FEATURE: Beginner's Guide to Mob Psycho 100

 

Everyone's favorite esper is coming back with a third season this fall! Now's the time for rewatches and a two-season binge of Mob Psycho 100.

 

But, hey. I get it. All sorts of pesky things like work and school get in the way of watching anime, and sometimes we just don't have time for the marathon rewatch of a refresher we're looking for. Besides, there are so many cool anime on the to-watch list!

 

If you're brand new to Mob Psycho 100 and want a bit of a guide to the series, look no further. And if you're looking for a bit of a refresher on what happened in Mob Psycho 100 Season 1 and Season 2, stick around.

 

 

Who's Mob?

 

 

 

Mob Psycho 100 is about middle schooler Shigeo Kagayama, also known as Mob. Our young protagonist is an esper, someone with phenomenally psychic powers.  We're not talking some light mind-reading here. These are the sort of full-blown god-tier abilities other espers can only dream of. 

 

But with great power comes a healthy dose of definitely not using your power for evil or revenge or really going all-out at all, lest the damage be too great. Besides, Mob is an extremely kind person, someone who always wants the best for others and is an inherently trusting sort of boy... especially when a smidgen of wariness might be called for.

 

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Our bright little ray of sunshine of a protagonist is an assistant at Spirits and Such Consulting Office, a place dedicated to helping the everyday person with hauntings, curses, and other spirit-related issues. Here, he works under the guidance of one Arataka Reigen. And who is Reigen? Who indeed.

 

Who's Reigen?

 

 

 

Arataka Reigen would tell you that he's an esper who runs Spirits and Such Consulting office, though only one of these is true. 

 

We're talking peak Fake It Till You Make It energy here. Reigen can bluff his way through just about anything, such as being an esper capable of exorcising all manner of spirits and other beings. He's certainly not a perfect man, being a little self-centered and having something of a big mouth, but Reigen isn't quite the anti-role model he seems at first glance. 

 

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Despite being a bit of a grifter, Reigen is a grifter who saw a real esper — a little kid who needed someone there for him, someone to lean on and guide him — and reach out when he didn't have to. Mob's teacher in all things esper is Reigen, a regular old human who tries desperately to hide his total lack of powers from his young, self-imposed charge.

 

 

What's the 100 Thing About?

 

 

 

Okay, so we know what the "Mob" part of the title is, but what's up with the "100" thing?

 

Well, you know how some people say to count to ten before you get mad? Mob is a trooper. Mob's rage-o-meter goes waaaaay past ten. Instead, his reaches all the way to 100. 

 

It takes more than a little bit of egging on to make Mob truly angry. It takes even more than that to make him forgo all of the self-control, self-imposed rules, and the lessons Reigen instilled in him, but once Mob's lost all patience and his anger has hit its level-100 limit, watch out! Only then do his phenomenal powers truly shine.

 

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Having so much power can be tricky. There's collateral damage to worry about, and not everyone is comfortable being that angry. 

 

 

Who Are the Bad Guys?

 

 

 

Every anime has an antagonist, right? Someone for the protagonist to fight against for the good of the world? 

 

Various villains, spirits of a darker nature, monster-like creatures and espers with greatly differing opinions can be found within Mob Psycho 100. 

 

Mob's assistant duties mean that he helps Reigen on a regular basis. Some of the people who come to him for help are the victims of simple hauntings while others find themselves with curses or other darker beings that can be a little harder to get rid of.  

 

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Some of these villains are simple spirits haunting lonely stretches of road that may not be quite as evil as they first seem. Others are like Dimple, a spirit that originally founded a cult in the hopes of being worshipped as a god. Even then, Dimple may not be half as evil as he thinks he is. Though he sticks close to Mob in the hopes that he'll be able to use the young esper to his own ends and gain fame and a following, Dimple tends to help out his young, human friend a lot. 

 

And then there's Claw. 

 

 

What's Claw?

 

 

 

Secret, evil organizations seem to plague protagonists everywhere, and Mob isn't the exception to the rule. Claw is an organization filled with all sorts of espers who have varying abilities and power levels. This conglomerate of barely espers and all-powerful, boss-level espers might even give Mob a run for his money.

 

What does Claw want? Why, nothing less than to overthrow the world's governments, of course! But first, they need more power. This sets their sights on Ritsu, Mob's much more outgoing and much less esper little brother. 

 

Putting Mob's friends and family in harm's way isn't exactly a safe place to be, though...

 

 

What Else Will I Love?

 

 

 

Mob Psycho 100 has a little bit of everything. There are awesome fights between people with cool powers as well as all sorts of spirits and other supernatural beings. There are tons of cool, quirky characters to love here. 

 

Take Musashi Goda and the many members of the Body Enhancement Club, for example. This school club is filled with bodybuilders and the health-minded... and Mob trying to better himself. Despite their extreme differences, the Body Enhancement Club is an unequivocal positive force that helps Mob discover one of the most important things of all: confidence. 

 

There's also Tome, head of the Telepathy Club and seeker of extraterrestrial life. And don't forget Mob's self-dubbed greatest rival, Teruiki Hanazawa. 

 

Besides the slice-of-life vibes, cool paranormal happenings and a highly entertaining narrator, the art is something to behold. The style itself is rather unique. Sometimes, it turns into a more black-and-white manga style. Other times, the art takes on an almost crayon drawing quality, which always fits the ongoing happenings perfectly. 

 

And have you heard the absolute bangers the OPs are?

 

Are you all caught up for Mob Psycho 100 Season 3? What do you think is in store for Mob, Reigen, Dimple and the rest this time? Let me know in the comments below!

 

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