***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Mob Psycho 100. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama (voiced by Setsuo Ito) is as unimposing as they get. In fact, unless you’re looking for him, you may not even notice his presence. Even if you are, he could still go unnoticed.
Along with a low profile, Mob's a bit hard to read. He never shows much emotion. Also, he’s kind of a huge dork. If you want to kill the mood of your good time, give Mob a call. Although his natural persona, there’s more effort behind it than one might expect.
Mob, in reality, is an insanely powerful esper. His psychic abilities go beyond what anybody can imagine. Though in good control over them, Mob does his best not to feed his powers too much emotion. A task that is sometimes out of his control.
Upon reaching a level of 100% percent, Mob turns into a frightening being. No one and nothing can stand in his way whilst in this form. Because of this, many people have taken an instant interest in him. Some for good. Some…not so much.
However, these people need to be careful. If pushed too far, they could unleash upon the world a terror from their darkest nightmares.
Series Positives
I’ll say I was looking forward to this one. Something about it peaked my interest. “How far could it go?” I asked myself. It couldn’t go that insane, could it?
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Mob Psycho 100 was a f@#$ing trip. From the opening seconds to the final credits, the showed was on a ride. And it was awesome the whole way through. This series was a ton of fun.
I feel a bit ashamed about this and I don’t why it didn't click with me sooner. If you’re wondering why the show looks familiar, particularly in character design, there’s a reason. This is another story from One. Not sure who that is, well this isn’t his more well-known publication. No, that title would go to a little series known as One-Punch Man.
Now knowing that it explains a lot.
If forced to choose only one, I’d give my preference to One-Punch Man. I can’t claim better action because both were insane. I can’t claim funnier because both were hilarious. So, it comes down to flexibility. I think in the long run more can be done with One-Punch Man. Yet, as for production and storytelling, the edge goes to Mob Psycho.
I’m stretching to come up with arbitrary rankings. Both are great. I’m thrilled that One-Punch Man is getting a second season and I hope the same happens with this one. But One-Punch Man already had its review. Today is Mob Psycho’s turn.
The Animation
It might be me, but I see the influence of Western animation throughout this show. There were times where it seemed as if this was just a fantastic dubbing of a series you might find on Adult Swim. Hints of anime flair broke that illusion. I don’t have a point with this, it was only something I noticed.
Regardless of what was fueling it, the animation in Mob Psycho was outstanding. It looked like an animated comic book. An animated comic book that did not stop moving. I’m trying to remember, but I can’t recall there ever being much of a break. Things were always happening.
A single style never stayed around all that long. There were the bright, high energy colors of a comedy one moment. And the dark, more serious tones of a thriller the next. Plus, there were the jagged and stretched movements of a fast-paced action series. And, some of the imagery was on par with some of the most disturbing things seen in Yamishibai.
This was not a one genre anime, but anything it tackled it nailed the atmosphere.
Action
It was clear as day in One-Punch Man, and I would argue more so in this one, but a common trend appears to be forming in One's stories. Whenever there’s action, whenever there’s a fight, it’s taken to the extreme. By extreme, I mean ridiculous. And by ridiculous, I mean adrenaline pumping.
Both shows make you want to fight something. Both for similar reasons. You have many super powered people going at each other. Then you have this one S.O.B. that comes in and wrecks house. Saitama from One-Punch Man outclassed everyone and made every enemy a joke. That was one of many reasons why he was so cool to watch. But it came at a price.
Mob had to put in a little more effort. His fights weren't over in a single second. He was stronger than anyone in any given battle, but it still took him some time. But because of that, you got to see Mob beat the s@#$ out of a mother f@#$er. And, my God, was it satisfying.
I love great stories. I love great characters. Animation, music, they draw me in. Throw in a bit of comedy that lands, you’ve got my attention. Throw in a bit of romance (not in this show, but the point goes on), you’ve got me hooked. These are what I look for in an anime. Yet, if there’s one thing that will cause me to sing a show’s praises it’s this.
Smacking a loud mouth asshole off their perch. The more boorish and the harder the fall, the better.
Overconfidence is one my biggest pet peeves. Anytime and every time a character does this, I want to bash their head in. Then when another character does that for me, boy does it feel good. Mob did just that. And it put the biggest, stupidest smile on my face.
Mob
This is another thing that I want to see become a recurring element in a One story. An outstanding lead. Saitama's a high benchmark to match. But Mob did a pretty good job nonetheless.
With everything the show had going for it, Mob remained my favorite. The action, the animation, the comedy, it didn’t matter. Mob still came out on top. He kept doing things that made me gravitate to him more and more.
Saitama represented what being a hero means. Mob represented what it means to be a nice guy. He was so likable.
He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. You could talk him into doing a lot of things. There didn’t have to be much effort put into manipulating him. Nothing big or outlandish, of course. Yet, if you needed someone to clean your house for free, the right words in the right order would get the job done.
A lot of that had to do with his awareness. Don’t get me wrong, he was a dense character. Yet, he knew what his power was. He knew where his limits were. He could keep his abilities in check. In fact, he didn’t want to rely on them. Bad things happened when he lost control. And he lost control because of his emotions. Thus, he adopted a laid back and easygoing outlook. Despite this, he remained a formattable opponent.
Too bad for Mob, emotions are fickle. Sometimes we can’t control them. If he let his emotional level hit 100%, he no longer became a challenge. He became unstoppable. Guess which part of the show was the more intense.
That was a trick question. The answer’s neither.
Mob Psycho’s most holy s@#$ fight was between Mob and Teruki Hanazawa (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka). The whole thing was amazing, but it all came down to a single shot. I won’t say what it was. But, it produced an audible, and quite loud (sorry neighbors) “OH FU#K,” out of me.
That’s a reaction I sometimes get in a good horror story. Not going to lie, I was a little creeped out by that shot. To think that was the same loveable Mob put him right up there with some of the best anime protagonists.
Series Negatives
I’ve already mentioned how I think Mob Psycho is slightly better in overall production that One-Punch Man. This is due, in large part, to pacing. One-Punch Man did have a few slow scenes. I understand why that happened due to the nature of Saitama one shotting everything.
Where One-Punch Man takes the advantage in that regarded is in balance. Mob Psycho had a lot of things going on and a lot of different atmospheres. The problem was the different genres didn’t complement each other as well as they could have.
The action and comedy were fine. But the story did go a tad dark and serious. These moments felt a little out of place in the grand scheme of things. These were the scenes that dealt a lot with Mob’s brother, Ritsu (voiced by Miyu Irino). A good character, but it was obvious something was missing when Mob was backseat-ed for a smidge too long.
This wasn’t that big an issue. Sure, the genres didn’t gel together that well. But as individual parts, they were fine. When the show was funny it was funny. When it was serious, it was serious. I just wish the bridge between the two was more stable.
The Final Episode
The last episode of Mob Psycho was hilarious. It was some of the funniest stuff to come out of the show. And with what the series was trying to say, it fit the message. The idea and route it took I don’t have a problem with.
Why is this in the negatives then?
It was because up to that point, it seemed as if we were going to get a fight. And not just a fight. It was shaping up to be the hardest throw down of the series. This was a buildup that happened over the course of the final few episodes. Hell, episode eleven ended on a cliffhanger that made me so glad I’m a marathon viewer. Had I watched this show in real time, I bet I’d be a lot more pissed.
Don’t dangle the prize if you don’t have any intention of giving it out. The consolation was fine, but it would have been better had we not expected something else.
Dick move show.
Final Thoughts
When a series can get me fired up like this one did, it’s hard not to recommend it.
Any negatives I have about Mob Psycho 100 pale in comparison to how much fun this series was. The animation was great. The action was top notch. The humor was funny as hell. And then there was a lead character that topped all that.
Now, this series did end in annoying waters. The ending hinted at a second season. As far as I’m aware there’s no news on that subject. I’m not against reading the original story. In fact, I might do that regardless. Yet, please let there be a season two.
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