To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S - 17

'Study Group'

New OP, New ED, New Arc. With the legacy the Sisters Arc left behind, it'll be hard to follow up, or even live up to the standards Railgun S has set so far. However, this is JC Staff, who can be really good when they want to be. Hopefully, this might be even better than the Sisters Arc, though it's almost certain to be better than Index (what am I saying? I've already read the manga...)

My favourite panel from the OP

You’ve got guts Misaka. Requesting permission for a later curfew in order to study? SOUNDS LIKE LIES. But okay, just make sure to keep your friends close. Might I just add that's something Misaka didn't do once in the Index Arc (if Touma is counted as a Romantic Interest)? Well, it took a long time (15 episode to be exact), but Railgun has finally returned to the Slice of Life show where the protagonist Misaka Mikoto hangs out with her girl pals. Yet again, this is another breather episode before Railgun kicks off into another arc full of action, and excitement. My major concern at this point is how they'll fit everything into 6 episodes (I've read the manga, and there's ALOT to cover).

That's the last we'll see of Misaka Imouto, in a while...

Having missed Saten-san, I was very much relieved to see her back, and trolling people (this time, Misaka was the unfortunate victim). But I must stress it wasn't just Saten-san who I was relieved to see back. In fact, the entire group were a welcome sight, and the underlying repercussions resulting from Misaka's disappearance is outlined too. If anything, their friendship is stronger than ever, something that will be tested in the coming arc, but the important moment was when Misaka admitted she could've better handled the situation she was in. There’s a bit of a maturation, and reaffirmation previously established sentiments here, and we see how far Misaka has developed as a result of the Sisters Arc. With the Sisters lifespan significantly shortened by the experiments, this time, they'll be fighting to live, rather than die. This in itself symbolizes the new hope in their world, and concludes the Sisters Arc very nicely.

After all that happened between Misaka and Mugino...
I sense a Punch-Clock Villain

Overall though, the big thing is that with the Sisters’ Arc over, things are quite relaxed compared to the previous weeks (as Kuroko notes herself). The attempted hacking of the Sakugawa Middle School newspaper servers seem to allude to something on the horizon (even if it might just be a red herring). At the very least, the re-introduction of Kongou and the others herald a new beginning (as does their inclusion in the new OP/ED sequence). Time to see how things will roll from here.

It's been sometime since Kuroko last got fried