“All your hard work…I’m sure Misaka-san appreciates it.”
Summary
Misaka carves out her path of destruction, mercilessly exploding research labs all around Academy City in a bid to cause its scientists some trouble. Meanwhile, Kuroko tries to help her onee-sama in her own way, and comes across a little boy searching for a “lucky” card for his friend. Resolving to help him, she teams up with Saten-san, Uiharu and Konori to find him a four-leaf clover instead.
Impression
Damn, Misaka looks hot in casual clothes. Stupid Tokiwadai uniform regulations 😛 Anyway, you can count on her to get the job done! And she does it well too – by the time a scientist got round to reporting the first fire, Misaka’s already struck the next one. While it might have been faster to blow up all the DNA research labs electromagnetically (taking 70% of them out effortlessly), I’d imagine there’s more satisfaction when she deals with them personally, targeting just the data banks and leaving no casualties behind. It’s clear that Judgment haven’t been asked to investigate because it might uncover shady details about the Level 6 Shift experiment, but with Kuroko’s awareness of the fires, it wouldn’t have been good if she’d discovered Misaka’s map. Another thing that worries me is the reaction of the scientists. I think the blonde dude is very much aware that they’re up against the Railgun, who managed to dodge infrared sensors and security cameras, yet gave herself away through the wind turbines. If they themselves have no means to oppose a Level 5, they’ll have to get some other esper to go against her – I thought it’d be Accelerator at first, but the blonde girl in the preview seems to suggest otherwise.
Apart from Misaka’s exploits, this was very much a Kuroko episode. And it was a different kind of Kuroko we saw – I don’t think she ever entered her crazy yuri stalker mode even once. Kuroko’s very aware that Misaka’s off shouldering a huge burden somewhere, and everything she sees immediately reminds her about it – from the pair of white butterflies to the little boy and his moving friend. Misaka’s pain inadvertently becomes poor Kuroko’s pain as well, showing us that Kuroko’s love for her onee-sama isn’t superficial at all. Despite all the crazy things she does, she genuinely loves Misaka – and this episode shows that clearly.
I’d like to say that Kuroko’s four-leaf clover hints at future good fortune and happy times for Misaka, but I doubt that’s going to apply in the episodes to come. Even so, it’s nice to see that Saten-san and Uiharu aren’t being neglected in terms of screen time – they’re always, always fun to watch 😀
