Thanks to Pocari_Sweat's recommendation, I recently picked up Railgun S in spite of having dropped both the original Railgun and Index early on. So know that I'm that exceptionally rare anime-only viewer for this show that has seen very little Raildex material (in any format) prior to it. Now that I'm only 3 episodes behind being caught up, I felt compelled to comment a bit on Railgun S.
First of all, I'm surprised at the level of consternation this episode has caused for ninryu and Konakaga. I could understand their issues if Mikoto hadn't spent the better part of this anime doing one helluva John McClane impersonation. She's basically been an insane one-girl army causing likely billions of dollars in property damage with an intense single-minded drive that's on par with some of the most badass and manliest of action heroes. She
single-handedly defeated Item, a group with two Level 5s on it, one of which is only one rank below Mikoto herself. I mean... what more can you possibly ask for?
But Mikoto's strength here also shows us a glaring weakness. It shows that she too quickly and readily takes the whole world on her shoulders, and absolutely refuses to try to get help when she so unmistakeably needs it.
There's an old saying that's very applicable here - "No man is an island". If men and women are equals, then doesn't it also stand to reason that no woman is an island? So why would Mikoto's fans want her to be an island, a person who does absolutely everything all on her own and never realizes that sometimes situations are beyond you and its time to trust in friends and loved ones? This isn't a gender issue, it's a
common sense issue.
Watching Mikoto in this anime has been like watching Madoka Magica's Sayaka Miki in super-slow mo. In both cases, the eventual cost of feeling isolated from the rest of the world is becoming clear. Mikoto was about to throw her life away in an incredibly dumb and self-destructive plan. Thankfully,
her Kamijo is a hero, and it's good that he had what it took to stop Mikoto from pointlessly throwing her life away.