One’s Mob Psycho 100 was a surprise for me when I watched it at first a few months ago. I was expecting a similar tune to One Punch Man and its rampant comedy and over the top action, but Mob Psycho’s a little more.. special for me. It seems to be a little more balanced than OPM is in terms of the tone. I like both, but for the purposes of this post, I’m treating Mob Psycho as its own show.

SPOILERS AHEAD: This post assumes that you’ve finished the series, unlike my Anime Greats collection. You’ve been warned.

This series follows the spirit of shows such as Trigun, among others. The main character is overpowered, but a victory against the enemy isn’t the problem here, it’s Mob, who has worse problems with day-to-day life.

I guess one of the more striking characters of this anime is Mob himself. I was (and still am) feeling as if I’m living as an outsider, and trying to struggle between doing my own thing and maintaining social relevance. Along with this, my default speaking voice is soft-spoken and, on occasion, monotonous. The temperament is a little extreme however, though I have a habit of letting it build too much. People regularly underestimate him, only to realize the mistake when he shows what he can really do. Life at this point for him is a series of bouncing from social group to social group in search of identity. Mob’s encounters with those around him from Reigen to the Scent ghost from episode 2 show what a terrifying position Mob is in at this point in life.

Ritsu is a fantastic foil for Mob, showing what Mob desires to be like in the world, while Ritsu envies everything Mob is. Ritsu shows intelligence, a level head and leadership through the student council of Salt Middle School.

Reigen is an excellent character. I love the scam artist with enough concern for Mob to take his everyday turmoil seriously.He has a Buggy the Clown thing going on, with his ability to talk his way out of almost anything with little real power to back him up. He’s often in charge of helping Mob with the struggles he encounters, yet Mob has to learn when to follow advice blindly and to think for himself, such as when he needed to fight to protect Ritsu. The scene towards the end where Reigen stops Mob just before Mob hits his explosive limit shows much Reigen knows and cares for him.

The Awakened are a sad bunch, given this. The ones that fail spend years, even decades, trying to pursue a path that wasn’t meant for them. In this series, they make it clear early on that some people simply need to play their strengths in life, and not aspire to be like others with different gifts.

The art style is nothing short of fantastic. The fight scenes are fluid and flow beautifully, such as the final battle of the season. The camera shifts and scenes change abruptly to show how chaotic the situation is. The colors pop when necessary, and the grey buildings and occasionally dull scenery offset the bright and colorful world is Mob’s imagination and place in life. Speaking of which, the series intro does a fantastic job of representing this:

For a 12 episode series, it does a fantastic job of using symbolism. It took me a minute (read: three months) to figure out what was going on in this next scene, but I think it’s Mob battling to stay control of his explosive side. He’s showing a lot of power in an imaginative location with an unusual number of spirit like creatures, and it shows at the end that he hasn’t hit 100% yet. Perhaps his explosive side is an alter ego of sorts? It just appears in a flash of light when he’s clearly at 0% at the start of the clip. Finally.. it looks like the world is ripping apart once he’s snapped.

I’m desperately looking forward to another season of this series. It’s uncommon these days to find an anime that’s more than a simple thrill ride with fan service thrown in for good measure. Well, that’s it for me. Actually.. I think I may have an extra part in the Anime Greats series to add.. how I forgot that one, I don’t know.