Mob Psycho 100 – 04

As Mob Psycho continues I believe it is slowly getting better as the introduction of more characters helps to round out Mob’s emotional range. With last episode we got the introduction of Dimple, the cult leader spirit who has now decided to follow Mob around in an attempt to find a chance to possess him. This character looked to be quite annoying from the opening sequence but he actually plays a good role of a voice of common sense for Mob. This main conflict of today’s episode is a battle between school delinquents and Mob ends up getting tricked into being kidnapped. Mob may be an extremely powerful esper but he’s also innocently gullible to a fatal degree. But that is a quality that separates him from his counterpart Saitama in that Mob is a honest and childish person at heart and that makes him quite endearing. Though it’s worrisome as well as I am certain that sparing Dimple will come back to bite him later on.

This looks to be the first main villain for Mob and he plays an interesting contrast to him. This guy is under the belief that he is the main character in his own story and acts entitled due to his psychic power. Whereas Mob wishes only to be a normal person and his tremendous psychic power makes that a difficult task. Mob’s brother seems to be envious of his brothers powers while Mob is envious of his ability to be popular. They both want what the other person has and don’t truly appreciate the value of what they have got. Mob’s brother brings up an interesting point that when growing up with Mob, his expectations were put on an extraordinary level and thus he isn’t satisfied with simply being a normal person. Mob on the other hand has grown up on an extraordinary level which has caused him to be ignored by society, thus he has come to desire a normal lifestyle. When you are normal you want to be extraordinary. When you are extraordinary you want to be normal. So put in simple terms, you always want what you don’t have and come to appreciate what you did have when you have lost it. Human nature in a nutshell.

The body improvement club remain a solid cast of good people despite their overly aggressive design and as I heard this being pointed out, they seem to be the only characters who aren’t trying to use Mob for their own benefit. Mob has no real stamina or strength for bodybuilding and yet the club is nothing but supportive of his efforts to improve himself. Meanwhile Seigan is using him for money, Dimple wants to possess him and the telepathy club wanted him to join just to have a place to goof off. Thus the nicest people in the show are the guys who look like a violent grunt from Jojo or Fist of the North Star. Animation remains stellar though admittedly that may depend on your taste in animation. I however find it rather charming even though it can get a bit too liberal in exaggerating movements. There are still frames but these are often used for comedic purposes like one of the screenshots above, were they are often over detailed and make for some great reaction images. I think we have gotten past most of the slow start of Mob Psycho and perhaps after this is where the show will truly shine.

~AidanAK47~