Mob Psycho 100 Anime Review & Thoughts
| Genre | Paranormal (Supernatural), Coming-of-age, Comedy |
| Recommend | Highly Recommend! |
After 6 + years, Mob Psycho 100 (モブサイコ100) has finally completed its anime story and what a genuine enjoyable ride it has been! It’s one of my favourite anime in recent years and I’ll attempt to explain why in this post. ^ ^
For a series that spanned 16 volumes (which started off as a web manga too) and adapted for 37 episodes + 2 OVAS across 3 anime seasons, Mob Psycho 100 is truly a well-written story, with an interesting premise, great character growths and a satisfying conclusion for the anime. The animation and music is on point as well, delivering an absolutely satisfying watch.
Unfortunately, despite winning several awards, Mob Psycho 100 is one of those series that often goes under the radar because of its genre and the art style. As with most under-rated anime gems (e.g., Ranking of Kings; Hoshiai no Sora), the series shines brightly in terms of its strong character development and interesting social commentary.
“One” is definitely one of the better story-tellers among this newer generation of manga-ka in recent years and through Mob Psycho 100, we see why this is so.
At first glance, Mob Psycho 100 is a slice-of-life comedy about a boy with psychic powers and his “sensei”/ mentor who runs a psychic consultant business despite not having any psychic or spirit abilities. However, as the story progresses, you’ll find that the various shenanigans that happens throughout the episodes takes on a much deeper meaning – laying behind all the laughs and wackiness is a brilliant depiction of the worries, challenges and joys of adolescence, as well as the difficult journey to accept oneself.
And if you still need more reasons to watch Mob Psycho 100 (seriously?), I’m happy to share that Mob Psycho 100 truly has some of the most exciting psychic battle scenes to appear in anime.
If you haven’t yet watched this series, do yourself a favour and watch it now! Definitely a strong recommendation from me.
And now for the review. Do read on and let me know your thoughts about my thoughts on the anime!^ ^
As always, slight spoilers ahead.
Page Contents
What is Mob Psycho 100 about?
Mob Psycho 100 is basically a story about a middle-schooler, Shigeo Kageyama, more commonly known as “Mob”, who yearns for a normal life. He’s a timid, quiet and shy boy who just also happens to be a super strong psychic/esper with immense powers and holding a part-time exorcism job at a psychic consultant agency. His mentor/”sensei”, Arataka Reigen, who owns the business, however is a total fraud with no psychic nor spiritual abilities to speak of.
As Mob tries to suppress his ever-growing powers and its various emotional triggers in his quest to live a ‘normal’ life, things eventually starts to unravel and derail as his powers starts to attract other espers/psychics that challenges him to his breaking point. What then follows is a slice-of-life comedy on the shenanigans of youth, the joys of friendship and the occasional ‘save the world’ adventures.
Overall Thoughts on Mob Psycho 100
~Spoilers ahead, especially for Season III. Please continue with caution~
I truly enjoyed watching “Mob Psycho 100” during its entire 3 season anime run. It’s filled with tons of quirky characters, the episodes are often hilarious and the story is sprinkled with a healthy dose of positive messages + heart-warming moments. (just the kind of anime I like!)
And for a series where psychic abilities take central stage, the psychic battles are pretty impressive in its own right, not to mention heart-pumping at times too! I especially love how the animation team uses different colours to depict the power hues and mental states of different characters. Case in point:
Mob Psycho 100 was also one of the few anime series that I was actually watching in real time (i.e. same day/week aired in Japan) too for every episode. It’s a rarity (for me) nowadays, due to the need to be a responsible adult >< There’s honestly only so much time in a day or week that you can devote to your games, books and anime while working a full time job.
As I’ve mentioned earlier, Mob Psycho 100 particularly shines in depicting the struggles and challenges of adolescence (through ‘Mob’) and it’s a great coming-of-age story. I have to say the ending (of the anime) also really did wrap up the entire series pretty nicely, making it one of the rarer modern anime series to end on a pretty satisfying note.
Now, this is probably an unpopular opinion but as much as I enjoy watching “One Punch Man” (which is the more popular manga/anime by One), I personally feel that in terms of storyline and character development, Mob Psycho 100 is truly the series that is a better showcase of “One” storytelling abilities, differentiating him from the run-of-the mill authors that depends on troupes and hyped-up trends.
Do note that I’m not in any way dissing One Punch Man. I really liked the series and am hyped for Season 3. The reason why I decided to bring this up is because I’m quite tired of seeing comments online that Mob Psycho 100 pales in comparison to One Punch Man and some of the negativity that is thrown at it.
For one, the two stories belong in different genres. And the type of comedy is different between the two series too. Secondly, there’s also no need to bash or put down one series to compliment another. I mean you can definitely like one series more than the other, or even dislike one of them, but one should be fair in your criticism too, no?
Okay mini-rant over.
What I enjoyed most about Mob Psycho 100
There are many aspects of Mob Psycho 100 that I really liked but if I list them all down, this review will be super long (not that it isn’t long already lol). So I’ll just pick a few that really stood out to me and in turn I hope will inspire you to watch the anime too. ^ ^
Character Growth of the main protagonist
What I constantly find myself marveling at throughout the 3 seasons + OVAs, is how we, as the audience, are able to clearly see the growth and change in Mob, despite the short episodes run.
“Stripping away all the psychic powers and shenanigans, Mob Psycho 100, at the heart of it, is a story about a boy learning to accept himself and finding his place in the world. “
Each season of Mob Psycho 100 had a very distinct theme or “growth stage” for Mob. This was done pretty well and I really like how naturally these changes are shown through Mob’s actions and his interactions with his friends and family:
“What is it that you really want to do?”
Season I
Season I was very much about Mob’s struggles as powerful psychic user who hides behind a veil of normality to a point of timidity. We see a kind and shy boy who doesn’t have many friends nor an active social life, and was seemingly content to just drift along to others’ wishes, often at the expense on his own.
However, as many of us life-drifters are all too familiar with, there will come a time of doubt and a sense of restlessness which prompts us to re-evaluate the choices we made in life. This was the same for Mob. As he starts to get older and his world starts to get bigger, Mob knew that something had to start changing and was determined to do so to improve his life. And by doing so, we start to see Mob coming out of his shell, one step at a time.
The motivation for that change stems from a simple dream: As with most adolescent boys his age, Mob just wants to confess to the girl he likes, as well as to be popular.
What sets Mob apart from most boys his age though (and why I so admire Mob) is that he doesn’t opt for the easy route of using his powers to get ahead in life. Instead, he makes the conscious decision to grow stronger by his own efforts –
“Psychic Abilities does not make a man attractive, so I entered the Muscle Improving Club to change myself”
Season 1
Isn’t this amazing? The physically weak kid who very likely never joined an after-school club opted for perhaps one of the most grueling and physically exhausting after-school activity: The Muscles Improving Club (肉体改造部 ) to physically train himself! (Some translations read Body Improvement Club, I went with what the official website of S2 listed)
We see a huge contrast in attitude with Teru (Teruki Hanazawa), who went the opposite and easy route by fully maximizing his powers to yield the most advantages in life he can have.
“I am special! The world revolves around me!”
Teru, Season 1
Pre-reformed Teru in Season 1 was perhaps the complete antithesis of Mob and showed Mob just what he could gain in life if he had just allowed himself to leverage on his powers. And yet, even in the face of someone who had everything that he had hoped for, Mob never once wavered in his convictions!
“Powers are not to be used on people … I don’t want to live a life relying on powers”
Mob, Season 1
Easy words to say but definitely hard to live by. As early as Season 1, we get a glimpse of just how mentally strong and kind Mob really is. I mean the temptation to just give into his powers must be really hard to resist and yet Mob does it every single day and every moment until he’s pushed to his breaking point.
Season II
Season II saw the fruits of Mob’s efforts to change himself in Season I. We now see a more confident Mob who, instead of always suppressing his own opinions and accepting what others want, started to think for himself and express his opinions more.
Despite almost always dying of exhaustion from the Muscles Building Training, slowly but surely, Mob’s stamina and physical endurance starts to build up over the episodes too. (Go Mob!)
The adventures in Season II once again drove home the point on just exactly how much restrain and inner strength it really took for Mob on a daily basis to not cave into the temptation of misusing his powers.
What I especially love about Season II though, without giving away too much spoilers, were the episodes that centered around the gradual change in dynamics between Mob and Reigen (Mob’s boss/mentor). It was only a given, that as Mob starts to grow in confidence and maturity, he would start to question his teacher’s actions and choices.
Reigen, as much as I adore him and know that he does genuinely care for Mob’s well-being, is only human and have, after so many years, gotten used to being the center of Mob’s world. With Mob’s growing confidence and contemplation about his life choices, naturally something’s gotta give. And boy, did that something give.
I really liked how instead of side-stepping the issue or glossing over this tension, Mob Psycho 100 gave us a great story arc in Season II on how this shift in dynamics led to the inevitable cracks in their relationship and the subsequent re-equalizing of their power dynamics to one that leads to the betterment of both characters.
If there was a list of best teacher-student duo in anime/manga, I dare say that Reigen and Mob would definitely be in the top 10. Their mentor-student relationship is one of my favourite aspects of the anime. I elaborate more on their relationship in the Mentor-Student relationship section so do check that out too!
Back when Season II had ended, I was one of those who strongly felt that Season II episode 7 would have been a great place to end the series (if you had watched it, you would totally understand why) and the special ending theme (see Music section below) further elevates the emotional levels of the episode, making it a really nice finish of the episode. However, having watched the actual series finale in Season III, I finally realized why the production team didn’t end with that episode. (Spoilers in the 100% section below).
The best part about Mob Psycho 100 is that despite the short episode run of 3 seasons, we do see quite a fair bit of character growth for the main character and supporting characters of the series.
Season III
As with its previous 2 seasons, Season III showed us yet another stage in the growth of Mob as a person, both emotionally and mentally.
At the start of Season III, Mob is actually now at a pretty good place in his life. He has a strong circle of friends (Teru, Ekubo, the telepathy club and the muscles improvement club), saved the world, had a heart-to-heart talk with his beloved younger brother, and also earned the respect/fear of his fellow psychics/espers.
Where then do you go next when you have a character that has started to improve his life, gained lifelong friends, saved the world a few times, and looking to finally confess to the girl he had liked since elementary school?
By addressing his deep-rooted trauma and finally learning how to accept himself.
Without going too much into spoiler territory, Season III was a delightful surprise for me. Sure there were 1 or 2 episodes that I felt was a little too out there, even for the shenanigans vibes associated with show, but the arcs centering on Ekubo & Mob, as well as Mob’s trauma and biggest fear were excellent. Not to mention, the psychic battles in Season III were top-notch and so exciting to watch.
We finally got to understand the true meaning behind the whole 100% schtick (which was brilliant!) and what it really meant when Shigeo became Mob. (See the 100% section for spoilers and my thoughts)
I really liked how at the end of the story (series), we see that all the relationships and rapport Mob had built up over the past 3 seasons had rallied together to try to help Mob at the point of his greatest need.
With each season, we see how Mob’s desire to change himself, and his own personal conviction to never use his powers to harm others or get ahead in life, starts to bear fruits
So in just three seasons, we see a shy boy who had gradually changed from one that had constantly suppressed himself (i.e. a people pleaser/shunning the limelight) to a boy that starts breaking out of his self-imposed shell and have the confidence to start thinking for himself and express his opinions instead of always accommodating everyone wishes.
Now read that again and tell me that this isn’t some good story-telling! It’s genuinely hard not to root for Mob and as the series progresses, you’ll start to see why all his friends, especially his former antagonists, were all willing to make the changes in their life to be better – because Mob truly inspires them. His adolescence struggles, fears, doubts, uncertainties, and as well as the simple joys of improving himself is just so relatable.
And if you are still not convinced (really?), here’s a highlights reels that captures the growth of Mob and Shigeo Kageyama:
Mentor-Student Relationship in Mob Psycho 100
As mentioned earlier, one of my favourite aspects of Mob Psycho 100 is the relationship between Mob and Reigen.
What I really liked about this teacher-student relationship is that not only did we get to see both the good and the bad aspects of their relationship, we also get to see how both Mob and Reigen were ultimately a positive influence for each other, and how their relationship changed for the better after all the events that happened in the series.
Before diving into the many reasons why I simply adore this teacher-student duo, let’s just first address the white elephant in the room –
Arataka Reigen is basically a fraud and is running a business that preys on people’s insecurities and fears. If not for Mob and his powers, he likely wouldn’t have survived some of the cases that actually involves the supernatural.
When faced with a decision by Mob that could negatively affect him, Reigen’s first reaction is typically one of self-serving, often disregarding the real wishes/concerns of Mob in the process. For example, actively discouraging Mob from joining any after school activities, because doing so will reduce the time he has to work for Reigen. Or you know…forcing Mob to dress up as a schoolgirl to go undercover in an all-girls school despite how uncomfortable he was to do so.
However, at the end of the day, we do see that Reigen genuinely cares for Mob. Reigen is often the one person whose words can really reach into Mob’s heart and literally save him from himself. In addition, in times of real emergencies and crisis, Reigen tries and often did, at the expense of his own safety, to reach Mob and snap him out of whatever despair and insecurities that was plaguing the boy.
While it is true that Reigen is basically a con-artist – using his charisma and excellent observation skills to hoodwink and get himself out of sticky situations, and quite a fair bit of advice given by Reigen to Mob is often tainted by a large teaspoon of self-serving interest and selfish tendencies – we can’t deny the fact that Reigen always manages to redeem himself (somewhat) in the end by ‘saving’ Mob with his words and actions.
Despite his flaws, Reigen is truly the best mentor for Mob and I dare say is one of anime/manga’s best mentor/teacher to date. If there’s a list of great teachers, he’s definitely in the top 10.
I truly believe that without Reigen in his life, Mob might not have found the courage and will to change himself for the better. He might very well have lost himself to despair and loneliness at a young age, if not for meeting Reigen and hearing the words of encouragement and affirmation from the latter .
Remember how I had earlier said that one of the most admirable qualities of Mob is his conviction in not hurting people with his powers? That conviction was actually instilled in him by Reigen who had made him promise never to use his powers against humans, especially not to hurt them.
“If you misuse a strong power, you will destroy yourself … You promised right. That you would not use your powers on other people”
Arataka Reigen, Season I
Throughout the episodes of Mob Psycho 100, we see many of Mob’s strong beliefs and attitudes towards the use of his powers were actually rooted in Reigen’s teachings and advice to him over the years. Reigen also serves as a grounding force for Mob to never think of himself as “superior” to others just because of his powers.
“Unlike everyone else, we have a special power that we are born with. But we shall never think of ourselves as superior… People who can sing, People who are funny, People who are smart, People who have powers, you can’t say one is better than the other”
Arataka Reigen, Season I
Admittedly, Reigen’s words to Mob often are cheesy platitudes but sometimes we just need such cheesy platitudes to get us going and lift us out of whatever funk or despair we are in. Although it’s true that actions often speaks louder than words, we must always remember that certain truths and comfort can only come when words are spoken and the person receiving these words gets to hear it at the right time.
Scattered throughout Mob Psycho 100 are many examples of how Reigen, either intentionally or not, somehow always manages to say the words Mob needed to hear the most, reaching Mob’s heart and offering encouragement and salvation to the latter. In many ways that counted, Reigen is the moral guidepost for Mob and perhaps the one adult that he feels safe to confide his fears and rely on.
For example, when Mob was feeling down and guilty for destroying a cult, Reigen helped eased Mob’s fears and guilt by patiently explaining the the concept of mind control and fraud based on crowd psychology, and in doing so helped changed Mob’s perspective and allowed him to remove what would have otherwise been another burden to bear on Mob’s shoulders.
“You saved people that only you can save”
Season 1
Or when he reminded Mob that he shouldn’t feel pressured to do things at his own expense (albeit ironically, since he often does ask Mob to do things he’s not comfortable with too) and that he has the power to write the story of the life he is living.
“Why do you have to adjust yourself to them? You are the lead character in your life.”
And not to forget that time when Reigen told Mob that he will always has the option of running away and turning to others for help. He doesn’t always have to shoulder the weight of saving the world by himself because he has the powers to do so. That must have been so comforting for Mob to know that no matter what happens, he can always count on his teacher to have his back.
To be able to inspire such faith and trust just goes to show how great a mentor, and how important Reigen is to Mob.
This teacher-student relationship might have been built on a foundation of lies but the bonds and heart-felt emotions that grew from these lies were real and tangible.
Which brings me to yet another reason why I simply adore the mentor-student relationship between Reigen and Mob. The positive influence that Reigen had on Mob was never a one-way street. Just as much as Reigen has helped Mob, Mob’s “growth” has also changed Reigen for the better.
In what was perhaps the greatest crisis of Reigen’s professional career and social life, Mob came to the rescue of Reigen, despite the cracks in their relationship. And just like how Reigen’s words often save Mob from himself, Mob’s words also ended up saving Reigen from himself.
I’ve always known, from the beginning … My Master is actually a good person.”
Mob, Season II, Episode 7
Without Mob’s influence in his life, Reigen might have continue to just be a fraud and drift aimlessly in life, without any fulfilling purpose. He likely wouldn’t have felt any remorse on the lies that he constantly tells others nor reflect on his actions.
However, by the end of the series, we see Reigen finally ‘coming clean’ with Mob, accepting himself, and just like Mob, now has a group of friends and employees that he can call family as well.
Arataka Reigen is just totally relatable. He’s a flawed individual who tends to get carried away at times but his heart is usually in the right place, which is like most of us, right? Honestly, he’s just so relatable to a point of how can you not like him? (Disclaimer: He’s my second favourite character after Mob)
And if you need more reasons/evidence as to why Reigen is such a great teacher for Mob, here’s a short video reel of some of his best moments in the series on twitter.
Former adversaries to steadfast allies & friends
It’s a common troupe in many anime/manga (especially shonen), to have adversaries becoming the protagonist’s most steadfast allies and support. Mob Psycho 100 doesn’t deviate from this troupe but I really love how Ekubo and Teru ended up being the two friends that will give their all to protect and support Mob.
Of all the former adversaries turned friends and allies, Ekubo and Teru are the two characters that stood out to me the most. Apart from having the humility to turn over a new leaf and re-evaluate their actions, they both genuinely care for Mob and are truly appreciative and grateful for the change that Mob inspired in them. And in turn, both characters are often the two that will do their best, to the point of suffering massive injuries, to try to stop Mob from going too far in his 100% mode.
And what else can I say about Ekubo? He’s truly the one person/spirit that Mob can count on to tell him as it is, even if it might be a bitter pill to swallow, because he genuinely cares about Mob. Super relatable, right? Sometimes being a good friend is to just say it as it is, even if the truth hurts. (Go watch that Season III episode and if you didn’t shed a tear or two…. are you even human? Although in this context, that may not be the best way to phrase it. 🙂 )
As for Teru, rather than resenting Mob for defeating him, he ended up becoming one of Mob’s greatest protector and ally.
As the next strongest Esper/Psychic after Mob in their group, we see Teru often risking himself to stop the out-of-control 100% and ???% Mob because he knows how devastated and guilty Mob would be once he realized the damages caused by him losing control of himself. Teru would fight tooth and nail, (which he often did) to stop that from happening.
To have friends like these, Mob is truly blessed and fortunate
Social Commentary in Mob Psycho 100
One of the most enjoyable aspects of reading One’s stories is his ability to weave social commentaries and issues into the story and characters itself pretty effortlessly, without being too in-your-face about it.
Scattered throughout the episodes of Mob Psycho 100 are innocuous episodes that seemingly plays for laughs but are actually poking fun or is a somewhat satirical commentary on some of the weird social phenomenon and trends we see around us.
Arataka Reigen’s clients are a case in point.
I personally found it quite amusing that quite a number of Reigen’s clients who sought out his psychic services for “problems” arising from psychic and supernatural occurrences are often solved by some simple massages, therapy consultation and/or counselling.
Apart from the hilarity of the situation, it also rightly highlights the odd tendency of many people to ‘blame’ their afflictions or current circumstances on the “supernatural” instead of actually reflecting on their own actions, habits or circumstances to solve the issue/problem at hand. The fact that their problems can often be solved with some simple relaxation techniques, counselling and/or by some ‘fake assurance’ by an expert clearly highlights the irony of engaging a “fraud” to solve a problem caused by a “fraudulent” origin.
Although, come to think of it, such irony is also how frauds like Reigen are able to stay in the business. Reigen is truly fortunate to have Mob’s assistance when once in a while, he receive cases that actually involves the supernatural.
Perhaps the greatest satire commentary in the series though, came in the form of the Mob Psycho Helmet Cult, where its followers are worshipping a Divine Tree that was in actual fact… just a Giant Broccoli!!
I mean no matter how you look at it… it’s just a broccoli, right? And yet it didn’t stopped countless of people starting to worship it as a Divine Tree, even going as far as creating a festival, along with exclusive merchandises and goods to promote the cult and the Divine Tree.
The speed at which the cult and worshippers grew was alarmingly fast too – Many of them were simply just jumping on the trend-wagon but eventually ended up brain-washed into the cult.
I can’t help but feel this is an allusion to today’s age of social media, influencers and celebrity culture where almost anything or anyone can become meme-worthy or achieve instant celebrity status. It’s really amazing – and fascinating– how even the most ridiculous, mundane and/or weird things can amass massive views, followers, likes and/or devotion. In Mob Psycho 100, it was a giant broccoli.
The 100% thing
Well, with a title such as Mob Psycho 100, it will be remiss of any review to not talk about the 100 in the anime/manga. ^ ^
In yet another testament to “One” story telling abilities, the ending arc of Season III showed us the deeper meaning of “100” in Mob Psycho 100, which was a revelation that I totally loved.
I left this section to the last so as not to spoil anyone who hasn’t watched the episodes yet. Please note that the next few paragraphs will have loads of spoilers, so do skip this section if you have not watched Season III yet!
SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS!!
The audience (okay, mainly me) had always been led to believe that the ‘100%’ was in reference to Mob’s “power counter”– 100% is the limit of Mob’s control – where at 100%, he’ll unleash his powers without any morality and sensibility holding him back. There was even a ???% mode that surpassed the 100% stage.
Turns out that the 100% power counter took on a whole new meaning – a deeper meaning – when we learned in Season III that Mob had actually hidden a part of himself away (essentially splitting himself into two), stashed it deep within his psyche and squashed it to become the Mob that we see at the start of the story.
So the Mob in 100% and ???% mode that we see throughout the series was in actual fact Shigeo Kageyama that Mob had squirreled and sealed away deep inside of himself as a response to his childhood trauma – when he lost control of his powers and ended up hurting his younger brother, Ritsu, and those that had bullied them.
Back then, this seemed to be the only ‘solution’ that a scared and confused little kid thought would be the best way to prevent the “monster” inside him to hurt his younger brother.
And so in his bid to hide away this “monster”, Mob opted to repress his emotions + true feelings and fade into the background so as to prevent any potential triggers for him to lose control again and hurt people.
But by hiding a part of you away, can you truly be free? Will you really be able to move on?
The answer is no because we see how Mob actually ended up losing so much more in the process – the years of repressing his emotions and true feelings led to a growing divide between himself and his beloved brother, Ritsu. They lost the closeness that they had once enjoyed as kids, where Mob would always readily share his innermost thoughts and feelings with his brother; Mob also didn’t have many friends and he stopped finding joy in using his powers.
Living a life where he’s constantly restraining himself from using his powers and repressing his true emotions have – not surprisingly – become a heavy burden and taken a toll on Mob.
Despite embarking on a path to change himself, by refusing to face his other self, Mob will never be free of the fear of losing control and hurting others.
And just like a glass of water that is full to the brim where every “stone” that is dropped into the glass will cause more and more water to overflow, we see how with each breaking point, Mob’s powers became more powerful, dangerous and violent in his 100% mode. A vicious cycle that rips apart all the hard work and effort Mob has put into improving his life.
Naturally, when the opportunity arose for “Shigeo” to break free and gain control, the violence and destruction caused by him was tremendous – Just as Mob was in constant fear of “Shigeo”, “Shigeo” was angry and hurt that Mob shunned and hid him away from the world.
To survive and be ‘free’, there could only be one – and ‘Shigeo’ was determined to be the last person standing. Mob could only watch helplessly, as he sees his friends and loved ones getting hurt as they try to stop ‘Shigeo’.
Fortunately, as always, we see how Mob’s beloved mentor, Reigen, manages to reach deep into Mob’s heart and forced Mob to finally, finally confront “Shigeo” and to find a resolution that would allow the both of them to truly be ‘free’.
This does not make you different or special. Everyone has a another side to them … You are fine, just the way you are … Just go ahead and accept yourself … you’ll be able to do that because you’re you, Mob.”
Arataka Reigen, Season III
Thankfully, as with most shonen manga, Mob Psycho 100 ends off on a positive note with Mob finally overcoming his trauma and fear of hurting others – by reconciling and accepting his other self – and truely became whole again – i.e. 100 %.
What a great play on the 100% theme! I really love the duality of the theme “100 percent” in Mob Psycho 100. How about you? Let me know in the comments!
Final Thoughts on Mob Psycho 100
Mob Psycho 100 is one of my favourite anime in the past few years. It’s an enjoyable series, with lots of positive messages and social commentary embedded in it. The music and animation are on-point and always of pretty consistent quality. I especially love the lyrics of all the OPs and EDs of all three seasons. Please check out the Music section below as I share my favourite songs of the series.
Next, I read somewhere on the internet once where someone had asked if this series is suitable for kids and my answer to that question is a resounding yes! Although, my recommendation would be for kids 10 years and up.
There are so many positive messages in Mob Psycho 100 that makes it a really good anime for kids and adults alike to watch + it has a likable and admirable main protagonist that one can look up to. In addition, the supernatural elements in Mob Psycho 100 are generally not too scary. There might be a few supernatural scenes, as well some battle scenes though where parents might like to watch together with their kids but other than that, Mob Psycho 100 has plenty of teaching/learning moments that parents can discuss with their kids.
And that’s a wrap on my review and thoughts on Mob Psycho 100! Thank you for reading ^ ^ I probably got a little too carried away in sharing my thoughts (re: long post) hahaha. I really enjoyed watching Mob Psycho 100 and I really hope to get more people on board the Mob Psycho 100 train/bus/spaceship.
So if you would like to share your thoughts on the anime with me, and or if this review inspired you to start watching the series, do let me know via email or a comment below! It’s always fun to discuss anime/manga with like-minded fans and I would also love to hear your thoughts on my anime reviews.
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More Information
Official Anime Website: https://mobpsycho100.com/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/mobpsycho_anime
You can watch the entire series via a paid subscription to Netflix or free on Muse Asia’s Youtube Channel or selected regions. ^ ^
Manga/Web Comic
There are affiliated links in this section. Clicking on these links is at no cost to you but Geeky Travels and Fandoms might earn a small fee from your purchases, if any. Every little bit helps in supporting this blog.
One’s official twitter: https://twitter.com/ONE_rakugaki
So as with most anime series nowadays, Mob Psycho 100 (モブサイコ100) was also adapted from a manga. What is atypical though, is that Mob Psycho 100 started out as a web-comic by “One” in Ura Sunday webcomic magazine by Shogakukan.
For Mob Psycho 100, it is completely written and illustrated by One himself. There is a total of 16 volumes published. You can also get the kindle version or physical Japanese manga on Amazon as well.
For those interested in the translated versions, the Taiwanese version (in traditional Chinese) is called “路人超能100” published by 青文出版社。The English translated version is published by Dark Horse Comics.
Fun Fact: One had also written and illustrated “One Punch Man” and uploaded the web-comic chapters onto his own webpage which led to a collaboration-remake by Yusuke Murata who then re-illustrated the chapters/comic currently still in serialization. The anime version is based on this collaboration-remake.)
There is also a spin-off manga series centering on Reigen: REIGEN ~霊級値MAX131の男~ (Mob Psycho 100: Reigen–The Man With Level 131 Max Spirit Power!). You can check out some of the chapters on the official Shogakukan Comic website here. You can also get the kindle version or physical Japanese manga on Amazon as well.
Blu-Ray
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As with all anime nowadays, you can be sure that there will be Blu-ray/dvd set of season being released. Mob Psycho 100 is no exception to the rule and you can find chockful of bonus materials and items that comes with the set.
You can buy the Blu-ray set here at Amazon Japan. On a related note, do also pop over to Bones official store to get your hands on some exclusive Mob Psycho 100 merchandises. If they do not deliver to your country, my suggestion is to engage the services of a proxy buyer/forwarder.
For proxy buying services, I recommend One Map by From Japan. By clicking on my referral link in the banner below and successfully using them for your first order, you’ll get 500 From Japan (FJ) referral points equivalent to 500 yen for your next purchase.
You can check out my guide on Geeky Goods Spotlight: Forwarder, Buying Service & Proxy Bidding (Anime Goods) for more information and review on proxy buyers/forwarders services I recommend.
Live Action Drama
Yes, you read that right. Mob Psycho 100 had a live-action drama series back in 2018 and you can watch it on Netflix!
I have to admit that I have not watched it, so I honestly do not know if it’s a good adaptation or not. And I’m not sure if I’ll be watching it any time soon. As a long-time manga/anime fan, I can say that the track record for live-action adaptations of manga/anime generally is more meh than yay, with a few exceptions (The 90s/early 2000s J-dramas of GTO; Gokusen; Antique Bakery are excellent live-action adaptations and I highly recommend) but that’s my own personal bias.
If you have watched the live-action drama, do let me know how it is and if I should watch it!
Music
One thing I always look forward to in watching any anime series are the songs and music featured. Many of the artistes, especially Japanese singers, that I listen to throughout the years came from anime songs
Mob Psycho 100 is no exception to this fact and I’m excited to share some of my favourite OPs and songs from the series here. And yes, they are listed according to my preference. I honestly recommend all not to skip the OPs and EDs for the anime because the it’s truly good and if take a careful look at them, you’ll notice plenty of hidden eggs and references to future seasons and story arcs in the OPs!
I also love the how the lyrics are so relevant and akin to the ‘advice’ that Reigen gives Mob on a regular basis or the feelings of Mob. And did anyone noticed the titles of the OP songs of the different seasons? I love how the production team presented such a consistent and complete theme/concept to the opening and ending songs. What’s even more amazing is that they even had the same artistes for all 3 seasons’ OPs and EDs respectively!
Season II Eps 7 Ending Song: 《Gray》by sajou no hana
My favourite song of the series… and it was only a one-off ending theme for that absolutely wonderful Season II Episode 7. The song and lyrics really added to the emotional punch of that episode. The instrumental version hits up all the ‘feels’ too. No spoilers, so please watch the anime to find out why!
Season III OP: 『１』by MOB CHOIR
This is my favourite OP of the 3 seasons. I really liked the visuals that went with the song and as always the lyrics are so on-point to the story and Mob in Mob Psycho 100! Plus the song is really catchy, no?
“One and only one” means so much more after you have watched the entire series.
Season II ED:《メモセピア》’Memosepia’ by sajou no hana
My third favourite song in Mob Psycho 100. It’s a little sad yet hopeful at the same time. I also really liked the animation style in this! Please don’t skip the ending song. You’ll thank me for it.
Season I OP: 『99』by MOB CHOIR
Not going lie, I had a lot of fun singing this at KTV (especially with the countdown) with friends. I love the dystopian and wackiness of the visuals that goes along with the song. And as pointed out by user TVside, S1’s OP actually had several hidden Easter eggs on future episodes in Season II and III!! How about that?
Season III OP: 『99.9』by MOB CHOIR feat. sajou no hana
“Right now… Your life is your own!” To be honest, Season II OP is actually my least favourite of all the three seasons’ OPs and EDs. Nevertheless, I love the funky and positive vibe of the lyrics for the Season II OP. And again there are hidden Easter eggs for Season III as well!
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