Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T Episode 19

Strange Coincidence (奇縁) is the 19th episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T. It was broadcast on August 14th 2020.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Shokuhou Misaki (flashback)
 * Aogami Pierce (flashback)
 * Saraku (flashback)
 * Hikoichi (flashback)
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Frenda Seivelun
 * Akemi (cameo)
 * Mako (cameo)
 * Muu (cameo)
 * Mugino Shizuri (cameo)
 * Indian Poker Merchant
 * Yobou Banka
 * Gokusai Kaibi
 * Hamazura Shiage

New Characters

 * Yumiya Rakko

Abilities

 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5 (flashback)

New Abilities

 * Measure Heart - Gokusai Kaibi, Level Unknown (referenced)
 * Psychokinesis - Yobou Banka, Level 4

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * Sakugawa Middle School
 * Saten Residence
 * School Garden
 * School District 3
 * ITEM's Private Pool

New Locations

 * Super Mana
 * Private Shidarezakura Academy

Trivia

 * The unnamed researchers are voiced by Okano Yuu and Maki Shun'ichi (the latter is uncredited).
 * The unnamed support staffs of SCHOOL are voiced by Ueki Shin'ei, Takahashi Makoto, and Toyoshima Shūhei.
 * The unnamed female students of Private Shidarezakura Academy are voiced by Enoyoshi Maya and Kobari Saki.
 * This episode acts as a prologue for volume 15 of the Toaru Majutsu no Index light novel, showing not just the initial plans of SCHOOL before the beginning of the novel, but also that of its sniper Yumiya Rakko prior to her death and then eventual replacement by Sunazara Chimitsu.
 * This episode confirms that the first day Saten and Frenda met is at September 28th of the current year.

Referbacks

 * When Mikoto praises Kuroko for her efforts as Judgment member, a scene from  where she saves a student was used as flashback. The Treasure Hunter App was also referenced.
 * When Mikoto remembers her bad experience with Indian Poker, the scene where she and Misaki beat up BLAU and his fans from  is used as flashback. Kuroko also referenced having traumatized from Mikoto's response to her monologue while the latter experiences Indian Poker for the first time from the same episode.
 * This episode coincides with , where all incidents involving the Treasure Hunter App are happening at the same time. The beginning of this episode is also the same day Kuroko and Shaei met.
 * This episode references Frenda's later distaste of canned mackerel and her desire to eat curry as featured in ', which was adapted to '.
 * In one scene, Frenda is looking at a pocket watch while window shopping. This is a call forward to her eventual gift to Kanou Shinka for his birthday, as shown in .
 * Rakko references her dream to be an idol in this episode, which was previously shown from her dream in the, seen through Mikoto.

Cultural References

 * The brand on one of the billboards is Posiqlo, which is a parody of, a Japanese clothing retailer.
 * Frenda utters "Deilig" when she is eating mackerel curry and "Ha det bra" to Saten when she was about to leave the dormitory. The former is Norwegian meaning "delicious". The latter is Swedish or Norwegian language meaning "Good bye". Thus it appears that Frenda originates from Northern Europe, or has profound connection with there. The latter is also the title of the.
 * FUKIDASHI (Japanese for speech bubble) is a parody of, a Korean messaging app, with the logo being a speech bubble.
 * The car that Hamazura drives in this episode is based on the, also known as Mini Cooper, specifically the third generation S model, in which the steering wheel is on the left side of the car.

Differences in Adaptation

 * The scene at the beginning of the episode, where Mikoto praised Kuroko for her efforts as Judgment member is anime-original.
 * Two separate scenes with Saten and Uiharu together, when the latter is busy with her Judgment duties concerning incidents related to the Treasure Hunt App are anime-original.

Animation Trivia

 * The mackerel can is rendered in CGI after Frenda blew it up to open it.
 * Most people in the background are rendered in CGI.

Unanswered Questions

 * What exactly is Frenda's nationality?
 * What does SCHOOL want with the Tweezers?
 * How was Rakko able to shoot Frenda without any guns?