Although they may never quite top “only my railgun”, it’s awesome to have fripSide back for “final phase” which is another excellent complement to the series, full of the J-pop infused, electronic energy that perfectly matches the tone of Railgun T. Likewise, the animation is energetic and impressive, showcasing the cast, their powers, and Academy City well with smooth transitions between scenes and in sync with the track. Although maybe not incredibly unique per se, this opening is really close to the Platonic ideal of an anime OP, just solidly executed in a way that feels so right.

Sometimes in this series, you forget that most of the cast is also in school but we definitely enjoyed the Daihasei sports festival stuff in Railgun T and how it was worked into the overall plot in interesting ways. However, the part that most stood out for us was Misaka 10032 getting—understandably—confused with the original Misaka and participating in her stead for the Balloon Hunter event in episode 3.

Although Misaka does eventually get thwarted by Baba Yoshio’s plans, seeing her put on such a great performance using her Level 6 Shift Project experience was awesome as it was just funny seeing her react to the whole situation in general, until the mosquito at least.

Speaking of those nasty robotic mosquitoes, seeing Baba Yoshio finally getting wrecked by Misaka after all the crap he started was satisfying, as were the fights leading up to it which let supporting cast members Kongou, Wannai, and Maaya shine. Mostly, though, it was awesome seeing him get utterly destroyed and rightfully traumatized by Misaka in one her most intense moments.

Misaki Shokuhou and her memory alteration/mind control abilities greatly added to the tension of this season, most notably with her tampering of Misaka’s closest friends to cut off her support system and cover up the website that Uiharu uncovered before. This not only made for some shocking and interesting moments with Misaka figuring out how to deal with it and them slowly realizing that their own memories had been tampered with but also some lighter scenes with Kuroko’s tsundere love for Misaka coming through despite the alterations. Seeing Misaki herself develop as a character this season in general has also been a highlight in itself.

This is just a simple joy but when Misaka Mikoto breaks into the building where Kihara Gensei is supposedly at in episode 9, she disguises herself as a security guard, complete with a suit and some cool shades. All we can say is that the look really suits her!

So far, at least, the best case yet for Railgun T being an exceptional series is its latest episode “Joining the Battle” which is a brilliant execution of all of the series’ strong points with solid action brought to life with excellent animation and effects as well as both fun and deep character moments intertwined with the overarching plot full of mystery and suspense. With Misaka transformed into a grotesque version of herself by Gensei’s plan to transform her into a Level 6 esper, huge thunderheads form as she sends immense bursts of lightning flying across Academy City. We finally see Touma show up again and after his rather humorous introduction to reckless hothead Gunha Sogiita, the two team up to try and get Misaka back to her own self while she’s being psychically manipulated by Kouzaku Mitori using Exterior.

Everything in this episode just clicks and flows so well with the action and major story points building up the overall tension to make it really exciting to watch but also deploying some equally memorable comedic moments like Touma getting princess carried by Gunha that really capture both sides of the series’ appeal. The animation quality and choreography is similarly great and has us super hyped for the next episode and the rest of the series as a whole!