To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S – 22

After some wrangling, Therestina Kihara Lifeline gives Mikoto a lead: whomever created Febri, a “chemicaloid”, want the world to know they exist, perhaps during the upcoming assembly. Uiharu searches through past participants and Kongou recognizes Aritomi Haruki on a file, and ties him to Study Corporation, which owns a suspicious old factory. Mikoto goes there to find ITEM destroying its security robots. When they leave she breaks in and finds Nunotaba Shinobu, who hands her the recipe for Febri’s candy. Airtomi arrives, saying it’s a fake, and offers the real stuff in exchange for Mikoto accepting a paralyzing shot. She does, but he destroys the vial anyway, calling Febri an expendable spare for their greatest invention: “Janie.”

Tokiwadai’s Level 5 Railgun has gotten a harsh education in the realities of Academy City. She may claim to “love” it , but not all of it loves her. As she lives her happy top-flight esper high school life with her regal title, it’s not surprising that she’d lose sight of the very real unsavory elements in the city, including a group of non-espers toiling in obscurity, seething in envy and resentment as the espers of the city get all the attention, utterly unable to do anything about it. In this episode Therestina and Aritomi both pay her sarcastic deference to her title, as if to pat her on the head and say “oh, you silly!”

Of course Therestina is safely behind bars, and can only gloat about having put Mikoto in a bad mood (which subsides when Kuroko assures her that – Level 5 or not – she loves her onee-sama). Aritomi wants to experiment on Railgun, and by episode’s end, he has her right where he wants her: isolated and defenseless, with the clock on Febri running out. Nunotaba is caught in the middle; her compassion for Febri mirrors her compassion for the MISAKA clones. But Aritomi doesn’t care about any of that. Very soon, that tank labeled “JANIE” will open, and if his plans succeed, the world will know he and STUDY Corporation exist.

Rating: 8 (Great)

Stray Observations:

• Therestina’s cell is pretty…sparse. Where’s the bed? The toilet? Why isn’t that heavy metal chair bolted to the ground? 
• But hey, at least they let her have M&M’s (or the Japanese equivalent). We liked how she offered one to Mikoto believing she’d assume it was poison, only to eat it without fuss, which led to Therestina giving her info.
• Mikoto puts her trust in Aritomi as well, holding her arm out to receive that injection…but that didn’t work out so well.
• If there was any doubt that the show seems unsure what else to do with ITEM, this week they get a brief pool scene and are then used to distract security for Nunotaba. But work is work, right?
• Loved how Mikoto and Kuroko’s lovely little moment was cut short when Mikoto realized her roommate was trying to cop a feel.
• While on the train, Mikoto spots that bridge remembers one of our favorite scenes of the franchise. Of course, Imagine Breaker is kinda useless against non-espers…
• Can’t someone buy normal, modern clothes for Febri? What’s with the wedding cakes?

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S – 21

Heaven Canceler tells Mikoto Febri’s body creates a poison that must be neutralized with her lollipops. Finding her creators is the key to helping her, but they’re likely in the underground. Mikoto plans to look for them herself, but after Kongou tells her about her similar situation, she decides to tell Kuroko, Saten, and Uiharu, who immediately begin an investigation. After analyzing the candy, Canceler determines Febri has only 72 hours to live without more lollipops. When Mikoto tells him she’s resolved to save her, he arranges a meeting between her and the incarcerated Therestina.

Early in the episode, things were starting to feel all too familiar: Mikoto learns a dark truth about her charge; Mikoto decides to keep it all to herself and not get her friends involved; Mikoto conducts a sloppy, inefficient investigation, gets caught, and gets her ass kicked. Fortunately, she too realizes she’s on well-trodden ground. Last week Kongou saved her and the others; this week Kongou saves us by unwittingly convincing Mikoto that this time, she should tell her friends, since true friends share joys and dangers. Her encounter with an oblivious Kuroko before setting out is the catalyst that induces her to tell everyone about Febri’s nature, her suspicions, her past dealings with dangerous people.

After saying all this and voicing her uncertainty she’ll be able to protect them from the coming “darkness”, as Canceler puts it, the three girls react exactly how we thought: they don’t give it a second thought and thrust immediately into Investigation Mode. You can see it on Mikoto’s face as she beholds this: she may be good at kicking ass and making powerful enemies, but these girls may well be better than she is at this kind of stuff. It probably also occurs to her that things may have gone more smoothly had she also called upon them to help her in the Sisters arc. But the important thing is, she’s no longer doing things herself, which means those who must answer for their misdeeds will have more than just her to deal with.

Rating: 8 (Great)

Stray Observations:

• Nice assist by MISAKA 10032, whose observations makes Mikoto suspect Nunotaba Shinobu is involved in some fashion (as the audience, we know this to be true, though we don’t know why).
• We really wouldn’t mind a Railgun spinoff starring Kongou, Awatsuki and Wannai.
• Febri is actually pretty good at drawing Gekota. Her drawing of Mii is less impressive.
• We also love how the girls are all discussing the investigation as a restless Febri simply goofs off like a real kid does in such situations. Very accurate depiction there.
• We’ve always seen Anti-Skill’s Yomikawa Aiho as a stickler for the rules, but when HQ nicks her evidence, she’s pissed enough to hand a crucial component they missed to Mikoto, which is definitely against the rules.
• We were concerned about the lollipop supply before Canceler instituted the 72-hour ticking clock, but you mean to tell us this medical genius can’t make a serviceable facsimile in the interim? C’mon!
• Ah yes, Therestina, the villain from the first series, and definitely knowledgeable about the underground scientific world. We see and intriguing if uneasy partnership ahead.