Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T - Episode 18 - 10 Second Anime

Mikoto and ITEM member Kinuhata join forces to retrieve a legendary Indian Poker card.

#18 – “Bust Upper”

Hmm.

I’ve mentioned this before but watching Railgun T after watching Index III is mind warping because of the difference in timelines. Feeling things out of order happened again when see ITEM in its heyday, with Mugino and the girls making use of a penthouse, Frenda still alive, Mugino’s body intact, and Hamazura not even a blip in Rikou’s awareness. J.C. STAFF announced the third season of Railgun before they announced the third season of Index, so it appears the plan was to produce Railgun T before broadcasting Index III. I don’t know what happened, but they delayed things so much they had to put out that terrible serving of Accelerator after Index III ended. Railgun T has not had good luck during its run, especially since its second half had to deal with COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. This poor show is going to finish three years late.

As for how this OVA fit into the plot, the thing to notice is how these dream cards can impart neuromuscular skills overnight, as we saw with Saten’s amazing new kendama skills. Moreover, a girl who lucked into using the Bust Upper card had a dramatic increase in her bust size. Indian Poker can affect biology through a dream! This technology is dangerous, and Railgun T is slowly showing us those implications. Still, this episode was a fanservice heavy vehicle to have fun with the slightly used characters through their dream cards. Any time Railgun has the words “bust upper” anywhere near it, you can stop taking it seriously and just sympathize with Mikoto for being on the flat side of justice. I still hope she gets her growth spurt in high school, so her mom’s genetics can take over, but being this far into 9th grade and still having a washboard everything is not a good sign for our Biri-Biri.

Heh.

Saten became a master kendama player overnight and her ambitious self wants to go after pen spinning next. Saten aims high… Ah. Card Traders are going to become a thing for the serious plot of this arc. Mikoto doesn’t trust the concept of Traders because of her run-in with Aogami Pierce.

Oh, it’s ITEM, back when they were all friends and worked directly for Academy City’s Board of Directors. Kinuhata is awfully aware of her team’s bustiness. Aw. Mugino when she was still pretty. And sane. Kinuhata tries rationalizing her pettanko purity, but she’s not convincing. Eh? Frenda got boobs? When? Kinuhata has no more allies in the Flatness Hall of Justice. Ack! Hamazura brought Kinuhata milk, along with other things, but she’s on a one-track mind now.

Ah. Here’s one of those Traders Saten was talking about. This mousy girl in the overalls might become important because they’re not showing her eyes. Oops. Mikoto doesn’t know Kinuhata, but Kinuhata knows exactly who the Rank-3 Level 5 is. Kinuhata’s card conveniently hides her crotch. She wasn’t so shy in Index III. Ha! Mikoto copied Kinuhata’s “ultra” language wording. Hello, Bust Upper! Haha! They both want that card. They both need that card! Uh oh. All the labels blew off when the Trader tried to protect his S-Rank card. Now they’ll have to dream through every single one to find the Bust Upper. Kinuhata has a Super Friend in the Flat Hall of Justice after all.

So now Mikoto and Kinuhata need to dream through every dream card to find the Bust Upper. Are these cards one-time plays? The Trader made a big deal about the plastic wrap on the S-Rank card remaining intact before use. Can they make copies of these Dream Cards? Mikoto and Kinuhata agree to tell each other the secret of the Bust Upper if they find it, so that tends toward one-time use. I need answers. Nice Apple style PC towers in this net café.

Ah. This is like a fanservice BD extra episode. All these underutilized characters made Dream Cards! First, Mikoto dreams of being Yoshikawa-sensei, who is flat next to her friend Yomikawa-sensei. Almost everyone is flat when comparing themselves to Yomikawa-sensei… Next, Kunihata dreams of being Tsuchimikado’s younger sister who’s always dressed as a maid. Wow, Railgun is playing games with the audience. Mikoto is dreaming as an undiscovered singer who dresses like a character in the opening credits who they haven’t introduced yet! Hahahaha! Kongou was the one the agent scouted! Because of her boobs! Aw. Mikoto called Kongou her friend. Oh dear. Kinuhata is now a kunoichi who needs to use her legs to entice men because she lacks boobs. Um, the net café is going to kick these two out if they don’t stop yelling when they wake up. So many side characters from Mikoto’s school made dream cards.

Ah. The café kicked them out. But they can nap poolside at a hotel! And the Bust Upper card will fly away somehow, I’m sure. Crows like shiny things, so that’s how it’s going to be. And it’s gone. Oh man. Mikoto is in another dream with an unidentified girl from the opening credits. Oh shi… The overalls girl gets the card and Index herself is running around in the background! No Bust Upper for Mikoto or Kinuhata. Kuroko is beside herself for Mikoto talking her ear off, but Mikoto isn’t tired at all because of all the dreaming.

Saten got that pen spinning thing to work out for her. That Bust Upper card worked out for the overalls girl too!

Next time, some of those dream girls start showing up in the story.