Toaru Majutsu no Index III Episode 18

Alliance of Independent Nations (独立国同盟) is the eighteenth episode of the third season of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime series. It was broadcast on February 8th 2019, and was directed by Mori Yoshihiro, was storyboarded by Yuuki Shingo, and the script written by Kingetsu Ryunosuke.

Synopsis
''Academy City and Russia. Everything becomes embroiled and it begins. What begins? That much is obvious. World War III.''

Adapted From

 * Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 20 Prologue (Proclamation of War), Chapter 1 Parts 1-6 & Between the Lines 1, Chapter 2 Parts 1, 2, 4, 6 & 7

Major Events

 * World War III begins after Academy City rejects Russia's ultimatum, driven by the machinations of Fiamma of the Right.
 * Kamijou Touma travels through Russia accompanied by Lessar, seeking to defeat Fiamma and destroy the external controller which is threatening Index. Heading to the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations and meeting with Elizalina after learning of Fiamma's plans for Sasha Kreutzev, they meet with Elizalina and then come under attack from Fiamma himself. At the same time, Vento of the Front makes her move.
 * Accelerator travels through Russia in search of a way to save Last Order. After fighting a group of Powered Suit users from Academy City, he comes across a set of parchments which were apparently given similar importance to him by the unit.
 * After escaping from Academy City, Hamazura Shiage and Takitsubo Rikou make their own way through Russia. After Hamazura gains supplies by inadvertently thwarting a robbery, the two are approached by a villager from a nearby settlement with a request.
 * A battle begins in the Strait of Dover between British and French magical forces.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Fiamma of the Right
 * Hamazura Shiage
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Accelerator
 * Last Order
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Index Librorum Prohibitorum (flashback)
 * Lessar
 * Kanzaki Kaori
 * Agnese Sanctis
 * Angelene
 * Lucia
 * Agata
 * Carissa
 * Knight Leader
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Sasha Kreutzev
 * Vento of the Front

New Characters

 * Soldier I. Krainikov
 * Digurv (unnamed)
 * Elizalina
 * Bellagi
 * Longhe
 * Misaka Worst

Abilities

 * Imagine Breaker - Kamijou Touma
 * Accelerator (ability) - Accelerator, Level 5
 * Steel Glove - Lessar
 * Holy Right - Fiamma of the Right

New Abilities

 * Salt manipulation spell - French magicians
 * Surface reinforcement spell - Carissa's forces
 * Unnamed defensive spell - Elizalina

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * Russia

New Locations

 * Strait of Dover
 * Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations

Trivia

 * The voice actor of the unnamed magician is Akiba Tasuku.

Referbacks

 * Touma thinks back to what happened to Index following the end of the coup d'état (now referred to as the British Halloween) because of Fiamma. Fiamma himself also refers to those events in his clash with Touma, during his attack on the Elizalina Alliance of Independent Nations in search of Sasha.

Cultural References

 * The design of the sailing ships used by the Anglicans in the Battle of Dover Strait is that of the 17th-18th century.

Differences in Adaptation

 * Declaration of war.jpg the anime, Soldier I. Krainikov's ultimatum to Academy City and proclamation of war is shown in a live news broadcast, in various locations with various people watching. The dogfight over the Sea of Japan on October 30th is omitted.
 * Touma and Lessar's rescue of the villagers being transported in the Sleipnirs and their subsequent trip in one of the carriages is omitted, though several bits from the scenes are mixed into other scenes.   The scenes involving Itsuwa getting a chill at the same time Lessar was trying to seduce Touma, the discussion between the Russian military officers in Moscow, and the tank crew on the battlefield are also omitted.
 * With most of the scenes which caused Floris to bear a grudge against Touma having previously been omitted, Lessar's mentions continuing on from them are also omitted.
 * Toaru_Majutsu_no_Index_III_E18_13m_49s.png the novels, Mikoto was the one watching the video of the Academy City's declaration regarding Japan on her cellphone, while Kuroko was away on Judgment work. In the anime, Kuroko is with her in their room and is the one watching the video on a laptop at a desk. The actual missile interception is also excluded from the video.
 * Lessar's question of the Gekota strap on Touma's phone is moved from when they were in the Russian facility to when they were at the Elizalina Alliance's border.  Their entry into the country is also changed.
 * Elizalina and Lessar's improvisation of spiritual items (specifically, elemental symbolic weapons, a blue cup for water from a piece of cellophane wrapped around a glass, and a red wand for fire from a bar magnet attached to a pole, respectively) during Fiamma's attack is omitted.

Animation Trivia

 * When Fiamma appears inside Elizalina's base to attack, his pose exactly matches his one in the official key visual for the 2nd cour of Toaru Majutsu no Index III.
 * The Russian store sign you can see during Hamazura's attempted robbery says магазин, which just means "Store".

Unanswered Questions

 * Who was the bishop Fiamma was speaking to?
 * What is the document that Accelerator recovered?
 * Who is the girl who wants to kill Accelerator?

Preview

 * "Academy City and Russia. Everything becomes embroiled and it begins. What begins? That much is obvious. World War III."