Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 21

Doppelganger (ドッペルゲンガー) is the 21st episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. It was broadcast on August 28th 2020. The episode was both directed and storyboarded by Miyazaki Shuuji, and the screenplay written by Inotsume Shinichi.

Several occurrences of information leaks involves major companies and the School Garden itself, including Tokiwadai Middle School. Suspecting the dreams seen through Indian Poker cards to be the cause, countermeasures were made, but without much impact. Meanwhile, Shokuhou, who felt that the technology used for Indian Poker hints to Clone Dolly, begins an independent investigation.

On the other side, a researcher named Kuriba Ryouko, as well as the research facility she is involved in, were located. But, the experiment that took place there has no connection to Indian Poker in a strange development. Mikoto, who was informed about this situation, investigates the research facility in behalf of Shokuhou and was offered a certain bargaining chip.

Synopsis
Mikoto's bad experience with Indian Poker cards cause her to suffer from nightmares that leave her sleepless. Then, she sees Hazamaya Kana, who insists Mikoto to accompany her to the nearest bus stop on her way to the Learning Core despite being in relative safety alone. On their way, Mikoto endures Kana's notably scathing remarks as she talks about the Daihaseisai, the now-missing Indian Poker Trader, as well as the infamous Bust Upper. She then eventually picks up on the child's unusual talk as Shokuhou Misaki's doing, which the other Level 5 did not deny.

Kana soon leaves on a bus to the Learning Core without being aware of Misaki's manipulations, leaving Mikoto to finally ask Misaki about how she knew about Indian Poker. However, Misaki instead uses the moment to tease Mikoto about her Bust Upper adventures. Mikoto responds by attacking Misaki's breasts, but it caused the Electromaster to be caught in a denial-induced daze for some reason.

A day before, at Judgment 177 Branch Office, Shirai Kuroko and Uiharu Kazari deliver a report on information leaks involving Tokiwadai Middle School (the security features of their buses and usage of pure water in showers), other School Garden campuses and major companies. Their report identifies Indian Poker cards to be the cause, as information can be shared through dreams stored in these cards, but ongoing efforts to curb card production are fruitless because students can produce the cards themselves through design blueprints made available online.

Previously, Misaki (through a mind-controlled student as representative) met with her associate Keitz Nokleben for his own report on the Indian Poker cards. Keitz tracked down a girl named Kuriba Ryouko from Shinshikimi Middle School, but he is uncertain of the girl's current location or whether the "Kuriba Ryouko" that was found within a certain research facility is the real thing. Nonetheless, Misaki finds similarities between Indian Poker and Clone Dolly and wants the former taken down as soon as possible.

Back to the present, Misaki (after momentarily knocking back Mikoto's senses) talks to Mikoto at a cafe about what she learned about Kuriba Ryouko. Ryouko is a test subject of a cyborg experiment where she was split into two, observed over a span of one year, and was later reassembled with no adverse effects in her body. Aside from studying the effects of integrating mechanical parts to a human body, the experiment also hides another objective: the creation of a soul. Misaki is curious to find out the results of the experiment, so she asks Mikoto to infiltrate the facility that performed the experiment. She also warns Mikoto that the results of the experiment may be used on other people, from Child Errors to human clones, and offers her own ability and information network as a bargaining chip against "future obstacles" to ensure her cooperation.

After Mikoto leaves the cafe, Kouzaku Mitori, then accompanied by Dolly on a nearby location, uses a small Liquid Shadow puppet to tease Misaki about her roundabout show of intent to help the Sisters. Mitori then relays news of Keitz successfully tracking down Kuriba Ryouko's location.

Mikoto once more leaves the Tokiwadai Dormitory at night, visiting the facility mentioned by Misaki as part of the deal. Meanwhile, at the facility in question, "Kuriba Ryouko" returns to her quarters after a routine check-up. Upon receiving a wound from picking up shards of the broken mug she remembered receiving from her mother, she begins to wonder about the gaps in her memory trailing back from the time she arrived at the facility. Then, she asks herself if she was even human at all. Shortly, an explosion tears through the top floors of the facility, and Mikoto, who is making the magnetic wall-climb up the facility building notices a "girl" plummet past her. Despite the attempt to catch the girl on time using nearby banners, Mikoto notices no traces of the fallen girl.

After the encounter at the facility, Mikoto visits Kuriba Ryouko's apartment unit with Misaki present through a representative of the apartment's insurance company. Mikoto soon informs Ryouko that her android resembling herself has escaped from the facility, leading her to recall her own experience with the experiment. Ryouko is still partly doubtful of whether a soul was created by the experiment, but she is anxious of the dangers that go along with it.

As the facility's chief assesses the damage caused by the explosion, the so-called "doppelganger" escapes to the ruins of Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory. Here, after disposing of the thugs that occupied the area, she covers her mechanical parts with artificial skin, dresses herself in a black surgical gown, and begins looking into useful data from within the laboratory ruins. The "doppelganger" is unaware that someone has located her current position and is preparing to pursue her: the operatives of Scavenger, whose position in the Dark Side is on the precipice due to a.

Major Events

 * Judgment begins an investigation on Indian Poker cards after information leaks were reported on the School Garden and major companies. Countermeasures devised by the authorities had no effect due to the spread of blueprints for Indian Poker card production machines online.
 * Shokuhou Misaki suspects a link between Indian Poker cards and Clone Dolly, so she conducted an independent investigation. Keitz Nokleben finds the name Kuriba Ryouko, who was a test subject in a cyborg experiment.
 * Misaka Mikoto, after entering a deal with Misaki, visits the facility where the experiment involving Kuriba Ryouko was undertaken, but finds an android resembling her escape from the facility. Mikoto also visits the apartment unit of the original, who confirms of the android's identity.
 * After questioning her own humanity, Kuriba Ryouko's "doppelganger" escapes to the ruins of Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory, where she goes on a change of appearance.
 * The doppelganger becomes a target of the Dark Side organization Scavenger.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Hazamaya Kana
 * Indian Poker Trader (flashback)
 * Kinuhata Saiai (flashback)
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Konori Mii
 * Yanagisako Aomi
 * Tessou Tsuzuri (cameo)
 * Yomikawa Aiho (cameo)
 * Keitz Nokleben
 * Kuriba Ryouko
 * Kouzaku Mitori
 * Dolly
 * Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor (mentioned)
 * Accelerator (fantasy)

New Characters

 * Doppelganger
 * Chief
 * Female Researcher
 * Leader
 * Yakumaru
 * Naru
 * Scavenger Liaison (voice only)
 * Seike

Abilities

 * Mental Out - Shokuhou Misaki, Level 5
 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
 * Liquid Shadow - Kouzaku Mitori, Level 4

New Abilities

 * Predator - Leader, Level 3

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Judgment 177 Branch Office
 * School Garden (flashback)
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * School District 20
 * Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory

New Locations

 * Learning Core (mentioned)
 * Shinshikimi Middle School (mentioned)

Trivia

 * The unnamed controlled girl and woman are voiced by Sasaki Hitomi and Komatsu Naoko respectively.
 * The unnamed ramen restaurant chef is voiced by Yamane Masashi.
 * The unnamed delinquents are voiced by Iwanaka Mutsuki, Kimura Hayato, and Mizukoshi Ken.
 * The whiteboard during Uiharu and Kuroko's presentation shows that the date in-universe that day was October 11.

Referbacks

 * Mikoto once again remembers her with Misaki at the beginning of the episode.
 * Kana references Mikoto's participation in the Daihaseisai, specifically the and.
 * A scene from  is used as a flashback when Mikoto notices that the trader had disappeared from his usual place.
 * The information leaking from the School Garden that Uiharu reports was previously mentioned in Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume SS.
 * The Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory is one of the facilites of the Level 6 Shift Project that Mikoto destroyed via cyber hacking back in .
 * The Scavenger Liaison refers to Scavenger's  to eliminate DA, which they  due to Accelerator's intervention.

Cultural References

 * Mikoto references the by Dr. Duncan MacDougall. MacDougall hypothesized that souls have physical weight, and attempted to measure the mass lost by a human when the soul departed the body. During the experiment, one of his six subjects lost three-fourths of an ounce (21.3 grams).
 * Misaki's explanation of Kuriba Ryouko if they are the same when separated as cyborgs might be a nod to the, a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object.
 * is a German word which literally means double walker. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or paranormal phenomenon and usually seen as a harbinger of bad luck or doom. Other traditions and stories equate a doppelgänger with an evil twin, as shown in this episode.

Differences in Adaptation

 * Given the state of Uiharu's arm in this episode, the meeting in Judgment 177 Branch Office takes place after the events of October 9th (specifically October 11th, as shown on the whiteboard during the meeting), unlike in the manga where Uiharu's arm seems normal, thus taking place before October 9th.
 * In relation to the statement above, the meeting in the manga is much longer than the adapted episode, especially where they explained further the machines that creates Indian Poker cards. Additionally, many of Uiharu's lines are spoken by Kuroko in the anime.
 * Both Kouzaku Mitori and Dolly appeared in person in this episode, donning their attires for their appearance in the Jailbreaker Arc, unlike the manga where Mitori's mini Shadow Puppet only appeared alongside her voice.
 * The scene of Mikoto and Kuroko inside the dorm before the former infiltrates the cyborg facility is anime-original.
 * The scene where Mikoto remembers the news of her infiltrating facilities for the Level 6 Shift Project and being referred to as a boy is done while she is on her way to the facility, unlike in the manga where she recalls it at the facility itself.
 * The scene where Skill-Out delinquents mentioned selling fake Indian Poker cards before the Doppelganger goes inside the facility is cut.
 * The scene with Scavenger is slightly altered in the adaptation. Here, the discussion happened in their base, with the Scavenger Liaison reminding them of their previous failure and how they must not fail again. In the manga, this happened inside a certain mall near the restrooms, but without the appearance of the Scaveneger Liaison.

Animation Trivia

 * During Scavenger's appearance at the end of this episode, the ending theme plays over it, which results in the ending animation being almost completely replaced, except for the end.

Unanswered Questions

 * What are the fates of the Skill-Out gangs inside the facility after they encounter the Doppelganger?
 * In what manner will Scavenger deal with the Doppelganger?