Toaru Majutsu no Index II Episode 14

"City of Water" (水の都) is the fourteenth episode of the second season of the Toaru Majutsu no Index anime adaption, and the thirty-eighth episode overall. It was first broadcasted on January 14, 2011.

Synopsis
Then, the ground starts to tremble beneath their feet. As a large splash rocks the canal, a gigantic vessel similar to a medieval ship emerges. Orsola and Touma are separated from Index as the vessel rises to the surface. The two are forced to board the ship, which is then discovered by Touma to be made of ice. Then, the ship begins to drift, appearing to leave Chioggia with an unknown destination.

Orsola and Touma are then forced to hide when a small group of Roman Catholic priests order a search throughout the ship, apparently to locate their whereabouts. Touma realizes that at this rate, bailing from the ship will eliminate their chances of survival, so they decide to hide for the meantime.

Inside one of the cabins inside the boat, Orsola wonders why a huge ship is even necessary to attack them earlier. Touma also notices that their enemy might also be Roman Catholics and it might be regarding The Book of the Law. However, Orsola denies that, as she knows that what happened related to The Book of the Law should be resolved by that time.

Soon, they are startled by the sound of an explosion. As they peek into the window in the cabin, they are shocked to see what unfolds outside: ships similar to the one they boarded rising to the sea, creating a fleet of ships made of ice.

All of a sudden, the door of the cabin suddenly turns, and Touma, thinking that it might be the enemy, frantically covers Orsola and reaches for the door, only to see a small girl wearing a peculiar-looking dress...

Agnese Sanctis.

Adapted From
Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 11

Major events

 * The Daihasei Sports Festival has been concluded.
 * Touma wins a trip to Chioggia, Italy, and brings Index along.
 * Touma, Index and the Amakusa Christians help Orsola pack and move her possession.
 * An assassination was attempted on Orsola, though it was thwarted; she is later dragged into an ice ship along with Touma.
 * Ice Ships start to appear from the sea and mobilize.
 * Touma meets Agnese Sanctis again.

Characters
By order of appearance
 * Kamijou Touma
 * Tsukuyomi Komoe (flashback only)
 * Fukiyose Seiri (flashback only)
 * Aogami Pierce (flashback only)
 * Himegami Aisa (flashback only)
 * Heaven Canceler (flashback only)
 * Misaka Mikoto (flashback only)
 * Shirai Kuroko (flashback only)
 * Index Librorum Prohibitorum
 * Orsola Aquinas
 * Amakusa-Style Remix of Church
 * Itsuwa
 * Tatemiya Saiji (referenced only)
 * Kanzaki Kaori (referenced only)
 * Agnese Sanctis

New Characters
No new characters were introduced during this episode.

Abilities

 * Spell Intercept - Index

New Abilities

 * Magic spear - Roman Catholic assassin

Locations

 * Academy City
 * Kamijou Residence
 * School District 23

New Locations

 * Chioggia, Venice
 * Aquinas Residence
 * Adriatic Sea

Trivia

 * A girl from Kirigaoka Girls' Academy is featured during this episode.
 * This marks the first time Touma and Index is outside of both Academy City and Japan since the timeline of the story began.
 * Japanese subtitles were featured in this episode for the Italian dialogue.
 * The italian dialogue was grammatically wrong in some parts.
 * When a magician is trying to attack Orsola with the spear and Index commands him to "stab yourself", in the novel he losses control of the weapon and tries to commit suicide, only to be stopped by Touma's punches. This little tidbit was removed from the anime, surely on the case that suicide themes are handled very delicately by the organisms that regulate censorship. Despise removing the suicide sequence, Index still commands the mage to stab himself, through the result is completely different and doesn't match her words.
 * A new ED song is featured in the episode, replacing the old one; it also features Touma's winter uniform.

Referbacks

 * Touma facing 250 battle nuns alone is referenced during this episode by the Amakausa Catholics, as well as Touma running into Kanzaki Kaori naked back the first season.
 * A certain tune that was first featured in episode 15 of the first season, is hummed by both Index and Orsola during this episode.

Cultural References

 * The episode features Touma dancing with Mikoto around a bonfire, which are quite common in Japanese Cultural and Sports festivals.
 * Actual locations and landmarks of Chioggia are used as background during this episode, most notably the Porta di Santa Maria, the Refugium Peccatorum Cathedral, the Ponte Vigo (bridge), Chiesa di San Martino (church), and Canal Vena.
 * Touma references the gondola, which is popularly used a way to carry tourists around Venice.
 * The Ice Ship is a barque-type sailing vessel.

Animation Trivia

 * The entire fleet of ice ships are CG rendered.

Unanswered Questions

 * Why did the Roman Catholic Church try to assassinate Orsola, even though the problems regarding the Book of the Law have been solved?
 * Why can't Touma negate the Ice Ship?
 * Why are there a fleet of Ice Ships, and where are they going?
 * Why is Agnese in the ship?
 * Why is she wearing a different dress?

Quotes

 * Touma: "I, Kamijou Touma, am a misfortunate person."-opening narration.
 * Touma: "For the first time in a long, long while, I get to feel fortunate!"-Touma being excited with his trip to Italy.
 * Amakusa Christians: "He's a monster."-regarding Touma.
 * Touma: "At that moment, something occurred to me. Why didn't I think of the simple solution of knocking to check?"-Touma's narration after opening the right door.
 * Orsola: "I was thinking of looking and saying farewell to Chioggia. I've lived here a long time, you see...and I'd rather not have you see me like that... I'm sure my emotions will get the better of me."-said to Touma after declining his invitation.