*Record scratch, freezeframe* You're probably wondering how I got here.
Well, my friend had been talking about something called Mob Psycho 100 (and using screenshots of the manga as reaction images in our text conversations) for some time. Is it about the mafia? I wondered. Who is this kid?
Because I'm a good friend, I agreed when she asked me to watch some of it with her. I take genuine interest in my friends' interests, ok? (And I always need leverage to get my friends to watch things that I like.) So, we watched the first three episodes of the English dub, and I really liked it. It was funny, and I was invested in the characters and plot. A few days later, we hung out and watched the remaining nine episodes.
And, yeah, at that point I was in way over my head.
"When does Mob find out Reigen is lying to him?" I demanded.
"Not until the last chapter of the manga," my friend told me.
She sent me a link to an unofficial scan/translation of the web manga, and I spent the rest of the weekend binge-reading—(I started where season 1 left off, so I read chapters 51-101, which is actually about two-thirds of the total length of the manga; later chapters having as many as ten parts, whereas early chapters only have one or two)—and spamming my friend with screenshots and texts. I finished reading it by about 1am on Sunday night—I stayed up until 2am yelling about it on tumblr.
As the week passed, I got in deeper and deeper. I re-read parts of the manga; I re-watched the anime. I exchanged hundreds of texts with my friend—I hope the NSA enjoyed that. I wrote three short fanfics. (Who am I?) I read the first few chapters of the spin-off manga Reigen which only started earlier this year. I texted my mom to tell her that I want Volume I of the official English manga for Christmas. The next day, I bought it for myself at Barnes & Noble (I couldn't wait).
And that about catches us up. How has your week been?
I can't explain exactly what it was that captured my attention about MP100; it was probably a "perfect storm" situation. It's a very good work of fiction, and I found it at the right time, and I have someone to talk to about it, so that created a monster.
Here's my attempt to put into words what is so good about MP100. I doubt you're reading this if you're not already familiar (in general, I doubt there's a 'you' that's reading this), so I'm not going to hold back with spoilers, and I will assume some basic knowledge of the series.
The characters and relationships
Mob is a great protagonist, and Reigen is the best possible secondary character. Their relationship is The Thing about MP100 that makes it what is is. Mob is a kid who really needs a mentor who understands what he's going through with his psychic powers. He needs a role model, someone who proves that everything can be alright. On the surface, Reigen pretends to be that, pretends to have psychic powers. And that's a hurtful deception. But on a deeper level, Reigen actually is the role model Mob needs.
Reigen's philosophy (and the philosophy of the show—more on that later) is that having special abilities doesn't make you any different from anyone else. With this in mind, he actually is qualified to be Mob's mentor, and he gives Mob really good advice most of the time. While their relationship is predicated on one big lie and many little manipulations, it is still a genuinely caring relationship. And that dynamic is my shit. Y'all know I love Breaking Bad. (Not to compare Reigen to Walt, not at all—Reigen doesn't, like, murder anyone Mob cares about.)
In addition to the big two, there is a large cast of supporting characters. The ensemble exists to support Mob's story and contribute to the themes; there isn't much that's extraneous. I particularly enjoy what Ritsu and Teru contribute to Mob's story, and the theme about being "gifted" (more on that below). I like Tome and the telepathy club, and of course, I love the body improvement club. What great boys. Good boys all around.
The themes
MP100 is not shy about its themes. It sorta clobbers you over the head with them, but I don't mind that.
MP100 is about adolescence, and specifically the emotional maelstrom that is puberty. Much of the series only makes sense in that context. Mob's arc is to learn to deal with emotions in a healthy way, and to find a support network of friends.
The relationship between Reigen and Mob is essentially a parent/teen child relationship. Reigen isn't a psychic—(He's not a teenager; there's an interesting equivalency between psychic powers and maturity in MP100. Most of the psychics are children, and the adult psychics are shown as immature and emotionally stunted.)—so he doesn't really understand what Mob is going through. But he pretends to know, and muddles his way through giving the kid advice.
At the end, when Reigen sees Mob in his uncontrolled ???% state, he says to him: "I didn't know! Is this what you've been dealing with? Something this big? I didn't know." That line, of all the lines in the manga, cuts me to my core. Because isn't that what every teenager wants to hear from a parent? To have their turbulent emotions recognized, validated? To stop with the advice and just see them and acknowledge their pain? (Reigen for father of the year!)
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| Amazing! Local woman cries every time she reads this panel. |
Another major theme in MP100 is that no one's really special. Reigen says again and again that Mob's powers don't make him different from anyone else; it's just another aspect of who he is. The adult psychics in Claw are shown to be delusional for believing they are superior to other people. And the theme song declares: "If everyone is not special, maybe you can be what you want to be." This secondary theme informs much of the plot. The pattern goes: Villain thinks he's special, Mob wrecks the villain, villain realizes he's not special.
Ritsu and Teru's arcs contribute to this theme as well. Whereas Ritsu is more gifted than Mob in every way (athleticism, intelligence, social skills), he envies Mob's one gift, and obsesses over it. Teru goes through the villain disillusionment arc in his first two episodes, and becomes a much better person for it.
This theme is especially relevant as a response to the genre of superhero films and shonen manga; the hero, Mob, is not superior. He's more or less a regular kid who happens to have one skill.
The mountain of dramatic irony
What really hooked me on MP100 is the central tension of the series: Reigen is lying to Mob about being a psychic. I couldn't rest until that conflict was resolved. (Good thing I started reading the manga after it was finished, huh? Can you imagine waiting six years for that payoff?)
However, this dynamic is more interesting than a simple lie, because you can make a compelling argument that Mob knew all along, at least subconsciously. In the first chapter of the manga, Mob doubts his master's power when he can't handle a weak spirit. After Reigen is publicly exposed as a fraud, Mob doesn't have much to say about it; my reading is that he knows Reigen is not a real psychic, but it doesn't matter because he's "a good person." In chapter 100, ???% (read: Mob's power, his subconscious, his dark side) says about Reigen: "Stop acting like you haven't noticed. That person is a liar. That person is only trying to use me."
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| Chapter 100 has my entire wig. |
I'm a strong proponent of the Mob Been Knew theory—but I think he knows mostly on a subconscious level. He has a fairly simplistic notion of right and wrong, so he can't reconcile Reigen being a good person with Reigen lying to him and others. I don't think Mob spends that much time thinking about it, to be honest—probably too much cognitive dissonance.
The anime presents Mob as a little more naive, a little more blindly trusting of Reigen. I enjoy this version, too. There are a lot of ways to read their relationship, and I can endlessly theorize about what exactly is going on in Mob's head. I can't wait to see how the anime continues to flesh out this conflict between them.
The comedy
The manga is funny (and full of fantastically meme-able panels), and the humor in the anime is particularly well executed. Mob's deadpan expression is comedic gold, as is Reigen's ability to worm his way out of any situation. Everything with Dimple is hilarious. A lot of humor comes from the ensemble, especially the body improvement club. Love those jocks.
The art and animation style
MP100 is drawn in a remarkably simple style, and the anime follows suit—and it works so well. Despite the simplicity (or maybe because of it), the characters are so expressive and the story shines through. The anime plays around with stylized cut-away scenes, including pencil drawings and paint-on-glass animation. Mob's "explosions" are beautifully animated.
The theme song
This total bop deserves its own section. The animation of the opening credits is fantastic, showing hints of future arcs in the manga. And the end credits, paint-on-glass scene makes me cry every time.
So, basically, those are my thoughts about MP100. I got on the bandwagon at a good time; not too early, but not too late. Season 2 comes out in January (not sure when the dub will be released). The official English manga will continue to be released volume by volume, but it will be years until I have all sixteen on my bookshelf.
Concluding thoughts? It's good, and I'm soft, and my heart is full.
