Electrifying, meltingly-hot girl-on-girl action? We got some.
What They Say:
Having realized who Misaka is, Mugino decides to give her a run for her third-place ranking. When Frenda mistakenly leaves her doll-bombs behind while heading to the other facility, Misaka collects them and uses them to supplement her diminished powers.
The Review:
Misaka may be good in a fight, but she’s not invincible, and Mugino in combination with her power-stalking companion have managed to wear her down almost to her limit. But where there’s a will there’s a way, and Misaka manages to turn the tables quite nicely on her pursuer. Or so she thinks.
Like all great battle episodes, whatever the anime, this episode has a lot of twists and turns and tactical shenanigans, as Misaka and Mugino try to pick holes in each others’ defences. With Misaka being the 3rd-ranked Level 5 and Mugino being the 4th-ranked, Mugino’s clearly feeling that she’s got something to prove, and sets about doing that with a great deal of enthusiasm.
I’ve always thought Railgun was at its best when it lets its espers go at each other, and continuing on from last week, this episode continues to prove the point. As was the case last week, though, that leaves very little time for things like plot advancement. There’s a bit, but the focus is clearly on beam weapons, bombs, and the grit and determination of both girls not to be on the losing side – and sure enough, neither the battle between Misaka and Mugino, nor the issue of the Sisters, is settled this week.
It’s looking likely to be strung out past next week, too, so I hope you’re not the impatient type. As for this week, this was one of those episode where I really didn’t notice the time going by – while its pace slows a little towards the end of the episode, it was still a surprise when the final scene played and the credits began to roll, and that’s nearly always the sign of an entertaining episode.
In Summary:
It’s been a few episodes now since I had anything bad to say about Railgun S, and the thrill ride continues this week, too. Which is just going to make the inevitable breather episode all the more likely to be a disappointment, I suspect – we’ll find out soon enough. For now, though, still one of this season’s must-see shows.
Content Grade: A-
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment: 27” Apple iMac, 2.9GHz Core i5, 32GB RAM, Mac OS X 10.8.3
