It’s not so often that we get to see a big, strong youth punch a cute, tiny little girl in the face at full force. Twice. Add to that she’s a nun, and you have the makings of a true classic.

Of course there have been many times where I’ve felt the urge to do what Touma did when listening to a Kugimiya Rie performance – that’s only natural. But lest you think that was all there was to Index II episode 5, we also had the return of Kanazaki Kaori. And boy, is that one-leg torn off look a winner – she can really pull it off. I also love the moments when we get to see Styl’s true age come through the facade of cigarette-chewing, flame-spouting badass – and those moments almost always come when Index is involved. The boy still has it bad for her, that’s certain. But as Index has shown so indications of being a shotacon so far, I don’t see much hope for poor Styl for a few years anyway.

As for the wrap of the arc itself, it was accomplished with some excellent action and flair – the aforementioned Touma loli-punches especially. Turns out the whole Magic Book thing was a red herring – Orsola couldn’t decipher it at all. Her “method” was just a dummy cipher – of which there are 22. Kudos to Index for being useful by figuring this out, since the nun army’s self-punctured eardrums made her Sheol Fear attack useless. As of now there’s talk of the Amakusa being integrated into the Anglican Church and Agnese being made a scapegoat by the Catholics, and Orsola is apparently out of danger now that she presents no threat to anyone.

There was some nice foreshadowing at the end – Kanazaki’s shy demeanor was highly suggestive (and amusing), and a very chilling conversation between Styl and Laura about her role in future events. Meanwhile we’re going to see Biri-Biri at last in the next arc, which mildly pleases me but should send the Railgunners into a tizzy of joy.

But really, this was all about Touma punching a little girl in the face. That’s just win.