Episode 10 – “Particle Destabilizer: Meltdowner”

So this is why we always pick up our toys after we’re done playing, especially if they happen to be filled with explosives. Otherwise, Misaka will hijack them and use them against you. The fight between her and Mugino was really fun to super-watch, though. The animation of this series never fails to impress me. Mugino’s character also has just the right amount of insanity without being completely overboard and incomprehensible. She has enough common sense to know what she’s doing in a battle, like using her Meltdowner to cushion a fall.

It’s interesting how Mugino overcomes her weakness, which I assume is the number of rays she can fire at once, with a slitted mirror (or maybe even a lens to diffract the waves. As discussed in the comments of last episode’s impression, Mugino possesses the ability to force electrons (though maybe it’d be photons?) into a state in which it can behave as both a particle and a wave. They’re unstable and release an incredible amount of energy. If I had to compare Misaka’s and Mugino’s powers, I’d say Misaka has reign over electrons while Mugino has control over photons. In this sense, the two have very similar abilities, but Misaka comes out on top in rank because she’s deemed to be more profitable by scientists.

I’m probably getting way too caught up in the science part of this fictional series, though it IS called A Certain Scientific Railgun for a reason. This is one thing I really like about the Raildex series, though. It presents a scenario where science and magic are equally probable, yet equally fantasized at the same time.

Though, what little quantum physics I’ve learned has suggested to me that magic can be an almost equally valid explanation for the goings-on of the universe. Maybe science only makes sense to us because we were raised in the world that progressed in that direction. In a field where everything is based on uncertainties, maybe we were better off sticking with magic and the occult…

Also, the experiments are over! But could it really be that easy? Those who’ve watched Index will know the answer. In fact, the scene at the end of this episode might actually transition into the very same meeting by the vending machine that occurs in the first season of Index. If this is true then I’m incredibly excited, especially since I just finished watching the first season.

B.W.