Welcome to a very poignant episode of Mob Psycho 100. This week Mob shows us his growth, Reigen his lack-there-of and things start to fall apart. Lets jump in!
Starting off, almost anything would look inferior when compared to last week. Almost as if knowing this, Mob Psycho decided to be very light on animation this week. Focusing on small character animation and details rather than any big action sequences. This isn’t a bad thing though, as this episode acts as a breather both visually and narratively for the series. Letting our characters spend some time with each other outside of harrowing situations, actually interact. Mob Psycho is very good at this, as the first episode of the season showed. So I think stepping back and flexing its narrative muscles a bit is a perfectly valid thing to do at this point. Plus, who doesn’t love spending time with the Body Improvement Club? Such wholesome boys they are. But now, onto the details.
Now, the big one, Mob and Reigen’s split. This was a long time coming I feel, as throughout the season up to now we have seen some cracks forming. With Mob growing from each arc, each explosion of emotion, but Reigen has been treating him the same. Never really acknowledging Mobs growth. It doesn’t help that Reigen, for all he cares for Mob, hasn’t actually interacted with him outside of work. Hasn’t met any of his friends or seen his situation for himself. It’s made worse by the fact that Mob has clearly been changing and been more assertive at work and in his jobs. Just a few episodes ago we saw Mob refuse to exorcise the ghost family, where normally he would have just listened to Reigen. Simply put, Reigen isn’t bothering to learn about Mob because he doesn’t see Mob. He sees himself. He is projecting.
You see, all of the qualities Reigen applies to Mob, actually apply to himself. Mob Psycho showed us as much this episode. He has no passion, just living day to day. No ambition. No reason to change or really apply himself. For all of his skills, and Reigen has many, he still works out of a one room office and is barely getting by. Some of this can be attributed to just wanting to help others, sure. But most of it is no doubt complacency. Meanwhile, compare this to Mob. Mob hasn’t been complacent since the first episode of season 1, when he shut down his emotions. Since then Mob has been taking constant steps, whether it be joining the Body Improvement Club or running for School President. Always moving forward, while Reigen stayed static.
What I love about Mob Psycho though is it doesn’t drag this out. Reigen has always been a character of strong will and mental fortitude. Nothing has really been able to put him down, even if physically he is rather weak. So seeing him fall to his lowest, recognize the road he is going down, and bounce back? That was a treat. It was masterfully done as well. Take for instance his mothers email. No background music, not flashy lights. Just a dark room, the hum of a computer and the nervous click of a mouse over multiple lingering shots. For such a simple scene, it was the most anxiety inducing scene in anime for me in years. Not only because of how it was portrayed, but because of how relatable it is to every day life. Reigen’s problems aren’t some shounen tripe, but real issues, and I love them.
As for Reigen’s TV show, I like where this is going. After his fallout with Mob, Reigen has become a workaholic, devoting himself to his business.Based on the fact that Jodo, a real psychic with a grudge, is also on the show I expect it not to end well for Reigen. Most likely, this show is going to out him as a fraud. Or, at the least, Mob will help through the TV or show up to help somehow, and make Reigen realize how they need each other. To run parallel to this, I expect Mob to either get bored without Reigen’s antics, or realize that Reigen was the only one her could really connect with on psychic subjects. After all, before Reigen he was suppressing his powers and emotions. Without him, I suspect he won’t have near as many reasons to use them.
So all in all, this was a slow but meaningful episode of Mob Psycho. It didn’t wow me like many of the previous ones have, but it did pull me into the moment. I related with Reigen, I was anxious and nervous for him, because of how relatable his issues were. I enjoy spending more time with the side cast, such as the Body Improvement Club, and seeing Mob finally get to enjoy himself. Basically, it was a fantastic follow up episode for all the character growth Mob has been getting, before we hop into the ending arc of the series.
What do you think though? Is Reigen a piece of trash for how he treats Mob, or is he himself deserving of pity? What about Mobs treatment? Let me know below, and I will see you next week!
“What do you think though?”
I’m probably gonna stir up a hornet’s nest, but this is my honest opinion so I’m going to say it anyway: This was the best S2 ep so far and the first good one. Yes, I find all the previous episodes lackluster and full of serious problems, including the last one with incredible animation but horrible in-your-face “character development”, throw-away characters and obnoxious narration. Well, at least it hasn’t devolved into a battle-driven blob like previous season – yet. Still, I find S1 vastly superior due to featuring good purely character driver arcs (like the ones with Ekubo, Ritsu and Shinji Kamuro or Hanazawa Teruki).
“Is Reigen a piece of trash for how he treats Mob”
He is hardly a piece of trash, just insensitive sob at most. This ep. overplayed his manipulative behavior to put him in a bad light (to make it look like a there is an actual moral dilemma) as if he is genuinely exploiting Mob for his own benefit – which he kinda is, but always in a way that allows Mob to get something out of it (same way with his customers). Theirs is a symbiotic relationship and Mob would hardly get anywhere without him – he needed this dependence. I don’t think there is much to talk about as the show is trying to push lazy Mob development down our throats by amping Reigen’s jerk behavior up to eleven. Both of them behaved in a such start contrast compared to the rest of the show that I’m finding it hard to take seriously.
“Is he himself deserving of pity?”
For what? For living alone? For Mob going independent? The show is just trying to portray the situation in a pessimistic light, because the viewers are invested in Reigen-Mob combo and are expected to want them be together. Nonsense. The tone of the show reflects what viewers are feeling, not the characters. I’m not fan of that tbh. Anyway, has anyone considered that there is no problem with the current situation at all? With them parting ways? Both Reigen and Mob are perfectly fine on their own. Living/working alone isn’t sin and is hardly pitiable and Reigen is strong and capable of both human relationships and personal achievements (he just needs a little self-reflection).
So, I liked this episode for the character wake-up calls that I never thought would come, but these were also out of the blue, the characters behaved oddly different to push the story and the narrative comes out somewhat manipulative as well as immature. The most obvious path for the story to take here is to make the characters self-reflect and then meet again, go back together and becoming friends, but now respecting each other’s boundaries. But, this would be idealistic and boring because none of them invested anything into their relationship, it was pure co-dependence thing and it paid off and it’s time to move on. So I really hope there will be more than that. But the TV show story makes me think this is going to resolve soon by putting Reigen in a tough place and forcing Mob’s involvement somehow and I just don’t know… Not into that.
Nah, no hornets nest. Just understanding.
First off, I suppose I will say my questions were inflammatory and direct on purpose. I wanted to elicit strong reactions, so phrased my opinions to do that.
For your first point, it was a strong episode. I would be interested in hearing why you thought this was the best episode. I understand disliking the big fights, but what about the 1st episode? For me, that is probably still my favorite, or fighting for it with 5. I thought the ending was phenomenal.
2) I have to disagree here. I think Reigen was played up a little bit, but nothing to wild. The man is paying mob 300 yen for all his work, and has put him through a lot. I am sure he cares for Mob, but he really has been monopolizing his time. In the 3rd episode for instance he drags him out late, 2 nights in a row, to the point where they had to take a bus home till dawn. The season has built up his behavior up till now.
3) The pity comment was in relation to his lack of friends/social life. Not to living alone. Living and working alone is perfectly fine. Is he capable of relationships? Yes, of course. But he doesn’t have them because he has accepted Mob as enough. Its the same with his job. By how quickly he has risen, and his skills, he could easily have been more successful before now. But he has been complacent. Static. Doing the minimal effort to get by. You say all he needs is self-reflection, but it appears to me that Mob leaving is what triggered that self reflection.
4) I dont think it was out of the blue. Mob has been standing up to Reigen/people throughout the season until now, hell he did it in the very first episode where he resolves to consider his feelings more. Meanwhile Reigen has been commenting on this change throughout the season so far. So I think it was foreshadowed well.
So, like I said, I disagree, but I am glad you enjoyed the episode. Im never gonna mock someone for their taste, I want my comments sections to always be civil. That you wrote such a long post to tell me how you feel, even if you disagree, makes me happy. Thank you.
Hmmm…I’m curious as to why you feel that the show is cramming mob development down the audiences’ throat when most evidence points to the exact opposite. Or that you find some of the way the characters behave to be out of the blue; it almost feels like we’re watching two different shows to be honest; but hey, different strokes for different folks
Guys, I’ll TRY to be very succinct, lots of points were made. I feel bad for these long posts… Lenlo, I didnt feel any inflammation, np. And sonicsenryaku, I also made a reply (and saw yours) on bobduh’s blog, so check it out. What coincidence. And I would never expect bobduh to actually share my sentiments on this matter! Anyway:
@Lenlo 1st ep? Well the field fight was inconsequential, in a vacuum and overstayed its welcome by making Mob do nothing. Instead of fearing for his life, Reigen casually converses while being squeezed to deeath by a spirit. Then Kamuro admits his crimes and its passed off as 2nd rate narrative with no focus. Left a sour taste. Mob’s candidacy and reasons for it were implausible and his speech killed all my suspension of disbelief I had left. 2nd part was good, but the girl character was one-shot, leaving the narrative meaningful ONLY in the grander scheme, which is frustrating. Finally, the casual reveal/foreshadowing that Tsubomi takes notice of Mob’s circumstances felt premature, only to gather attention, and her comment cheapened Mob’s accomplishment.
1 I consider it best S2 ep because I find all the rest bad episodes, I’m sorry. I love the fights. As I wrote, it still didnt make me generally like the previous ep though. But look, I also disliked the entirety of One Punch Man. I feel like the author misses lots of his characters’ potential. And he turns them into cameos after their arcs. And his points are too obvious and simple. My fav were Ekubo/Ritsu/Kamuro/Teruki arcs.
2 You made 2 points.
2.1 I find Reigen’s verbal assault on Mob out of character, because Reigen is not in a crisis (as the show would like us to believe), he is not (really) insensitive and he never exploits without giving back. Yet he scream and stuff he says… he goes full retard. It happened because the story needed a catalyst.
2.2 I expect Reigen is not earning more. He is suffering all the same circumstances. Sure it may be exploitative to put Mob into that position to begin with, but I tried to explain that he provides enough of a counter-value to make the point moot. He gives Mob experiences, opportunity to grow, help people and his ‘master tips’ are usually spot on and helpful. Their relationship was not healthy, but it was necessary (for both). Ending it is also necessary.
3 Again 2 points.
3.1 I agree, Reigen is complacent. So? He doesn’t need to be successful, have ambition or use his potential/talents. Or friends. Reigen is a narcissist – he merely wants to bath in the spotlight and be the main character – he doesn’t do friends, not yet. He does need to figure out this about himself though, but it will not change him at the core. I think you (and the show) are standing on a (wrong) premise that he is living his life wrong and needs to fix it. He merely needs to adjust. Once he will start respecting boundaries of others he will have countless minions and +- friends.
3.2 Mob triggered Reigen’s self-reflection yes. That is not contrary to anything I said.
4 What’s out of blue is not what Mob did, it’s what Reigen did. See 2.1
@sonicsenryaku Mob’s development seems forced, because Mob was put into an implausible situation (caused by Reigen’s out of character behavior). It mostly comes to that one scene. Instead of Mob truly realizing he needs some self-time, Reigen becomes abusive to make it black & white obvious for Mob and the viewer. Mob left because: Reigen is a dck. Not true. That’s what I mean by this show being too simple and obvious. There was also no need for any screaming or dramatic scene, but we got it anyway. We also got too many stylistic additions: Reigen in a bar, Reigen in a room, Reigen in an RPG…
“While Reigen cares for Mob, he doesn’t necessarily respect him, and this is the aspect of their relationship that needs introspection and evaluation”
I think you pinpointed the problem, but I think you do not realize that what Reigen needs to respect is Mob’s (and others) boundaries. He does not need to actually respect them (respect needs to be earned). This distinction is very important and the very fuel of Reigen’s crisis. I’m afraid its outside of this show’s capacity to recognize that.