Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S Episode 23

Silent Party (革命未明) is the 23rd episode of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S and forty-fifth episode overall. It was first broadcasted on September 20, 2013. The episode was directed Ikehata Takashi, the screenplay written by Yoshino Hiroyuki, and storyboarded by Ohashi Yoshimitsu. The animation was co-directed by Fujibe Ikuma, Shibata Shiro, Naoya Takashi, and Yamashita Yuu.

In Academy City, one’s value is determined by one’s level and power development is mostly decided by innate talent, so what if an esper could be created from scratch with some other method?

Aritomi explains the Chemicaloid Project to Mikoto and Nunotaba. STUDY will perform a large-scale experiment on the day of the Academy Research Exhibition Assembly and revolutionize Academy City. While unable to move because of the drug, Mikoto is reminded of herself when she sees Nunotaba bearing an incident involving her past.

Then her trusted comrades appear to save the two of them...!

Synopsis
Aritomi remembers as his acceptance speech during the Academic Assembly Awards Ceremony was applauded by the few people who attended his speech. He realizes that his idea that all people have equal chances of success was not true at all, and only the littlest of efforts by espers are recognized as opposed to the greatest achievements he, as part of the scientific community of Acadmy City, has been trying to push on. Aritomi decides that the only way to gain the attention he has been longing for is to create an esper entirely from scratch, eliminating the factor of chance in the production of powerful espers for Academy City... thus, the birth of the Chemicaloid Project.

Unfortunately, the start of the project was nothing but smooth — even the "darkness" of Academy City had refused to aid them in their research, and even the renowned scientist Kihara Gensei calls their work as a mere "summer break project". Aritomi felt pushed to bring results, and he eventually did, with the successful production of their prototype, "Febri".

Mikoto, despite her paralysis, seeks to know more about Aritomi's plans, but he refuses to divulge any more information aside. Eventually, Mikoto succumbs to the drug injected into her by Shinobu and passes out.

Several minutes later, Mikoto wakes up in a room elsewhere, with only Shinobu to accompany her. Upon finding out that it is already 3:40 PM, Mikoto tries to get up, only for Shinobu to remind her that the drug she administered into Mikoto would render her unable to move for two more hours.

Soon, Shinobu explains to Mikoto that she ended up in STUDY's side because she was sold by ITEM to STUDY shortly after her capture, and her works eventually became a platform of sorts for the Chemicaloid Project to push through. For this reason, she is also trying to thwart STUDY from causing her to commit another mistake like during the Sisters Project. Unfortunately, Aritomi had already destroyed the recipe for the antidote she needs to cure Febri's "twin", Janie, and bring her out of STUDY's hands.

Desperation is slowly consuming Shinobu, but she was surprised upon hearing Mikoto's words about her "little sisters" wanting to thank her (particularly for introducing them to the taste of milk tea). Soon, Mikoto slowly picks herself up using her electricity to control the muscles in her body, a feat that shocks Shinobu, and reassures Shinobu that there will always be someone to help her, and she need not push on alone to resolve something.

Shortly after, alarms blare outside, and Mikoto anticipates the presence of her friends as she had already made her presence known through the nanomachines she asked the frog-faced doctor to inject into her bloodstream beforehand. Through this information, Uiharu was able to pinpoint Mikoto's location while Ruiko goes on scouting and Kuroko marches forward on the offensive.

Mikoto decides to head out to help her friends in saving Febri, and Shinobu finally asks for Mikoto to help her as well in her mission, to which Mikoto promptly affirms.

Kuroko eventually locates Mikoto, who is completely covered with her electricity to faciliate in her movement and the two make their quick escape. Meanwhile, Shinobu chooses to stay with STUDY to avoid incurring the wrath of other underground organizations and to make certain that Janie is safe. For now, all that Shinobu wanted to do is to look for a way to get the whereabouts of Janie and the recipe needed for the neutralizer.

In Branch 177 of Judgment, Mikoto tells Kuroko, Ruiko and Uiharu about Aritomi's attack on Academy City on the following day, using the ability of Febri's sister Janie, Diffusion Ghost, which was also used control the mechanical units that had attacked Mikoto days ago. The problem lies with the possibility that a large-scale terrorist attack may take place, as Diffusion Ghost can also give out primitive commands to objects it control.

Ruiko thinks that they should locate Janie immediately to thwart the attack, but no one, even their insider Shinobu, knows where Janie is kept, so they are forced to rely on Febri's "link" with Janie to track down Janie. However, this also renders them unable to do anything until it actually happens. Mii then suggests looking for the possible locations of the Powered Suits that would be used for the attack. As Uiharu toils on the computer once again, Kuroko decides to see if the Anti-Skill can now help out this time. Unfortunately, not only was Yomikawa Aiho suspended from her Anti-Skill duties, she also tells the girls that most of the equipment used by Anti-Skill is now provided by STUDY Corporation itself, rendering Anti-Skill unable to do anything that concerns the company.

Shortly, Uiharu manages to find a lead. To the shock of the girls, she found a report about a large number of Powered Suits being delivered into the Academic Assembly, just as Kongou Mitsuko and her posse make their way into the Judgment office. In unison, Mitsuko and Uiharu report an estimate of over 20,000 Powered Suits present in the Academic Assembly venues.

The sheer feeling of helplessness amidst the situation has brought Mikoto to the point of concern for her friends, who may be endangered by this massive threat ahead of them. But, her friends refuse to back down for the sake of Janie and Febri. Soon, Mikoto is reminded about what that "spiky-haired boy" had told her in the midst of her moments of despair, and her face lights up right after. As Febri wakes up from her sound sleep, Mikoto tells her that she and her friends will help look for Janie.

That night, Mii calls her friend Aomi about "something important she should do", while Mitsuko seems to have received something from her father, which in turn came from a mysterious man. Elsewhere, at the Uiharu Residence, Febri, Uiharu and Ruiko prepare some rice balls for the battle ahead.

In the Tokiwadai Dormitory, Mikoto decides to give up on alibis and abandons Kuroko's plan to cover up their absence, much to the latter's disappointment. Then, Kuroko, a girl who has always been skeptic of good luck charms, hands out a four-leaf clover to Mikoto, enclosed in a silk handkerchief.

Before the night ends, Mikoto would make a call to a familiar band of lookalikes scattered throughout Academy City.

Ten minutes before sunrise.

STUDY anticipates the start of a revolution. All systems are go, and all it needs for everything to begin is a press of a button and a majority vote. Meanwhile, Mikoto prepares herself as well alongside Febri, who now wears the clothes she received from Mitsuko.

Shortly, thousands of Powered Suits are mobilized across the four venues of the Academic Assembly. There, Uiharu and Ruiko, Mii, Kuroko, Mitsuko, Kinuho and Maaya prepare their stand as Mikoto and Febri head straight into Janie's whereabouts!

Major events

 * STUDY initiates their city-wide "rebellion" called Silent Party.

Adapted from
Apart from a single scene taken from chapter 44 of the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun manga, this episode features mostly original content, as such it is not adapted from any previous material.

Characters

 * Nunotaba Shinobu
 * Misaka Mikoto
 * Kihara Gensei (flashback-only)
 * Aritomi Haruki
 * Kinuhata Saiai (flashback-only)
 * Kosako Shunichi
 * Sekimura Hirotada
 * Sakurai Jun
 * Madarame Kenji
 * Febri
 * Janie
 * Heaven Canceller
 * Misaka Imouto
 * Shirai Kuroko
 * Uiharu Kazari
 * Konori Mii
 * Saten Ruiko
 * Yomikawa Aiho
 * Tsukuyomi Komoe (non-speaking role)
 * Kongou Mitsuko
 * Wannai Kinuho
 * Awatsuki Maaya
 * Yanagisako Aomi
 * Kamijou Touma (flashback-only)

New Characters

 * Aoki (cameo)
 * Kongou Mitsuko's father

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 17
 * School District 7
 * Heaven Canceller's Hospital
 * Judgment 177 Branch Office
 * Tsukuyomi Residence
 * Tokiwadai Dormitory
 * Uiharu Residence
 * Endymion

Abilities

 * Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5.
 * Teleport - Shirai Kuroko, Level 4.

New Abilities

 * Diffusion Ghost - Janie

Trivia

 * The ED is replaced by Sachika Misawa's Infinia.
 * Despite having no desire to actually leave Academy City, the nanodevices that are injected to the students who want to leave are referenced and used for the first time in this episode.
 * Mii has a Musashino milk cover for her cellphone.
 * The Endymion was shown on the computer console used by STUDY.

Referbacks

 * Mikoto referencing on how it was Nunotaba helped her clones on her own in the beginning is a referenced to episode 21.
 * Mikoto being able to move her muscles through the sheer use of her electromaster abilities, may be a reference to the technique that would've been applied to the children with muscular dystrophy that Mikoto willingly gave DNA map to, referenced several times throughout the series, like episode 2.
 * Komoe's apartment still bears the damage that Index wrought upon it back in episode 6 of Toaru Majutsu no Index.
 * The blackout that caused the traffic jam back in episode 18 is finally explained in this episode as a way for STUDY to hide information while they transport their Powered Suits for the Assembly.
 * The speech that Touma gives to Mikoto on the bridge back in episode 14 is referenced once again.
 * The four leaf clover Kuroko picked back in episode 7 is shown once again.
 * Febri finally gets to wear the dress Mitsuko bought for her.
 * Once again Ruiko takes up a bat for the finale, though this time it is made out of wood.

Cultural References
No references to culture where introduced this episode.

Animation Trivia

 * The scene where Shinobu was captured by Saiai back in episode 9 is reused for a flashback.
 * Several scenes from episode 3 is reused for a flashback during Shinobu's private talk with Mikoto.
 * The scene where Touma gives his speech about his dream where everyone has a happy ending back in episode 14 is once again used for a flashback.

Unanswered Questions

 * What were those strange pieces of technology Mitsuko brought for the group against the Silent Party?
 * What is Endymion doing on STUDY's screens?
 * Did STUDY actually used 20,000 pieces of hair from Janie as a receive for their Powered Suits?