Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S Episode 14

"Promise" (約束) is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun anime series and the 38th episode in the series overall. It was first broadcasted on July 12th, 2013. It's screenplay was written by Hanada Jukki, storyboarded by Sayama Kiyoko, and directed by Takashima Daisuke. The animation was co-directed by Sato Marina, Fuji Masahiro, and Taniguchi Motohiro.

For Oneesama, what else can she say and do but wait patiently? Kuroko does so with determination, though this determination begins to wane when her concerns for Mikoto's everyday-absences rear up in her mind. As she worries, a surprising person appears before her—Touma an acquaintance of her Oneesama.

In an attempt to get even a small clue about what Mikoto is dealing with, Kuroko allows him to enter their room. However, the Dorm Supervisor and her troublesome patrols have come, and she is forced to hide Touma away underneath a bed. Despite his stifled breath under the bed, he finds something intriguing within Mikoto's Kirigumar—the truth hidden behind the "experiments" that the Sisters he had met had spoken of. Touma, now knowing that Mikoto is fighting a battle on her own, hastily sets off running around Academy City in the dark of the night.

Meanwhile, Mikoto has been forced to bring out her final trump card, and now must make a difficult choice...

Synopsis
Time is at the essence. The 10,032nd experiment draws near!

Major events

 * Touma discovers the Level 6 Shift Project and decides to help Mikoto end it.

Adapted from

 * Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 034
 * Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 035
 * Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 03

Characters

 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Misaka 10032's cat
 * Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor
 * Accelerator (referenced)
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Misaka 9982 (flashback)
 * Misaka 10032 (flashback)
 * Misaka Misuzu (flashback)

New Characters
No new characters were introduced during this episode.

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * A Certain Iron Railway Bridge

New Locations
No new locations were introduced during this episode.

Abilities

 * Imagine Breaker - Kamijou Touma, Level 0
 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4
 * Electromaster (Railgun variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5

New Abilities
No new abilities were introduced during this episode.

Trivia

 * stand still returns as the ending theme for the episode, though having notable difference is that Touma and Mikoto's positions are switched.
 * Touma's fliphone from the Index anime adaptation is given a screen for when the phone is closed, allowing for Touma to view the time without opening the phone. This however, is changed into the standard fliphone that he uses the next episode.
 * The episode preview shows Touma saying the classic line "I'll destroy that illusion of yours," for the first time in an animated adaptation of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun.

Referbacks

 * Mikoto's Kill Bear that was shown back in episode 7 finally makes a comeback a plot device that allows Touma to discover about the Level 6 Shift Project.
 * Mikoto references the destruction of Tree Diagram again after she had learned about it back in episode 12.
 * Mikoto's internal monologue on heroes being unrealistic from episode 12 are referenced, and is used as an ironic echo when Touma decides to fight against Accelerator for Mikoto.

Cultural References
No notable references to culture were introduced during this episode.

Animation Trivia

 * The scene where the Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor's feet is focused when she is walking towards Mikoto and Kuroko's room is completely identical to the same scene in episode 11 of the first season of Index.
 * Scenes from episode 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, and 13 are reused for flashbacks during this episode.
 * Several scenes with the black cat's movements are computer generated. The most blatant of this is when Mikoto beckons the black cat to her, the animation is computer generated.

Unanswered Questions

 * How did Touma's phone survive Mikoto's electric attack?
 * Why was the cat unnaffected by the wide area EMP?

Quotes

 * Kuroko: "How dare you call me a pervert." — To Touma as he asks about Kuroko spending her time on another person's bed
 * Mikoto: "Help me. Please, help me." — Her anguished plea for help as she discovers her helplessness in the battle against the Level 6 Shift Project.
 * Mikoto: "..Even being the meddler that you are, I bet you can't look past this. From your point of view, I'm just an accomplice who provided the DNA for these experiments. Are you here to blame me? Whatever. Even if I'm wrong, the results show the opposite. For all I know, having someone else blame me might calm me down a bit." —Internal monologue regarding Touma discovering the experiments.
 * Touma: "Yeah, they are wrong. There's no reason for someone to get hurt by that. But... the way you're handling it won't save you. That's why I'm not moving." — Touma's words of conviction as he stands in Mikoto's way
 * Mikoto: "Even if there was a world where everyone could live happily, I would have no place there!" — Mikoto's words to Touma, signifying her succumbing to her fate
 * Mikoto: "You really are stupid. This has nothing to do with you. Just close your eyes and pretend like you never saw anything. You could still go back to your ordinary life. Why would you let yourself get beat up like this? Your heart might've stopped for a bit too. How can you keep smiling like that?!"—To Touma as she has his head on her lap.
 * Touma: "Because I'm glad to be your friend."—Touma's reply to the above sentence.
 * Touma: "So... How about you help me, then? It's my dream to go back home smiling, without having lost anything. So help me fulfill that. Just wait here. I'll bring back younger Misaka. I promise."—To Mikoto just before leaving to confront Accelerator.
 * Mikoto:"Mama isn't here to solve all my problems for me. Even if you pray to the gods, there's no such thing as miracles. Even if you cry and shout, there's no such hero that would come-" —To herself as she discovers her hero.