Mob Psycho 100 is another anime I decided to check out, so I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did..... Hmmmm let's just say I didn't know what I was going to expect...
So at first, when I saw the animation style, I was like, Hmm, what exactly am I about to watch?... But after a few episodes, I understood the assignment, Mob Psycho 100 is an action, supernatural, comedy and slice of life anime that follows a teenage boy called Shigeo Kageyama, but everybody calls him Mob.
And Mob looks like the most ordinary boy you could ever see, he's Quiet.
, very socially awkward, not particularly interested in standing out, just your regular teenage boy trying to survive school and figure out life.
Except for one tiny problem...Mob has insanely powerful psychic abilities, this boy can move objects with his mind, destroy things, fight spirits and basically turn an entire place upside down without even touching anything, but what makes Mob interesting is that he doesn't want his powers to define him.
Unlike a lot of anime characters who discover they have some crazy ability and immediately start thinking about becoming the strongest, Mob actually wants to become a better person.
He wants to make friends, he wants to improve himself physically, he wants to understand his emotions, and, of course, he has a little crush too.
The problem is that Mob has spent years suppressing his emotions because his psychic powers become extremely dangerous when his emotions reach their limit, that's where the famous 100% comes in.
Throughout the anime, you see Mob's emotions building up slowly, and there is usually a little percentage showing how close he is to reaching his limit, and when that number reaches 100%...
Something is about to happen, now, one of the funniest characters in this whole anime is Reigen Arataka, Reigen is Mob's boss and mentor at a spirit-exorcism business.
And guess what?Reigen has no psychic powers, None, Zero.
But this man has confidence for ten people, like he basically talks his way through situations while Mob is the one doing the actual supernatural work, at first, you might think Reigen is just using Mob, and honestly, there are moments where you will definitely question his behaviour, but as the story continues, you begin to see that their relationship is actually much more complicated, Reigen genuinely cares about Mob and constantly reminds him that having psychic powers doesn't make him more important than everybody else.
Meanwhile, Mob's life becomes much more complicated when he encounters other psychics, some of them believe that people with supernatural abilities are superior to ordinary humans, others want to use their powers for selfish reasons, and some simply want to fight because they want to prove who is stronger, this is where the action side of the anime really comes alive.
Mob finds himself fighting powerful espers and spirits and , while also trying to deal with normal teenage problems, and that combination is what makes the anime so good really...
See one minute you are watching Mob fight something that looks like it escaped from another dimension, and the next minute you are watching him worry about whether he is improving enough at the gym.
And as the story progresses, Mob also starts understanding himself better, he learns that having power doesn't automatically make you strong, and being emotionally vulnerable doesn't make you weak.
That is actually one of the biggest messages I took from this anime, Mob could probably destroy most people around him if he really wanted to, but his biggest battle isn't always against another psychic.
Sometimes, it is against himself.....
He has to learn how to express anger, sadness, excitement and love instead of locking everything away.
And I really liked that about the character....
Because underneath all the supernatural madness, Mob Psycho 100 is actually a coming of age story.
It is about growing up, finding yourself, making friends, dealing with emotions and understanding that your abilities don't determine your worth.
The anime has three seasons, with the first season released in 2016, followed by Season 2 in 2019 and Season 3 in 2022.
And about the animation , let me talk about it a bit....
The fight scenes are crazy....,
When Mob finally loses control, the animation goes from okay, this is nice to WHAT AM I WATCHING?!
But it is not just the fighting that makes the anime good, the comedy, the weird characters and the emotional moments all work together.
And Reigen...
Please.....
This man can stand in front of a supernatural monster with absolutely no powers and still look like he owns the building.
Overall, I really enjoyed Mob Psycho 100, It is funny, emotional, weird, action packed and surprisingly deep.
If you are looking for an anime where the main character is extremely powerful but the actual story is not just about becoming the strongest, I definitely recommend this one.
Because sometimes, the strongest person in the room is not the person throwing the biggest punch, sometimes, it is the person learning how to control himself.
Rating: 90/100