To Aru Majutsu no Index II - Episode 16

Things are heated up on the fleet of ice ships as we reach the climax of another story arc of Touma Punches Everything... oops, sorry, I mean To Aru Majutsu no Index II.

No sooner did Touma and his assorted company of allies board this ice fleet did things start to go a bit awry, but nonetheless thanks to some determination from the Amakusa and the Sisters fighting on his side, there's enough of an opportunity for Touma, Orsola and Index to slip away from the main battle that's raging to concentrate on their true task of rescuing Agnese before she can be used as the proverbial key in the ignition of the Roman Catholic church's spell, The Queen of the Adriatic Sea.

Before reaching Agnese though, there are a few obstacles in the way, with Touma having to punch doors and numerous suits of armour crafted from ice, only to find himself coming up against the man at the top of the scheme he's trying to prevent, Biagio Buzoni.  With a handy line in throwing giant crosses at people, Biagio proves to be a tricky customer to deal with, and it seems as if Touma has met his match as he's left for dead, with only Orsola standing in the way of what is soon revealed to be the imminent destruction of Academy City (where else?).  But of course, Touma is anything but dead (although it's never explained just how he escaped), and a lot of shouting and a few punches later, the Roman Catholic church's plan is in tatters, with even a desperate attempt to self-destruct The Queen of the Adriatic Sea thwarted, inevitably, by that right hand of Touma's.

Although I jets in my opening about mistaking the title of this series, I'm increasingly thinking that my version of its name is more appropriate - this far into its second season, To Aru Majutsu no Index is really beginning to suffer from the repetitive nature of its approach to solving every crisis, leaving us simply counting down and waiting for Touma to punch someone or something to save the day.  It's certainly a far cry from the more tense and unpredictable nature of To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, which probably means that it's so much the better that next week's episode will give us a little more Mikoto Misaka goodness to enjoy.  As story arcs go for this series this certainly wasn't a bad one, but its negatives are simply further evidence of a wider malaise for the show that I don't think there's really any good answer to.  Except a job-swap with Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood perhaps.