Toaru Majutsu no Index Episode 22

"Golem" (石像) is the twenty-second episode of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime series. It was first broadcast on March 5, 2009, and was directed Tsuruta Hiroshi, storyboarded by Nihei Yuuichi, and the script written by Akahoshi Masanao.

After school, Touma and Index go the Underground Shopping Center with their new friend Kazakiri Hyouka. Three people, enjoying cosplays, meals, and games, to which Index concludes must be the essence of "school life". Suddenly, they are stopped by a Judgment girl, who tells them that Academy City has been infiltrated by a terrorist and that they must leave the Underground Shopping Center before the dividing walls close. As the people evacuate the mall, the three of them find something strange—an eye of a golem stuck to a wall. A killing intent came from the eye, and it speaks that it has found its target. Touma tells Index and Hyouka to leave. However, before comes Misaka Mikoto and her underclassman Shirai Kuroko, to make sure the evacuation goes smoothly. There, however, Mikoto and Index seems getting ready to fight with Touma as the center!?

Adapted From

 * Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 06

Major Events

 * Sherry Cromwell, who is deemed as a terrorist, and attacks the Underground Mall.
 * Misaka Mikoto and Shirai Kuroko meet Index and Kazakiri Hyouka for the first time.
 * Kazakiri Hyouka discovers that she is not human.

Characters

 * Index
 * Kazakiri Hyouka
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Sherry Cromwell
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Yomikawa Aiho
 * Tsukuyomi Komoe

New Characters

 * No new characters were introduced in this episode.

Abilities

 * Imagine Breaker - Kamijou Touma
 * Perfect Memory - Index
 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4
 * Golem Ellis - Pratical Kabbalah, Sherry Cromwell

New Abilities

 * Telepathy - Judgment girl, Level unknown
 * Counter Stop - Kazakiri Hyouka

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * School District 7 Underground Shopping Center

New Locations
No notable locations were introduced in this episode.

Trivia

 * It took 22 episodes for the two titular heroines of the series, Index of Toaru Majutsu no Index, and Misaka Mikoto of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, to meet.
 * The episode confirms that Telepathy has no effect on Touma.

Referbacks

 * Touma references the incident last episode where he sees both Hyouka and Index changing clothes in the nurse's room of his school.
 * Index mentions Touma saving her life back in episode 6, though Touma has no memory of this. Mikoto also references Touma helping her from episode 10 to 14.

Cultural References

 * The firearms used by Anti-Skill in the episode is a.
 * The Anti-Skill uses a inside a tunnel. Despite having an injury radius of 15 meters, the Anti-Skill, specifically Aiho, Touma, and even Sherry, gets out relatively fine after the explosion.

Animation Trivia

 * The videogames that appear in the arcade, also appear in episode 15.
 * Mikoto has always been depicted as visibly taller than Kuroko, however, during the part where Kuroko decides to teleport both Index and Mikoto, she is shown to be just as tall as her.

Unanswered Questions

 * Why would Sherry start a war?
 * Who exactly is Sherry's target?
 * If Hyouka is an amalgam of all the AIM diffusion fields of espers in Academy City, then why is she specifically in the form of a high school girl?
 * What is the use of that glowing prism inside Hyouka's head?
 * How does Hyouka reform herself?
 * Why did Hyouka appear to Index of all people?

Quotes

 * Touma: "This Kamijou Touma won't repeat the same mistake he made back in the nurse's room."
 * Sherry: "Scream as much as you can in this mud-stinking tomb covered in clay!"―To Touma and company.
 * Touma: "Hah! I thought you could come up with something better. This Kamijou-san, the manifestation of misfortune, cannot possibly have any luck... I hate myself for saying that..."―Touma accidentally insulting himself as he replies to Index.
 * Kuroko: "My, my, getting so steamy so quickly?"―Regarding the situation Touma and Index are in.
 * Kuroko: "I see... I thought it was fishy, but Oneesama has already opened her heart and body to Kamijou Touma, eh?"―Regarding the situation with Touma, Index, and Mikoto.
 * Index and Mikoto: "You're the one that should be running away first!"
 * Sherry: "Let's go, Ellis. Let us go hunt down the sorry and ugly little fox."
 * Komoe: "Was she so light of an existence that we can abandon her?"―To Touma regarding his feelings on the existence of Kazakiri Hyouka.
 * Touma: "No! Of course not! Even if she was just an illusion that would vanish when touched, that doesn't mean she could just disappear like that."
 * Komoe: "There you go! Sensei loves little sheep that are brought up the right way!"―To Touma regaining his answer.