- For the Toaru Kagaku no Railgun episode of the same name, see Toaru Kagaku no Railgun Episode 22.
"Level 6" (
They are clones of Misaka Mikoto, Misaka Imouto says that they are being killed as part of an "experiment". Girls, which are called Sisters, have been carrying out experiments in the city, and Touma tries to verify this by visiting Mikoto's room. Here, Touma discovers that she has been involved in several "incidents" and have been keep track. The experiment that is being done with the Misaka clones was to achieve the unprecedented Level 6 from Level 5, and the only person who can achieve that is the Accelerator, the strongest esper in Academy City. Mikoto is determined to stop Accelerator from continuing the experiment. Her plan is to offer herself as a sacrifice as penance for providing her DNA map in the past that had resulted in the experiment. However, Touma blocks her path.
Synopsis[]
The episode begins in the Tsukuyomi Residence. Here, we see Komoe, Aisa and Index enjoying a yakiniku dinner. Komoe wants to confirm from Index if she wants to know what an esper ability is, to which Index confirms. Komoe starts her explanation that it is similar to Schrödinger's Theory, Komoe explains that he was a quantum physicist that made the famous Schrödinger’s cat experiment. To demonstrate his theory to Index, Komoe uses a box, and asks Index what's inside the box. Index answers that the box contains chocolate, as the box she is holding is of course a box for chocolates. Komoe replies that Index is incorrect as candyballs are the contents of the box; this annoys Index, saying that was cheap. Komoe tries again and asks Index to guess what's inside the box. Index answers by saying that since Komoe just said that the contents of the box were candy balls, therefore what's inside the box are definitely candy balls. Komoe agrees to what Index said, but also states that there is also a possibility that she lied about the contents of the box, which upsets Index. Komoe goes on further to say that the box may contain a 50% chance of chocolate as well as a 50% chance of candy balls, until one can confirm it's contents by opening the box. Komoe opens the box which contains a single ball of chocolate. Komoe asks Index again to guess the contents of the box, to which Index replies that she already saw that there was a ball of chocolate inside the box. Komoe agrees, but only because Index saw what's inside, Komoe explains that most people would say that it's 100% chocolate. Komoe asks what if there were people that thought there was a candy ball inside instead, and believed in that possibility and got a candy ball in the end.
Komoe states that the people, who can replace normal reality with their own reality are what they call espers.
Meanwhile on a bridge somewhere stands Misaka Mikoto leaning on the railings looking into the distance. She asks herself why things end up like this now. We see a flashback of a young Mikoto, being awed on how she can produce electricity. The scene cuts to Mikoto inside a facility somewhere being asked by a doctor if she was the famous Misaka Mikoto, the young Mikoto turns around as if confirming her identity to him. The doctor continues by saying that there are many handicapped people in pain who can't even move their own limbs. The doctor tells her that if they had the power to control the electricity within their bodies, they might be able to provide those people with hope. The nurse that was with the doctor says that they would be able to save a lot of people if they were to apply her powers on them. The scene cuts to a group of girls gossiping about a rumor about military clones being produced in Academy City, where they are using a certain level 5's DNA as a base. The gossip continues until the girls see Mikoto, where they then moved away, though to Mikoto the rumors seemed ridiculous.
The scene returns to the present, with the crescent moon being reflected on the water's surface. We see Mikoto still leaning on the rails, occasionally emitting electricity. Another flashback occurs, several sisters appearing before Mikoto. The scene cuts back to Mikoto again, where she mutters help. The scene cuts again to several sisters dead and lying on a pool of blood, and then to Accelerator smiling. The scene returns to Mikoto once again with her muttering help again.
Suddenly, a black cat walks into the scene, letting out a soft mew. Sounds of footsteps can be heard, it is Touma's. Mikoto is visibly surprised by his arrival. Touma asks Mikoto what she is doing, to which Mikoto responds by saying that she can do whatever she wants as she is the Railgun after all, and that he has no right to lecture her. Touma simply says to stop it, to which Mikoto asks to stop what exactly. Here, Touma cites a sentence from the document he got out of Mikoto's stuffed bear, regarding on how Tree Diagram predicted the ascension of Accelerator to level 6, by preparing 128 battlefields and killing Mikoto 128 times. However, since it is impossible to prepare 128 Railguns (Mikoto), Academy City used the Radio Noise project that was progressing in parallel as a substitute for Railgun; by using 20,000 battlefields and killing 20,000 clones of Mikoto, and then the same results can be achieved.
Though obviously shaken at first, Mikoto tries to cover her shock with a facade of arrogance towards Touma, saying on how she didn't give permission to Touma to enter her room. Mikoto asks Touma if he became worried after reading those papers and thought that it was unforgivable. Touma confirms that he is indeed worried of Mikoto and is not lying, confirming this twice to her. Touma states that he will apologize for going into her room without permission and that she can fling any amount of electricity to him for it later, but at this moment, Touma wants to know what Mikoto is doing, and points that the documents that he has may not have been obtained by her in proper ways either. Here, Mikoto says to Touma that whatever that he is suspecting is probably correct, and says that the marks on the maps look like shot-down marks of facilities that she has taken down using her powers. Mikoto continues that it was her plan originally, however, no matter how many facilities she had taken down, other facilities take up the project again.
Mikoto then says that the clones understand the concept of being killed merely as a part of an experiment. Mikoto continues by saying that the city is always under surveillance by the Tree Diagram, which would imply that the experiment is being allowed by the Board of Directors as well. Mikoto states that since the problem started because of her, then she will be the one to end it. She states that since the centerpiece of the experiment involves making Accelerator stronger, then if he was gone then obviously the experiment will be halted. Touma says that she is lying; he says that she is not powerful enough to defeat Accelerator, and would have obviously done so immediately if she could beat him, which would mean she was incapable of doing so even if she wanted to beat him. He points out that she wasn't even a match for Accelerator in the first place.
Touma asks Mikoto why she didn't ask for his help; knowing that she can't take care of this mess by herself. Touma asks why she didn't ask for someone's aid when she needed it the most. After hearing this, Mikoto simply smiles while playing with the railings of the bridge. She restates on how the experiments needed 20,000 clones for Accelerator to achieve level 6 since 128 Railguns can't be achieved. Mikoto then asks what if she was killed 128 times and Accelerator did not reach level 6. She tells Touma that Tree Diagram calculated that Accelerator would kill Mikoto in after a certain number of moves in their battle. Mikoto grins and asks casually what would happen if she lost on her first move against Accelerator, making the scientist distrustful on their machines. Touma rebuts her statement by saying that the scientist will simply restart the experiment again even if she did get by with her plan. However, Mikoto seems to have expected it and says that will not happen since Tree Diagram was destroyed by an attack from Earth's surface a few weeks ago, because of this Mikoto states that the scientists will not be able to re-simulate the project effectively.
Hearing her statement, Touma asks her if she wants to die. Though surprise at first, Mikoto simply says yes. Touma asks her if she seriously believes that the remaining 10,000 sisters would be saved because of her death, to which Mikoto confirms.
Mikoto then says that she'll be going to Accelerator's location now, going to her death. However, she is stopped by Touma who stands in front of her, blocking the path towards her demise. Mikoto orders Touma to move out of the way, to which Touma replies a single word: No. Mikoto shouts at Touma, asking him if he understands that if she dies then 10,000 sisters might live. She continues by asking Touma if he is alright with them dying since their clones. Touma replies, and says that he does not think they should die, and that he has the solution for them not to die, even so he will not step aside and allow Mikoto to die for her sisters. Hearing this, Mikoto discharges a few volts of electricity from her person, saying that she cannot bear to see them hurt and warns Touma for the final time to move aside. Even then Touma stands firm and resolute, seeing this Mikoto says that even if she does not what kind of power Touma has, she will not lose today and orders Touma to fight if he does not want to die.
In a certain bridge during the night, Mikoto is continuously releasing several volts of electricity into the air, ready to fight the person if front of her path to death, Kamijou Touma. Even the power of his opponent, Touma is resolute in not allowing Mikoto to pass through him tonight, he holds up his arms as if he is asking her to hit him. Mikoto asks Touma what exactly he is doing, though he does not answer for a while he later tells her that he will not fight her, even if she did not hold her powers back. Hearing his reply, Mikoto demands Touma to fight her, discharging several volts of electricity, scaring the cat away. She shouts once more, demanding Touma fight her while directing her powers towards him, though it missed him by a small margin. Even then, Touma is still standing, unflinching at her powers. Mikoto says that next time she'll hit him for sure, and demands him once again to fight or to move aside he isn't going to. Mikoto attacks once again, and this time Touma is engulfed in her power making him fall.
Whilst Touma is on the ground after being hit by Mikoto's attack, she becomes regretful in attacking him. However, Touma stands up once more, determined to not let Mikoto pass him. Mikoto asks Touma why he doesn't fight her, to which he responds by saying he does not know. Touma continues by saying that he does not know if there are other solutions as well, but he says that he does not want to see Mikoto hurt and says he will never accept her dying. As Touma says this, Mikoto remembers one happened to the sisters and is visibly angered. She tells Touma to shut up and says she does not deserve the words he is speaking, she continues by saying that even in a world where everyone is smiling, she has no place in that world. However, Touma says that her way won't save anyone, that even if she died and save the remaining 10,000 sisters, would they be thankful for her doing it in the way Mikoto did. Mikoto upon hearing this tells Touma to shut up and demands to fight her. She attacks him once again, hitting him; however, Touma does not fall and keeps on standing with his arms aloft. Mikoto states that she killed more than 10,000 people, and that there is no reason for a villain like her to live in this world. She asks him why he is standing up for a villain like her. However, Touma says that she is not a villain; he asks her why he is alive if she is a villain. Touma says that Mikoto went easy on him without knowing; though Mikoto denies this saying she wanted him dead even though she knows Touma won't resist her. Touma then refutes her claim saying that she has yet to kill him, and continues to say that Mikoto is too good of a person to kill the one preventing her from achieving what she wants the most, saving her clones. Mikoto still says that the only way to save them is for her to die, and says if everyone can be saved by her death then that would be a good thing, and asks Touma to move out of the way again.
Touma immediately responds, saying that he will not move. Hearing his response, Mikoto once again warns Touma that he will die and taking on her next attack will likely kill him. One last time, as electricity rages throughout Mikoto, she asks him to move out of her way. Predictably, Touma responds saying that he will not move. Filled with anguish, Mikoto lets out her powers, screaming. The attack was powerful enough to move clouds, and from afar the bridge is tinted blue as it is engulfed by her powers.
Only the sound of electricity can be heard on the bridge, in the middle of it stands Misaka Mikoto who just released one of her most powerful attacks on a certain boy. She has her eyes closed, but upon hearing a certain black cat's mew, opens them. She picks it up from the ground and holds it up in her arms. Suddenly the cat seemed to have notice something. Mikoto turns to see from a distance the body of the boy she attacked with all of her might. Suddenly, she notices that he is moving, he is still alive, much to her surprise. The boy by the name of Kamijou Touma, struggles to stand up, while the obviously shocked Mikoto moves backwards, she lets her hand out as if she was going to attack. She says stop to Touma, who is still struggling to move. She moves backwards again, asking him to stop once again. However, this time, Mikoto is brought to tears.
In the subconscious of Kamijou Touma, barely conscious, he retells the story on how Mikoto had no choice but to die, though she truly does not want to die and that she should as well. He asks if there is any other choice, where she does need to die. Touma tells himself to think. Touma says that to stop the experiment, he needs to make the researchers realize that nothing good will come out of the experiment. He realizes something, but before he divulges what it is, Touma falls unconscious on the ground.
Adapted From[]
Adapted To[]
Major Events[]
- Mikoto uses her electric powers to attack Touma, who eventually succumbs to her, due to not using his ability to defend himself. This marks the first time Mikoto was able to hurt Touma with her powers since their meeting.
Characters[]
By order of appearance
- Index
- Tsukuyomi Komoe
- Himegami Aisa
- Misaka Mikoto
- Misaka clones (flashback only)
- Accelerator (flashback only)
- Misaka 10032's cat
- Kamijou Touma
New Characters[]
No new characters currently recorded for this episode.
Abilities[]
- Electromaster (Railgun-variant) - Misaka Mikoto, Level 5
Locations[]
New Locations[]
No new locations currently recorded for this episode.
Trivia[]
- The song Ame by Mami Kawada is used as an insert song during Mikoto's flashback.
- The concept on how espers gain powers through their personal reality is first mentioned in this episode.
- The Academy City Board of Directors is mentioned again during this episode.
Referbacks[]
- Mikoto references the Tree Diagram being destroyed by an unknown surface attack, which was actually Index and her Dragon's Breath back in episode 6.
Cultural References[]
- Erwin Schrödinger is once again referred in the anime during this anime, here, his famous thought experiment is used by Komoe to explain to Index how espers gain their powers.
Differences in Adaptation[]
No differences in adaptation currently recorded for this chapter/episode.
Animation Trivia[]
- The flashback that occurred during the beginning of the episode is reused in the later half of the episode.
- Several frames of the scene that occurred during the first episode where Mikoto fights Touma on a bridge is reused during this episode.
Soundtrack[]
| # | Title | Time | Scene & Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unverified Track | Opening | ||
| Unverified Track | |||
| Unverified Track | Eyecatch | ||
| Unverified Track | |||
| Unverified Track | Ending | ||
| Unverified Track | Preview |
Unanswered Questions[]
- How exactly did researchers apply Schrödinger's thought experiment for them to be able to give powers to the students of Academy City?
- How did Mikoto know that the Tree Diagram has been destroyed?
Quotes[]
- Komoe: "For those people who can replace normal reality with their own reality, we call them 'espers'."-said to Index.
- Touma: "Why didn't you ask for my help? If you know you can't take care of this by yourself, couldn't you ask someone for help?"-said to Mikoto.
- Touma: "I don't think it's okay for them to die. But that doesn't mean I have solution for them to not die. Even so, I can't step aside."-said to Mikoto after hearing her plan to stop the experiment.
- Mikoto: "Why? Why... won't you fight me?"-said to Touma after attacking him.
- Touma: "Beats me... I don't know... why I won't fight you. I don't know... whether there are other good solutions either. But I don't like it... I don't want to see you get hurt. Why do you have to die? Why does someone have to get killed? There's no way I'd accept something like that!"-said to Mikoto as a response to her asking why he doesn't fight.
- Mikoto: "Shut up... I don't deserve those words anymore. Even there is a world that everyone wants, where everyone is smiling...I don't have a place in that world!"-said to Touma as a response to the above quote.
- Touma: "You already realize... that you won't save anyone... Even if you die and save your 10,000 sisters' lives. You think they would be thank you for the way you did it?"-said to Mikoto.
- Mikoto: "I'm not the kind of good person you think I am! I've killed more than 10,000 people. There is no reason for a villain like me to be living in this world... none! Why in the world... are you standing up for a villain like me?"
- Touma: "For you, to use your own life to save your sisters might've been your last dream. But you're too good of a person to kill the guy who's trying to take away that last dream of yours, aren't you?"-said to Mikoto.
Preview[]
References[]
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