Mob Psycho 100 II

What makes a show good? Is it the story’s ability of positing a revolutionary concept or to delve into deep unprecedented philosophical topics and tackle uncharted themes and ideas? Or, maybe it’s the unique characters present that imbue the show with relatability and separate it from the rest? This season of Mob Psycho 100 has me thinking otherwise. Mob Psycho takes themes like self-identity, comradery, uniqueness and blends them into a tale that I will not soon forget. Mob Psycho tackles the aforementioned themes in a way that most of its predecessors have failed to do. This has me believing that in order to fabricatea good story, you don’t need the most original concept but need to execute whatever you have in your hand to a T. This season, we again go on a journey with Mob (the OP psychic) and Reigen (the conman) as they exorcise the demons present in the world and those present inside of them. The plot is as simple as it gets, we have our exorcisms going on; Mob being taken advantage of and deciding to become a better person; Claw, making a move; the body improvement club being awesome, etc. The plot doesn’t really diverge from what was presented to us in Season 1, though it does take some detours, those are what make this season so much better than the first one. The previous season focused more on the fights and their aesthetics whereas this season the attention is more on the character development through the fights. Sure, the fights look as beautiful as ever, but more importance is given to how the characters change and what they take away from the fights. Reigen and Mob visit various clients, and most of the time the exorcism of the spirits serves as a catalyst for Mob’s growth as a character and as a human. But, where the anime shines is not the plot, but the characters. The characters are the heart of the show, which is true for most stories but more so with this one. The characters may look like typical shounen characters if you look superficially, but when scrutinized, one can come up with a different conclusion. One aspect about the characters I love is how human they feel. Mob does not require any catalyst for the instigation of the feeling that he needs to change, it comes from within him. It’s a joy to see him transform into a socially acceptable person from a socially awkward teen. The show handles this change in a way that is realistic and poignant, which is to be expected as the show does such a great job of portraying the difficulties and hurdles faced by Mob due to his awkward disposition. No development feels rushed or out of place and everything is handled at a pace that is not too fast but not too slow that the watchers get bored. As you watch Mob trying his level best to grow up as a person, you can’t help but start to support him. The body improvement club is what our society should be. They are introduced as temporary comic relief characters but slowly they become an integral cog in the growth of Mob. We don’t spend much time with them on screen, but whenever they are on screen the experience is absolute gold. The two characters in the spotlight are Mob and Reigen with the latter also getting a character arc which is probably one of the best I’ve seen in recent years. Reigen is a conman, he swindles people, including Mob, for his own personal gain, but, despite that he’s one of the most likeable characters in the series. At first, there seems to be a dichotomy between him and Mob, with Mob lacking the very confidence that Reigen seems to be brimming with, but this season lets us view things with a different perspective. We see Reigen’s inner struggles vicariously and realise he’s not much better off than Mob. Reigen when put in a difficult situation where his only ally seems to be him himself, his introspection reveals a great deal about him and his relationship with Mob. He realises that under the pretence of helping Mob control his powers, he was actually taking advantage of him and was holding Mob back from enjoying his youth. After his epiphany, he does not feign ignorance but tires to better himself as a person. Reigen, in Mob’s own words, is a genuinely good guy. Furthermore, his ultimate move – Self Defence Rush – is capable of destroying the whole planet and needs to be nerfed. The anime also boasts a spectacular cast of supporting characters. We’ve got dimple, the spirit who wanted to take over Mob’s body at first but warms up to him and becomes more and more of a comrade after each passing episode. This change happens gradually which helps audience familiarise themselves with his character. We don’t get any abrupt character change and thus the show avoids alienating the viewers. Another character worth mentioning is Mogami, a resentful spirit who is the perfect depiction of what Mob would’ve been had he not met with Reigen or had Reigen been a selfish person. The serendipitous meeting between Mob and Reigen is what kept Mob and his uncontrollable powers anchored to the ground. The body improvement club is as epic as ever and this season has convinced me that the biggest muscles they have are their hearts. The characters are meticulously crafted and handled with care. That being said, there are some flaws here and there. Most of the villains are underdeveloped and are there only as an obstacle for our heroes to overcome. We don’t know their motivations for joining the evil organisation that they have joined and neither do we learn about their personalities. Not all villains are cannon fodder though. The leader of the organisation has a goal set in his mind and though his motivations are a bit overbearing, it’s not difficult to picture that among tens of hundreds of espers one would come across such a guy. Although, the villains are not as interesting as they could have been, I don’t think it matters much because at the end of it all what Mob Psycho really is, if you ask me, is a coming of age story. The animation is absolutely fantastic. Studio Bones have outdone themselves once again. If you’re holding out on this show because you think that the animation looks crap then, I don’t know what to say to you except you’re missing out on an acid trip. The facial animation conspicuously shows the characters’ emotion and much of the characters’ thoughts are accentuated through their body language. There is a lot of visual storytelling which is really well complimented by the unique art and animation. Lastly, the fights are stupendous. The animation does a great job of presenting the tension and force exerted by each punch, each kick that the characters throw and receive. Every time someone uses his/her psychic powers to pin someone to the ground, the anime does an awesome job of accentuating the augmentation of gravitational field around them which helps in visualising the incomprehensible telekinetic powers that the characters possess. This one guy has the power to teleport himself anywhere he wants and keeps doing so while fighting. You would think that it would make it very hard for us to follow him as he keeps darting around, but due to the excellent cinematography and clever use of visual direction, you can always keep your eyes on him using your peripheral vision. That’s some next level stuff right there. Massive props to everyone involved in animating the series. The music is brilliant as well. I’m no connoisseur of music but I can tell whether a piece of music fits a scene or not and in the case of Mob Psycho 100, most of the pieces perfectly complement the ongoing scene. The music during fights are perfect to get you hyped, and those during the emotional scenes will make the feels hit you like a truck. Also, the OP is fire. Mob Psycho 100 is one of the best character driven narratives to come out in recent years. It’s a near prefect retrospective look into a teenage mind and how everyone is susceptible to change. It sends a message that no matter how incongruous you are with respect to your surroundings, no matter how detached you are with reality, you can always start over.

(Slight spoiler warning in the third paragraph) “There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love.” When season 2 of mob psycho 100 got announced it would be an understatement to say that I was excited. I was brimming with excitement to see the continuation of Reigen’s, Mob's and all the other characters story. But now after it’s release and I’ve watched all the episodes of my oh so awaited season 2. I’m honestly not feeling it, and I’m very disappointed. I’m in no way saying that mob psycho 2 is a bad show. Not at all. The animationis stunning, the direction is phenomenal and the voice acting is as good, if not even better than the first season. It’s noticeable that a lot of care and effort has been put into making Mob Psycho 2. But despite all of these amazing features it has, I feel as if Mob Psycho has lost what made it unique and fun. What made the first season of Mob psycho great in my opinion is three points: the lightheartedness, the sense of humor and the characters. Season 2 only hits one of these points, but actually improves upon it. The characters. Mob and friends have never been better. Mob actually has an arc spanning over the whole season, not one forced into the last few episodes (as in season 1). Mob wants to improve as a person and actively makes an effort to do so. Something you really can’t say he does in the first season. Reigen also has an amazing arc this season. I won’t talk much about it because it would be a shame if I spoiled it for someone. Reigen was more or less the same person at the end of the first season as he was at the start. In season 2 tho, he’s a changed man at the end. It’s not only Mob and Reigen that’s gotten better, but all other characters also stepped up in season 2. They all changed so much that some felt out of character. But I don’t mind since the most of the characters are very well written. And that’s the part of Mob I adore. The rest of it kind of sucks. The two other points that season 2 doesn’t get is the lightheartedness and humor. Which mostly goes hand in hand. Mob psycho season 1 is a lighthearted slice of life anime about a boy with psychic powers that despite his lack of emotion tries to live out his normal life as good as possible. Mob psycho season 1 never gets serious and dark. It has its emotional moments but never something too serious. In season 2 mob literally comes home to find his house on fire and sees what he believes to be his family burning. Mob Psycho 2 is one of the darkest and most serious shows I’ve seen in a while. And I don’t understand why, Mob Psycho was funny because of how lightheartedly these situation that would be handled totally different in other shows. That’s why it’s funny. When the most serious thing ever happen and Reigen then laughs about it later isn’t funny. It seems more like a flaw in Reigens character. I feel weird saying this but Mob Psycho season 2 isn’t funny at all. Season 2 abandons the concept of the first season and it makes me really disappointed. The first season of Mob Psycho was an analysis of manchildren and more or less a parody of shounen animes. But the second season isn't a parody anymore. It’s turned into what it made fun of in the first place. I find it very hard to even call it a slice of life anymore. To further prove my point that Mob psycho isn’t a slice of life anymore is the frequency and lengths of fights. There are few fights in the first season of Mob, meaning that when Mob went 100% and the fights broke out, it felt Impactful and epic. But in season 2 there are fights more or less every episode. The fights are longer, some spanning over something like 10 minutes. The animation might be great, but it gets overwhelming. I was finding myself sighing and thinking isn’t this fight over soon? Rather than being amazed by them as I was in season 1. The most stupid thing ever happened as well. You know how the show is called Mob Psycho 100. Well suddenly mobs emotions can get ever 100% and he grew even more powerful. The point of the WHOLE show is that once the emotions get to 100% they overflow and Mob can’t control them anymore. But what’s the point of that if he suddenly can get 200%. It breaks the concept season 1 put up. Season 2 takes everything season 1 does good and throws it in the trash can. What was once fresh and amazing is now just another My Hero Academia, and it’s a real shame. I had high hopes for this anime and I was let down big time. I would honestly rather watch the worst anime ever than rewatch this. The animes I feel the least from are the ones that are mediocre, the animes with extreme wasted potential. And Mob Psycho has sadly become one of them. I was expecting greatness and when what I got was very mediocre. It hit hard and my rating off this season of Mob Psycho suffered.

Sometimes, I wish I could wipe my own memory and relive the experience of something all over again. Whether it’s a book, manga, video game, TV show, or anime, there’s probably one thing out there we all want to experience all over again for the first time. Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 is one of those things. With its ever growing popularity, ONE's Mob Psycho 100 is back in town with its eccentric character cast and innovative ideas. It’s hard not to love the show with its sheer dynamic visual style. But we know Mob Psycho is much more than its animation quality. In fact,this is one of the few show that fully manages to capture the magic of the manga and perhaps outdone itself even more. Mob’s return reminds me how an underdog young boy like him can make a difference in a world where anything is possible. As one of the most anticipated sequels, Mob Psycho Season 2 immediately gets the viewers back on track starting from the first episode. It’s not in a huge rush to accelerate the plot like some sequels but instead get fans to familiarize the franchise again. We are reminded of how characters can change and make a difference with Mob being the most prominent example this season. He’s no longer a shy little kid like before and stands up for himself. Mob is like capeless hero armed with esper power and a strong desire to be himself in this season. Regardless who he is facing off against, he doesn’t back down and shows just how much he has grown. Now, that my friends, is more than just hitting puberty. On the other hand, we are also reintroduced to Reigen, the sexy bad boy who is known for being super shady. Business returns for him and he isn’t afraid to guide Mob with his way of words. In the earlier episodes, the duo deals with urban legends and eventually, he even decides to make a website for psychic business. With this business, it should come to no surprise that he’d attract unwanted attention. Knowing Reigen, he deals with his problems in unorthodox ways with a full air of confidence regardless of consequences. The season boosts his personality in full fold with him taking on the role of a businessman, a con artist, and anti-hero. Regardless how the show delivers his character, I always find him to be the most entertaining part of this season. Why? It’s because of how much variety Reigen brings out of this show. Mob Psycho shines when characters’ actions speaks louder than words, and in most cases, Reigen does so. It’s the type of fan service where ONE knows how to give to us, the audience. As part of the plot, the first half felt like the storytelling is a bit loose although remains consistent to the show’s overall themes. When experimenting with ideas, Mob Psycho always wants us to feel something whether it’s sadness, laughter, or excitement. Indeed, there’s a deeper degree of emotions drawn out with the attitude and actions of the characters this season. Mob is an example of such when he became a much larger than life character. He wants to improve himself and continues to overcome his own personal obstacles. It makes me want to see him succeed and the show executes Mob’s character growth emotionally. I’m not going to lie, this season might just make one of you shed a tear or two. You could probably guess that while the second season contains its goofy moments, we can’t forget about the threats of certain espers. In the latter of the show, we are introduced to Claw, an organization that wants to make the world under its image. Is the world ready? Can anyone stop them? If you’re not aware, ONE is also known for his other popular superhero work, One Punch Man. This show no doubt has its own legion of heroes only that they aren't dubbed as such but act with heroic intentions. Even Reigen, our local bad boy knows who the real villains are despite his reputation. Claw itself is a mysterious organization especially with their charismatic leader, Toichiro Suzuki. As a very powerful esper, his own confidence perhaps dwarves even Reigen. After announcing his plan for a New World Order, he makes it clear that nothing will get in his way. The second season pushes him as the Big Bad along with the Ultimate 5, a series of elite espers who serves directly under their boss. If you don’t believe me, just watch what characters like Shimazuki and Mingeishi can really do. They test the limits of Espers’ powers with few rivals. But still, I don’t think Mob Psycho was ever designed to be a battle shounen. It’s more of an supernatural action flick that combines elements of its unique humor, style, and surreal imaginations to make a worthy show. And trust me, what I came to see is what I got from this season. Bones, what can we do without you? With so many action packed projects under your belt, Mob Psycho really is another title that fully deserved its spot on their roster. Make no mistake, the second season is a feast of extravagant animation that went beyond my expectations. In particular, chief animation director Yoshimichi Kameda is able to sell the character designs as real as possible while decorating the show with jaw-breaking elements. Episode 8 is an example with the extensive amount of stylistic choreography. It may look a bit rough at times but the episode delivered the highest quality of anime action I haven’t seen in years. When the show isn’t showing off its over the top tier animation, it’s well known to execute its character personality through cleverly timed expressions. There’s no shortage of moments this season when you find characters react in overly exaggerated manners. It’s the type of selling that makes Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 so great. It’s been a wild ride this season. With just 13 episodes, Mob Psycho’s sequel manages once again become a sensation from Studio Bones and its talented staff. There was no episode where I felt bored as it managed to connect me with its wealth of creative ideas and character growth. Very few shows I’ve seen these days can match up with the style that Mob Psycho has built and to say this without bias is a real accomplishment. Keep up the good work Mob Psycho, because you definitely earned it.

Since season 3 is right around the corner, I decided to give an overview of Mob Psycho 100 and what makes it one of the most unique shonen anime around today. If I had to describe Mob Psycho in just one sentence, I would say that it's a shonen that rejects the tropes and teachings of shonen SOO hard that it accidentally became an old school superhero comic. Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama is a genuinely good person who was born with absolutely incredible power, but only wishes to use that power to help other people and make the world a better place. He never has totrain like crazy to be the very best. He starts out being the strongest just though his natural genetics. He makes friends throughout the series and greatly values friendships, but he gains friends completely independent of his powers. He doesn't use his powers because he's lonely and wants to impress people so he can have friends. He would have about as many friends and be just as happy if he never had powers. Mob doesn't define himself by his powers. He's just a really chill dude with a strong sense of morality who happens to have powers. Shigeo doesn't resemble any shonen hero I can think of in the history of shonen. He's Japanese Clark Kent. To understand why Mob Psycho is weird as a shonen, you have to look at the evolution of shonen manga/anime starting in the early 1970s. One of the biggest and most influential shonen heroes of that time was Joe Yabuki. Joe doesn't start off the manga as a particularly nice guy. He's kind of an asshole antihero who starts out at the very bottom of society. However, he trains hard and along his journey he grows stronger, makes allies, and eventually transforms into someone you can cheer for. Devilman was another 1970s antihero. Amuro from the original Gundam is a depressed teen who is reluctantly forced into war and later gets screamed at by his mother for being a murderer since he's mowed down so many enemy soldiers. He's killed thousands of people by the end of that series. Once you get past the Astro Boy era, young man's manga/anime has traditionally been dominated by anti-heroes who don't start the series as nice people and often aren't truly "heroic" in a traditional Western sense. Kenshiro was a Mad Max/Bruce Lee ripoff who wandered the wasteland killing hundreds weak goons with zero remorse and was the most popular and influential shonen character of his decade. Goku was one of the first shonen heroes to even resemble a Western superhero, but that was mostly due to the meddling of Toriyama's editors. Toriyama always wanted Goku to be more like Sun Wukong from Chinese mythology. Sun Wukong the Monkey King is an arrogant, selfish little monkey jerk who just enjoys the thrill of fighting and isn't really a moral paragon. Now let's step into the 90s. We begin the 90s with Yusuke Urameshi. He's a juvenile delinquent who likes to get in fights and smoke cigarettes on the school roof while he's cutting class. He doesn't see himself as a particularly nice person and doesn't usually go out of his way to save the world. He more often gets put into these situations where he has to fight in order to protect the few people he actually cares about and if you mess with his friends then he'll fuck you up! You guessed it! We're still stuck on anti-heroes! The mid 1990s are dominated by Shinji Ikari who is a generally nice boy with serious psychological issues and depression. Not exactly a traditional superhero. Naruto and Deku embody the shonen Jump hero of the modern era. They begin the series as losers who get bullied constantly. Then they start working hard and eventually gain tremendous power. Once they improve themselves and gain more physical power, only then do they start to gain friends and get a girlfriend and things go right for them. The moral message of modern shonen is that if you work hard, you can grow stronger. Once you become stronger either physically, academically or in some capacity, even the people that bullied you will reluctantly respect you. You can make friends and get a girlfriend and be a winner in society. It's supposed to encourage Japanese children to strive and seek self-improvement, which is a healthy message. However, it's often unfortunately mixed with a "Might makes Right" worldview. If Deku or Naruto had never gotten super strong, they would have continued getting absolutely shit on by everyone around them. Bakugo like Vegeta before him starts out as an outright evil bastard who hates the main character for being born inferior to them and daring to not bow down. Then they begrudgingly respect the hero only because the hero is strong. They never actually have to suffer consequences for their misdeeds or really have a moral epiphany. Usually, there's a time skip and suddenly the asshole rival is just kind of accepted as one of the good guys. If you're strong in shonen, that's ultimately what matters. So, as mentioned above the self-improvement message is kind of poisoned by this almost Fascist worldview. Another way that Mob does away with Shonen's "might makes right" morality is that it completely gets rid of the biggest curse in all of shonen...power levels. Mob's teacher is the funniest character in the show and the most popular character in the whole franchise. He has no powers whatsoever. He's just a regular dude who cons people into thinking he has powers. This regular dude with a power level of 2 is able to repeatedly save Mob from danger, positively impact the story, and not get sidelined by a lineup of increasingly strong characters who have bigger numbers than him and therefore make him irrelevant. Mob genuinely reveres his teacher and in no way sees him as lesser, even though he's millions of times stronger than him. Naruto's best friend isn't some normal dude. Naruto's best friend in defiance of all logic is Sasuke, who is both a horrible person and also despises him. Why? Because Sasuke is strong! Krillin is officially still Goku's best friend when Toriyama remembers, but in reality, it's Vegeta. Why? Because Vegeta is strong! At no point in this series does Mob's respect for someone increase simply because they're strong. Mob meets someone early in the series who thinks psychics are superior to normal people and is SUPER strong. Mob just thinks he's some asshole. Once he sees the light, he grows to respect Mob. Not because Mob is strong, but because Mob changed his worldview, and he genuinely feels remorse for being an asshole. Mob somehow manages to be subversive while also being incredibly traditional. Mob is storytelling SO old that it's new again. Shonen has never seen anything like it. Even American comics since the success of Watchmen in 1986 have at least partially turned away from inspirational stories like this. It would certainly be boring if every anime was like Mob and every comic hero was Superman, but after SO much subversion and anti-heroes, this honestly felt refreshing. Also, I hope all future shonen take note of Mob's success and FUCK power levels!

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