A Certain Magical Index (light novel)
Available on Manga Store
New
What did you think of this episode?
DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
Dec 26, 2010 7:23 AM
#51
well if anything, we sure did get a good explanation on the the croce di pietro works. and lmao, Style thinking about loli teacher...haha, that was priceless. And we even got some windex....and kuroko staring at the breasts of misaka's mother...priceless :3 and the next episode....Touma finally gets to punch a girl! |
Dec 26, 2010 8:22 AM
#52
:Yaaaawwwwnnnn: Felt like the episode never wanted to end, and Toumas "half-assed speech" at the end really was just too much. God talk about a boring pointless waste of time. Not the kind of show you want to watch with a pressing hangover... |
Dec 26, 2010 9:15 AM
#53
Touma's speech at the end felt rather flat compared to original. But i'm too pleased with animated Oriana(or her boobs) to mind it atm. |
レッツゴー ED イケイケゴーゴー |
Dec 26, 2010 1:26 PM
#54
Wasabi said: alexcampos said: So, apparently the Cross is supposed to have some sort of power and Ms. BIG TITS is going to use it for evil deeds...that's it, I guess. I wouldn't necessarily call what they're trying to accomplish "evil." Just a very warped sense of justification. Oriana and Lidvia even felt remorse for getting Himegami injured. And seriously, wtf Touma? Is he really that simple minded and stupid? I was expecting some self righteous dribble coming out of his ass but really? It was even worse than that. LOLOLZ I WONT LET YOU RUINZ THE FESTIVAAALLLL. Really? REALLY? Apparently Touma is too dumb to see any big picture other than what he sees in front of him. I was thinking the same. When he just mentioned the festival i was like: "Eh? is this guy serious? That's the best he could come up with? ". Sucrose said: If only this were live action, How enticing would Oriana be aye? Has it ever cross your mind that she is able to be so enticing because she isn't live action? kevin_video said: I do feel bad for Index though. What with Touma having to keep her out of the loop. Well you may feel bad for Index but that makes me feel good for the sake of my mental health since i will avoid seeing her annoying presence. |
Dec 26, 2010 3:08 PM
#55
Got to say the conversations of Orsola/Tsuchimikado/Touma and Komoe/Touma's parents were great! OST was amazing once again especially during Orsola/Tsuchimikado/Touma, Fukiyose/Komoe and the battle of Magnus/Touma against Oriana. The background information was particularly good too in this one. Having Tsuchimikado shining through out so far makes my day as in first season he was given shit all but the good stuff of this season. Got to admit some of sceneries blew me off like the library during Orsola's part. It also was good comedy during Misaka's mom intro to Kuroko, particularly her reaction. It was quite funny. Magnus's face getting face kicked in the spoiler I want to see her like that and soon during this season! She was made so much more evil and better than first season. Make ehr come as a bad guy and bring it on Touma! Quite the good episode in the end with that fight. |
Yumekichi11Dec 26, 2010 9:30 PM
Dec 27, 2010 7:02 AM
#56
>_> the pace is good and not good u_u Only good thing that happened here was the bit of fighting in the end...AND i hope Touma would STFU~ And i don't really understand what exactly is happening T>T... I am getting pretty annoyed by Index lately, she isn't need at all in this arc i guess... And Kuroko is one crazy ass Lesbian o.o well can't say she has bad taste XD Next week moooooore Oriana <3333 |
Dec 27, 2010 11:59 AM
#57
DenjaX said: I think in regards to all this that Japs should not write shit that will have people angry at them and yeah I am Catholic too but entertainment always makes fun of things and this is exactly what this is. So it can't be really help other than a watch it or don't watch it. Xardie said: Well, I'm a Catholic and I was kinda pissed when they made Catholic church bad since the nun arc though I'm impressed about making a good storyline with biblical stuffs involved especially the Latin language (lol im contradicting myself xDD) I really can't tell if Peter really died on June 29 since that's his feast day... The upside-down cross was portrayed as well even though it's a sword o.oI'm starting to feel bad for poor Catholics. Sure they've done lots of wacky shit through the history but this season's amount of crazy Catholics planning world dominance has gone through the roof.Japs shouldn't write about stuff they don't know anything about (I'm not Catholic btw). Bit about St. Peter choosing the day he died was pretty hilarious too. I find it hilarious when they try to made Japan Catholics xDD That should be Touma's reason.. not the festival =. = He doesn't want to be baptized lol @ Wasabi, Touma answered his concern for the festival because of what happened to Himegami and he had that in the head. That was obvious more than anything else. It was also a attempt to show him like that because of that trauma, he did mention Fukiyose and Himegami, which are both in the festival. |
Dec 27, 2010 2:15 PM
#58
It looks as if Touma gets dumber with each and every episode. Animation's also gone down the drain since the first arc... Hopefully Touma punches the hell outta Oriana soon and we move on to a better arc. Preferably with more Biribiri, because as it stands both Railgun and the first season of Index are both quite a lot better than the mediocre mess I'm watching now. |
Dec 27, 2010 3:06 PM
#59
DenjaX said: When your making a story about religion it's hard not to offend someone especially if that story is directed at a large group of people.Xardie said: I'm starting to feel bad for poor Catholics. Sure they've done lots of wacky shit through the history but this season's amount of crazy Catholics planning world dominance has gone through the roof. Japs shouldn't write about stuff they don't know anything about (I'm not Catholic btw). Bit about St. Peter choosing the day he died was pretty hilarious too. Well, I'm a Catholic and I was kinda pissed when they made Catholic church bad since the nun arc though I'm impressed about making a good storyline with biblical stuffs involved especially the Latin language (lol im contradicting myself xDD) I really can't tell if Peter really died on June 29 since that's his feast day... The upside-down cross was portrayed as well even though it's a sword o.o Religion is just a touchy subject. The reason why the Catholics where picket as one of the religions this story is about is probably because it's one of the larger religions in the world but a rather small one in Japan itself. About the sword. At the start of this arc they where calling it the Stab sword with which supposedly Jesus was killed. But if i recall it right Jesus wasn't killed by a sword but by a spear, yet i didn't read any comments about that. And latter it turned into Saint Peters cross. And like you mentioned it should indeed be upside down as Saint Peter was Crucified upside down at his own request. And i agree with you that his cross would make a strange sword. it would be upside down when used tho. And even then it would take a very strong person to hold it. |
Dec 27, 2010 5:08 PM
#60
Yumekichi11 said: @ Wasabi, Touma answered his concern for the festival because of what happened to Himegami and he had that in the head. That was obvious more than anything else. It was also a attempt to show him like that because of that trauma, he did mention Fukiyose and Himegami, which are both in the festival. Uhhh what? If he was more worried about Fukiyose and Himegami, then he'd be talking about them, not "Y U TRYING 2 RUIN PPLS ENJOYMENT OF DA FESTIVAL." His lines (according to Ayako subs) were "I'm going to stop you here. I won't let you use Croce de Pietro. You're going to destroy the Academy City and mess up the Daihaseisai, right?" Followed by "What bothers me the most is that you're going to use the Croce de Pietro to put an end to the Daihaseisai! Do you know how many people treasure the Daihaseisai? Regardless of what great religion you use as your excuse, you have no right to rob people of their enjoyment." I'm not sure if that was what was generally said in the LN as well, but if it is then it is some poorly written dialogue. Hell, Touma is a poorly written main character. He's naive and dumb. His self righteous half ass'd speeches are just terrible. His priorities are all out of whack. Even with everyone telling him everything he wants to know, he still can't see the bigger picture than what is involved in his normal life, which is plagued by nothing more than a bunch of lolis and a generic tsundere. |
WasabiDec 27, 2010 5:13 PM
Dec 27, 2010 7:20 PM
#61
Wasabi said: Yumekichi11 said: @ Wasabi, Touma answered his concern for the festival because of what happened to Himegami and he had that in the head. That was obvious more than anything else. It was also a attempt to show him like that because of that trauma, he did mention Fukiyose and Himegami, which are both in the festival. Wasabi said: That's what was said but it has to include the fact about the 2 traumas Touma suffered, that of Fukiyose and Himegami. Of course it's not revealed nor hinted but the viewer's assumption of what Touma's suffering is should be of those 2 girl's suffering. He does not give a rat's ass about Academy City, only his concerns are his friends. Uhhh what? If he was more worried about Fukiyose and Himegami, then he'd be talking about them, not "Y U TRYING 2 RUIN PPLS ENJOYMENT OF DA FESTIVAL." His lines (according to Ayako subs) were "I'm going to stop you here. I won't let you use Croce de Pietro. You're going to destroy the Academy City and mess up the Daihaseisai, right?" Wasabi said: Of course that is not what the LN had in store. The speeches in general are far more serious in the LN and many details omitted from the LN, ruin that serious scenario. I read parts of it and I know.Followed by "What bothers me the most is that you're going to use the Croce de Pietro to put an end to the Daihaseisai! Do you know how many people treasure the Daihaseisai? Regardless of what great religion you use as your excuse, you have no right to rob people of their enjoyment." I'm not sure if that was what was generally said in the LN as well, but if it is then it is some poorly written dialogue. Wasabi said: As much as I agree with you opinion you forgot to add that Touma does have some good points about him but it's up to the person to enjoy those points, I for one like his bravery, power and the situations he's involved in. Without his personality (as bad as you describe it) none of them would be enjoyable if it were not his character when he's around those situations.Hell, Touma is a poorly written main character. He's naive and dumb. His self righteous half ass'd speeches are just terrible. His priorities are all out of whack. Even with everyone telling him everything he wants to know, he still can't see the bigger picture than what is involved in his normal life, which is plagued by nothing more than a bunch of lolis and a generic tsundere. |
Dec 28, 2010 12:04 AM
#62
This is the speach in the LN “Your waist is as weak as usual. To fight with nee-chan like this, even a child can grow up much more easily.” “You’re too noisy…” Kamijou re-clenches his fists. “I’ll stop you here; I won’t let you activate the ‘Apostle’s Cross’. If you’re going to cause chaos in Academy City and destroy Daihaseisai, I’ll definitely stop you.” “Isn’t it too scathing to say that? This should be nee-chan’s best performance. I don’t know what the British Puritans told you, but the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ isn’t some evil thing. All religions wish for the happiness of people and the World. To this kind of religion, by using the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ that can change everything ‘in the most favourable manner’, maybe it can destroy the wall between the magic and science sides, and lead humans to happiness?” Hearing Oriana say this while she’s toying around with her flashcard, Kamijou’s lips curl up. He stares at the damaged runway, and reveals a grim smile. “Well said. Because I can’t see the wall between the magic and science side, so this doesn’t feel surreal to me, but I know this is a good thing. However—” He pauses at this moment, glances at Stiyl who’s still on the ground, and affirms his strength back into his five fingers. He clenches his fist even tighter. The human hand that can be used to do other things is now a weapon. Kamijou says, “To me, the balance of the science and magic side, as well as the domination of the world, those are just trivial things. What troubles me is that you’re using the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ here. Do you know what that means?” “Hoho, of course I do. You think, what is this nee-chan working so hard for? It’s to use the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ to control Academy City. But you don’t have anything to worry about. Control isn’t such a nice word, but no matter what, everyone will be happy. And nobody would question that happiness, such a wonderful world is waiting…” “I’ve never heard about this before!” Rage can be implied from his tone. He then silently and firmly exerts strength into his fist again. “THAT ISN’T THE PROBLEM HERE!! THE TROUBLESOME THING IS THAT YOU HAVE DESTROYED DAIHASEISAI!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? STOP USING THE MAGIC OR SCIENCE, MAGICIANS OR ROMAN CATHOLICS, ‘APOSTLE’S CROSS’ OR SOME LEGENDARY SPIRITUAL TOOL TO TRY AND CONFUSE ME!! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT OTHERS WITH THESE BIG-SOUNDING WORDS!? ALSO, YOUR REASONING IS COMPLETELY INVALID, IT’S JUST SOME RADICAL SAYING!!” Kamijou roars. He faces the enemy in front of him. “What am I thinking? It’s nothing compared to that gibberish that you’re saying. But even for an amateur like me, EVEN I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!” He continues to shout at Oriana, “So many people worked so hard for Daihaseisai, to make a wonderful memory out of today! So many people are taking part in Daihaseisai, and everyone put in all their efforts for this! WHY MUST THESE BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS!?” Every single word continues to motivate this boy. Kamijou Touma uses his entire strength to interrogate Oriana Thompson. “No matter how stylish the religion is, can you beat these words now!? Is all the value that you are holding on worth this little!? For someone like you who can’t even break through this simple and boring logic, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE WHAT’S VALUABLE TO OTHERS!!” “…Thanks for your little suggestion.” Oriana’s eyes lose their smiling expression. It’s a smile left behind after losing that happiness, the smile called cynicism. “But, do you think that these sort of feelings can shake this nee-chan? If my thoughts are to be hurt just like this, this nee-chan wouldn’t have taken action in the first place.” She continues to flip her flashcard around. “So this nee-chan won’t stop here. I won’t be able to stop here as you please, understand?” “…Just like this?” “What?” Facing a scowling Oriana, Kamijou continues, “I don’t know what you’re trying to say to me, no matter what you’re trying to do to me, I won’t mind as long as it’s not overbearing. But,” Kamijou pauses for a beat, “Just now, those words, can you say it in front of Fukiyose-san and Himegami, whom you injured?” Oriana Thompson remains silent. She reveals a smile that has half her face twitch. “In the end, this is all I want to say. If you say that you’re not going to do anything else, then I won’t pursue this matter anymore. Hurry up, take the ‘Apostle’s Cross’, and scram.” Kamijou clenches his right fist. Then he says, “But, if you’re going to continue doing things in this city, and even intend on casting magic on those people who are injured and can’t move—” A glow appears in his eyes. It’s a strong light called will. “—I’LL IMMEDIATELY SMASH THAT NONSENSICAL ILLUSION OF YOURS COMPLETELY!!!” Yes, it was primarily about ruining the festival, but the LN's spent a lot of time building the festival up as a representation of people's hopes and dreams, the bonding of families, etc. It was a little bit stupid, but also in character, as Touma cares not for the balance of power in the world and such large issues. A festival being ruined and two girls being hurt are the only parts of this that are significant to him. He's not a "Big Picture" kind of guy and I think we all knew that by now. Take even the first arc in this season. There was a book capable of destroying half the planet and he was only focused on saving the chick. It's just how he thinks. Just for the heck of it here's where they explained the Apostle's Cross, as it seems to be a point of confusion for some people. “Yes, any place that has the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ will be under the Roman Catholic Church’s dominion. Even Academy City isn’t exempted.” Wait wait…!? Kamijou’s at a loss of words. Tsuchimikado says in a bitter tone, “The ‘Stab Sword’ was rumoured to be ‘a sword that can pierce a dragon and pin it onto the ground.’” He pauses, holds his breath for a while, and continues, “This large existence that has huge wings, that will either guard a sleeping treasure or desire for a massacre, such a ‘dragon’ has the hidden meaning of serving God’s ‘Angels’ or the fallen ‘Devil’ nya. ‘Pinning the dragon’ has the meaning of ‘turning this place to Holy grounds by letting the Angels protect this place’ hidden in it…those bastards.” Kamijou sighs. There are many doubts he wanted to ask, but speech isn’t going to convey them properly. “Wait a sec! What do you mean by ‘dominion’? What are those guys intending to do here!?” “This country called the Vatican is like a large Church inside. Kami-yan, that interior is rather strange. Over there, the balance between fortune and misfortune is distorted, no matter what one does, it’ll be beneficial to the Roman Catholics.” Kamijou is still unable to understand Tsuchimikado’s explanation. Stiyl continues, “Specifically, the area inside the Vatican is filled with magic that biased. Things that normally happen will turn out to be of the Roman Catholics’ benefit. For example, it’s like using a magnet to control a roulette in a casino, ignoring the original action of the bead to make it land inside the number that one wants.” Hearing this, Kamijou still doesn’t understand. But, he knows that ‘there’s a magic spell that allows the circumstances to be beneficial to some people.’ “So, it’s like that guy, huh? Like that alchemist, who can materialise anything that he wishes for?” The man named Aureolus Izzard. The result of him developing his alchemist skills to the extreme, and created his own spell of ‘turning anything he wishes for into reality’ is that because of it, he was defeated by his own ‘doubt’… “No, it’s not like using human willpower to ‘form gold.’ This is about ‘making things advantageous for the Roman Catholics.’ But, if such a thing is to be set up in Academy City, then what?” “Now that you mention it…” Will Academy City end up being beneficial to the Roman Catholics? It’s a blurry image, as Kamijou can’t think of any specific thought. He just says out the thought that’s on his mind. “About that…it’ll be beneficial to the Roman Catholics. Then if the Roman Catholics are to come over to Academy City, wouldn’t they become very lucky?” “That’s right; you may regard it as such. What will happen if the effect of the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ acts like a document? It’s not a bad thing, as any Roman Catholic who enters Academy City may lose a large sum of money when they gamble, but will end up winning money in the long run. Even if the building’s bombed, there won’t be any injury at all. This is unnatural. Also…” Stiyl cynically twists his lips. “The ‘Apostle’s Cross’ will help anyone who isn’t a Roman Catholic as well. If the Roman Catholics are to continue winning money through gambling, normally there would be losers as well. But the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ would create a nice losing situation. Even if a building is bombed and destroyed, nobody would be hurt. It creates a ‘oh, nobody’s hurt, that’s good’ kind of situation.” “???” Kamijou tilts his neck. If what Stiyl says is true, “If so, wouldn’t everyone be happy? This shouldn’t be a problem.” “This is where the problem is.” Stiyl mentions this, “Listen, if one doesn’t set up this thing known as the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ from the start, nobody would be losing money through gambling, and nobody will target Roman Catholics in their bombing attempts. On first glance, everyone’s happy. But in actuality, the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ brings a huge burden to anyone around, and normally in situations where one cannot see.” Tsuchimikado, who has no strength left in his upper body, is sprawled on the table. He continues, “Actually, in Christian history, the number of times this happiness was ‘switched’ is unexpectedly frequent. Like San Matorras, or as the British Puritans call him, San Martin. This guy has a very interesting story. When he went to evangelise Christianity, he once broke an ancient pagan temple, and even intended to cut a holy tree down. The non-believing farmers who didn’t want to become Christians resisted till the end, and said, “If there’s a God protecting you, go ahead and cut down this tree. If you’re really protected by God, you won’t die.”” To think that Tsuchimikado, who’s normally just messing around, is able to say this Christian fairy tale so smoothly. To his classmate Kamijou, this is truly not a familiar sight. “Hearing this, San Martin faced the holy tree that’s falling on him, and draws a cross on his chest. Then, the unthinkable happened. The holy tree falls to the other side, and nearly crushed the farmers. The farmers were touched that there was really a miracle from God, and promptly accepted Christianity… Don’t you find this strange nya? The one who used this inexplicable force to cause this holy tree to fall towards the farmers was San Martin himself. He could have allowed that tree to fall somewhere that’s even safer. Come to think about it, he could have just cut the tree down easily nya? Why can he still receive this amount of thanks…?” “Anyway, the result is that, the holy tree that fell the other way didn’t kill the non-believers. Because this is the mercy that God gave, every farmer rejoiced at having the chance to change their religion. No matter whether this outcome is good or bad, their history, traditions and spiritual culture were completely erased.” Kamijou thought, so what. This indeed can bring about happiness, but not because of ‘something that happened that brings about happiness,’ but rather ‘happiness that’s brought about no matter what happens.’ Tsuchimikado lifts his head, and says, “The effects of this method had gotten some recognition in psychology nya. First, satisfy a condition ‘A’ that cannot be fulfilled. When the other party begs and cry, saying that he can’t do it, force him to do the original condition ‘B’ that one wants. In this case, it’ll be easier to succeed than to offer condition ‘B’ right from the start. Just like how ‘Compared to ‘A’, ‘B’ is so much better, we’re really lucky’ nya. By manipulating the specific order, manipulating the balance between one negative effect versus another, one can reduce the relative value required for happiness.” Stiyl twitches the cigarette in his mouth up and down, and continues, “The ‘Apostle’s Cross’ uses the psychological effects of this myth. No matter what happens, the situation will end up benefiting the Roman Catholics. When people are given unrealistic proposals, they’ll agree for some unknown reason…to the Roman Catholics, wouldn’t this place be the most comfortable and enjoyable ‘Holy Land’?” The magicians’ words gradually sinks into Kamijou’s head. A long time is needed for one to slowly understand such a large scale issue. “Wait a sec, Stiyl. About the deal of that ‘Apostle’s Cross,’ what is Oriana and company going to do exactly?” “If this world is split into two, one can classify them as the science side and the magic side. Right now, it’s on a delicate balance.” Stiyl simply replies. “Among them, the leader of the science side is Academy City. If this Academy City is to end up being under the dominion of the Roman Catholics, what do you think will happen to the balance of this world?” Ah! Kamijou finally realises it. If the science side, which occupies half of the world, ends up being ‘some random group’ of a magic sect, then with ‘the science side that occupies the world + one’s own magic sect,’ that sect can control more than 50% of the world. Then, they just need to do the simple thing of a majority resolution in order to control the world at will. Moreover. If that sect is the Roman Catholics, the largest Christian sect in the world. “If any sect is attacked by both the magic side and science side, organisations that are of a ‘single world’ will be unable to resist; it’s like being attacked in front and behind. The balance of world power will be entirely concentrated on the Roman Catholics.” I personally found that the little bit about the pagan temple made the premise make a lot more sense. @Aversa. The Stab sword wasn't the sword that killed Jesus. It was a distillation of the essence of Stabbing, which was involved in the Nails on the cross, and then again with the spear. Anyway on to my take on this episode. I barely managed to make myself read this arc, and it's no better animated. I was hoping we'd wrap it up, but looks like that happens next week. There's a really cool speech in the epilogue and I pray to god they keep all the good points of it, because that, and the character development for Tsuchimikado were about the only two redeeming features of this. At least we can look forward to the next arc, which was pretty awesome in several ways, and also quite suited for animation. |
Dec 28, 2010 7:54 AM
#63
Gangler said: Exactly what I though Gangler, his focus in regards to the festival was from the pain those 2 girls suffered not to mention a lot of people's efforts with making the festival that Touma was affected by. Very nice LN speech! I loved it much more as details enriched its content. Anybody who reads that will agree with me anytime!This is the speach in the LN “Your waist is as weak as usual. To fight with nee-chan like this, even a child can grow up much more easily.” “You’re too noisy…” Kamijou re-clenches his fists. “I’ll stop you here; I won’t let you activate the ‘Apostle’s Cross’. If you’re going to cause chaos in Academy City and destroy Daihaseisai, I’ll definitely stop you.” “Isn’t it too scathing to say that? This should be nee-chan’s best performance. I don’t know what the British Puritans told you, but the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ isn’t some evil thing. All religions wish for the happiness of people and the World. To this kind of religion, by using the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ that can change everything ‘in the most favourable manner’, maybe it can destroy the wall between the magic and science sides, and lead humans to happiness?” Hearing Oriana say this while she’s toying around with her flashcard, Kamijou’s lips curl up. He stares at the damaged runway, and reveals a grim smile. “Well said. Because I can’t see the wall between the magic and science side, so this doesn’t feel surreal to me, but I know this is a good thing. However—” He pauses at this moment, glances at Stiyl who’s still on the ground, and affirms his strength back into his five fingers. He clenches his fist even tighter. The human hand that can be used to do other things is now a weapon. Kamijou says, “To me, the balance of the science and magic side, as well as the domination of the world, those are just trivial things. What troubles me is that you’re using the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ here. Do you know what that means?” “Hoho, of course I do. You think, what is this nee-chan working so hard for? It’s to use the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ to control Academy City. But you don’t have anything to worry about. Control isn’t such a nice word, but no matter what, everyone will be happy. And nobody would question that happiness, such a wonderful world is waiting…” “I’ve never heard about this before!” Rage can be implied from his tone. He then silently and firmly exerts strength into his fist again. “THAT ISN’T THE PROBLEM HERE!! THE TROUBLESOME THING IS THAT YOU HAVE DESTROYED DAIHASEISAI!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? STOP USING THE MAGIC OR SCIENCE, MAGICIANS OR ROMAN CATHOLICS, ‘APOSTLE’S CROSS’ OR SOME LEGENDARY SPIRITUAL TOOL TO TRY AND CONFUSE ME!! YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT OTHERS WITH THESE BIG-SOUNDING WORDS!? ALSO, YOUR REASONING IS COMPLETELY INVALID, IT’S JUST SOME RADICAL SAYING!!” Kamijou roars. He faces the enemy in front of him. “What am I thinking? It’s nothing compared to that gibberish that you’re saying. But even for an amateur like me, EVEN I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY!!” He continues to shout at Oriana, “So many people worked so hard for Daihaseisai, to make a wonderful memory out of today! So many people are taking part in Daihaseisai, and everyone put in all their efforts for this! WHY MUST THESE BE DESTROYED BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS!?” Every single word continues to motivate this boy. Kamijou Touma uses his entire strength to interrogate Oriana Thompson. “No matter how stylish the religion is, can you beat these words now!? Is all the value that you are holding on worth this little!? For someone like you who can’t even break through this simple and boring logic, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TAKE WHAT’S VALUABLE TO OTHERS!!” “…Thanks for your little suggestion.” Oriana’s eyes lose their smiling expression. It’s a smile left behind after losing that happiness, the smile called cynicism. “But, do you think that these sort of feelings can shake this nee-chan? If my thoughts are to be hurt just like this, this nee-chan wouldn’t have taken action in the first place.” She continues to flip her flashcard around. “So this nee-chan won’t stop here. I won’t be able to stop here as you please, understand?” “…Just like this?” “What?” Facing a scowling Oriana, Kamijou continues, “I don’t know what you’re trying to say to me, no matter what you’re trying to do to me, I won’t mind as long as it’s not overbearing. But,” Kamijou pauses for a beat, “Just now, those words, can you say it in front of Fukiyose-san and Himegami, whom you injured?” Oriana Thompson remains silent. She reveals a smile that has half her face twitch. “In the end, this is all I want to say. If you say that you’re not going to do anything else, then I won’t pursue this matter anymore. Hurry up, take the ‘Apostle’s Cross’, and scram.” Kamijou clenches his right fist. Then he says, “But, if you’re going to continue doing things in this city, and even intend on casting magic on those people who are injured and can’t move—” A glow appears in his eyes. It’s a strong light called will. “—I’LL IMMEDIATELY SMASH THAT NONSENSICAL ILLUSION OF YOURS COMPLETELY!!!” Yes, it was primarily about ruining the festival, but the LN's spent a lot of time building the festival up as a representation of people's hopes and dreams, the bonding of families, etc. It was a little bit stupid, but also in character, as Touma cares not for the balance of power in the world and such large issues. A festival being ruined and two girls being hurt are the only parts of this that are significant to him. He's not a "Big Picture" kind of guy and I think we all knew that by now. Take even the first arc in this season. There was a book capable of destroying half the planet and he was only focused on saving the chick. It's just how he thinks. Gangler said: Rather interesting experience of reading when more details are presented to you.I for one learned a great deal with this cross and its illusionary aspects VS the reality of its effects. I thank you for those 2 LN references and I am sure anyone who reads it will be much more enriched at what time and money failed to integrate in this series so far, information! Now I know better and recommend people to read those LN reference, it does enlighten one.Just for the heck of it here's where they explained the Apostle's Cross, as it seems to be a point of confusion for some people. “Yes, any place that has the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ will be under the Roman Catholic Church’s dominion. Even Academy City isn’t exempted.” Wait wait…!? Kamijou’s at a loss of words. Tsuchimikado says in a bitter tone, “The ‘Stab Sword’ was rumoured to be ‘a sword that can pierce a dragon and pin it onto the ground.’” He pauses, holds his breath for a while, and continues, “This large existence that has huge wings, that will either guard a sleeping treasure or desire for a massacre, such a ‘dragon’ has the hidden meaning of serving God’s ‘Angels’ or the fallen ‘Devil’ nya. ‘Pinning the dragon’ has the meaning of ‘turning this place to Holy grounds by letting the Angels protect this place’ hidden in it…those bastards.” Kamijou sighs. There are many doubts he wanted to ask, but speech isn’t going to convey them properly. “Wait a sec! What do you mean by ‘dominion’? What are those guys intending to do here!?” “This country called the Vatican is like a large Church inside. Kami-yan, that interior is rather strange. Over there, the balance between fortune and misfortune is distorted, no matter what one does, it’ll be beneficial to the Roman Catholics.” Kamijou is still unable to understand Tsuchimikado’s explanation. Stiyl continues, “Specifically, the area inside the Vatican is filled with magic that biased. Things that normally happen will turn out to be of the Roman Catholics’ benefit. For example, it’s like using a magnet to control a roulette in a casino, ignoring the original action of the bead to make it land inside the number that one wants.” Hearing this, Kamijou still doesn’t understand. But, he knows that ‘there’s a magic spell that allows the circumstances to be beneficial to some people.’ “So, it’s like that guy, huh? Like that alchemist, who can materialise anything that he wishes for?” The man named Aureolus Izzard. The result of him developing his alchemist skills to the extreme, and created his own spell of ‘turning anything he wishes for into reality’ is that because of it, he was defeated by his own ‘doubt’… “No, it’s not like using human willpower to ‘form gold.’ This is about ‘making things advantageous for the Roman Catholics.’ But, if such a thing is to be set up in Academy City, then what?” “Now that you mention it…” Will Academy City end up being beneficial to the Roman Catholics? It’s a blurry image, as Kamijou can’t think of any specific thought. He just says out the thought that’s on his mind. “About that…it’ll be beneficial to the Roman Catholics. Then if the Roman Catholics are to come over to Academy City, wouldn’t they become very lucky?” “That’s right; you may regard it as such. What will happen if the effect of the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ acts like a document? It’s not a bad thing, as any Roman Catholic who enters Academy City may lose a large sum of money when they gamble, but will end up winning money in the long run. Even if the building’s bombed, there won’t be any injury at all. This is unnatural. Also…” Stiyl cynically twists his lips. “The ‘Apostle’s Cross’ will help anyone who isn’t a Roman Catholic as well. If the Roman Catholics are to continue winning money through gambling, normally there would be losers as well. But the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ would create a nice losing situation. Even if a building is bombed and destroyed, nobody would be hurt. It creates a ‘oh, nobody’s hurt, that’s good’ kind of situation.” “???” Kamijou tilts his neck. If what Stiyl says is true, “If so, wouldn’t everyone be happy? This shouldn’t be a problem.” “This is where the problem is.” Stiyl mentions this, “Listen, if one doesn’t set up this thing known as the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ from the start, nobody would be losing money through gambling, and nobody will target Roman Catholics in their bombing attempts. On first glance, everyone’s happy. But in actuality, the ‘Apostle’s Cross’ brings a huge burden to anyone around, and normally in situations where one cannot see.” Tsuchimikado, who has no strength left in his upper body, is sprawled on the table. He continues, “Actually, in Christian history, the number of times this happiness was ‘switched’ is unexpectedly frequent. Like San Matorras, or as the British Puritans call him, San Martin. This guy has a very interesting story. When he went to evangelise Christianity, he once broke an ancient pagan temple, and even intended to cut a holy tree down. The non-believing farmers who didn’t want to become Christians resisted till the end, and said, “If there’s a God protecting you, go ahead and cut down this tree. If you’re really protected by God, you won’t die.”” To think that Tsuchimikado, who’s normally just messing around, is able to say this Christian fairy tale so smoothly. To his classmate Kamijou, this is truly not a familiar sight. “Hearing this, San Martin faced the holy tree that’s falling on him, and draws a cross on his chest. Then, the unthinkable happened. The holy tree falls to the other side, and nearly crushed the farmers. The farmers were touched that there was really a miracle from God, and promptly accepted Christianity… Don’t you find this strange nya? The one who used this inexplicable force to cause this holy tree to fall towards the farmers was San Martin himself. He could have allowed that tree to fall somewhere that’s even safer. Come to think about it, he could have just cut the tree down easily nya? Why can he still receive this amount of thanks…?” “Anyway, the result is that, the holy tree that fell the other way didn’t kill the non-believers. Because this is the mercy that God gave, every farmer rejoiced at having the chance to change their religion. No matter whether this outcome is good or bad, their history, traditions and spiritual culture were completely erased.” Kamijou thought, so what. This indeed can bring about happiness, but not because of ‘something that happened that brings about happiness,’ but rather ‘happiness that’s brought about no matter what happens.’ Tsuchimikado lifts his head, and says, “The effects of this method had gotten some recognition in psychology nya. First, satisfy a condition ‘A’ that cannot be fulfilled. When the other party begs and cry, saying that he can’t do it, force him to do the original condition ‘B’ that one wants. In this case, it’ll be easier to succeed than to offer condition ‘B’ right from the start. Just like how ‘Compared to ‘A’, ‘B’ is so much better, we’re really lucky’ nya. By manipulating the specific order, manipulating the balance between one negative effect versus another, one can reduce the relative value required for happiness.” Stiyl twitches the cigarette in his mouth up and down, and continues, “The ‘Apostle’s Cross’ uses the psychological effects of this myth. No matter what happens, the situation will end up benefiting the Roman Catholics. When people are given unrealistic proposals, they’ll agree for some unknown reason…to the Roman Catholics, wouldn’t this place be the most comfortable and enjoyable ‘Holy Land’?” The magicians’ words gradually sinks into Kamijou’s head. A long time is needed for one to slowly understand such a large scale issue. “Wait a sec, Stiyl. About the deal of that ‘Apostle’s Cross,’ what is Oriana and company going to do exactly?” “If this world is split into two, one can classify them as the science side and the magic side. Right now, it’s on a delicate balance.” Stiyl simply replies. “Among them, the leader of the science side is Academy City. If this Academy City is to end up being under the dominion of the Roman Catholics, what do you think will happen to the balance of this world?” Ah! Kamijou finally realises it. If the science side, which occupies half of the world, ends up being ‘some random group’ of a magic sect, then with ‘the science side that occupies the world + one’s own magic sect,’ that sect can control more than 50% of the world. Then, they just need to do the simple thing of a majority resolution in order to control the world at will. Moreover. If that sect is the Roman Catholics, the largest Christian sect in the world. “If any sect is attacked by both the magic side and science side, organisations that are of a ‘single world’ will be unable to resist; it’s like being attacked in front and behind. The balance of world power will be entirely concentrated on the Roman Catholics.” I personally found that the little bit about the pagan temple made the premise make a lot more sense. @Aversa. The Stab sword wasn't the sword that killed Jesus. It was a distillation of the essence of Stabbing, which was involved in the Nails on the cross, and then again with the spear. Anyway on to my take on this episode. I barely managed to make myself read this arc, and it's no better animated. I was hoping we'd wrap it up, but looks like that happens next week. There's a really cool speech in the epilogue and I pray to god they keep all the good points of it, because that, and the character development for Tsuchimikado were about the only two redeeming features of this. At least we can look forward to the next arc, which was pretty awesome in several ways, and also quite suited for animation. |
Dec 28, 2010 8:33 AM
#64
Yeah wow the LN lines make it alot clearer thanks. But now the anime fails to do it justice =(. |
Dec 28, 2010 4:43 PM
#65
@Yumekichi11. Glad I could help. I don't know about you, personally I love it when Touma says things like "To me, the balance of the science and magic side, as well as the domination of the world, those are just trivial things." It's what makes him fun. If I wanted a "Big picture" kind of guy, then I could watch Lelouch, or Light Yagami (both of which are very fun main characters, don't want to be seen as putting them down). Touma's got a narrower sight, but that's part of his charm. He sees what's in front of him, and not much more. That's fine, because he's not the tactician, or the scout, or the information gatherer or any such thing. Others take care of that, and then they come to him with a problem, and he fixes it. @Xyco. Yeah, it's a shame some of the stuff that doesn't get done properly, but the show's already pretty heavy on exposition and dialogue. If they actually properly adapted what is often 130 pages of buildup, 10 pages of combat, and then a good twenty pages of revealing epilogue, I don't know if we'd even be able to retain the action tag:p If you're interested in more though I'd recommend this passage. It's maybe half a page. Himegami's end of the accident. Well worth the read. |
Dec 28, 2010 9:28 PM
#66
Gangler said: Exactly one way I was leaning on and also I see Touma rather a cool unique character that no anime ever made to have such a character a power used in that way, although sometimes he reminds me of Captain Falcon for "falcon punch" in this episode his anger was particularly nice.@Yumekichi11. Glad I could help. I don't know about you, personally I love it when Touma says things like "To me, the balance of the science and magic side, as well as the domination of the world, those are just trivial things." It's what makes him fun. If I wanted a "Big picture" kind of guy, then I could watch Lelouch, or Light Yagami (both of which are very fun main characters, don't want to be seen as putting them down). Touma's got a narrower sight, but that's part of his charm. He sees what's in front of him, and not much more. That's fine, because he's not the tactician, or the scout, or the information gatherer or any such thing. Others take care of that, and then they come to him with a problem, and he fixes it. |
Dec 28, 2010 9:36 PM
#67
I am bored of this arc. It has been dragging for too long now. |
Dec 28, 2010 11:04 PM
#68
geez this episode sucks too much. Go Touma! talk her to death with your righteous speech! |
If Java had true garbage collection, most programs would delete themselves upon execution. - Robert Sewell |
Dec 28, 2010 11:07 PM
#69
I just watch the first season and finally caught up. And lately, Touma has been getting pretty annoying, the Misaka moments were awesome but Touma got to stop being a worry wart and get his job done, instead of crying about every single little injury. And wow, has this arc been long, he should just do one of his one hit KO punches and then move on. |
Dec 29, 2010 2:19 PM
#70
Instantly when hearing Last Order talking about herself, I was like "Yaaaay, Accelerator! : D", but then, when I realized that there wouldn't be any Accelerator, I was disappoint. D: Oh and the art was better again. Not at all like the horrible previous episode. And at least this is better than that abomination called Railgun. |
OosranDec 31, 2010 1:48 AM
Protip: I don't really check the forums anymore, so if you want something, take it on my profile. Is it time for my long-awaited return to the forums? щ(゚Д゚щ) Nope™, probably not. |
Dec 29, 2010 5:06 PM
#71
Dec 30, 2010 6:42 AM
#72
What the fuck is the cross supposed to be and what is daihaiseisai |
Dec 30, 2010 7:15 AM
#73
Kuroko made this episode watchable. And Ms. Boobs of course. The rest's just terrible. I mean, seriously? "I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY THE FESTIVAL!!!11 D: D: D:" Jesus Christ. I can't believe I liked the first season. Or maybe the first season really was good, and this is just... different. And absolutely stupid. |
Jan 1, 2011 5:37 AM
#75
Wait, Touma's parents know of his special power? And still waiting for that falcon punch. |
Jan 1, 2011 8:46 AM
#76
billng said: Wait, Touma's parents know of his special power? And still waiting for that falcon punch. Where are you getting that from? |
Jan 1, 2011 9:46 AM
#77
Gangler said: billng said: Wait, Touma's parents know of his special power? And still waiting for that falcon punch. Where are you getting that from? His parents asked if it was his own will, then it must be important. His dad was a part of the sky fall incident afterall |
Jan 1, 2011 10:01 AM
#78
So they came to the conclusion that Touma is old enough to decide for himself whether or not to participate in a festival. How does this tie into the imagine breaker? Touya was mostly oblivious throughout angels fall, and what little he did see didn't indicate anything about Touma having powers. Basically he just got to have touma run with him to the safety of the hotel, where they both got beaten unconscious by an acquittance of Touma's. It seems a bit of a leap to say that he's learned Touma's power by this. |
Jan 1, 2011 11:48 AM
#79
That was an unbearably long, slow, and boring episode. I'm sorry, but if you spend more than half of an episode explaining something that it shown in less than 5 scenes, it's pointless and a waist of time. I expected better the second time around of To Aru Majustsu no Index, and thought they would progress in a better attitude. Hopefully, next episode we can start to pick things up. Looking forward to the next! |
Jan 2, 2011 1:03 AM
#80
Wasabi said: alexcampos said: So, apparently the Cross is supposed to have some sort of power and Ms. BIG TITS is going to use it for evil deeds...that's it, I guess. I wouldn't necessarily call what they're trying to accomplish "evil." Just a very warped sense of justification. Oriana and Lidvia even felt remorse for getting Himegami injured. And seriously, wtf Touma? Is he really that simple minded and stupid? I was expecting some self righteous dribble coming out of his ass but really? It was even worse than that. LOLOLZ I WONT LET YOU RUINZ THE FESTIVAAALLLL. Really? REALLY? Apparently Touma is too dumb to see any big picture other than what he sees in front of him. This show has too many needlessly useless characters too. Loli sensei is just infuriatingly annoying and Himegami has no significance whatsoever anymore. Hell, even Index is losing significance. She's been completely useless for how many episodes now? i think she was useless ep 12? ~ 23 last season lol.. |
Jan 2, 2011 5:26 PM
#81
haha the loli teacher is now a fan of Stiyl. Can't wait for Oriana to get her ass kicked. |
Jan 2, 2011 10:53 PM
#82
darkerealm said: haha the loli teacher is now a fan of Stiyl. OTP? |
Mar 9, 2011 9:34 AM
#83
Mar 9, 2011 3:02 PM
#84
Aah, what a cliffhanger. I really though this one would be the finale! Ever since the beginning of the "Stab Sword" arc I found it pretty frustrating stupid that people like Index and Misaka didn't know anything about what was going on. -_- His parents sure are understanding though, believing in Touma doing something more important than the competition. Really now? The reason Touma uses to confront Oriana is the fact she'll ruin the Daihaseisai, snf not the fact she's going to change the world as they know it? O_O "...then I'll have to crush that ridiculous illusion of yours!". Well go get her Touma, we know you want to punch her in the face again. Well next up's the real finale of this arc. And it doesn't look pretty. Don't think the others like Index and Misaka will even know what has been going on either. >_< |
Apr 7, 2011 12:25 PM
#85
"Im not so sensitive that I can be satisfied with just one hand" Hahahahaha....Oriana's suggestive lines always make me chuckle! I only just found out that Stiyl is supposed to be 14! wtf? The scene with loli-sensei hugging him was warped when I think that she's an adult and he's just a teen! Their hights are the wrong way round! hahahaha |
Feb 3, 2012 10:20 AM
#86
Feb 12, 2012 3:35 PM
#87
helur said: "You think you can convience me with a half-assed speech?" ^ QFT. His speech as as bad as the one he gave to Index to get her to go away; which i still can't believe she took easily. So much trolling, they like to get my hopes up expecting accelerator or biribiri to show up. (Good 7/10) i was thinking they would use last order to find out where oranda is, definitly seemed like a good idea. |
May 3, 2012 5:30 PM
#88
So Touma's main issue with the Cross being used is that it's going to ruin a sporting event? Come on, that's weak. I was hoping to actually see Last Order, but noo... |
May 10, 2012 1:41 AM
#89
So nothing fucking happens... They just run around looking for where they're going to plunge that stupid fucking cross. We don't even know what the purpose of Oriana and the mysterious sister really is. This is the worst fucking arc. Please tell me it gets better, because I'm about the drop this series. We hear Misaki Misaki's voice but she never shows up! I wished they focused more on character and humor instead of trying hard create this failed drama, tension, and meaningless violence. Well, at lease Oriana kind of feels bad for going over the top on Himegami. Though I still haven't forgiven her. |
Jul 7, 2012 10:58 PM
#90
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t understand at all what is happening with this spell thing, what exactly they are trying to do, and all the confusing details they’ve been talking about don’t make any sense to me. I had to go on Wikipedia just to make sense what is happening, because I seriously don’t understand all their random details that they are spewing around. Anybody else feel that way with this episode? I’m about half-way into episode and I’m just waiting until the action starts or until something I understand comes by my way… Okay, that’s BS. Toma and Stiyl jumped a barbed wired fence like it was no big deal when they ran towards Oriana. Geez, how many spell does that women have? No matter how many pages she tears out, it doesn’t look like the book is getting any smaller. And not to mention she is a damn good fighter on top of being an awesome magic user. |
Never go full retard |
Aug 28, 2012 11:29 PM
#91
for once i actually agree that theres too heavy dialoge that's not very interesting or easy to understand. I don't really know what's going on, but I decided not to put too much weight on the details. All I can make out is that they're going to desrroy Academy City with the cross for whatever reason (*shrugs) and Toma gonna stop them. Main problem is the arc is dragging too long T_T. The climatic build is only good for the first fight between Touma and the woman. No need for that many episodes to revolve around catching this woman. Other than the Misaka and Index scenes, I don't really like this arc that much. |
張大です for 張大勇督察 |
Jan 2, 2013 8:11 AM
#92
This is fucking terrible. I can't believe the words that came out of Touma's mouth. Well, I should have expected it I guess. But, really? Give me some Accelerator please... |
"Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
Jan 20, 2013 6:21 PM
#93
Touma's speech to Oriana was probably one of the stupidest things I have heard. I mean, really, out of all the reasons he could have stated for wanting to stop their plan he chose "because it would ruin everyone's fun at this sports festival"? Ridiculous. |
Feb 2, 2013 8:48 AM
#94
Oct 4, 2013 8:32 PM
#96
I feel like I haven't seen a girl get punched in a while..... |
Aug 30, 2014 10:13 PM
#98
"Oh my, what's happening in this city?" Fuyokose You don't even want to know just how dark this world is. Ignorance is bliss they say. Touma's fight next episode!!! Mikoto's mother is a cool mother haha. Kuroko's expression at the sight of her breasts was priceless; Touma's parents sounded just like Yuukiteru's parents from Mirai nikki =D. |
Sep 2, 2014 8:20 PM
#99
Dec 31, 2014 1:58 PM
#100
Hey St-Pierre died on the same day of my birthday! :D I don't if I should be happy about it... Anyway, nothing much happened in that episode, except that Touma plan to break those illusions from Oriana. Those damn evil plotting nuns. Is Tsuchimikado getting owned by a random trap becomming a running gag. The poor lad can't catch a break xD And damn Stiyl, still being useless. Or maybe it's just Oriana who is too strong. Or just more talented. |
«Time is passing so quickly. Right now, I feel like complaining to Einstein. Whether time is slow or fast depends on perception. Relativity theory is so romantic. And so sad.» - Kurisu Makise a.k.a. The Zombie |
More topics from this board
Poll: » Toaru Majutsu no Index II Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 )Aezile - Apr 1, 2011 |
237 |
by whitebeartigtig
»»
May 27, 2024 6:39 AM |
|
Poll: » Speculations for Ep. 23 ( 1 2 )Aezile - Mar 18, 2011 |
54 |
by whitebeartigtig
»»
May 27, 2024 6:00 AM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Majutsu no Index II Episode 22 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )Aezile - Mar 11, 2011 |
175 |
by whitebeartigtig
»»
May 27, 2024 5:19 AM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Majutsu no Index II Episode 21 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )Aezile - Mar 4, 2011 |
136 |
by whitebeartigtig
»»
May 27, 2024 4:52 AM |
|
Poll: » Toaru Majutsu no Index II Episode 20 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )Aezile - Feb 25, 2011 |
139 |
by whitebeartigtig
»»
May 26, 2024 3:16 PM |