I bet she wasn’t as talkative when she was a loli…
This week’s Railgun episode had a whole lot of technobable to explain the Poltergeist suffice to saw it is a lot to take in all at once. Certainly it makes me miss the filler eps a little more. Still there were a few moments of Kuroko being delightful. Uiharu continues her losing streak with me as she isn’t trying to get her friends to understand and insists on backing herself into a corner when she really doesn’t need to. Kuroko at least is not reversing herself but at the same time is trying to tactful and making and effort reach out to Uiharu to get her to understand her position on the matter of Haruue. Thanfully Mii-chan recognizes Kuroko’s efforts and decided to try and help her out. Back at the dorm one of the better moments of the episode was when Kuroko was talking all cool right before another attempt to jump Biri Biri in the bath, I wish she succeeded. I guess Telestina’s prophecy of it being a lucky day did not apply to Kuroko as though it seems she had a very intense dream about onee-sama, sadly Biri Biri was too shy to jump right in the sack with her. While the information dump was pretty bad Biri Biri’s commando operation was a dismal failure on so many levels, well I suppose she can be forgiven as she is still in middle school and cannot claim to be Alphard’s prodigal daughter like Kuroko can.
So it seems that Telestina isn’t the one that was causing the poltergeist incidents she might have a more sinister involvement in all this but then it might all just be nothing as there isn’t much time left for her to turn on Biri Biri in the next episode. If only Railgun either stuck to fillers which are far more enjoyable and easier to digest or took a better approach to giving out information like they do in Sora no Woto these overly long info dumps could be avoided. Alas it seems that it just wasn’t meant to be for better or for worse. Telestina seems like such a nice lady though I am not sure that she has much of an evil agenda in play, if she does I expect another information dump to explain her dastardly plan but time is running short. Gekota sensei seems to be a rather ubiquitous doctor though admittedly he is a big player in Academy City. Whatever happens I hope thy don’t leave a cliff hangaer and make us wait a long time for season 2, it’s bad enough I have to wait until Fall to see some dead and dying Zekes get kicked in the teeth I’d rather not wait for much else.
Now don’t get too full of yourself now…
If only Telestina were this series Mordin Solus…
How hard can it be it’s not like they can runaway…
…
Hey Kuroko, I think tonight is THE NIGHT…
Yes it is time for a midnight yuri tea party…
So easy an Uiharu can do it…
Hold it right there, Kuroko is just following the best line of evidence she has also she has only identified them as the instrument of the Poltergeist not the wielder…
Even Saten-san has had it up to here with you…
Mighty fine…
Kuroko, you are not only correct but have exceeded my expectations…
Kuroko can discern Uiharu’s feelings too…
…
At this point it really shouldn’t matter you are both girls…
She found it on yelp!…
You know there are many other applications for microwaves you know…
How about using those microwaves to listen in on transmissions…
Good to see that Kuroko is making efforts to mend fences. Sad to see Uiharu being stubborn…
Telestina want to do this and that to her before she left…
If it were up to Telestina nugi onna would have been locked up like a zoo animal…
You better be sorry Uiharu this is Mii-chan and she won’t take your crap like Kuroko does…
As the heir to Alphard onee-sama Kuroko is quite versatile in gathering information…
One day Kuroko your dreams will come true…
I think she gets that from Liang Qi…
Positively I bet…
Go on Biri Biri just jump in… you know you want to.
We need to work on your infiltrations skills…right now your worse than Canaan.
We meet again at last…when Biri Biri left you she was but the learned now she is the master.
That’s not all she peeped into…
Oh it’s you again…
The resemblance is uncanny…
He sounds like a goddamn Zeke…
Maybe you will prove to be the Mordin Solus to do peer review on his ass…
It’s not like they are going anywhere…
I think they can wait…
Unacceptable Goals…
Impeccable timing as always…
Including *gulp* non-violence…
You are under arrest!
Limited cooperation is authorized…
Biri Biri is the Vanguard of your Destruction Redemption…
You can’t even save yourself…
You’re Doing?!
Won’t Change… No Choice have to kill you…
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Enjoy yourself while pssible Kuroko. Will be here studying cell reproduction. Much simpler. Less alcohol and mood music required.
Got any valuable diagrams for them professor?
Forwarding advice booklet to their quarters. Includes diagrams, excercises, inventive uses of mass effect fields.Can supply oils or ointments to reduce discomfort. Gave Uiharu and Saten electronic demonstration vids to use as necessary.
Thank you professor.
More Telestina screen time please!
YES MOAR Telestina Less Touma!
Thank Jupiter that Kuroko hasn’t backed down when she’s knows she’s onto something. I really hate it when a character (or a person for that matter) gets guilted into dropping the truth just because it doesn’t fit with someone’s preferred reality. She also just generally continues to be awesome, here’s hoping for a To Aru Kagaku no Teleporter sometime in the future.
Telestina is another favorite of mine, even in her short amount of screentime. I just hope the writers don’t pull a last minute Chairman Durrandal like at the end of Gundam SEED Destiny with her and suddenly make her into a bad guy. Why can’t the tough, realistic adult ever be a good guy?
Kuroko is truly a worth heir to Alphard not only did she stand her ground but was able to sympathize with Uiharu, if we get a Kuroko spin off I hope there will be a time skip so that Kuroko can get BEST END after courting Briri Biri for many years.
Hopefully they won’t do things so bad that GSD looks sane in comparison. The clock is ticking and hopefully they won’t get in over their heads.
Where is old man Kihara anyway? Turns out the anime original episodes connects with future Index stories. A certain member of Team Item uses the drug. Heaven Canceller aka Doc Frog Face also known as Doc Gekota is left to pick up the pieces of all these mad scientist experiments.
Bet Aleister Crowley is watching all of this Upside-down waiting for his Just as Planned.
As for Uiharu ok you have the power to things temperature constant… But what about those flowers on your head? Why is is called Uiharu and plain you as a Spare Body? Oh that explains why Saten was holding on to you as you are not affected by the cold if you use your power on yourself.
Just like Batman Begins Mikoto has just started to infiltrate in the night. Though most times if you break curfew you are chasing a certain guy who thinks you’re an unknown rival. You’ll get more badass next season not this childlish get up.
I wonder how Capacity Down fits with all this with Telestina. Also that candy of hers is rather suspicious.
Maybe there is no correlation between Telestina and Capacity Down or maybe the writers just plain forgot.
Also it could be that Uiharu’s flowers are just like a Zeong’s legs, totally superfluous. Though perhaps they are merely there to indicate that Saten hasn’t deflowered Uiharu just yet…
If next season would mean Biri Biri getting more badass then I am sure Kuroko will develop more or less along the lines of Teenage Alphard…
Methinks “keeping things at a constant temperature” may have more to do with bending (breaking?) the laws of thermodynamics than with microwaves, so no transmissions intercepts…
haha, my thoughts exactly, there is something about her power… its seems to easy.
I’m guessing it has something to do with entropy, and is really kickass, but she is prevented (by the flowers?) from using it.
actually her power is a solution to heat death. What i’d do to play around with the laws of thermodynamics…
Maybe the flowers are a sign that Uiharu keeps in Greenhouse gases…
It might be that Uiharu’s power is to inuslate things below a certain temperature. Nevertheless IN ACADEMY CITY WE OBEY THE LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWxZm8WjlI8&feature=related
Unless you’re Accelerator or Spiky-kun, in which case, Newtonian physics and/or probability is your bitch…
First of let me say that I am making assumptions about the world the anime inhabits that might necessarily not be true. There could be some exotic form of physics and unfamiliar laws which affect reality. I am, in fact speculating about the precise physical mechanisms which control a fictional world, designed for the purpose of entertainment (i guess you call this part of the entertainment experience too). However, i do believe I am entailed to these assumption as no meaningful conversation could arise without using the laws and logic familiar to us.
It is also apparent that the universe that Uiharu inhabits is similar to our own, as it is created by individuals who live in our reality, and seemingly want to emulate an enhanced version of our reality through the creative medium. A corollary of this, is that the director or creative designer in charge of implementing this realism might have untrue assumptions about how the world works, or might not have understood a physical phenomenon to the point at which they can successfully implement it in the story. This is readily evident in most anime, and especially so when it deals with unfamiliar environments like space. (constant thrust does not equal constant velocity!) Uiharu’s world, does have its plot holes, both physically and human aesthetically, however overall it is still a close enough representation of our own world to capture our imaginations.
Computation is probably an important principle to the power. It makes sense when you consider the fact that information is inseparable from its physical reality. Most users can only use their powers by thinking about it, and the repeated referenced Personal Reality, seems to suggest that the inner subjective reality of an individual modeled in the brain, seems to have an effect on the objective world. It also follows that users who understand their ability better would be stronger than those who did not. The exact physical mechanism between a user’s mental computation and the physical manifestation of an ability i cannot say. They haven’t given us nearly enough information, but if I had to guess, the AIM field generated by the computation of the mental system somehow causes changes to occur on a metaphysical level (probably defined by their understanding of physics) which then influence their actual world.
This is all theoretical and shouldn’t really be taken to seriously, but an interesting conclusion i can draw from it is that ability users define their own power. I think it was stated previously that a power works based not on an absolute mechanism, but on how a user believe their power to work. If we consider that most users start of powerless, or with very little ability, it becomes easy to imagine a reinforcing process where a young esper develops a power based on what he sees/imagines his power doing. Makes sense when you consider that what dictates certain users to certain powers seems arbitrary. In reality all abilities are probably really manifestations of a few phenomena, or more likely a single one. People just interpret it differently based on how they experience it. It also explains why certain people can’t use powers, as they do not have the ability to imagine themselves using a power which defies physical convention (they are to grounded in reality) as well as the genetic basis for powers, as minds are in a large part designed by genes. Although i think this is already understood.
Getting to the topic of this episode, if we think about the specific mechanism involved, i think uiharu’s ability is exactly what she says it is: to be able to keep physical systems at a constant temperature. It doesn’t matter whether this is achieved through keeping Entropy constant, or through isolate a system (yes, they are different, will explain), or through heating/cooling the system herself. Why? Because that’s the limits to the understanding of her ability. There is no specific physical mechanism because it’s unobserved. As time passes, her power will evolve with her perception of it. So if she realizes she is really just a pyro, she will be able to create fireballs and such. However, that’s an extreme and unlikely example. Because the human mind is so rooted in reality, it is much more likely that she’ll realize she can increase or decrease temperatures as well, or invent a reasoning, such as zero entropic change for her ability which becomes reality as she gets used to it.
Some of these of these physical mechanisms are quite fun to speculate however. For example, an isolated system would mean that any system Uiharu affected with her ability, would become essentially unobservable (such as the taiyaki in the box) as any interaction by photons or detectable forces would change the arrangement of the system. This means that Uiharu could make things invisible (unobservable is a better word – think event horizon), or rather nonexistent in the physical reality of her universe. This doesn’t really seem that plausible, as she would have interpreted her ability as being different to what she thinks it is. Also if she is using her ability to overclock her computer when she does her thing, how can she receive information from other networks unless they were also isolated in the same system as her computer. Unlikely due to her low level.
Another one thats interesting, and probably more applicable if she chose, was constant entropy. Rather than no exchange of heat between the box and the environment, what if Uiharu was able to control probability instead. Remember the second law of thermodynamics is only a suggestion not a rule. It’s more likely for a system to go from a state of high entropy into a state of lower one, but there is no law at the fundamental level which says it must. Thus Uiharu might be able to control some metavalue of entropic probability of particles that interact with the system in question. For example all the kinetic molecular energy lost to heat by the box, the same arbitrary amount of kinetic energy is added back into the box. This would inherently be different from her intentionally heating the system, as the physical phenomena would be unimportant, random, and uncontrollable, and only lead to the desired effect of maintaining constant entropy.
Of course you could explain all the ability through some manipulation of probabilities and metavalues (basically information entropy), and thats the point since all the powers have a common source.
A consequence of the idea that all the powers are from the same source, and the understanding of a power leads to more precise definitions of the boundaries under which a power can operate means that people who do not contemplate their powers at all, can have much broader abilities. This requires that information processing, remain discrete, by using abstractions outside thinking. Knowledge of how to manipulate the powers could be passed down without the actual need to understand the physical system that dictates the power. Yes, i am talking about the magic. This completely makes sense when you consider that magic in the anime requires absolute ignorance about the process, and that espers, who use a different mental model about the physical phenomenon that causes the power when compared to magicians, can’t use magic (vise-versa).
I am getting of topic, but if we return to the problem of the mechanism that controls Uiharu’s power, my general thesis is that there is no definite mechanism as the user herself hasn’t defined one. But if i had to chose the most probable; some sort of entropic control of physical (and informational) systems.
I keep seeing a lot of comments about a second season. Is this just speculation or does someone have a good reason to suspect that they’re going ahead with more than this season’s episodes?
I’ve been enjoying the series so far, but it feels like its one of those animes that spends all of its time building up the mystique of the setting and then runs out of time and never actually solves the conflicts that it introduces.
I’m a bit perplexed by Mikoto’s naivety, the events in the first half of the season should give her all the reason not to trust Academy Cities researchers and she goes around spilling everything to Telestina. I’ve been hoping Kuroko and Mikoto would be more proactive about the whole children test subjects problem instead of handing it over to anti-skill and running off into filler-episode land for the second half of the season.
The current arc would be labeled a filler if not written by the To Aru author. To Aru started off as spin off manga. The manga now is at its second act. The first being the Level Upper arc which coincides with the events of the starting Index arc. In the manga you see the event leading to Touma being chased by thugs from the restaurant and Mikoto quite irritated at him for ruining her intel gathering about Level Upper, which we see in Touma’s POV he is saving them from Mikoto though he does not understand what Mikoto is really doing. In the second arc it is about Mikoto finding out about the Sisters meeting one of them. This leads to her discovery of the Level 6 project involving Accelerator and her efforts to stop it.
If the Anime were 12 episodes we would have the next arc about the Sisters but the manga is still ongoing with the Sisters arc prequel, events before Touma met Mikoto again, in amnesia state, and got involved in her troubles.
Considering Railgun’s popularity, earning it a light novel extra, a second season is not unlikely. Mikoto is the heroine of the SCIENCE side while Touma is the protagonist involved with the MAGIC side.
Opps I meant To Aru Kagaku no Railgun as a spin-off manga.
Idle speculation but more likely than not so long as there is money to be made.