Reflecting on Mob Psycho 100’s second season
The amount of anime hitting our shores is greater than it has ever been, but that also means that keeping caught up with it is a full-time job. In my never-ending quest to get back on top of my anime backlog, I have finally finished my watch of Mob Psycho 100’s second season. Though we’re still waiting for news on when the third season will finally drop, there is never a bad time to check in with our favourite socially awkward esper.
Mob Psycho 100 continues to grow
Mangaka ONE is good at many things. Their One Punch Man is one of the most visually exciting manga being made today, serving as a masterclass in how to layout action scenes to be both visceral and coherent. It is also a brilliant parody of many shounen and superhero tropes, with a hero that is overpowered to the point of ridiculousness. Despite some of the issues that come when your main character is capable of solving every problem with minimal effort, it continues to be one of the best manga out there.
Mob Psycho 100 accomplishes both of these things as well, but also manages to be remarkably character-focused in a way that ONE’s ongoing work hasn’t quite managed. In the first season, we saw Mob come to the realisation that he needed to become the main character in his own life. Season two is all about how he proposes to make that change in himself. The stakes are bigger, both for Mob as a person and for the world around him.
Like most middle schoolers, Mob is surrounded by opportunities to grow, both in a positive and negative way. The two main villains of the second season of Mob Psycho 100 are dark reflections of Mob himself. Mogami is a deceased esper who became an evil spirit upon death in order to continue using his incredible powers to hurt people, while Toichiro is a fellow esper with great power who has distanced himself from his family and friends just like Mob used to.
These enemies aren’t just a threat to Mob as an esper, but also as a person. Defeating them means acknowledging what he could have become without the support of his loved ones and the guidance from his mentor Reigen. Mob might have incredible power that goes beyond what anyone else in the show can attain, but he still relies on others in his own way.
As do we all, really. No matter how strong or skilled someone is, there are a dozen people around them who they lean on when they need help. The beautiful message of Mob Psycho 100 isn’t that strength makes one invincible; it is that showing weakness doesn’t make one weak. Understanding how and when to lean on others and when to allow them to lean on you is a key part of growing up.
Of course, the animation in Mob Psycho 100’s second season is some of the most spectacular that Bones has produced. The final fight against Toichiro is particularly gorgeous, but the big, over-the-top visuals don’t compare to how subtly emotional the story becomes as Mob attempts to grow as a person. He still might slip into the background around other people, fumbling in his attempt to become more popular, but that journey to becoming the main character is the point of his story. Mob is every awkward kid struggling to figure out his place in the world.
If you’ve not had a chance to catch up with Mob’s journey, then you’re in luck! Both seasons of the show are available to stream on the Crunchyroll site.
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