Toaru Majutsu no Index III Episode 04

"The Dark Side of Academy City" (学園都市暗部) is the fourth episode of the third season of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime series. It was first broadcast on October 26th 2018, and was directed by Mori Yoshihiro, was storyboarded by Nihei Yuichi, and the script written by Kingetsu Ryunosuke.

Synopsis
''In a city on the verge of its law collapsing, an organization skulks in the darkness. Who will slip through the tangle of outcry and bullets to survive?''

Adapted From

 * Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 15 Prologue, Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 Parts 1-6

Major Events

 * After capturing Management, GROUP learn of and foil an assassination attempt on Oyafune Monaka.
 * Making use of disruption from the assassination attempt, SCHOOL attack the Elementary Particle Engineering Laboratory for the Tweezers and come into conflict with members of ITEM.
 * GROUP learns of a cracking attempt on the Virus Isolation Center and assume a decoy. Having infiltrated BLOCK, Etzali informs them that the real target is the Hikoboshi II's satellite control center.

Deaths

 * Management is killed by Yobou Banka.
 * Yamate is killed by Etzali
 * Yobou Banka is killed by Mugino Shizuri.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Tsuchimikado Motoharu
 * Musujime Awaki
 * Etzali (as Unabara Mitsuki & Yamate)
 * Accelerator
 * Heaven Canceller
 * Last Order
 * Oyafune Monaka
 * Hamazura Shiage
 * Yomikawa Aiho
 * Aleister Crowley (referenced)

New Characters

 * Management
 * Yobou Banka
 * Yamate
 * Sunazara Chimitsu
 * Kakine Teitoku
 * Girl in the dress
 * Mugino Shizuri
 * Frenda Seivelun
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Kinuhata Saiai
 * Yumiya Rakko (referenced)

Abilities

 * Accelerator (ability) - Accelerator, Level 5
 * Appearance Borrowing - Etzali
 * Meltdowner - Mugino Shizuri, Level 5

New Abilities

 * Psychokinesis - Yobou Banka, Level 4

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Heaven Canceller's Hospital
 * Joseph's Coffee and Restaurant
 * Family Side

New Locations

 * School District 7
 * Management's residence
 * Concert Hall Front Plaza
 * School District 6 (referenced)
 * School District 5
 * Virus Isolation Center (referenced)
 * School District 3
 * North External Connection Terminal (referenced)
 * School District 2
 * South External Connection Terminal (referenced)
 * School District 12
 * East External Connection Terminal (referenced)
 * School District 13
 * West External Connection Terminal (referenced)
 * School District 18
 * Elementary Particle Engineering Laboratory

Trivia

 * The voice actor of unnamed taxi driver is Sahara Makoto and unnamed patrol car driver is Katayama Kousuke.
 * In the e-mail Hamazura Shiage sends to the members of ITEM, Yumiya Rakko's name is referenced directly with regards to her death, believed to be at the hands of the ITEM.
 * Moreover, Wind Defense, the technology Oyafune Monaka uses to prevent sniping,  is referenced in the e-mail despite never actually being seen in the episode.
 * If you look carefully at the computer GROUP is using to read the IC chip on the money bill, the lower left corner of the taskbar indicates that the operating system is STUDY OS. This is the first ever reference to the Silent Party Arc in other Toaru material.
 * Although no members of the Amakusa Christians appear in this episode, the track Amakusa Shiki Juuji Seikyou from the second Toaru Majutsu no Index II soundtrack is used for the GROUP meeting at the end of the episode.

Referbacks

 * Events involving Accelerator from Episodes 22 to 24 of Toaru Majutsu no Index II are shown during a brief recap of Accelerator's situation before the opening credits.
 * Hamazura Shiage mentions how he was a Skill-Out leader when he is with ITEM.

Cultural References

 * Management uses a in this episode.
 * Hikoboshi II is based on the legend of , the origins of the Tanabata.

Differences in Adaptation

 * In the light novel, patrol car that convoyed Management was divided horizontally, but in anime adaptation, it was changed to be cut vertically.
 * This episode did not show the scene where Hamazura steals the truck and when he says to Takitsubo that only skills are required to drive a car (he doesn't have a license), so he lied to Yomikawa.

Animation Trivia

 * Despite being shot in the gut earlier, Management is instead holding his chest in pain as he is being transported.
 * When Frenda checks her phone, her eye color changes to yellow.
 * When this episode, alongside the rest of the Battle Royale Arc was initially aired, the contrasts are much brighter, making the ambient much different from other arcs. The contrasts revert to normal in BD releases.

Unanswered Questions

 * What is BLOCK's goal?

Preview

 * "In a city on the verge of its law collapsing, an organization skulks in the darkness. Who will slip through the tangle of outcry and bullets to survive?"