Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator Episode 03

Numbers (四凶の符) is the third episode of the Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator anime series. It was broadcast on July 26th 2019, and was directed by Tominaga Tsuneo, was storyboarded by Kamanaka Nobuharu, and the script written by Ishikawa Asami.

Adapted From

 * Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator Manga Chapter 002
 * Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator Manga Chapter 003
 * Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator Manga Chapter 004

Major Events

 * Accelerator and Esther Rosenthal visit the warehouse where Esther was previously held captive. Finding the remains of Nishio and his disposed unit, they encounter the Qiong Qi and have a brief remote conversation with its controller, Hishigata Mikihiko. Accelerator attempts to prevent the Qiong Qi from escaping, but the Coffin repels his attack with Level 5-class Telekinesis before flying away.
 * After Last Order discovers Esther with Accelerator and throws the boxes of food she brought for Accelerator at him, the three go to a restaurant for a meal. Leaving the other two briefly, Accelerator phones Yoshikawa Kikyou to ask her to look into DA.
 * Esther visits the hospital morgue to perform a ritual on the body of Hitokawa Hasami so she can be properly laid to rest. Accelerator observes and as a result of touching a mass of residual thoughts that surface during the ritual, sees the dead girl's memories. A pair of DA members posing as Anti-Skill officers interrupt and attempt to destroy the corpse (as evidence linking to DA) but are thwarted by Accelerator. As they prepare to fight, the Huotou still attached to Hitokawa Hasami's body activates.

Characters
By order of appearance:
 * Esther Rosenthal
 * Accelerator
 * Nishio
 * Hishigata Mikihiko
 * Hishigata Hirumi (flashback-only)
 * Last Order
 * Heaven Canceller
 * Yoshikawa Kikyou
 * Hitokawa Hasami

New Characters

 * Hitokawa Hasami's Mother (flashback-only)
 * Manabe Ritsuki
 * Mogari Takumi

Abilities

 * Accelerator (ability) - Accelerator, Level 5
 * Necromancy
 * Rosenthal-style Necromancy - Esther Rosenthal
 * Hishigata Mikihiko (referenced)
 * Pyrokinesis (referenced) - Hitokawa Hasami, Level 2

New Abilities

 * Psychokinesis - Qiong Qi with unknown corpse, Level 5

Locations

 * Academy City
 * School District 7
 * Heaven Canceller's Hospital

New Locations

 * Jacob Restaurant

Trivia

 * The voice actors/actresses for the unnamed DA members are Maeda Hiroki, Koga Akira, Kijima Ryuichi, Ishikari Yūki and Ishi Misa.
 * The voice actress for the unnamed clerk is Mano Ayumi.
 * Residual thoughts are referenced for the first time in an animated adaptation.

Referbacks

 * Last Order's complaints about feminine sensibilities to Esther after reading it in a "book" while a sequence of clones reading women's magazines is shown is likely a reference to an episode of Index II. In it, the clones based their knowledge on interactions between men and women through magazines they have read.

Cultural References

 * Qiong Qi is a mythical Chinese creature mentioned in the , part of a group referred to as the Four Fiends or Four Evils (Si Xiong), who were banished by . Hundun and Taotie are also members of this group.
 * A Huotou is a legendary creature in Southern Chinese folklore, described as a dog-shaped monster that eats feces and blows fire.

Differences in Adaptation

 * The family restaurant was unnamed in the manga, but it is named Jacob Restaurant in the anime adaptation.
 * The family restaurant scene is expanded in the anime adaptation.
 * An immediate cause of Hitokawa Asami's suicide attempt was not fully described in the manga.
 * Accelerator secretly takes the Nephentesion No. 7 from the DA members as he leaves rather than deliberately catching them in the act.

Unanswered Questions

 * What exactly are the evil spirits of the Numbers?