To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S - Episode 4 Discussion / Poll

[s07195]

I like how they managed to fit in anime-original stuff even while starting to get into the thick of the plot. It's quite a nice way to add some screentime for the others before they get shoved to the sidelines for most of this arc.

Having an anime living up to your expectations is really a nice thing to have.

[Traece]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

What I loved about this episode is exactly how uncanny Mikoto is after she found what she thought was the end of the project. It hit me much harder than the manga could ever have done.

I actually found it very difficult to be bothered by the discovery since it was so very heavily foreshadowed and forcefed that the project had, indeed, succeeded.

This episode and its "business as usual" content was enjoyable for me. It's always refreshing to see that calm before the storm with the characters just living their normal lives.

Unfortunately as I continue to watch Railgun I can't help but think that I should watch Index...

[zaeraal]

Finally got to watch it with subs.
The Sister scenes were really refreshing, you know that feeling "something is definitely happening here" and the ending nicely finished it.

It was odd that Kuroko didn't abused her oneesama while she was willing to ignore her.

And it's sad that Saten nor Harue after all that work didn't get to keep those cards, even though at least Harue deserved them.
As a child error she most likely does not have much (if any) allowance.

[Haak]

That was a considerable drop in pace and is actually the kind of build up I was hoping for. Very enjoyable episode, though it looks like the next episode will go back to being faster paced again.

[germanturkey]

artwork was very inconsistent this episode. it was also really slow. but we've finally gotten to the real part!

[Kanon]

It was painful seeing Mikoto so happy knowing the truth would soon slap her in the face. Hard. They did a good job with the build-up, but I felt Mikoto playing with the kids lasted a bit too long. It got boring at some point. More interactions with Saten-san and the others would have been better. Need more Haruue too. She's so cute.

I like the new designs of the sisters. Those enormous pupils in Index always creeped me out. They look a lot more like Mikoto now. Their eyes are a bit too lively though.

[Tranhieu]

I was thinking about giving this episode a 7 when watching just halfway through, but J.C Staff really excelled this season, the encounter of the 2 was pretty well done especially that moment when the 2 was slowly rotating, facing each other, I like that dumbfounded look on Misaka's face! And is it just me or her imouto looks so cool in that last scene?!

[AdmirerofSatenRuiko]

This episode was somewhat disturbing for me. The main reason for that: I could not fully enjoy the moe parts because the tension was rising and because - even though I did not read the manga version- I knew that serious stuff is coming. These random moe scenes are not the best idea in this situation, they disrupt the unfolding drama. Not too long ago I thought that the Sisters Arc will be disrupting the moe parts, but seriously, I feel the opposite now. I want to see the end ASAP.
Besides, I hoped that Saten and the others will not become such low-level side characters, or at least that's the feeling I got from how the creators including them in these episodes.
Those scientist were really disgusting, at the end it became clear that they are the kind of those spurious people who can smile in every situation.
Too bad that we only got to see Haruue in the childish swimsuit chosen by MisakaXD
Up until now, the atmosphere of this season significantly differs from the previous one, I don't really like it, but I hope that after the Sisters Arc things will get better (for me). Anyway, at this point I'm almost 100% sure that I'm not gonna order the BDs.

[whitecloud]

if urobuchi is writing this arc...it would be muuuuuch darker than just this

[Shinhwa]

Yandere-face/empty-eyed Mikoto of Zetsubou here we come? 8D

[relentlessflame]

By the way, I moved the discussion about the OP song to the Music Thread.

[Entravity]

Liking the direction it's taking. Definitely more interesting than last season.

[Shimapan]

Originally Posted by desrtsku

Yeah, I was! >:]
And I finally realized that long hair is superior to short hair ... it took me 3 years, but now I'm a real man with good taste.

Welcome to the long hair club, comrade

Originally Posted by Random Wanderer

Man, they managed to trick me with the "nice" scientist. It was all the creepier when she was still smiling pleasantly while they were telling Misaka #9982 "Oh, go clean up that room full of slaughtered corpses of your sisters before you start your training." And that's despite having read enough spoilers to know that a scene of that sort was coming.

Indeed, that was seriously creepy.
What's even more creepy though is her number: #9982. That tells you how many clones they already went through before arriving at her

Before they talked about not planting unneccessary feelings and emotions into the clones... But if they're that cold to do all that to that many clones already, it's clear they don't have any human emotions left either (no good ones, at least).

Originally Posted by Kanon

It was painful seeing Mikoto so happy knowing the truth would soon slap her in the face. Hard. They did a good job with the build-up, but I felt Mikoto playing with the kids lasted a bit too long. It got boring at some point. More interactions with Saten-san and the others would have been better. Need more Haruue too. She's so cute.

Yes, the scene with the kindergarten kids was arther boring and stretched for too long. A scene with Saten and the others indeed would've been much better.

Originally Posted by Kanon

I like the new designs of the sisters. Those enormous pupils in Index always creeped me out. They look a lot more like Mikoto now. Their eyes are a bit too lively though.

Good improvement of the designs. I like what they did there, too.

[Primary Consult]

Originally Posted by Shimapan

Yes, the scene with the kindergarten kids was arther boring and stretched for too long. A scene with Saten and the others indeed would've been much better.

The kids scene is straight from the manga. I do agree that it went a bit long, but I suspect that if any of it was cut in favor of anime-original scenes with the others the manga purists would be raging, and this thread wouldn't be as pleasant to read through .

[mod edit: removed hint about future content]

[MrTerrorist]

Well that was a great episode.
How a Sister was created and the way those scientist casually told 9982 to clean up her dead clones was creepy.

And Maika the maid! Yay!

[whitecloud]

you know..sometime i couldnt help but wonder how the scientist able to not view the clone as human? what kind of mindset needed to do so? when it is literally a human, in every sense of the word with the only difference born from machine?

P.S :what would you do if you meet your clone someday?freak out?

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by whitecloud

you know..sometime i couldnt help but wonder how the scientist able to not view the clone as human? what kind of mindset needed to do so? when it is literally a human, in every sense of the word with the only difference born from machine?

Hmmm.... Good Question, lets think about it then...


The stuffed animals lined up within the sharpshooting stand were all nothing but colored cloth stuffed with cotton and shaped like animals.

One was shaped like the animal known as a lion, so it was called a lion.

One was shaped like the animal known as a giraffe, so it was called a giraffe.

One was shaped like the animal known as an elephant, so it was called an elephant.

It seemed that the standard human way of looking at it was that the one shaped like a lion was not called an elephant even though they were both made in the exact same way and they both contained the exact same thing inside. Yet the leather shoes someone was wearing were made of real cowhide yet they were not called a cow.

So does being a shape of a human, makes something a human? What about people born with grotesque physical defects like the Elephant man? Are they not human?

Or is it because they're are made of the same thing? But what if they're not made of the same thing? What if the proteins and biochemicals used were manufactured instead?

Then is it because of their behavior and thoughts? You mean that code of numbers that were programmed into them?

Which part of them makes them human?

[kaizerknight01]

AC darkness is not just dark...... Its pitch black which a certain character(s) knows very well ....the rest are spoilers

[whitecloud]

oh...by the way the one that propose the experiment is it kihara gensei? or other people?

[HandofFate]

I wish they cut out some of the everyday life scene. Like that new girl that joined the group, why are they focusing so much screentime on her. Maybe she plays a big part in a future arc, but I don't care about Uiharu's new roommate at all.