A Certain Scientific Railgun T

Episode 6

The Index franchise has such an expansive active cast of stars and villains that minor but still regularly-recurring characters can easily get overlooked. Hence some of the latter occasionally getting a chance to shine can be a nice change of pace. That happens this episode for Kinuho and Maaya, the two girls who form Mitsuko Kongo's posse, who get a very satisfying chance to show what they can do against Baba and his mechanical Great Danes.

Actually this isn't the first time that the two have been active before; if I recall correctly, they were shown contributing some in the last arc of A Certain Scientific Railgun S. However, their appearances there were only minor parts of the overall struggles, whereas here they are front and center. From that previous (anime-original?) action and some other minor things they've done, we know the Kinuho can manipulate water, while Maaya can affect buoyancy. The latter in particular might not seem like a big deal, but even at a mere Level 3 level Maaya can use it to allow herself to literally walk on water, pick up objects that would normally be impossibly heavy for her, or effectively fling objects through the air; it's no wonder that Baba initially mistakes her ability for being telekinesis, as the effect is visually similar even though the principles behind it are entirely different. Together they aren't anywhere near at a Mikoto level when it comes to trashing Baba's Great Danes, but they still do a pretty effective job and pull some neat stunts, such as Kinuho using the drainage system to her advantage.

Though Kinuho and Maaya's fight takes up most of the episode, there are two other major developments. One is Mikoto witnessing an unconscious and beat-up Mitsuko being brought into the hospital on a stretcher with Saten as escort. I think we all know that Mitsuko wouldn't hold anything against Mikoto, but our Railgun has always taken more upon herself than she should, and this is no different. This, finally, creates the breaking point that had to be coming sooner or later: the end of Mikoto's tolerance for being corralled by Misaki's clique. She always could have broken loose if she were willing to threaten or knock around the other girls, and now she's mad enough to let her escorts know that. Her takedown of Baba after he fled Kinuho and Maaya's attempts to convince him of the value of friends was satisfying, if perhaps not harsh enough; later events in Index II show that he didn't learn his lesson about messing with the powers of Academy City.

The other major development is the introduction of the lavender-haired twin-tail with the riding crop and skull jewelry. She was heard last episode, but I believe that this is the first time that she's actually appeared in the anime. She's Mitori Kouzaku, and that she has no fear of going toe-to-toe with Mikoto is interesting; what tricks does she have up her sleeve? Looks like we'll find out next episode.

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A Certain Scientific Railgun T is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.