Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 22

Scavenger is the 22nd episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. It was broadcast on September 4th 2020. The episode was directed by Sakurabi Katsushi, the screenplay written by Inotsume Shinichi, and storyboarded by Ohashi Yoshimitsu.

Mikoto is on the search for the truth behind the "soul creation" experiment, the study that creates two cyborgs from a single body. But before she could infiltrate the institution where the experiment took place, a mechanical "doppelganger" that looks exactly like Kuriba Ryouko had escaped the facility. After her firsthand encounter with Kuriba, Mikoto is informed of the hidden dangers involving the Doppelganger as well as how Kuriba created Indian Poker to resolve this problem.

Mikoto is still somehow not satisfied with Kuriba's explanation and decides to escort her. But, before they could part ways, the escaped Doppelganger appeared. And, at the same time, the Dark Side organization Scavenger launches an attack with the Doppelganger on their sights!

Major Events

 * Scavenger successfully tracks down the so-called Doppelganger and begins their attack. Although successful in damaging the Doppelganger, the ensuing counterattack left Scavenger with two members injured: Leader and Naru.
 * Seike, assigned to pursue the girl who resembles the Doppelganger, was defeated by Misaka Mikoto, who decided to follow Kuriba Ryouko after learning of her motivations through Shokuhou Misaki.
 * Scavenger manages to survive the counterattack of the Doppelganger, only to find themselves in an encounter with Misaka Mikoto. This would be their second encounter in a row involving a Level 5 after their humiliating defeat from Accelerator.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Leader
 * Seike
 * Naru
 * Yakumaru
 * Doppelganger
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Kuriba Ryouko
 * Shokuhou Misaki
 * Chief (flashback)
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor (mentioned)
 * Accelerator (fantasy)

Abilities

 * Predator - Leader, Level 3
 * Mental Out - Shokuhou Misaki, Level 5
 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5

New Abilities

 * Stick Slip - Seike, Level Unknown
 * Mix Master - Yakumaru, Level Unknown
 * Perfect Paper - Naru, Level 3
 * 'Soul Possession' - Doppelganger

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 20
 * Shinasame University DNA Map Analysis Laboratory
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory

Trivia

 * The unnamed controlled woman is voiced by Komatsu Naoko.
 * Kill Bear makes its appearance for the first time since the Sisters Arc, being an important plot point in that arc.
 * According to Railgun manga editor Ogino Kentarou, Mikoto did a reproduction of Hokaze Junko's Rampage Dress when she teleported in front of Seike.

Referbacks

 * After Misaki mentioned that Ryouko intends to solve her problems by herself, Mikoto remembers her attacks on the Level 6 Shift Project facilities in the previous season, having the same reason as Ryouko's.

Cultural References

 * A is a wild animal from Africa and Asia that looks like a dog, hunts in groups, and makes a sound similar to a human laugh.  Hyenas are also known for being scavengers, the reason why Naru suggested the team name.
 * Miahilin is derived from , the name of the son of, the god of medicine in Irish mythology. He is the one who replaced Nuada's silver arm with one of flesh and blood.
 * are drug that suppress, or reduce, the strength of the body's immune system. Some of these drugs are used to make the body less likely to reject a transplanted organ.
 *  is an affliction in which fluid, usually blood, is suddenly accumulating in parts of the lungs, in the case of blood likely due to an injury to the blood vessels or weakness of the heart.
 * The OS of Ryouko's tablet seen in her flashback resembles OS.

Differences in Adaptation

 * In the manga, BLOCK and MEMBER gets referenced as well in addition to ITEM and SCHOOL where Naru thinks of team names. In this episode, only the latter two were referenced.
 * A scene of Mikoto calling Kuroko in their dorm is anime-original.
 * Leader having an indirect reference to Kamijou Touma as an urban legend gets cut in the adaptation.

Animation Trivia

 * At one point in Ryouko's flashback, while testing a cybernetic arm, her appearance is that of after the cyborg experiment, not before it.
 * The ending is played for a few seconds over the scene where Scavenger encounters Misaka Mikoto before the ending animation starts.

Unanswered Questions

 * What is the reason of Ryouko in erasing the soul of her doppelganger?
 * At the end of the episode, what will Mikoto do to Scavenger upon approaching them?

Preview

 * Naru: "Mainpulator of paper, Naru!"
 * Seike: "Controller of frictional coefficients, Seike!"
 * Yakumaru: "Leave the chemicals to me! Yakumaru!"
 * Leader: "Master of the birds eye biew, Leader!"
 * Scavenger: "The four of us combined are Scavenger!"
 * Naru: "What if we introduced ourselves that way?"
 * Others: "Reject."