Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S Episode 09

"AIM Stalker" ((能力追跡 (AIMストーカー)) is the 9th episode of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S anime series, and the 33rd episode of the anime series adaptation of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga series. It was first broadcast on June 7, 2013. The episode's script was written by Yasunori Yamada, and storyboarded and directed by Konno Naoyuki. The animation was co-directed by Fujii Masahiro, Sakai Tomofumi, and Motomura Kouichi.

ITEM, one of the organizations in the dark side of Academy City, received a request to defend a certain facility, had Frenda sprung a trap spread around in the facility. Although, initially cornered, Mikoto manages to break through. Suddenly, before her very eyes, a beam of glaring light broke through before her. With the name of the Meltdowner, the leader of ITEM, has appeared, the 4th-ranked Level 5, Mugino Shizuri.

Exhausted, Mikoto attempts escape, but Mugino's violent attacks ceaselessly continues to follow her from afar. The one who guides Mugino however, is another member of ITEM and her ability. Meanwhile, Nunotaba Shinobu came a calling to the Cranial Nerve Application Analysis Laboratory, determined to personally to put to an end to the experiment that she has been involved in once.

Synopsis
As Mugino heads out to pursue the target on her own, her eyes fill with the urge to destroy her prey, which is none other than Tokiwadai's Railgun!

Major events

 * Mikoto confronts three members of ITEM.
 * Shinobu fails in her missions as a strange being prevents her from installing emotions on the clones, and is captured by Saiai.

Adapted From

 * Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 028
 * Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Manga Chapter 029

Characters

 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Mugino Shizuri
 * Takitsubo Rikou
 * Frenda Seivelun
 * Nunotaba Shinobu
 * Sisters
 * Accelerator (referenced)
 * Kinuhata Saiai
 * Misaka 8912

New Characters

 * Last Order (referred to as 20001)

Locations

 * Academy City
 * S-Processor Laboratories

New locations
No notable locations were introduced during this episode.

Abilities

 * Electromaster - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5.
 * Meltdowner - Mugino Shizuri, Level 5.
 * Misaka Network - Sisters
 * Psychometry (referenced)
 * Clairvoyance (referenced)

New Abilities

 * AIM Stalker - Takitsubo Rikou, Level 4.


 * Offense Armor - Kinuahata Saiai, Level 4.

Trivia

 * The events of this episode differ from those of the Railgun S opening: In the opening, Touma and Kuroko were present in Mikoto's fight against ITEM, but in this episode Mikoto fights alone, without the help of either Touma or Kuroko.
 * The sound effect used upon the bullet hitting Saiai's Offense Armor is similar to the one used for when Accelerator's reflection. This is a nod to the origin of Saiai's powers from the Dark May Project.

Referbacks

 * The theme of milktea continues with this episode, with Shinobu not being able to finish hers before leaving for her infiltration mission.
 * The Ability Body Crystal, also known as the Crystallized Esper Essence, the focus of the entire second half of the previous season of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun returns as a consumable solid used by Rikou.

Cultural References

 * The pistol that Shinobu takes from the thug resembles the Glock 18.

Animation Trivia

 * Entire sequences from the previous episode are reused near the beginning of the episode, likely to stretch out the time.
 * Scenes from episode 6 are reused for flashbacks.
 * To show the passage of time between Mikoto's initial encounter with Frenda and the arrival of Shizuri, the location where the ridiculously realistic fire animation was used had the fire gone out.
 * When Mugino Shizuri fires Meltdowner for the first time, her pose mimics Mikoto's Railgun pose.
 * The scene where Frenda peeks during the battle between Mikoto and Shizuri, and right before Rikou consumes the Ability Body Crystal, Frenda's stockings have completely disappeared.

Unanswered Questions

 * Who is that girl in the tank?
 * Where is Shinobu going to end up in?

Quotes

 * Shizuri: "Running around on the walls? You're just like a spider." — to Mikoto, pertaining to her fighting style at the beginning of their encounter
 * Frenda: "They're the great Level 5-Level 4 duo ITEM's famous for. Escaping the two of them ish afshoshuteshy impoffible!" — Referring to Level 5 Mugino Shizuri and Level 4 Takitsubo Rikou, ending up muttering garbled words in the end due to an electrocuted tongue
 * Shinobu: "Maybe I'm naive. I know that there might be no point in doing this. However... what I felt in that instant..." — A part of her internal monologue, explaining her motivations in thwarting the Sisters Project
 * Saiai: "Who cares? We just did our super-job. If she's useful, they may let her live. But... she'll lose everything except her super-shitty life." — Saiai's response when asked about Shinobu's imminent fate after discovering her true motives
 * Shizuri: "I'm not much for getting crap about outnumbering the enemy. Third-ranked Level 5 in Academy City... Tokiwadai's Railgun!"