Toaru Majutsu no Index Episode 10

"Misaka Mikoto" (お姉様(みさかみこと)) is the 10th episode of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime series and the first episode of the Sisters Arc. It was first broadcasted on December 6, 2008, with the script written by Nishizono Satoru, and the episode storyboarded and directed by Tachibana Hideki.

Due to being involved in several incidents that involved Index, Touma has skipped several days of his remedial classes, and consequently has to take them in them in the middle of August. Touma is then hit by the usual "misfortune", after his money is eaten by a certain vending machine, there, a middle schoolder who attends Tokiwadai Middle School who goes Biribiri, Misaka Mikoto appears before him. She breaks the vending machine after showing off a little "trick" to him, and the both of them are forced to run away. There, before the two of them, a girl with a strange way of speaking wearing military goggles appears, claiming to be the "Misaka Imouto" of Mikoto. Suddenly, Mikoto's attitude changes for some reason after she sees her, and later leaves with her. Later, while Touma tries to go home, he meets Mikoto's sister again but is confused by the fact that she came from a different direction from where he left her and Mikoto.

Synopsis
The episode starts during night time; a slender-looking white-haired boy is seen walking out of a convenience store carrying his groceries. Meanwhile, a girl who looks suspiciously like Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun is seen on top of a rooftop, wearing military goggles that a bluish-green color. The girl is holding a mounted sniper rifle, positioned to fire down the streets below. The winds blow her hair, and she speaks in an eerie monotone voice, she adjusts the scope of the gun to accommodate the change in the weather conditions, the target is the white-haired boy. The wind blows again, and once again she adjusts the scope of her rifle, she readies to fire and confirms the target's name, Accelerator. She fires the gun several times, seemingly accurate. The bullet should hit Accelerator, however, in a flash the bullet returns to its bearer, destroying the gun and hitting the girl. She is severely injured, frantically she staggers to run away, apparently afraid of something. She runs into the alleys, and sees the object of her terror. There, awaiting her with a smile, the white-haired boy that should've been killed stands; Accelerator.

Adapted From
Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 03

Major events

 * Touma meets Mikoto for the first time since losing his memories.
 * Touma meets Shirai Kuroko.
 * Touma meets Misaka 10031 and Misaka 10032 as well as her cat.
 * Misaka 10032 meets Tsuchimikado Maika, Index and Aisa.
 * Misaka 10031 and Accelerator begins their battle, as part of the Level 6 Shift experiment.

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Index
 * Himegami Aisa
 * Sphynx
 * Tsukuyomi Komoe
 * Aogami Pierce
 * Tsuchimikado Motoharu

New Characters

 * Accelerator
 * Unnamed Misaka clone
 * Misaka 10031 (not referred to by name)
 * Misaka 10032 (not referred to by name)
 * Misaka 10032's cat
 * Tsuchimikado Maika

Abilities

 * Electrical attacks - Misaka Mikoto, level 5
 * Imagine Breaker - Kamijou Touma, level 0
 * Teleportation - Shirai Kuroko, level 4

New Abilities

 * Accelerator (Ability) - Accelerator, level 5

Locations

 * Academy City
 * Kamijou Residence

New Locations

 * A Certain Vending Machine that eats money
 * Book-On

Trivia

 * This episode features for the first time the infamous vending machine that eats money (later identified in Toaru Kagaku no Railgun as Vending Machine 7116), as well as Mikoto's infamous kick.
 * When Maika mentioned that she and Motoharu were making noise during the night, it may be a double entrede, considering how Motoharu is sis-con (someone who has sister complex or an attraction to sisters) and that Maika reads manga where siblings develop love for one anoter, which will be referred to later.
 * The episode mentions a school that does not focus on esper development.
 * Though unexplained in the anime, the celtic cross that Aisa has is a magical tool to prevent her powers, Deep Blood, from being detected by vampires.
 * This is the first time Aisa references Touma's incredible luck with girls he meet, which will expand tremendously in later episodes and novels.

Referbacks

 * The monorail bridge seen in episode 1 where Touma is running towards his school is seen again during this episode.

Cultural References

 * The sniper rifle that is used in the beginning of the episode looks similar to a Barrett M82, which seems to have been modified to fire automatically.
 * The flags Aisa is referring to are event flags in many dating simulation games and visual novels, where one can access the story routes as well as other flags of the subject after triggering certain conditions.
 * Tokugawa Ieyasu is referenced by Misaka 10032 during this episode. He was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled over Japan for more than 200 years.
 * Erwin Schrödinger is referenced as well by Misaka 10032, as a name for her cat. Here, Touma states that naming a cat Schrödinger is a taboo, which is a reference to his famous thought experiment which included a cat inside a sealed box, that maybe alive and dead at the same time until someone confirms that the cat is either alive or dead when the box is opened. This thought experiment will be used in a later episode, to explain the Power Curriculum Program of Academy City.

Animation Trivia

 * The Misaka clone seen in the opening fires several bullets at Accelerator, however, only 1 seemed to have redirected back to the clone. Also, note there seems to have been little to no recoil at all during the firing of the rifle.
 * The Misaka Clone calculates her bullet trajectory according to the wind. Since Accelerator's redirection would send the bullet back following the bullet's original trajectory, the bullet should not have hit back directly at the Misaka Clone for there is also wind on the second trip.
 * Around the 10min 39sec time frame, Misaka puts the night vision goggles on but then has them in her hand in the next scene, and the back on her head in the next.
 * During the scene where Touma argues with Index and Aisa, you can see that Sphynx tail is wiggling back-and-forth, however, if one pays attention, you can also see Misaka 10032's eyes moving back-and-forth as well watching Sphynx's tail wiggling.
 * Just before Misaka shoots to Accelerator two people that resemble to Akito Takagi and Moritaka Mashiro (Bakuman protagonist) walks near him.

Unanswered Questions

 * Is Accelerator the strongest level 5 esper?
 * Why does it seem that there are more than one of Mikoto's sisters?
 * Why is Mikoto's sister fighting Accelerator?

Quotes

 * Mikoto: "Chaser!" -Mikoto, after kicking the vending machine.
 * Maika: "Hey, Kamijou Touma! My AC broke down, so I'm here for the night. I'll be making noise with my brother tonight, so bear with us, sorry!"
 * Touma: "Whenever girls say the phrase 'take responsibility', there's always a terrible to ring to it..." -referring to Mikoto saying that he needs to take responsibility as a victor against her.
 * Aisa: "Perhaps, that is his fate. He raises flags with other people and goes down their story routes."
 * Mikoto: "Tree Diagram - the most powerful supercomputer in the world, installed inside Orihime-1, the artificial satellite the Academy City launched using 'weather data processing' as a cover. That's what they say, but does something as extravagant as that really exist?"
 * Misaka 10032: ""This black cat will be called 'Dog'," declares MISAKA. "A cat, yet 'Dog'... hehe.."" -Misaka 10032 trying to name her cat.
 * Touma: "You said cats don't like you because of your magnetic field? Then overcome that barrier, and true friendship is born." -to Misaka 10032, after throwing her cat towards her.
 * Accelerator "Now, question. Who comes to mind when they ask who the strongest Level 5 in this Academy City is?" -to Misaka 10031.