In a world where supernatural occurrences such as ghosts, curses, yokai, and psychic powers happen on a daily basis, someone is trying to be normal. That aspect bled into everyone else’s life and causing something that’s extremely difficult.
Mob Psycho 100 is an anime about a middle schooler boy named Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob who is struggling in his adolescence age. Dealing with problems such as school life, love interest, future plans, etc. The terms “psycho” and “100” are used because of his psychic power and how it’s affected by his emotional status. His power goes out of control & harms everything around him if he is feeling angry, conflicted, or sad. The stronger the emotion, the stronger the power. When any of his emotions reaches 100%, he becomes immensely powerful & looks cool (e.g., spiky hair, sharp face, etc.).
3 seasons have aired and, in each season, the anime tackles different aspects. In season 1, Mob had his encounter with other psychics, showing them that power doesn’t really make one special. Season 2 is about going up against world-ending threats like urban legends, Keiji Mogami the vengeful spirit, Claw the evil organization, and also Mob growing by learning from them. Season 3 is more intimate and focuses on Mobs personally.
The fact that he always suppresses his emotions so that his power doesn’t cause any harm has a backlash. He always tries to help others, but he never thinks about what’s inside of him. That burst out on some occasions e.g., when Ritsu, his younger brother got hurt by the bullies when they were kids when he was almost choked to death by Teru, another psychic of his age, and in s3 when he got hit by a truck but didn’t get isekaied. That state is denoted as the mysterious percentage or ???%. He basically starts sleepwalking in that state. His innate dormant emotions take over, emotions that are negative i.e., denial, bloodlust, frustration, etc.
We all have pent-up desires inside us. We sometimes want to do bad things even if it harms others. We are oblivious to ourselves, not knowing what’s good for us then regret. The final episode relates to us in that way. Mob’s overcoming of his negative side is something all of us should take note of. When things don’t go our way, we all tend to react in a vulgar way. We cuss, break things, often hurt others & push them away. We lose our rationality. But that only makes things worse & the lesson is to take control of our emotions instead of letting our emotions control us.
He wants everyone to accept him without his powers involved. Him finally realizing that he’s rejecting himself in that process really hits home. The friends he made in his journey of self-discovery push through for him the way he did for them. So, it’s also about letting in people close when the moment calls instead of dealing with everything alone. They make Mob realize what was missing. And it’s not just Mob, everyone else learns to accept themselves too. Reigen finally tells the truth to Mob, Teru finally strips off his facade-y look, Ritsu accepts his mistake from the past, Dimple realizes his true feelings, and other characters from the school too, they all have their dedicated character arcs. All the events lead to a satisfying end. And the way everything is narrated is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Right from episode 1, the theme is focused on self-acceptance. And that is conveyed in the form of a career survey in school. After an event, Mob reaches a conclusion but it lasts an impression on Dimple. In later episodes, Dimple remembers his original goal to rule the world & jeopardizes the whole city. After encountering Mob, he realizes his mistakes, accepts his true feelings, and pays the ultimate price.
The career survey thing also affects Tome Kurata, a character from Mob’s school who is graduating. She disbands her Telepathy club thinking it’s only a waste of time and she will never find a telepath or aliens. The club members then decide to go on a trip to find aliens and in that journey, they all grow internally.
Finally, it’s Mob’s turn. His character arc gathers everyone close to him one by one, those who understood him to a deeper level. Teru, Toichiro Suzuki (the main antagonist of season 2), Ritsu, and Reigen. Everyone confesses their true feelings to Mob and that is reflected in Mob in his development. You are who you are in the end.
A fact, Mob once thought in season 2 episode 3 near the end that if he ever caused harm with his power, would there be anyone stopping him? Now we were able to see that fleshed out. His actions brought everyone to help him in his need. Doing something good does pay off, which is another thing we have forgotten.
Thoughts on the Anime
Everything else the anime had to offer is great. The voice acting, sound, visuals, everything is near perfect. Though the English voice of Mob felt a bit weird, but it fits the lore like he is growing up and opening up to others, so his voice has opened up too. The amount of detail and easter eggs is crazy too. There’s always something to look for in every scene. Most of the time it’s talking scene but even that never felt boring rather something to look forward to. The fighting is less this season but still, they were such eye candy. The opening & ending always bangs. The OP summarized everything what the show is about. There are so many hidden details and foreshadowing that I can’t even begin to imagine.
I don’t have any criticism now or didn’t notice anything falling short. Nothing felt out of place or disappointing. It’s a 9 out of 10 anime.
Final Thought
Go watch it if you haven’t already, that’s all I can say. This anime broke the stereo-type themes & concepts and brought something new and unique. If you are a fan of drama, then it has that. Fan of high-sakuga action sequences? It has that too. Characters you can relate to?! Yes, that too as discussed above. If you need a therapy, then watch this anime. Mob Psycho 100 has something for everyone.
Fun fact:
The English voice actor of Reigen Arataka, Christopher Niosi cosplayed as the character, took off the suit in the final moment of the anime.
