To Aru Kagaku no Railgun 08
幻想御手」
Break out the champagne, this is cause for celebration! For the first time since the first episode I found this episode of Railgun to be all-round satisfying and solidly entertaining. And that is high praise coming from someone critically biased by affections for the comparatively superb manga. The series has now shifted into plot gear for what looks like a continuous run on faithfully adapting the corresponding manga chapters of the Level Upper arc. As with the previous episode, the writers have held back at meddling with the content of the manga, with no major alterations to the story and very little padding of originally-written content. As the writers have shown themselves thus far to be untrustworthy at writing their own dialogue without straying off-character and grossly off-topic (eyebrows!), it’s always a good thing when the screenplay is a straight adaptation of the manga. The main reason this episode was, overall, better than the last one is largely due to the improved production values. It’s too hard to take this show seriously when it looks choppy and messy, so this episode was really benefited from an acceptable production quality standard. It helps us get pulled into the emotional story behind the Level Upper without having our suspension of disbelief assaulted by cheap visuals.
And the tone of this episode was definitely more dramatic than in previous episodes, and more sincerely so. Whereas there was a BAWWFest in regards to that minor characters eyebrows earlier, now we’re dealing with the much more subtle and affecting tale of Saten’s dour self-esteem leading her down the wrong path towards using the Level Upper. I always found Saten’s dramatic plight to be the real heart behind the Level Upper plot in the manga, and I think it really made her one of the most sympathetic and interesting characters. That’s why I’m really relieved that they seem to be keeping this stuff intact. They’ve already diminished Kuroko’s character to a yuri gag-canon, so not doing justice to Saten and her story would have been the final straw. Until now I was worried that might happen, but this episode pulled it off really well, and even improved the portrayal of her and Uihara’s vital friendship. The scenes they shared together here felt a lot more genuine than their previous interactions.
Not only was Saten’s characterization nailed, but even Misaka seemed a little more herself. It might be because of the silly tone of the filler episodes we’ve had, but Misaka has really lost a lot of her presence and gravitas lately. We’ve seen a bit too much of her being caught in shy and embarrassing situations and not enough of her being confident and kicking ass. This episode had a good mixture, showing her both in a cute light (pitching the innocent schoolgirl act to try and seduce info out of the gang), and a tough, dangerous one (subsequently demolishing said gang). I love seeing her on top of things and working competently alongside Kuroko. For the first time in the anime they felt like a good partner pairing here. The only flaw I care to pin this episode with is Kuroko’s behavior, which is still irritatingly extreme (banging her head on the ground and such) at times.
But the dialogue was good on the whole, the characters more likeable than they have been since the first episode, and the production values were much stronger than they have been. The action scenes, although brief, were well-animated, and it just looked good in general, with minimal jerkiness or cels looking off-model. Entertaining episode that was more in keeping in spirit with the manga than the anime has so far been. Now what I’m really hoping for is for this standard to both continue and improve!
✔ It’s pretty cool that we got to see Misaka use her manipulation of magnetic fields to stick to surfaces. I think it’s one of the most interesting uses of her power!
● Maybe I missed something, but I was a little confused by how Misaka and Kuroko handled their Level Upper investigation. I mean, there they had the leader of the gang who supposedly know how to obtain the level upper, defeated and at their mercy, but what did they do? They just left? Granted they probably didn’t want to get pinned with the blame for a power blackout, but I think they should have made an effort to actually get a lead, especially when Kuroko could have just teleported them all away.
✘ I take it Kuroko’s head-banging is supposed to be casually funny, but it always makes me squeamish. That looks fucking painful! No wonder she’s starting to go mad .. it’s jealous brain damage! Seriously, couldn’t she just assume the ‘orz’ position or something rather than making a spectacle of creepy self-harm?
Indirect kissing!! The whole idea of indirect kissing always seemed really retarded to me, but I admit it was strangely cute seeing Misaka and Saten feed each other XD. A bit sensual .. those two have chemistry! I thought the way that Kuroko’s choice to get the same flavour as her oneesama backfired here was funny though.
Meanwhile Saten and Uihara take their relationship past the indirect kiss level, or even the skirt flipping level! I loved this scene from the manga too, both because it was one of the few bits of Uihara fanservice, and because it was a really sweet moment between these two friends. Even Saten trying to molest her is cute in her own quirky kind of way XD. Uihara is looked very sexy~
Dame kana~? ❤❤ Oh God Yes! This is Biri-biri at her cutest! How can you resist that face? Moeee~~
“Your shitty electricity is no match for my stone!”
WRONG
>>the writers have held back at meddling with the content of the manga,
>>with no major alterations to the story
Except for the part where Touma interrupts Misaka in the restaurant, leading to Touma and Misaka battling on the bridge which overlaps the first chapter of Index. I was a little disappointed that they took this out in favor of creating the fight with the gang. I somewhat understand why, because the two scenes in Index and Railgun don’t line up perfectly, but they introduced their own inconsistency by not giving any explanation for why the gang leader wasn’t interrogated.
That’s true. It didn’t really change things overall, but it was a bit of an odd alternative. I wonder if they thought we might just be sick of seeing that scene XD.
Other than the inconsistency, I like the way the deviation from the manga turned out here.
Agreed, I too liked the deviation. Granted, I was expecting to see Touma in this episode, but I actually like this story line better - just a little bit more. My overall ‘this show could have been better’ sentiment is still exposing itself whenever I watch a new episode of Railgun. I just don’t feel ‘content’ with what I see.
re: Kuroko’s headbanging. I think that was in the manga, but I understand where you’re coming from Washi. Although I don’t mind the action itself, I do wish Kuroko would flip out less often. The ice-cream scene is one of my favourites in this episode. The gang-fight scene was … ‘blahh’… (Hei seems to do it so much more better LOL).
Production definitely went up a notch. Still cost-cutting scenes where nothing moved but characters talked showed up a number of times. I spent more times reading the subtitles! Even the fight scene was a little too static for my taste (static like Static Shock?).
3/5 stars is a very accurate rating. I do honestly hope that this is a turn for the best. We have … 17 more episodes to go or something like that? Still plenty of time to up the show quality - production wise and story/script wise.
Yeah, agreed. Did you notice a whole pile of new chapters were translated recently? I’ve been reading through them and recalling just how much I love the manga. It’s without a doubt one of my favourite manga series (especially as this latest arc is really interesting), whereas the anime is just mildly entertaining. I have to say it’s a bit of a failed adaptation by the standards of its source.
I’m annoyed. The gang scene was completely pointless seeing as Kuroko and Biri-Biri didn’t even achieve what they were aiming for even though the information was ripe for the taking. The gang leader seemed to have a sense of honor and she might have told them after losing. Instead of just walking away arguing about shoes, you’d think that at least Kuroko would have the sense to interrogate their target. But they just left. If either one of them dares to complain about lack of info, I will have no sympathy for them.
There is a simple solution to this debacle. If the gang leader didn’t actually know anything about it but got the level upper from someone else, then going back to square one would be justifiable. Saten’s chance finding of the link would feel less random, and the show would have ended on a better note. Is it still disappointing? Yes. Is it cliche? Yes. But it’s certainly not irredeemably stupid. Even common sense has a place in anime!
@ Washi - I just finished reading the last chapter (25). It\’s riveting stuff!! Accelerator seems like such a misogynistic power-hungry … for lack of a better word - bastard. Much more violent than the anime rendition in Index yeah? I do looove the manga though. The drawings are absolutely adorable. Kuroko, we always say this, is way better on paper lol.
Yeah just caught up last night and wrote a post on. I was blown away by this arc. Accelerator was always this sadistic in Index, but I think you’re right - he seems more menacing here. Great stuff.
Kajikiri: Thanks for the comment.
Personally, unless I’m taking an anime really seriously (which I can’t manage to do with this one), problems in logic don’t annoy me too much. I guess I’m lucky. I notice them and think it’s kind of dumb but I don’t really get caught up on them. But you’re right, it is a sign of bad writing.