To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 20 – No Excuses

The Russia arc reaches a satisfying turning point as allies start to join our over-matched heroes. Accelerator may have spared Misaka Worst’s life, but it’s not in Worst’s programming to be grateful for it; in fact, she’s quite pissed! But Accelerator has bigger problems: he’s seemingly out of control, letting the evil destructive side take over while lil’ Last Order slowly freezes in the snow.

As Touma and Lessar head towards Fiamma’s location, his words about Touma’s deceiving of Index weigh on his mind. Lessar reassures him he’s done—and is doing—the right thing: moving forward, helping where he can, and saving lives, both there and in Britain. Hamazura’s attempting to do the same thing, without the benefit of Imagine Breaker.

As Carissa and the British armies continue their advance across the channel, they bring the Mobile Fortress Glastonbury looms overhead, providing a mobile bastion of British soil that will allow Curtana’s power to be used anywhere.

They are met by the Holy Maiden of Versailles, a Joan d’Arc-looking warrior who crosses swords with the second princess. This part of the Russia arc is the least interesting to me so far, especially since it hasn’t yet really gotten anywhere (the channel isn’t that vast) and involves too many players to focus on any of them for long.

Far more engaging is the totally epic duel in the tundra between a Touma and Accelerator. One is pissed about being overpowered by Fiamma so easily; the other is pissed that Last Order continues to suffer. Their battle is accompanied by suitably badass battle music, and the two lads trade blows, but ultimately it’s Touma who gets the upper hand.

If Touma had any serious doubts about how he’s dealt with Index before, he certainly doesn’t after seeing an alternative scenario in Accelerator has dealt with Last Order. He’s so angry over the fact so many people have allowed her to suffer, and that his evil villain persona doesn’t seem to be enough to protect her.

Touma basically tells Accelerator to get over himself: he doesn’t need any reason or excuse to step up and protect Last Order, nor is there any reason for him not to rely on others to help if he feels he alone isn’t enough. Touma releases whatever magic had been applied to Last Order, and Accelerator betrays a smile of relief. These two together; they’ve got a change against Fiamma.

Hamazura doesn’t have any luck with a relative pea-shooter against an incoming privateer tank, but decides to repurpose one of the mines the villagers have collected as an anti-tank grenade. He stops the tank in its tracks, but then an attack helicopter buzzes overhead and prepares to take him out. Very well-supplied privateers, these guys!

The chopper is taken out by none other than Acqua, admiring Hamazura’s dedication to protecting the innocent villagers from massacre. So now Hamazura has a powerful ally in his goal to save Takitsubo, who still isn’t looking so great.

Back in the channel, Carissa ceases her duel with the French Maiden, blaming Fiamma for this war, and warns that if Russia’s mainland is invaded and its nuke facilities under threat of being taken over, an airborne killer virus wall will be dispersed, a scorched-earth directive that will result in appalling casualties.

Carissa admits she needs French soil to continue her advance, but at the moment the two countries have a mutual enemy: Fiamma. Rather than fight each other, they’ll need to join forces to stop him.

And just in case Accelerator+Touma, Hamazura+Acqua, and Britain+France aren’t enough against Fiamma, who is preparing to use Sasha to do…something bad, Misaka and Shirai finally learn of Touma’s whereabouts, and Misaka hastily begins packing for a trip to Russia.

Perhaps, finally, hopefully, she’ll be able to contribute something concrete and meaningful this season! Unfortunately, the plane it looks like she’s taking has a stowaway: Mugino, She Who Will Never Die, who isn’t done with Hamazura.

When Accelerator wakes up, he’s in Elizalina, and wouldn’t you know it, someone finally gave Last Order some climate-appropriate clothes and shoes! Thank goodness for that; I was worried she’d get frostbite and hypothermia. Touma and Lessar (who is glad he’s looking more confident and resolved) continue heading to Fiamma for Round Two.

To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 18 – Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and Ships of the Line

Misaka is one of the only people who didn’t get the memo that Russia is the place to be. We only catch her for a couple of brief scenes where she (and later Shirai) are reacting to news that Russia has issued an ultimatum to Academy City to cease all of its operations around the world or face nuclear annihilation. Well, that escalated quickly!

Hamazura Shiage, while eager to get Takitsubo out of danger and find a way to lesson her negative reaction to the ability crystal, instead finds himself once again right in the thick of things. Accelerator also wants to heal Last Order, but comes afoul of unmanned power suits who were after something other than them.

Shiage drove a car to Russia, Accelerator took a train, and Kamijou Touma…wait, did he run to Russia? Never mind; he’s thankfully not alone, despite his desire to be (which is probably why he didn’t invite Misaka). Lessar is tagging along, both to support him and protect British interests.

Elsewhere, an armada of ships crewed with a mixed force of Puritans and Knights sails out to meet the French vanguard of Roman Orthodoxy’s invasion, who create a hard surface of salt that halt the ships and enable their ground forces to attack.

Under the endorsement of Second Princess Carissa (who seems to have suffered few if any lasting consequences from her failed coup), Kanzaki Kaori lets the French have it. Meanwhile, while riding a train, Lessar announces her intention to seduce Touma, but his older, more sensible Touma prevails.

That being said, a capable extra set of eyes, ears, and fists has its uses, and at the station Lessar shows Touma she can handle herself if need be. After he saves the shopkeep he was going to rob from robbers who got there first, Shiage gets lucky again, when a passerby offers the services of a doctor for Rikou in exchange for fuel. As Shirai checks out the news in her and Misaka’s dorm (so underutilized!) Lessar and Touma arrive at the border of the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations.

There, they meet Elizalina, the sorceress who gave the alliance her name. She’s aware that Fiamma of the Right is after Sasha Kreutzev and the magical power stores she possesses, but before they can orchestrate a plan, Fiamma tears the roof off their headquarters. Yup, shit’s going down NOW.

I was not expecting a confrontation so soon in this, an episode where otherwise a bunch of pieces were being moved into place. But I’m not complaining about getting down to business. Touma shaters Fiamma’s attack, but it takes a couple moments, and Elizalina’s shield doesn’t last long.

Finally, sensing a huge amount of magical power that shouldn’t be there, Sasha Kreutzev drops in, and in the hastiest, most anti-climatic re-introduction possible, she’s immediately knocked out by Fiamma. He’d seem to have the upper hand, until yet another combatant takes the stage: Vento of the Front. She’s there to protect the interests and integrity of the Roman Orthodox church on which Fiamma is taking a piss.

Accelerator surveys a Russian military base that someone just kicked the shit out of, wondering who it might’ve been when he’s confronted by a number of cloaked mages, for whom he has no time and vows to deal with swiftly. And the cherry on top of this Russian sundae? That’s gotta be the imminent arrival of a masked Misaka by paradrop. There’s a lot of players old and new to juggle, but this still looks to be a lot of fun.

To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 14 – Glowing Fists For All!

Carissa’s Coup Arc is brought to a suitably ostentatious and splendid end, as Index III truly BRINGS IT this week. As Itsuwa safely delivers Touma and Vilian to the gates of Buckingham Palace, Touma gives Vilian his typical spiel of helping out for “no special reason” except that he won’t abandon all of the people “running around for their lives”, trying not to lose what’s important to them.

Carissa awaits with Curtana Original, which she uses to summon a fleet of unmanned aerial fortresses. Touma has a bear of a time keeping up with her sword’s pandimensional fragmentation, but while he was thrust into the final boss battle far quicker than he’d hoped, he’s obviously far from alone. Kanzaki, Index, Amakusa, and Sherry all arrive in turn, though Carissa isn’t cowed by any of them.

Even a Saint like Kanzaki has trouble against Carissa and Curtana, while Touma has to time his right arm just right since the weapon has a brief lag between slash and effect. He manages to strike true before Carissa can kill Vilian, who uses her crossbow to rediredct the flash bombardment from Coven Compass to land a direct hit on Carissa’s position.

Unfortunately, it only gives her a couple light scratches; more will have to be done to defeat her, which means more allies must take the stage. As Carissa picks up the idea of bombardment by having bunker-buster cruise missiles launched on the palace grounds, elder Princess Rimea broadcasts a message bringing the forces of Knights back to their feet…including Knight Leader.

Carissa soon finds she can’t launch any more missiles, since Acqua has destroyed all military antennae. This is why you have a magical backup to a vital scientific device, or vice versa, but of course Carissa hasn’t thought anything through beyond “I have Curtana Original, I am invincible.” Now she has three Saint-levels fighting her in Kanzaki, Acqua, and Leader.

And then Mom shows up. Queen Elizard casts aside her own Curtana Second, knowing it’s powerless against the original, but whips out another magical treasure of the royal family: the Union Jack, which she uses to redistribute all of the power imbued within Curtana to each and every one of the millions of British people.

This essentially turns every British citizen into a hero in their own right, with the mandate to “do what they will.” It’s essentially a re-imagining of that iconic signal from Admiral Nelson’s ship during the decisive Battle of Trafalgar: “England expects that every man will do his duty.” Only this time it isn’t just England, nor is it just men.

With over 90 million now aligned against her, Carissa can’t help but hesitate for a moment, which is the one thing she can’t do. In that moment, Index (yeah, her!) delivers a simple incantation to cause Curtana to swing upward and hold in place just long enough for Acqua to launch Touma at it with his right arm. He shatters the sword and delivers a devastating punch to Carissa, and suddenly the coup d’etat is all over.

Unfortunately, Touma’s troubles are not. The beaten Carissa is confronted by Fiamma of the Right, who is there only to check on those items which he desires to possess: Touma’s own right hand, yes, but more importantly, Index. A magical item he steals before heading off to Russia was a kind of safety device that allowed Index to live a normal daily life despite having memorized 103,000 grimoires.

In the Tower of London, Stiyl, Elizard, and Touma look over a bedridden, unconscious Index. If Touma is to save her, he must get that device back, which means he’s headed to Russialand. No rest for the weary.

To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 13 – Preparing the Countercoup

The good guys (or rather, the folks we typically follow) have had their backs against the wall since Carissa’s surprise coup, but this week they start whittling away at the upstart princess’ power. Touma and Floris survive and run into the fleeing Vilian, who is picked up by Amakusa in their plane.

William continues his fight against Knight Leader, who believes he has Acqua’s number thanks to a spell that nullifies or “zeroes out” the sharpness of his opponent’s sword, but like Imagine Breaker works on all magic.

Thankfully, William’s Ascalon has enough hidden bells and whistles to overcome the ability. William doesn’t kill his old friend, but he knocks him out of the fighting.

William and Touma meet up right by the coach in which an unconscious Index resides. Just as they’re down one less thing to worry about, Carissa arrives with some of her knights, and decides to give them a demonstration of the power of Curtana Original (none of that Diet Curtana crap!)

Even Touma’s Imagine Breaker can’t nullify the sheer force of Carissa’s attack before he’s flung way up into the air amongst the debris from the ground below; Curtana can cleave through the very dimensions of space and beyond, after all.

William, seeing that Touma is also trying to lesson the destruction and thus on the same side (at least in this scenario) saves both Touma and leaves Index with him, who naturally wakes up confused…and in need of some supper!

Amakusa picks them up in the plane, where Kanzaki and Tatemiya discuss the next stage of their mission. Touma, Index, and Princess Villian will head to the secret underground station under Buckingham Palace, where they believe Carissa has gone. In that station lies a special train car that contains magic that stabilizes the power of Curtana Original, which is unbalanced and prone to overload.

Not only does Touma need Villian’s royal blood to unlock the way to the car, he relies on advice through a quick phone call to this season’s mascot, Misaka (who is having a bad day, eating lunch in a restaurant full of women with big boobs). When a golem appears and reconstructs every time Touma cancels him, he also leans on Index’s not inconsiderable magical know-how.

Villian distracts the golem with a physical attack (she has no offensive magical skills, only potential) while Index recites an incantation that makes the golem re-expose Touma’s right arm, allowing him to cancel it once and for all.

The seal is broken, the car is released, and the Puritans’ Coven Compass aerial fortress prepares to cast a debilitating large-scale flash spell. Bottom line: Curtana Original’s power is dampened, and Carissa herself is injured.

 

Still, she’s not going to give up so easily. It’s going to take a sustained assault on Buckingham to wrest control of Curtana from Carissa, get her in custody. Her alliance with the knights is already weakened by the forceful withdrawal of their leader from the battlefield (courtesy of William).

But first, Amakusa and the Puritans sit down for a great al fresco feast, while both Kanzaki and Itsuwa consider changing into something more alluring for their mutual crush Touma. Knight Leader warns William that if he’s taking Carissa and Curtana on head-on, he’d better be prepared for an attack no one can block or nullify.

Just as news comes the Compass is in position, the feast cut short, and preparations for the counterattack begin, Queen Elizard arrives at the outskirts of London with her “calculating” elder daughter Rimea and Laura. Their destination? A museum where a flag—secretly a magical item that is likely to prove useful to their cause—is stored. The battle for the Untied Kingdom is about to begin!

To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 12 – Who Had The Better Ten Years

Princess Carissa’s mother Queen Elizard remarks how impressively fast her second daughter’s invasion has unfolded, though it’s in no small part due to the power of Curtana Original (woe betide them all if she ever found Curtana Honey BBQ or Salt & Vinegar).

Her knights crawl out of the woodwork, but at every turn are met with resistance, either from witches, nuns, or…Sherry Cromwell. Carissa’s main goal is to legitimize her claim to the throne by killing her mother and sisters and then launching an attack on France (determined thanks to a captive Index’s analysis). She claims to be doing all of this for the survival and independence of her country.

Kanzaki Kaori makes one hell of an entrance by jumping out of a passing plane to stop Carissa, but she more than meets her match in Knight Leader, who let’s just say has a huge homefield advantage.

After quickly dispatching Kaori (making me wonder whether she’s become the Worf of Raildex: a strong character constantly getting owned to demonstrate an enemy’s power) KL and Carissa locate Princess Villian’s coach and prepare to behead her, but she’s saved at the last second by Acqua of the Rear, AKA William Orville, back in Britain after ten years.

Orville flees with Villian, puts her on Bayard, and sends her off to a Necessarius safe house. Knight Leader shows back up, and he and Orville have a duel. Considering how well he fared against Kaori, it’s no surprise even Orville has trouble with him. But as the episode closes he’s still in the fight.

Also in the fight: Touma, who passes Lessar off only to get cornered on a regional train. He finds Lessar’s comrade Floris in a cargo car, undoes her magical binds with Imagine Breaker, then takes her hand and leaps out of the train and off a bridge…into a river far shallower than he expected.

With Touma probably still alive and on the move with Floris, Orville and Knight Leader locked in battle, Villian headed to safety, and Queen Elizard and Laura Stuart also free and making their way back to London, the quick start to Carissa’s coup suddenly isn’t going so smoothly. Better still, there are plenty of players on the board who can make it even rougher.

To Aru Majutsu no Index III – 11 – A Blatantly Obvious Explosion of Suspiciousness

After that harrowing flight (during which Touma never answered the “beef or fish”, resulting in Index being served no food at all), Kaori and Knight Leader escort the pair to an audience with the British royal family, led by the very laid-back Queen Elizard (who carries herself more like a mafia don and would rather do business in a track suit) and her three daughters: Rimea, Carissa, and Villian.

The assembled individuals lay out the threats to Britain, both external (from France) and internal (a four-woman group called “New Light”). Index has been summoned to assist in the analysis of the magic used so that they can more properly locate the threats. As for Touma? Kaori doesn’t want civilians involved, but unless he wants to pay room and board in Buckingham Palace, he’s strongly “encouraged” to actively serve the interests of British peace.

That night (or thereabouts) New Light springs into action, which involves the four of them splitting up and taking up positions while carrying checkered magical storage cases. The clumsiest of the quartet, Lessar, nearly mixes her case up with that of a drunk at a pub where she’s enjoying a repast of fish and chips (good thing Index wasn’t watching), and ends up being chased by the always lovely Oriana Thompson, backed up by Touma.

Meanwhile, the New Light leader is cornered by Amakusa then chased through the London Underground by Itsuwa, before brandishing the weapons of Thor (though not his famous hammer) and slipping away. The two other members are taken down, so Touma and Oriana believe they only have to deal with two more.

They then learn that the four were carrying out a relay, magically transferring the true contents from one to the other. Before the relay can be broken by Oriana and Touma, Lessar completes it to a fifth case, which is held by Knight Leader, working for the second princess, Carissa.

The box contains “Curtana Original”, the powerful ceremonial sword wielded by Britain’s sovereign which contains the power of the Angel Michael (her mother only has “Curtana Second”, which presumably isn’t as powerful).

And so, Touma finds himself in the middle of a battle between British princesses and their allies for control of the kingdom, and with both Curtana and the legendary Norse ship Skidbladnir, Carissa seems to have the upper hand, having used New Light as glorified couriers.

It’s an exciting, action-packed romp in a vibrant new London setting where none the players, not even the royal ones (I liked their selfie with Touma) take themselves or anything else too seriously. This is all a bit goofy and ridiculous, but it’s also a hell of a lot of fun!