou’s telepathy actually works on Touma just fine, but it inevitably makes his head feel weird and causes him to almost reflexively touch his head with his right hand, thus negating whatever she had done.

    So technically speaking, she can read his mind without issue, as long as she’s quick about it.

    Veltharis
    1. She is not just a good girl, she is “best girl” by far, Maybe Othinus of the New Testament series is in par with her. It will not be explained here, but mostly, she is just jealous of Mikoto (like, really jealous), and she tease her for that.

      Jon
  4. loved Uiharu taking a page from Mikoto’s playbook and using shorts under the skirt move…
    even if it was not planned, it was worth for the look of dejection on Saten’s face

    ewok40k
  5. what differs level 5s from lesser espers is not only raw power, but intelligent and inventive use of their abilities: Mikoto herself can use electromagnetic powers in myriad ways, from early warning radar to mind shield blocking our blonde rival from reading her mind – or influencing it… and then there are things like hacking computers, unlocking electronic locks, jump-starting car engines, levitating using earth magnetic field, the infamous iron particles buzzsaw sword/whip…

    ewok40k
    1. Yea; out of all the level 5’s Mikoto probably demonstrates the utility of her powers the most; but that’s probably also a function of how much the story has shown us of the other level 5’s using their power. It can be argued that we’ve seen more utility from Accelerator given how his ability is inherently more versatile but seeing Mikoto know how to use her ability so well and apply it so effortlessly within her day-to-day life really emphasizes that part of her character background regarding her initially being a level 1 and having to get all the way to level 5 with hard work. Mikoto’s intuitiveness and tenacity to want to use her powers in a myriad of ways is what got her to level 5………or maybe it was all a part of Aleister’s plan to develop her powers to get there knowing that bastard. Like the chicken or egg, I’m not sure which came first.

      sonicsenryaku
  6. I thought they got the wrong Misaka, but sure looked like they got the right Misaka. At least two of them got the right Misaka. Though it is most likely those two are working “with” MEMBER, it would really be intriguing if they aren’t. Detecting that mosquito tagging in the chaos would be rather incredible. Most of the episode is about feints and distractions after all.

    Lots of microexpressions on Misaki. Safe to say this season of Railgun will be focusing on all the Misas? The ending sequence seems to indicate it.

    theirs

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