Mob Psycho 100 – 03

A free smile with every meal. Ï̆̍͗ͫ͌͆’̺̗͙͍̫͍ͅm̤͛ͦͧ̒̎ͫ ̛͖͍͐ͯ̂̎l͇͈͢o͙̮͚̦̭ͯͯͪͪ̊̔v̶̲̟̦̰͎̬̞͛̉̄i̤͍n̂̉͏̥͉ ̘̗̩̻̙̼̃͜ͅi͖̲̤͙t̍̍̍ͤ̒͞

I found out one of my friends who never watches anime is watching Mob Psycho 100 and he loves it. I’m so glad this bizarre little show is intriguing people in the best of ways. It’s not my top pick of the season, but it’s definitely charming.

Ok yeah he’s kind of creepy…but he’s also kind of nice!

Poor Mob. He joined the Body Enhancement Club so he could have a talent that’s not deemed to be “hella creepy” by his classmates. It’s sad to see him struggle like a fish out of water when he has such an amazing ability already. We see Mob easily (and impressively) whirl dumbbells around the room with his psychic powers, but as soon as he tries to hold them in his hand, he buckles under the weight. Ignoring his innate talent seems like a colossal waste of potential. I find this musclebound diversion especially saddening since Mob’s motives are all backwards. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to pick up a new skill, but Mob isn’t intrinsically motivated to exercise at all. He’s not working out because he wants to have fun working hard with new friends, or do his best in a competition, but because he wants a skill that makes him popular. The one thing he’s good at isn’t making him happy because he’s so concerned with what other people think of him. As a result, he’s choosing to do something he hates just so others will like him – abandoning his one true talent. It’s sad!

I’m not trying to put a heap of blame on Mob, by the way. Peer pressure is an incredibly powerful force – especially for hormone-driven high school students that are still finding themselves. Mob just wants to fit in, because he thinks it will make him happier. Therefore, he’s willing to do anything to achieve that…Which I doubt will lead to true happiness in the end. I’d think it was super cool if I had a friend who genuinely had psychic powers, but this doesn’t seem to be the case at his school.

ONE PUUUUUUNCHHHHHH

So, in addition to his workout routine with the guys, Mob is also suppressing his powers in order to become popular. However, it was revealed this week that Mob’s stoic exterior is due to his unconscious suppression of his powers. As long as his feelings are in check, so are his powers. That means, ostensibly, that Mob was an outcast due to his powers and then suppressed them…which lead to him being an emotionless party pooper and just becoming even more of an outcast. At one point, he must have been able to smile before he was aware having powers was frowned down upon. It was heartbreaking to see the other kids from his childhood bullying him for his inability to laugh like the others. Mob’s doing his best! He’s just holding everything back so he doesn’t telekinetically crush someone’s skull like an egg from an emotional outburst! And yet, all his efforts just lead to him being ridiculed more and more.

This whole episode seemed to be about changing oneself in order to fit in. Being popular doesn’t always equate to being content, but Mob still hasn’t figured that out yet. I thought this episode would be more about him trying to fit in with a different “cult” – the gym rats he works out with in his new club. Instead, he joins an honest-to-god underground cult. There was a lot of interesting imagery here, from the smiling masks which turned sinister at all the right moments, and Mob’s reactions to the escalating mental assaults from Dimple-sama. All in all, it was just a really cool scene that was funny and full of glamorous action sequences. It’s everything I’ve come to expect from Mob Psycho 100.

Most importantly, we learn more about Mob’s “explosion.” I thought his explosion was a one-time-only thing that would literally kill him or destroy half the planet. Turns out it’s more like him entering a berserk mode where he unleashes all his powers (and his pent-up frustrations). My expectations were a little too high on that one, I guess. I thought it was interesting such a seemingly mundane thing triggered him to shoot to 100%. Dimple-sama – completely accidentally – threw salt on some old wounds by quoting Tsubomi. Remembering how his current crush was ever-so-slightly rude to him, he loses it. It just shows that Mob’s stress builds day by day, and that almost anything can set him off. However, it takes the right emotional trigger – he won’t freak out just because someone places a magical mask on his head. And so the story seems to be more and more focused on Mob’s emotions – something I was not expecting at all.

Now that we know what this explosion deal is, it should be an interesting part of the story as things progress. It just depends on when and where he explodes, and if he ever learns from it. Will he learn to smile without also using too much of his powers? Or will he be stuck holding it back forever until moments where he boils over? After all, exploding can’t be too healthy for a growing boy.

About Overcooled

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.