A Certain Scientific Railgun T

Episode 24

Mikoto has had a few other impressive power displays during this arc, but this is the first time since she nearly achieved divinity back during the climax of the Daihaisei Festival arc (episodes 11-14) that she has cut loose to the maximum level of her ability, and I think the first time she has done so while under control of herself this series. In doing so she shows once again why she is my favorite character in the franchise to watch in action scenes. Accelerator might have an edge over her in power and versatility (when he isn't hampered by his injury), but the way Mikoto moves, adapts, and fights just seems a bit more dynamic. And boy, does she have a new trick to show off in this episode!

Manipulating iron sand to use for attack and shielding is not anything new for Mikoto; she did it quite effectively back when Sugiita and Touma were trying to keep her in check. However, I don't recall her doing anything close to the feat that she pulls off in this episode: forming it up into a giant golem-like creature to combat the other giant golem-like creature created by Doppelganger. Honestly, that was pretty damn cool even without figuring in what looked like enhanced railgun shots, and the CG animation used for both golems was even respectable. The action up on the airship did not disappoint either, though the trick of making hordes of duplicates might be a little overdone by this point.

The element of the episode which made me happiest, however, was seeing the Scavengers come back into play. Mikoto would not have been in any real danger herself without them, but they unquestionably saved Ryouko during her suicide stunt and Leader's spotting was a significant help to Mikoto in battling Doppelganger. (Honestly, Leader, Mikoto, and Kuroko would make a fearsome team.) Seems like Leader has some principles after all, although their positive portrayal in this scene does not at all wash out the ugly business they were involved in back in Accelerator. They're still absolutely Dark Side, even if they were helpful this time.

The element of this episode which leaves me with the most mixed feelings is Ryouko's behavior. Although her backstory was covered in episode 22, she couched her views about Doppelganger in terms of risk factors and never elaborated much about how she actually felt about Doppelganger or the duality of her experience of having memories from two separate bodies. That is a big missed opportunity, but it admittedly would not have fit well into the presented plot and pacing. Still, the attitude behind her trying to commit suicide by allowing herself to fall off the airship seemed to have little foundation. Hopefully this will be elaborated on next episode.

And apparently I was incorrect in my comments last episode, as there will be a 25th episode. What was shown in the Next Episode previews suggests that the action climax that this episode ended on is going to wrap up quickly, allowing for some downtime to round out the series. If it does, indeed, play out that way then I will have no complaints, as this branch of the franchise does downtime best.

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A Certain Scientific Railgun T is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.