First Impressions / To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

「原子崩し (メルトダウナー)」 (Genshi Kuzushi (Merutodauna))
“Particle Destabilizer (Meltdowner)”

The fight between Mugino and Misaka gets underway and there are plenty of lessons to be learned this week. First and foremost among them? One should always clean up after oneself—especially if what you leave behind are combustible dolls that can be used by your opponent. Because when you’re dealing with someone as crafty as the Railgun, that slip up might just lead you to getting KO-ed in quite the anti-climactic (although somewhat epic) manner.

Still, if there was one thing I was thinking after that moment, it was how the fact she just leaves Mugino there won’t work out too well—and it turns out that’s just the case. Sure, the epic KO gave her enough time to finish off the facility, but darn… she almost paid for it as a result. Just another lesson in ways—that is, always make sure your enemy is really down for the count (or finish them off)—though Misaka manages to utilize yet another hand me down from Frenda to make her escape.

Ultimately, the majority of the episode ends up giving us a spectacular fight for the ages, and it’s both amazing not only to see two Level 5’s fight… but amazing in regards to how this ends up being the event that immediately precedes Misaka’s first meeting with a certain someone. Indeed, as the episode comes to a close, things start coming full circle as we link back to some of the events in Index—and fittingly, next episode (#11) corresponds perfectly to a Misaka oriented episode from Index of the same number. Suffice to say—whether the latter was intentional or not—I gotta say, it sure looks like the guys at the helm sure know what they’re doing, and it’s showing in more ways than one. The quality and content’s just been an overwhelming upgrade compared to the previous season of Railgun, and it’s just nice to see.

Looking forward, the basic thing is that the incidents regarding the Misaka clones seem far from over. The company behind the projects seem to have filed for bankruptcy, but the fact remains that even if this means the experiment is done… there’s still the tall task of getting the clones adapted to an actual life as well. Either way, Misaka has a lot of work left to be done—though, she sure deserved that brief respite she got at the end—and it looks like this’ll be something that carries over to whatever arc is shown in the second half of this series.

On a bit of a side note before I finish up here though, I must say that there are quite the assortment of priceless expressions in Railgun S (with Frenda accounting for about half of them) and that it was interesting to see a small glimpse into the reason behind ITEM’s dynamics this week too. The comment from Takitsubo stating that “this is the only place for me” is exceptionally telling—after all, what kind of a situation must’ve you been thrown into if this is where you end up?—and it’s something that makes Frenda’s hope that she finds a different place especially notable. In the end, it looks like they’ve been thrown together for one reason for another, and it’s a notion that likely accounts quite a bit for their great teamwork as well. There’s just nothing like the fact you’re forced together with others and shoved in a crappy situation to get one to perform at their best.

Author’s Note: It’s come to my attention that commentators are just freely discussing content not covered yet in the Railgun and/or Index animes without the use of spoilers. I’ve been pretty lenient so far because I know a lot of you have read the source material and/or have watched Index, but there’s a limit to that lenience, and that refers to things that should be in spoiler tags not being in them. So from here on out, please make sure to spoiler things corresponding to the above, with a bold statement line before the spoiler indicating that it is a spoiler belonging to this category. Spoilers in reply to other spoilers, or spoilers involving Index do not need this extra statement line.

 

Preview

88 Comments

    1. Im sure he meant that was mikoto’s first meeting with toma in this particular season. Technically she has not seen him at all since this season started; everything really has come full cirle

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

      1. I was thinking the exact same thing!

        I’m guessing we’ll be seeing things unfold from Mikoto’s POV.

        mild spoilers below (For newcomers watching Season 2 of this show before watching season 1 [or watching Index first] for some reason…)

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Helvetica Standard
        Reply

    2. Your right, Action was good so far. Really good balance, some pause for breathing and go on with the fight…. Btw, the scene where Meltdown falls… “Star Wars: Imperator falling!!” okok. perhaps i am to old for this 🙂

      But nice to know, that Railgun can be Magneto if needed. That must have drained a punch. Air is not the best Medium for Electricity and not to speak to great a Magnetic field to control all the Dolls.. Impressive stamina she have. *Bows in Respect*

      p.s. and Frenda was some kind of Funny 🙂 as i said, good Balance. Keep going

      Germanguy
      Reply

  4. but amazing in regards to how this ends up being the event that immediately precedes Misaka’s first meeting with a certain someone.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Wanderer
    Reply

      1. Thanks muchly. I really did mean to put one in, then somehow ended up posting it without having figured out where in the post the tag needed to go. In the end spoilering the whole thing probably would have been the right idea anyway.

        Wanderer
        Reply

    1. Action? Characters has “Soul”? Her reason for doing this all? in Short, they have more “Background” and “Deeper Humanity”. But the Action is about 75% for me. really nice pacing

      Germanguy
      Reply

      1. Speaking of the action. How about the tactics and choreography? Frenda nearly took down Misaka with no powers at all! Purely tactics and tricks. Then we have Misaka standing horizontally on walls and redirecting laser beams. Come on thats Fanservice for action fans right there!

        Rigelin
        Reply

      2. Yeah, Frenda. But how many time she put it into her preparations? 1 Alone could not do it in that Time. Perhaps he “runners” helped her to paint her Tracks… Tracks around Stairs, bridges and so on.. Or ranges double greater then her…

        But yea, with the right preparations you can beat nearly anyone

        Germanguy
        Reply

    1. supposedly the sister’s arc will end around ep 16 or 17 (which given the material left for the arc, makes sense) and the remaining 7 eps will be dedicated to animating one of the LN side stories. I just hope there’s a decent story in the side story so that the season can at least end of on a highnote.

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

      2. i don’t want to sound like some sort of battle shounen freak but I hope there’s at least something happening in the final arc that they come up with after the sister arc ends, that involves fighting. Because with how railgun ended last season, I kind of want to see something like that…not like with finishing the series with 7 straight slice-of-life episodes….ugh. They better not do what Seikon no Qwaser did for their 2nd season. Have the first 6 eps revolving around the plot but then making the next 5 eps all slice-of-life filler and then putting the remaining plot and fights in the final ep.

        SDFGS
        Reply

      3. @germanguy

        I havent revealed anything about the plot or hinted towards any type of plot developments in the slightest so i wouldnt call that a spoiler. I only mentioned when the sisters arc would end due to what internet sources are saying (unfortunately i do not have the link to said sources regarding the announcement)

        sonicsenryaku
        Reply

    2. No, it won’t take all of it. The “Liberal Arts City” Side Story will take up the rest. With possibly an anime-original filler episode somewhere. Possibly as a reason to get the girls in bikinis again.

      The side story is actually supposed to be quite good, but it brings up something interesting. We’re getting a manga & anime adaptation in 1 series. Is that a first? Or, really, it’s a Manga alternative view adaptation of a Light Novel, plus a side story Light Novel, that fits inside the Manga’s chronology. It’s kind of a weird thing.

      SQA
      Reply

  13. Time for Touma to jack this shit up. 🙂

    The Railgun vs Meltdowner duel felt short for me, but it’s understandable since the former had a handicap. I don’t know anything about the manga, but if another duel between them happens again (with no handicaps this time), I would like to see a proper rematch.

    sadakups
    Reply

    2. It is there to remind us that, in a world of heroes, not all succeed, and in the dark side of Academy City still exists even in the rosy world of Misaka Mikoto.

      Also, Kamachi most likely predicted that Railgun will get another season so he gave them something to build on.

      Gaze of Providence
      Reply

  16. “The comment from Takitsubo stating that “this is the only place for me” is exceptionally telling—after all, what kind of a situation must’ve you been thrown into if this is where you end up?—and it’s something that makes Frenda’s hope that she finds a different place especially notable”

    It’s good to see you take a note on this. Many people seem to only interest in Meltdown vs Railgun and look over this conversation’s meaning.

    Marina2
    Reply

    1. I am actually interested in the further events for the ITEM. (please, no spoilers!) I hope they will not get into way of Accelerator, like the Hound Dogs did…
      Index S3 please!

      ewok40k
      Reply

  18. In all honest this just makes me want more… MOREEEEEE (yes Index III announcement I am keeping an eye out for you!!!)
    I am thoroughly enjoying seeing this arc in a different light from index. Can’t wait to see the rest *U*

    Neckzor
    Reply

    1. from the looks of the preview it seems highly unlikely; besides if they did it would stand out too much as railgun S is technically superior to the first season of index in both animation and art. This isnt a spoiler if you have seen the first season of index but Show Spoiler ▼

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

    2. I thought it was just me who noticed that; though when shinobu did it, she had a good reason to what with her turning the lights on and off in order to deal with those thugs.

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

  26. At last, an actual Lv5 vs Lv5 fight for the first time in the Indexverse anime, with both sides on par with their powers, though Mikoto carries a handicap of being exhausted prior. And we are not disappointed with the spectacle.

    Mugino getting knocked on the head by the doll was quite funny, but it would have been too anticlimatic had their fight ended there.

    Mikoto’s previous skirmish, or rather, pwnage by Accelerator, doesn’t really count, as if it wasn’t for Academy City’s rigid power level categorization, Accelerator ought to be counted as a Lv5.7-Lv5.9 due to him being too ridiculously powerful.

    Even after Show Spoiler ▼

    (Above are just my arbitrary guesstimation based on what we’ve seen of him so far, don’t quote me on it).

    With the vending machine scene, the Sisters Arc on Railgun has now come full circle with the Sisters Arc on Index, the rest as we all know may be history with Touma picking up the baton from Mikoto, but we’ll still be watching from Mikoto’s POV.

    Anonymous
    Reply

  27. (with Frenda accounting for about half of them)

    Unintentional puns are the best ones… Now i want a Fre nda nendoroid…

    I wonder how they will portray Touma’s memory loss at this point. If i am not wrong, this should be the first time he meets Misaka after Index arc in TAMNI.

    Fighterdoken
    Reply

      2. So how exactly do they do the rankings for Level 5s? (if it doesn’t really give out spoilers) Because Mugino said something about that they’re ranked according to how useful the city deems them as.

        SDFGS
        Reply

      3. Well,it is just as Mugino said. Lv5s are ranked by their usefulness to Academic City’s research/how much AC can profit from them. They ARE NOT ranked by how powerful they are.

        This is actually very importanat thing revealed in this ep. Many people seems to miss it.

        Marina2
        Reply

  29. hip-hip hooray for the return of the king of shounen speeches…no..not really, i’d rather they just cut touma out of this show completely…i srsly don’t understand the appeal here…a generic spiky haired doofus who happens to possess one of the most obviously plot-deviceyyy weapon arm in any genre of anime…whom all the bitches just had to fall in love with…no…why not female protag all the way…they was doing a damn fine job of it…the sisters arc is a blast…the last few eps are the best of the series as a whole…shame it had to end so soon…

    NierTevra
    Reply

    1. 5 things:
      1. Railgun isn’t an alternate universe. This still happens within the same place and time
      as Index.
      2. Asking for Touma to disappear would ruin everything about the Sisters arc. This isn’t an alternate version, this is the same arc told in Misaka’s point of view. The conclusion has already been set if you’ve seen Index. In fact, the whole purpose of this retelling is to expand more on that arc.
      3. How is IB a plot device arm? Its range is only within his hand and wrist. It’s not as overpowered as everyone thinks. If anything, Touma making use of it effectively with that limitation requires skill and instincts and is quite an accomplishment.
      4. Not all girls fall for him.
      5. Railgun is not a standalone to Index. Things tie in to the main series so of course the protagonist there would show up in here. But effectively, Misaka is still the MC of this show. Also, see point 2 again. Railgun would not exist if not for Index.

      belatkuro
      Reply

    2. Generic would imply that anime is littered with Touma-clones. However, he is one-of-a-kind. He could be considered generic in terms of having a harem, but he Show Spoiler ▼

      His speech before punch hasn’t been used in other anime because it is useful only in this universe.

      As for why people love Touma, it’s because of his interactions with Mikoto. He brings out the best (lol) in her when they are together.

      rh75
      Reply

    3. Because he’s the hero the world deserves. But not the one it needs right now. And so we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a preaching guardian. A watchful protector. A white knight.

      Gaze of Providence
      Reply

    4. @niertevra
      I can see perhaps why you dont understand the appeal of Toma due to the fact that he is literally one of the most underdeveloped MC’s i have every seen in anime, which, in my opinion, is a damn shame because it hurts him as a character. On a personal character level, I cant really care about him, but regardless i still like him because he has such a large sense of justice that you want to root for him. He does what needs to be done for the sake of those in need or those that he cares about, and as he’s out there fighting, you think to yourself what a good and admirable character he is and it makes you respect him; even if he is preachy, which i dont mind because it’s part of his good-willed personality. I just wished he had some background (No im not talking about the mystery of his imagine breaker) and some character substance. In the end, it’s probably the reason why most people find him so generic.

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

      1. not sure where you get the idea of most people find him “GENERIC” but whatever i suppose since it can get people the wrong idea due to him being somewhat disliked with the fanbase(of course hes pretty popular but you get the point)

        goldzero
        Reply

      2. @goldzero
        Well maybe i shouldnt say most people find him generic as his fanbase is pretty huge. But the general consensus I seem to see pertaining those who analyze Toma as a character is that they tend to agree that he has no character depth. As much as i think Toma is a great MC, I do find him bland and lacking any depth whatsoever, which in my opinion makes it difficult to care about him. But then again, i guess that’s not the point of his character (you dont need a complex character for a series that is not arguably complex and well-written anyway; It’s just fun as hell with really creative ideas); he’s just suppose to be that caricature of a hero who everyone enjoys rooting for and for the most part it works. It’s his good nature that makes him appealing to me and i respect his morals as i find myself to be very similar to his persona minus the preaching but definitely sharing the bad luck factor.

        sonicsenryaku
        Reply

  33. Show Spoiler ▼

    kyuuzo
    Reply

  34. Just wondering if Railgun heals fast because of her powers (it may be the cause) or because it’s convenient for the plot. No bruises on her after half a night sleep -.-

    Finally crossover.

    Ebisu
    Reply

  35. I rewatched Majutsu no Index episode 10 after this episode of Railgun S and it’s amazing how the two series intersect at this point. Who would have thought a major fight between 2 level 5 espers was happening the night before Mikoto and Touma met at that particular vending machine. Show Spoiler ▼

    Zhinvu
    Reply

  36. Ragdoll Funnels vs Meltdown HiMAT Full Burst 😛
    Electric Slinger 😛

    Touma appearing reminds the viewer to rewatch Index’s part of the Sisters Arc, lol.

    Can’t wait for more Index and Railgun anime to come.
    Have already prepared by reading spoilers in the wikia 😛

    iron2000
    Reply

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