Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 19

Strange Coincidence (奇縁) is the 19th episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. It was broadcast on August 14th 2020.

Upon stumbling upon information that the fish can give a beautiful figure, Saten quickly bought cans of mackerel. But, because she took the last two cans up for sale, a girl named Frenda missed out on the sale and collapsed on her shopping cart, bringing Saten to an awkward situation involving the girl following her around.

Frenda, ever the lover of canned mackerel, decided to split one can open, only to end up carelessly wasting the can, bringing the girl to tears. Although partly annoyed at the situation, Saten somehow cannot leave the girl behind, so she invited her for a meal at her home. Even with Frenda's tendency to act and talk at her own pace, Saten had an enjoyable time with her. Afterwards, the two exchanged contacts in a messaging app, and will once more meet each other at a certain incident...

Synopsis
Kuroko is assisted by Mikoto as she works on a related to the Treasure Hunter App she and Uiharu investigated previously. Although she appreciates the gesture, Kuroko advises Mikoto to refrain from meddling with Judgment work this time, especially as things become more hectic on Kuroko's end. Meanwhile, Mikoto decides to take a break from using Indian Poker cards for the meantime. Kuroko agrees to her decision, revealing that she also had a bad experience with the cards.

At Sakugawa Middle School, Saten's plans to gather her friends are dashed as Uiharu was assigned on patrol duty as a result of the incidents revealed by the Treasure Hunter App. Saten instead goes to the supermarket, where she is lucky enough to pick up the last two cans of mackerel in stock. Frenda, who missed out on the mackerel sale, becomes desperate in getting Saten's cans of mackerel to the point of tackling her once and later following her outside. Saten rejects Frenda's attempts to trade the mackerel for "dolls" and "fireworks" and eventually relents to the incessant pleas to have a can. But, to Saten's chagrin, Frenda uses a kind of explosive tape to open the can, resulting in its contents being wasted. Although slowly losing her patience towards the girl who wasted a can of mackerel, Saten decides to invite Frenda for dinner at her home.

Frenda is shocked to discover that Saten prepared mackerel curry for the two of them, as she prefers eating mackerel on its own. But, she eventually found herself enjoying the taste of the dish Saten prepared. After the hearty dinner, Frenda promises to treat Saten next time, and she exchanges contact details with her on the Speech Bubble social messaging app. Although she saw Frenda as the type that doesn't hold back, Saten somehow enjoyed their night together.

The next day, Uiharu once again parts ways with Saten for Judgment duties. Meanwhile, Saten would spend the next few days chatting with her new friend about the mackerel fad dying out in a day, the experiences they have with their friends, and their moments using Indian Poker. One day, Saten visits a roadside Indian Poker trader for any new cards up for sale, and the trader recommends cards for American cracker, coin stacking and for expert handling of chopsticks. Unknown to Saten, her Speech Bubble message is intercepted by a boy wearing goggles, who then relayed this information to a girl in the dress. The girl in the dress is aware that scientists use Indian Poker cards to store information that's not archivable otherwise as a form of insurance, and the card for "expert handling of chopsticks" actually refers to the operation of a device called Tweezers. Although the boy with the goggles is unsure of the veracity of the information he intercepted, he decides to eliminate any false flags in his search.

Saten purchased the card for "expert handling of chopsticks" from the trader the next day, and is excited to use it. But, she finds herself becoming an abduction victim by two thugs and others in two getaway vehicles. Frenda witnesses the crime taking place and, wanting to repay her kindness, decides to call Hamazura Shiage for backup. With the help of his own getaway vehicle, the girl is able to catch up to the abductors and stop their escape.

Meanwhile, the boy wearing goggles infiltrates a facility on his own, using his ability to turn invisible, open secure rooms and create a copy of an Indian Poker card stored inside by using a blank card and the fragrance components of the original. Although successful in his own mission, the thugs (which work under his faction) are intercepted and neutralized by "someone using explosive dolls". Eventually, Saten is set free by Frenda, forcing the boy wearing goggles to send out another operative to the mission.

At Private Shidarezakura Academy, a girl named Yumiya Rakko is invited by two of her schoolmates for an adventure outside of the School Garden. She is glad to be invited, but the call from the boy wearing goggles compels her to turn down the offer. While she meticulously investigates the scene of the clash earlier, Rakko vents her frustrations at the girls who interrupted her potential moment to become famous in her campus.

Saten and Frenda escape unharmed, with Saten only losing her phone and the Indian Poker card she just bought in the abduction. Frenda assures Saten that things are fine and decides to bring her to the nearby supermarket to buy more cans of mackerel. They are unaware that Rakko is on the hunt, using the remnants of blood in Frenda's clothes to locate them before going for an attack, marking Frenda as her prey.

Major Events

 * Judgment goes on heightened activity as a response to the investigation on the Treasure Hunter App. Both Kuroko and Uiharu become unavailable for the next few days.
 * Saten meets Frenda by coincidence during a canned mackerel sale. Frenda's incessant pleas to be given mackerel eventually causes Saten to invite her to dinner at her home. In return, Frenda exchanges contact information with Saten through the Speech Bubble social messaging app.
 * Saten's purchase of an Indian Poker card for "expert handling of chopsticks" drags her into SCHOOL's search for information related to the Tweezers and is abducted by SCHOOL-affiliate thugs. Frenda eventually intercepted the abduction and saves Saten as gratitude for the mackerel dinner.
 * Yobou Banka, who is verifying information related to the Tweezers, deploys Yumiya Rakko to locate the escaped target and its rescuer. Rakko's tracking skills enables her to track down and snipe Frenda in the middle of a busy crowd.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Shokuhou Misaki (flashback)
 * Aogami Pierce (flashback)
 * Saraku (flashback)
 * Hikoichi (flashback)
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Frenda Seivelun
 * Akemi (cameo)
 * Mako (cameo)
 * Muu (cameo)
 * Mugino Shizuri (cameo)
 * Indian Poker Trader
 * Yobou Banka
 * Gokusai Kaibi
 * Hamazura Shiage

New Characters

 * Yumiya Rakko

Abilities

 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5 (flashback)

New Abilities

 * Measure Heart - Gokusai Kaibi, Level Unknown (referenced)
 * Psychokinesis - Yobou Banka, Level 4

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * Sakugawa Middle School
 * Saten Residence
 * School Garden
 * School District 3
 * Private Salon

New Locations

 * Super Mana
 * Private Shidarezakura Academy

Trivia

 * The unnamed researchers are voiced by Okano Yuu and Maki Shun'ichi (the latter is uncredited).
 * The unnamed support staffs of SCHOOL are voiced by Ueki Shin'ei, Takahashi Makoto, and Toyoshima Shūhei.
 * The unnamed female students of Private Shidarezakura Academy are voiced by Enoyoshi Maya and Kobari Saki.
 * Credits refer to Measure Heart instead of Gokusai Kaibi, despite her name being revealed in Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Biohacker.
 * Limited edition Frenda-themed canned mackerel will be released for promotion.
 * This episode acts as a prequel for volume 15 of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novel, showing not just the initial plans of SCHOOL before the beginning of the novel, but also that of its sniper Yumiya Rakko prior to her death and then eventual replacement by Sunazara Chimitsu.
 * This episode confirms that the first day Saten and Frenda met is at September 28th of the current year.

Referbacks

 * When Mikoto praises Kuroko for her efforts as a Judgment member, a scene from  where she saves a student was used as flashback. The Treasure Hunter App was also referenced.
 * When Mikoto remembers her bad experience with Indian Poker, the scene where she and Misaki beat up BLAU and his fans from  is used as flashback. Kuroko also referenced having been traumatized from Mikoto's response to her monologue when the latter experienced Indian Poker for the first time from the same episode.
 * This episode coincides with , where all incidents involving the Treasure Hunter App are happening at the same time. The beginning of this episode is also the same day Kuroko and Shaei met.
 * This episode references Frenda's later distaste of canned mackerel and her desire to eat curry as featured in ', which was adapted to '.
 * In one scene, Frenda is looking at a pocket watch while window shopping. This is a call forward to her eventual gift to Kanou Shinka for his birthday, as shown in .
 * Rakko references her dream to be an idol in this episode, which was previously shown from her dream in the, seen through Mikoto.

Cultural References

 * The brand on one of the billboards is Posiqlo, which is a parody of, a Japanese clothing retailer.
 * Frenda utters "Deilig" when she is eating mackerel curry and "Ha det bra" to Saten when she was about to leave the dormitory. The former is Norwegian meaning "delicious". The latter is Swedish or Norwegian language meaning "Good bye". Thus it appears that Frenda originates from Northern Europe, or has profound connection with there. The latter is also the title of the.
 * Orange Computer is a parody of, a US technology company.
 * FUKIDASHI (Japanese for speech bubble) is a parody of, a Korean messaging app, with the logo being a speech bubble.
 * The car that Hamazura drives in this episode is based on the, also known as Mini Cooper, specifically the third generation S model, in which the steering wheel is on the left side of the car.

Differences in Adaptation

 * The scene at the beginning of the episode, where Mikoto praised Kuroko for her efforts as Judgment member is anime-original.
 * Two separate scenes with Saten and Uiharu together, when the latter is busy with her Judgment duties concerning incidents related to the Treasure Hunt App are anime-original.

Animation Trivia

 * The mackerel can is rendered in CGI after Frenda blew it up to open it.
 * Most people in the background are rendered in CGI.

Unanswered Questions

 * What exactly is Frenda's nationality?
 * What does SCHOOL want with the Tweezers?
 * How was Rakko able to shoot Frenda without any guns?