Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 17

Precognition (予知) is the 17th episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. It was broadcast on July 31st 2020.

The mobile app being investigated by Kuroko and the others was created by an elementary school pupil and Precognition/Thoughtography esper Miyama Shaei. This boy has been on the search for an esper who can overturn the destiny he himself foresees. With help from Miyama, Kuroko and the others successfully prevent several incidents from happening.

One day, two incidents were foreseen to happen on the same park, and a case is opened for the first time. In light of a prediction of a fire involving many casualties, Kuroko and the others received the help of other members of Judgment to deal with the situation. Meanwhile, Miyama collapsed due to excessive use of his powers. The secret behind this reckless move is a bitter experience in the past, as well as a certain other reason...

Synopsis
After explaining how his ability works, Miyama Shaei comments on how his predictions had been uncontested until Kuroko's successful rescue earlier, which he speculates as her 11th-dimension calculations while Teleporting interfering with Shaei's three-dimensional precognition. Then, to prove his credibility, Shaei used the "second stage" of his ability to make a new prediction that is not registered in the treasure hunt app. This new prediction brought them to a nearby river, where Kuroko and Uiharu save a girl from drowning. Convinced that his predictions are real and they can be intercepted by her Teleport ability, Kuroko agrees to receive Shaei's help.

With the help of Shaei's predictions, Kuroko responds to the attempted stabbing of a girl against her cheating lover, the rescue of an elementary school pupil from a falling sign, the restraint of a white alligator on the loose, and the arrest of a group of punks harassing a group of students. However, Shaei admits that he cannot predict every incident that happens, as he failed to predict the "mass coma incident" that occurred on September 30, due to the limitations of his ability. Regardless, Shaei commends Kuroko for her diligent response to the incidents he foresees.

One day, an exhausted Shaei reports a new prediction that will take place in a nearby park. But, to the surprise of the two Judgment girls, there is another incident indicated in the treasure hunt app to happen in that park. In particular, the other prediction, which was predicted to take place at the same time but 500 meters from the recent prediction, showed details of "flames" in it. Judging the incident as potentially bigger than what they are capable of responding on their own, Kuroko decides to ask help from other members of Judgment to secure the area without sealing off the park in question. Kuroko also receives an earpiece-and-monocle device from Uiharu, enabling her to view live satellite footage of the area.

Kuroko later receives two new predictions from Shaei, who falls unconscious after handing them out to her. Shaei is then taken to a certain hospital, where Kuroko learns from the Heaven Canceller that Shaei's excessive use of his abilities is taking a toll on his body. Kuroko is also informed about recommending Shaei to refrain from using his ability while he recovers. But, as Shaei recalls his past predictions, especially that of his close friend Pero engulfed in flames, he rushes out of the hospital to the park where the incident is about to happen.

At nightfall, frayed wires on a vending machine causes sparks to crawl along the dried leaves in the park and onto an ampoule stabbed on the ground nearby, causing an explosion that signals the start of the incident at the park. As Konori Mii proceeds with the plan to evacuate the entire park, Kuroko teleports any civilians caught in the middle of the fire to safety. However, as the fire spreads quickly to the cherry trees in the park, Kuroko remembers how the trees are already in bloom in October. She then speculates the use of plant ampoules to cause the off-season bloom of the cherry trees in the park, and Judgment is able to retrieve two intact ampoules to prove the flammability of its contents.

Kuroko manages to rescue the last civilian caught in the blaze. But, Shaei arrives, pleading them to rescue a stray dog named Pero, also located within the park. Despite Shaei's demands to be taken to Pero's location and his own worries about being caught in his predictions, Kuroko instead brings Konori Mii with her, using Uiharu's satellite footage and Mii's Clairvoyance to find safe zones where Pero might be located. In the end, Kuroko is successful in rescuing Pero, and a tearful reunion happened between Shaei and his friend.

On October 5, Uiharu confirms that the ampoules were the cause of the park fire, and the students involved in creating the ampoules simply wanted a way for the cherry trees in the park to bloom all year along, unaware that the chemicals involved creates highly flammable cherry blossoms in the process. Uiharu also reveals that the students learned about the chemicals from Indian Poker cards. Meanwhile, after being given a limiter for his ability, Shaei is visited by Kuroko. Shaei decides to give Pero to a girl named Ookawachi Megumi, a classmate and someone involved in his past predictions. While Shaei is sad about not being able to see Pero as often, Kuroko points out that Pero is saved by his ability, just like all the other people that were involved in his predictions. However, with the limiter still in place, Kuroko hopes that Shaei's ability will develop into something that can help others without risking his life, upon which time she wants him to visit them. Although uncertain that his powers will be useful in the future, he accepts Kuroko's offer.

Characters

 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Miyama Shaei
 * Konori Mii
 * Yanagisako Aomi
 * Heaven Canceller

New Characters

 * Chisa
 * Maki
 * Ta-kun
 * Ookawachi Megumi
 * Pero

Abilities

 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4
 * Clairvoyance - Konori Mii, Level 3

New Abilities

 * Unnamed ability with similarities to both Precognition and Thoughtography - Miyama Shaei

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Judgment 177 Branch Office
 * Heaven Canceller's Hospital

Trivia

 * The unnamed girl is voiced by Ishibashi Momo.
 * The unnamed gyaru is voiced by Amami Yurina.
 * The unnamed girl in Ookawachi's group is voiced by Aizawa Saya.
 * The unnamed mother is voiced by Otagiri Yuri.
 * The unnamed male student is voiced by Ono Masamu.
 * The unnamed punk is voiced by Shiraishi Kento.
 * The unnamed male announcer is voiced by Maeda Hiroki.
 * Throughout the first half of the episode, Kuroko and Uiharu change their summer uniforms for their winter ones, indicating that the timeline of this arc is now after September 30, where the change of uniforms are shown for the first time.
 * This episode marks the first physical appearance of Sakugawa Middle School winter uniform in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun anime adaptation, only previously seen via flashback in .
 * Some Judgment members seen from  appeared in this episode as cameo apperances.

Referbacks

 * A scene where Kuroko saves a student from a supposed accident from  is used as flashback when she remembered on how she stop the said accident that Miyama predicted.
 * Kuroko and Shaei hear news regarding the "group comas" of the other day, referencing the events of September 30 where Vento of the Front's Divine Punishment incapacitated many of Academy City's inhabitants.
 * Also, due to those events having passed later in the episode, this indicates that the events of September 30 has been resolved.

Cultural References

 * The name of Shaei's dog, "Pero" is just a Spanish word for "dog".

Differences in Adaptation

 * In this episode, Shaei states that the future is normally unchangeable. Originally in the manga, after he said that, a flashback of him trying to avert them.
 * The scene where the firefighters are helping to stop the spread of fire at the park is cut.
 * The scene after the fire incident greatly differs between the manga and the adaptation. While in the manga, Kuroko and Uiharu's investigation of the cause of the said incident was done while they are walking in the streets, in the adaptation, that was done inside the 177 Judgment branch instead.
 * Also, as the result of the alteration of the scene mentioned above and due to time constraints, only Kuroko meets Shaei at the end of the episode. Originally, in the manga, Uiharu and Kuroko meet Shaei after their investigation and the scene in the chapter is much longer than the adapted episode.

Animation Trivia

 * There are inconsistencies in the apperance of the map of the park in this episode, as when Shaei pulls out his phone to see the map, it is not matched to the one seen in his flashback and neither matched to the map Uiharu creates via sattelite imagery.