Hello one and all, to the finale of Mob Psycho 100 Season 2! This week Suzuki explodes, Mob grows up and Serizawa gets a haircut. I hope your ready for a contrary opinion, now lets jump in!
I want to preface my mixed reception with this, Mob Psycho’s animation is insane. It looks fantastic in every way, knocking everything else out of the park. BONES clearly cared a lot about this series, because the animators really got to flex their own styles and do what they wanted. From the interesting camera angles and tracking shots as they flew through the sky, to the unique animation that often popped up. Simply put, I don’t believe Mob Psycho’s animation is something that be contested. From digital effects to uncommon mediums, it really made the most of what it means to be “animated”. I caught myself mid “whoa” multiple times this episode. It’s interesting to, because this is more tame (for Mob Psycho at least) than Episode 5’s insanity, yet still fantastic. Showing that BONES doesn’t need a dreamscape to go all out. Sadly, it wasn’t all perfection this week.
While the animation was fantastic, I couldn’t really get into the stakes of it all. Mob Psycho is, while not exactly grounded, usually focused. It’s stakes are personal and very emotional. Whether it be saving Ritsu in the first season, or a little girl in this one. It gets blown out of proportion at times, such as with Mogami, but the central conflict is still with Mob’s personality and growth usually. Mob Psycho tries this again with Suzuki, but in my opinion it doesn’t work nearly as well. Suzuki is dull and, I hesitate to use the word, uninspired. As a foil to Mob, I find him inferior to Mogami in every way, and it feels like a retread of that story line in a way. Combine that with his seemingly forced backstory, in the middle of a finale, and I couldn’t get as emotionally invested as previous arcs.
Among Suzuki’s own subordinates even there was a better done character, in Serizawa. On the surface, Suzuki and Serizawa aren’t that different in their presentation. Both get similar amounts of screen time, both are introduced near the end and have their backstories shoved in as well. However, if I had to boil down what I think separates the two and why I enjoy Serizawa more, it would have to be personality. Serizawa is wholly unique in Mob Psycho, offering us another story, another possible outcome for who Mob could have become. Meanwhile Suzuki is… not. He is emotionless except in combat, as his percent ramps up. When it does, he is childlike in nature, playing with his toys and upset when they break. This isn’t a bad character archetype, Mob Psycho has done it before well. However, that’s the issue, he has already been better done in this same series.
This actually carries into a greater point about the series as a whole, and its side characters. For the most part, they were disposable. I could take them or leave them. Outside of the main trio of Mob, Reigen and Dimple, they weren’t all that relevant or important. There are exceptions to this of course, Mob Psycho has some fantastic characters. The Body Improvement Club, Teru or Serizawa all demonstrate this. The Body Improvement Club in particular are some of my favorite characters, but even then, only Goda really has characterization. The group is the character, not the individuals there. Meanwhile the likes of Sho and his squad, or most of the Ultimate 5/Scars are, ultimately, forgettable. Irrelevant. Replaceable. This seems like a harsh criticism, I know. But when the worst thing I can say character wise is that some of the minor ones are dull, that’s not bad.
As far as the fight itself and its resolution goes, I actually enjoyed that. I was a bit put off by the giant explosion idea, and was nervous how that would be handled as it came. But redirecting the energy to healing people/the broccoli seeds was a great idea. Its a bullshit decision, but within Mob Psycho’s bullshit world/logic, it works fantastically. It also allows all of the characters to sort of… reset, and move on with their lives. Metaphorically and literally freeing the old Scar members from their past. It all just worked out, and I thought the epilogue gave a great sense of closure. No leaving us on a cliffhanger, no perpetual wait for a 3rd season that may never come. If Mob Psycho never gets another season to adapt the last few arcs, this feels like a perfectly natural ending.
That isn’t to say it was perfect, there were some parts that kinda felt like… filler? Poor word, but I can’t think of a better one. There were sections of the epilogue that kinda felt like time wasters. The biggest example of this being right after Reigen and Co rescue Mob from the rubble. They go to the Body Improvement Club room, and what happens? Reused animations from the first second, a sort of contrived gag and about 2 minutes of content basically just ignored in the next scene. This feels like a nitpick, and on some level it is, but I rationalize it with this. When your average episode is a 9 or 10, a 7 or 8 starts to feel incredibly disappointing. Especially for a finale, in what should be a multiplicative bonus for a great series, instead just being “Yeah, that was cool”.
So all in all, long story short, how was this episode? Well, it was cool. The fight was flashy, all the plot threads got wrapped up and if we never get a 3rd season, Mob Psycho’s bases are covered. It is, by all definitions, a good ending. But I cannot call it a great ending. To compare it to another series that ended recently, I can not put it on the same level as say, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru’s ending. Yes, Mob Psycho’s looked better, its animation was fantastic and out classes everyone. But in drama, in story and character completion? The two simply don’t compare. Perhaps had I not seen Kaze Fui’s ending I would be kinder to Mob Psycho’s. But as it is, I have been spoiled on good endings and so, for this season at least, it falls a little short of the best.
But what about you? Was this ending everything you wanted and more? Am I being pedantic and pushing my favorite show to much? Let me know down below, and expect a full review of the series coming soon! For all my gripes, I love Mob Psycho and had to really reach at times to find things to criticize. To rest well knowing that Mob Psycho will definitely be getting a good score from me. See you next season!
1000% agree that Serizawa was a better character than Suzuki. He’s a better “flip side of the coin” for Mob, as well, being the emotionally stunted loner that the younger boy might have become under different circumstances.
I agree with your criticism too. The Claw arc is Mob Psycho’s big “shounen arc”, offering lots of spectacle and flashy fights. But in terms of thematic depth and character development, it’s easily the weakest arc of the season. It’s fun, but not particularly deep.
I also thought that the fight again (like the Mogami fight) felt a bit rushed at times. Maybe it’s because I’m so used to shounen series explaining every little thing that’s happening through the commentary of side characters, but Mob Psycho’s big fights this season were very fast-paced and chaotic, and it often was quite hard to keep track of what’s going on as a result. And because everything was happening so quickly, the climactic moments of fights often don’t have time to really hit you. It’s better than the needlessly drawn-out fights of Dragon Ball, of course, and the exuberant chaos of Mob Psycho certainly has its charm, but compared to the manga, I feel the fights did lose some of their impact.
Personally, I enjoyed the fights, but that might in some sense be due to novelty. As you say, in most big shounen every little thing is explained. Here it was as hectic as you would expect a fight to be. I had to, and wanted to even, rewatch some of the big fights multiple times to keep track of all that was going on.
In that sense, it was an experience unlike any other. For someone not as into that experience as I apparently am though, I can easily see these being anticlimactic. And thats not even talking about the story climax in these fights. Mogami’s at least had him forgiving the girl. This one just kinda… ends in a flash of light, you know?