It’s 100% aphrodisiac-free…except for lolipedocons.
Oh dear, I find this development somewhat odd to watch actually. I won’t deny once again that I’m a bit uncomfortable with the way the Anime writers are handling Kuroko’s character. To begin with, it’s obvious Kuroko is a very confident individual, and it’s not surprising she has gotten herself into heaps of trouble before and earned herself a hefty amount of lectures from Konori due to her habit of either jumping into a situation whenever she happens to be at the scene or sticking her nose into a case after conducting private investigation on her own. This fact holds true even now when she’s in middle school. However, the majority of those scenarios are circumstances where she’s alone, which is why she doesn’t seem to be the type who would carelessly under-assess a situation to the point of committing a simple error which could endanger people around her, especially Uiharu whom she’s aware of not being as skilled at melee combat as she is. Then again, Kuroko did tell Uiharu to stay back and standby but Uiharu isn’t one who favors the sidelines and watch her friends getting bullied.
Nevertheless, Kuroko making a misjudgment like that is pretty trivial in itself. My bigger gripe however, is the way Kuroko blamed Uiharu for her own slip-ups. That was quite a surprise. It’s a given Kuroko can sometimes be proud and stubborn but the most I’d imagine she would do is refuse to admit her mistakes, not pin the fault on someone else but even then, fans who’ve read the manga would know she’s the kind of person who takes responsibilities for her actions. Oh well, let’s just say I’ve never come across Kuroko doing this before, neither in the Railgun manga nor the Index light novels. I guess it’s one way of providing a reason for Kuroko and Uiharu’s conflict to serve as a basis for the filler events that made up this episode, but surely the writers could have thought of other possibilities for a plot?
One part question answered and confirmed: Uiharu’s ability has nothing to do with flowers. Thanks to Itou Kanae for spilling the beans lol. We still have to keep guessing her powers though.
Committing public indecency on a Judgment member in a Judgment branch office… Saten sure has guts. Too bad she didn’t go on a treasure hunt for that four-leaf clover, ei?
YES MOAR KONORI-SENPAI PLS!!
And to second it again, this show needs MOAR Konori × Kuroko dynamics. From the little we’ve seen of their interaction (in the manga), the way they behave towards one another can be rather amusing to watch, especially since their relationship mirrors that of a grouchy mother hen and her rambunctious chick. To make things more interesting, this doesn’t go unnoticed by some of the other members of Judgment…
*SO KEWT I DIED!!!!*
Aw man, they nerfed how cool Konori looked when she used clairvoyance. And, they nerfed part of her quirky personality too…
This back story is one of why I came to admire Kuroko so much. Her drive of becoming and being the competent Judgment member she is today is owed much to this event which taught her to be more level-headed and perceptive of her surroundings when it comes to dealing with cases which seem too difficult for her to handle at first. Also, it shows that she thinks as much with her heart as she does with her brain, especially how she’s willing to risk injuring herself just to get Uiharu to safety. I suppose after that initial case, she has learned to use her brain more, even preferring to employ a strategist-style of thinking depending on the situation. For a middle school girl, the methods she can come up with to make full use of her abilities is certainly something that should never be underestimated.
Ha? Tessou? Deim!! I was hoping to see Konori’s fine-looking oneesan friend! Boo. :(
That’s quite a neat alteration to the conclusion of this mini side story. Instead of only Uiharu learning from the incident, Kuroko is shown to have gain something from it as well and it does give a good ground as to why the two of them work as a team now despite having very different personalities. As for matters relating to the car burglary, glad to see that Mikoto played a part in helping Kuroko to reinstate her resolves of being a Judgment member and reconcile with Uiharu.
Thoughts
Apart from the insignificant issue I had with how they portrayed Kuroko’s character at the beginning, this was still a solid episode. I really like the bonus chapter which the ep’s plot was based on (Loli Kuroko and Uiharu FTW!!), and the writers did a great job adapting it from pages to screen. However they didn’t touch anything on the main plot at all, which makes me wonder whether it was wise of them to insert this story in a random place like Episode 5 (this is another chapter which was placed after the first arc). Would that have reduced the momentum of the canon arc which was kept going since the early episodes? They also excluded a few original scenes like the little chat between Konori and Kuroko after the incident as well as Kuroko, Uiharu and Saten’s present day casual outing, the latter which could have served well in filling out the episode instead of the car burglary. Last but not least, something which I feel deserves mentioning – fantastic voice acting by Toyosaki Aki in this episode. Besides making Uiharu ooze loli cuteness, the way she cried and begged for mercy and help was really heartbreaking to watch. It makes you want to hug and comfort the poor girl and sock the guy who was hurting her. Lucky for him, Kuroko gave him his just desserts. Judgment-for-a-day next!
one interesting thing to was how noobish kuroko’s power was, being able to teleport only a target she could touch, and how it developed nicely later on. at the very least, this showed that powers start weak yet develop later on.
this makes me wonder as to how misaka’s power grew and as to what power uiharu possess. if it doesn’t have anything related to flowers, could it be her imba hacking skills? did kanae itou spoil anything about it i the radio show?
i wonder when the series would return to its main plot (if there was one)? at least why not feature some more tsunbiribiri vs kamiyan action XD
For Kuroko, I’d say the difference between her Level 3 in this episode and Level 4 at her current stage is quite significant; she being able to successfully teleport her own body by the time she reached Level 4. I guess all that’s left for her now is to maybe increase the quantity of mass she can teleport, as well as the range and accuracy. I’m no specialist when it comes to supernatural powers (I’m currently out of touch with comics orz) but I do wonder whether there’s any special twist that can be added to Kuroko’s abilities. Her skills can be categorized as the general type of teleportation, so it’s potentially the most powerful in the ability’s class (There are other teleporters within Academy City as well with specialized teleporting abilities, and one of them is more powerful than Kuroko based on what the teleportation ability is capable of).
Hopefully they’ll show the finer bits in the TV series. At the moment, all that’s been revealed is that the change in Mikoto’s level is related to the amount of electricity she can generate (increasing in voltage over the years) as well as her ability to control anything that has an electrical circuit or can form an electrical circuit e.g. metal objects.
No, Itou didn’t say anything else besides the fact that Uiharu’s ability has nothing to do with flowers. Toyosaki was pretty devastated by that revelation lol. She wanted Uiharu to have a happy power (Uh, kinda like a cheerful power that makes people happy?) e.g. making flowers animated (plant manipulation?) but that’s not to be. Anyway, the seiyuu are as much in the dark as we are wrt what they know until the writers hand them their scripts. Until those manga chapters get published or the episodes get aired, we’ll just have to keep guessing. I’m still betting on some sort of technopathy ability for Uiharu. That would be so cool. :3
Oho? Have you deduced whether there’s a main plot yet? ;)
Yep, you’ll get more of that in the near future. :D
sounds like a forecast of a tough enemy in the long run
so your level depends on how you are able to evolve your powers. going back to touma, is it safe to say that since imagine breaker can’t be measured (or no one would want to measure it) and it has no guarantee of being successful of negating powers all the time, they just fall on the level 0 category?
yeah i guessed as much but it’s really hard to say if that were her true powers. after all, why would she go with the trouble of typing her message over her cellphone if she’s a technopath? she could probably think what she would want to say and send it via her phone. she’s definitely a mystery but my other guess would be something mental. like blade’s zero fragment perhaps?
the OP song hints of a serious plot but the story has been trolling (or maybe that’s just part of the plot)
that would be one saving grace of this anime. the chemistry of biribiri and touma works wonders
Yes, but not in Railgun. This person only appears in Index so we’ll have to wait for Season 2 for the proper debut. Well despite me saying this, if you’ve seen the Index Anime then you’ve already seen this person if only for a few seconds. ;)
Yes (although it’s safe to say Touma’s ability is currently 100% successful in negating supernatural powers 24/7). The main reason they provided as to why his innate ability is stuck at Level 0 is because nobody knows what it is supposed to do i.e. can’t be determined, and it certainly doesn’t look like it can improve (it nullifies everything supernatural). Another main factor is that Touma can’t control it. One of the criteria stated in the psychic program wrt ranking up your esper level is determined by how well you can manipulate this ability. I imagine if Touma does have control over his powers (e.g. he can switch it on/off on his own, or use it to cover his whole body instead of only his right hand), he could have his ability acknowledged as being at a certain level (then again, if it kills powers uh, maybe not).
You’re also correct in stating that for most parts, an esper’s level potential is generally determined by the power’s evolution capabilities -> improve the abilities (whether in strength and/or capabilities), improve the level. There’s the subject of whether the powers can be quantified e.g. Mikoto and Kuroko’s powers can be measured and evaluated. There’s also a subjective way of assessing the ability’s level i.e. how destructive the ability is (e.g. Accelerator’s vector manipulation). This is only my guess of what I’ve observed so far -> to be considered a Level 5, one has to be able to successfully possess full control of their abilities without any immediate setbacks (e.g. no harmful effects on the body upon using their powers only a few times), and have their powers be at an overwhelming, potentially destructive level.
Aw have some mercy on the poor girl. She’s only a Level 1. XD
But there’s also the possibility of an ability class, like Kuroko’s general teleportation ability versus other teleporters who have a restricted and specialized type of teleportation skill e.g. can only teleport to a particular location. So there is a chance that Uiharu’s ability is only limited to normal PCs and doesn’t cover other types of computers like cellphones.
Whoa. That’s kinda hax. I doubt she’ll use the powers she copied but she would be an extremely valuable backup. Speaking of which, there’s already an esper with a similar ability lurking in Academy City (Think Heroes’ Peter Petrelli).
I agree about the trolling lol. Some incidents are part of the plot and some are not. The main problem with Railgun now is that most of the material (maybe 70%+) the writers kept dumping at the beginning has nothing to do with the main plot (like this episode, for example). I’ve seen quite a few comments over the net asking stuff like “What on earth is Railgun supposed to be about???”, which can be worrying as this may put off some viewers from regularly watching the series. It’s okay to have fillery fun stuff, but placing them in the early episodes of a TV series can be risky since most people evaluate whether a show is worth the time based on what they’ve watched during the early episodes. If it’s not interesting at the beginning, why waste time following the rest, right? Luckily for Railgun, the stuff they put out now is entertaining enough to keep viewers hooked.
Maybe a Level 5 Kuroko would be able to teleport stuff without having to touch them?
LONG DISTANCE MIKOTO PANTSU PULL!!Increase of mass/accuracy/distance/etc is more plausible though.
LOL Mikoto will seriously be at her mercy if that was the case. XD
Teleportation without direct contact would be an awesome power upgrade for Kuroko. An exceptional sense of spatial awareness maybe. From the stuff I’ve come across in other fictional works, I reckon teleportation can have something to do with determining and calculating space as well as the mass of objects in relation to their position in space. So maybe another upgrade for Kuroko could be accurate control over the amount of mass she wants to teleport e.g. teleport half the mass of an object instead of the whole thing, although I do wonder whether she’s already capable of this. If Kuroko was an evil little loli, that second robber could’ve had his head teleported somewhere else. ^^;;;
“I guess all that’s left for her now is to maybe increase the quantity of mass she can teleport, as well as the range and accuracy.”
That would explain the tests back in episode 1 with kuroko throwing that massive heavy thing 70m+ with her teleportation powers.
Btw, what’s Mitsuko’s power? D:!!!!!! LOL
This episode wasn’t all too bad, I enjoyed it ^___^ AND YOU WEREN’T THE ONLY ONE WHO DIED AT THE KEWTNESS!!!
Why does Konori-senpai look the same age as now as she was back then? D: Btw, keep forgetting but FINALLY remembered: awesome change of banner. I laughed for so long at the expressions.
“Aw man, they nerfed how cool Konori looked when she used clairvoyance. And, they nerfed part of her quirky personality too…”
Yeah Konori’s voice was rather different to what I thought, and personality…. I kinda imagined a Fumin from Sora no Manimani. Maybe I was thinking too strict? ;< was cute in ep 3 when she whacked kuroko and uihara on the head with the magazine/book. Clairvoyance power – they definitely stole its coolness T_T i was kinda expecting Zettai Karen Children awesome blue eyes that go stagnant when focused. but then yeah… hardly anything happened lol.
I love the way kuroko and konori say "gee" lol "ma~taku". Oh, I also rather enjoyed when young Kuroko bagged Mikoto about being some spoilt rich bitch as level 5 ace XD! more biribiri with pink scarf please :3
Yep, exactly! :D
That ojousama with the fan, right? Oh gee, she needs to appear more often. I have trouble remembering her sometimes. XD
Anyway, Mitsuko’s ability is air current manipulation – control over wind (Is that how people usually call it?). She’s a Level 4.
I kept thinking the girls were like yummy muffins, especially Uiharu. Wanna EAT! SO KEWT! XD
It could be only 1 or 2 years have passed :3. She’s already a high school student in this episode and she’s still a high school student in the present story time-line. Uiharu was checking out middle schools in this episode and in the present day, both she and Kuroko are in their first year of middle school.
(Or like they always say, your appearance stops changing and growing once you reach a certain phase during your years in high school lol)
Glad I wasn’t the only one who thought so. Ueda Kana doesn’t suit Konori imho. I was expecting the directors to cast someone like Asano Masumi but Koshimizu Ami modeled around Fumie’s personality is also a good choice. Yes, Konori is actually a very strict individual who doesn’t hesitate to grumble at her charges if they don’t listen, and Kuroko happens to be her “favorite” charge because that girl is always getting into trouble. And although Konori can be cranky, she also has a playful side (She loves teasing Kuroko). They toned down a lot of that personality in this episode and made her look like a one-dimensional caring oneesan. :(
Quite a deflating impact, no? Since this episode has already aired, you can have a look at how her eyes are supposed to look like when she uses her powers. I was thinking evil-looking red eyes lol.
That was so LOL. Common perception of Tokiwadai students, eh? Well, it completely changed once Kuroko got to know the real Railgun. Her KYAAA~ Dashing Knight in Shining Armor. XD
Is this in Vol.4 of the manga? I’ve only read it up to Vol.3 at the moment.
If the playful side does come out, I think Kana Ueda would do well in that respect, particularly if there’s an ecchi dimension to it e.g. Tohsaka Rin teasing Saber or Yagami Hayate teasing… well, just about anyone in the Nanohaverse.
I’m sad to report that Konori-senpai does not appear in Vol.4 at all save for a brief moment in Kuroko’s thoughts. :(
The observation I made was rather shallow and superficial. It’s based on the following in Vol.3’s bonus chapters of Kuroko and Uiharu’s training days:
1. Cheeky glint in eye followed by the signature “Hahaa~n” and a direct stab at Kuroko’s thoughts. The younger girl’s facial reaction was priceless.
2. Konori seemed to show an evil mischievous side rather than seriousness, like when she suggested Kuroko to learn the ropes of apology report writing.
Apart from Konori’s personality, what I find very likable about her is her rather odd but one-of-a-kind relationship with Kuroko. Since Kuroko is a precocious individual compared to the other recruits, it’s not surprising that Konori treats her differently and it’s cute how others (especially Konori’s friend) tease her about it (you might want to refer to your manga in the original language coz there’s a tiny hiccup in the translations). Vol.4 will also show a bit more of Konori’s personality so you can look forward to an extremely brief cameo.
Ahaha I need to curb my bad habit of reading manga with seiyuu voices in my head, especially if the manga comes before the Anime.
Anyway, after getting to see more of Konori in Episode 6, I’m beginning to feel that Ueda Kana is slipping comfortably into her role. I can definitely hear her voice working wonders in the playful side. And as famous as Ueda is for her Kansai-ben characters, I wish she would take on more oneesan roles. Must be all those seasons of watching Marimite. :3
whut the… my only guess would be ayako kawasumi’s loli necessarius leader chara (don’t spoil this one so let’s leave it at that) :p
so this one can copy an esper skill just by being near them? wtf imba hax! then again, i doubt it can copy imagine breaker or rather, copying it would be pointless as it would negate every other ability he copied
isn’t biribiri x kamiyan love story the obvious answer? XD
I’ll just say, no it isn’t her. She belongs with the magicians, not espers ;). And Laura Stuart isn’t a loli lol. She looks like a mature teen with a nice body underneath that nun uniform of hers.
This is actually the potential secondary function of that esper’s ability. The primary function of the ability is something else. Also, that esper isn’t really all that imba hax as certain tasks need to be done and requirements need to be met in order to activate the ability. Of course, if the esper had trained enough such that the pre-requisites are eliminated, then that person could easily wipe the asses of the other Level 5 espers in the city (provided the newly acquired abilities are mastered).
And yeah, there isn’t much point in copying a power negation ability. That’s like self-destruction in a way. ;)
LOL That’s the side stuff! The side stuff! Railgun’s main genre isn’t school love comedy. XD
Besides, Touma won’t be appearing as much as you’d like him to. His role is restricted to being comedy cameos so he’ll only appear in some episodes. ^^
“Anyway, Mitsuko’s ability is air current manipulation – control over wind (Is that how people usually call it?). She’s a Level 4.”
OMGGGGGG I love that power!! You have no idea how much I like Mitsuko all of a sudden *_*
LOL YUMMY MUFFINS ~ ♥ ♥ ♥
“And although Konori can be cranky, she also has a playful side (She loves teasing Kuroko). They toned down a lot of that personality in this episode and made her look like a one-dimensional caring oneesan. :(”
XD! Poor Kuroko~ yeah they toned down her personality a lot I found it overall odd T_T
“I was thinking evil-looking red eyes lol.”
haha red would be too obvious and would remind me of DtB. I vote for blue :3 this anime seems like a blue anime ~ biribiri~
Tho’ we haven’t seen how it works yet but I reckon she can do pretty impressive stuff since she’s recognized as a Level 4. Maybe she uses her fan… I just hope they would show her using her ability at least once. It would be such a shame if Railgun were to end with her just being a foil to Kuroko. XD
True. Blue lit-up rings around the iris and pupils would look really cool. :D