Mob Psycho 100 ⬢ Stunning Flash, Great Humor, Outstanding Fun

Original Run: July 11, 2016 - September 27, 2019
Number of Episodes: 12
Genre: Action, Comedy, Supernatural
Based on the Series Created By: One

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Mob Psycho 100. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama (voiced by Setsuo Ito) is as unimposing as one gets. He is also hard to read, rarely shows emotion, and is kind of a huge dork. But it is all for a reason.

Mob, in reality, is an insanely powerful esper, and his psychic abilities go beyond what anybody can imagine. While he has good control over them, Mob does his best not to feed his powers too much emotion. A task that is sometimes out of his control.

Should Mob reach an emotional level of 100% percent, he turns into a frightening being. No one and nothing can stand in his way while in this form. Because of this, many people have taken an interest in him – for better or worse.

However, nefarious actors need to be careful. If they push too far, they could unleash upon the world a terror from their darkest nightmares.

Series Positives

Mob Psycho 100 was a trip. From the opening seconds to the final credits, this show was on a ride and was awesome the whole way through. This series was a ton of fun.

It might be nothing, but nevertheless, there appeared to be influences of Western animation throughout Mob Psycho 100. Sometimes, it seemed as though this show was simply a fantastic dubbing of a program you might find on old-school Adult Swim.

Regardless of what was fueling it, the visuals in Mob Psycho 100 were outstanding; it looked like an animated comic book that refused to stop moving. This series was in perpetual motion.

Along with its movement, there was a plethora of visual styles, and one never stuck around for long. From bright, high-energy colors of a comedy one moment to dark, more serious tones of a thriller the next. There were the jagged and stretched qualities of a fast-paced action series, and some of the imagery was even on par with the most disturbing things seen in the Yamishibai series.

And like its sibling franchise, One Punch Man (both creations of artist One), whenever there was a fight, Mob Psycho 100 took things to the adrenaline-pumping extreme.

Both One Punch Man and Mob Psycho 100 make you want to fight something – and for similar reasons. Each has super-powered beings going at each other. Then there is one who comes in and absolutely wrecks the house. One Punch Man’s Saitama outclassed everyone he met and turned every into a joke.

The titular Mob, for his part, needed to put in a little more effort; his fights, at least, weren’t over in a single second. Sure, he was stronger than anyone in any battle, but it took him some time to get to that point. Consequently, when Mob did start kicking ass, my God, was it satisfying.

While on the subject of our protagonist, with everything this series had going for it, Mob remained its most crucial element.

While not the sharpest tool in the shed – he was dangerously influenceable – Mob was impossible not to like. And despite his social denseness, he did have acute awareness in other aspects of his life – mainly when it came to his powers. Mob knew his limits and could usually keep his abilities in check. If something were to rile him up, bad things could – and did – happen.

Mob Psycho’s biggest this-is-freaking-insane moment came during the fight between Mob and Teruki Hanazawa (voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka). Despite the entire battle being amazing, it all came down to a single, unbelievable camera shot. And that shot was nothing short of unbelievable.

That shot established Mob as one of anime’s most memorable protagonists.

Series Negatives

Let’s continue to compare Mob Psycho 100 and One Punch Man.

In terms of overall production, the edge goes to Mob Psycho 100, and that comes down to pacing. Having Mob struggle, even if only a little, was a better long-term strategy.

It was cool to see Saitama in One Punch Man one-shot every opponent. Still, when you have to stretch that moment out each episode for twelve episodes, things become tedious.

However, One Punch Man has the advantage regarding narrative balance. That isn’t to say the show is predictable. Instead, whatever did happen in One Punch Man fits with the general atmosphere the series had cultivated.

The same is not true with Mob Psycho 100. Here, the story would suddenly turn dark and serious, and they felt out of place in the grand scheme of things. Such instances often occurred when the show involved Mob’s younger brother, Ritsu (voiced by Miyu Irino). While a decent enough good character, when Ritsu was in the forefront, the show would usually fully bench Mob. If this happened for a long enough time, some of the magic of Mob Psycho 100 would dissipate.

Final Thoughts

Any negatives concerning this series pale compared to how much fun it was. The animation was great, the action was top-notch, and the humor was funny as hell. Plus, Mob, as our protagonist, was the cherry on top.

The ending hinted at a second season. Sadly, as of this review’s posting (November 2016), there has been no news on the subject. But fortunately, given how outstanding this show ended up being, it is hard to imagine nothing more will come out of this franchise.

Mob Psycho 100 has earned a recommendation.