Mob Psycho 100 has a lot of highlights, ranging from offbeat art, oddball yet affecting storytelling, and characters that grow on audiences like a lovely moss. Even so, the best aspect of the series is undoubtedly its protagonist, Shigeo Kageyama, a.k.a. Mob.
In anime, the word "mob" is usually used to describe plain and nameless background characters, the red shirts of the medium. In casting such a character as a lead, ONE created a blatantly subversive story framework. Mob appears to be unimportant, but he's anything but. Mob is possibly the strongest ESPer in existence, yet all he wants is to be less than a loser at school. The show is contradictory by nature, and for all the good Mob's existence may do, there's just as much potential for things to go south.
10 Help: Exorcising Malicious Spirits
There's simply no exorcist as capable as Shigeo-Kun, and he's not especially hard or expensive to hire. Once Shigeo began working for Reigen at his psychic business, he was so grateful to feel useful that he never negotiated for decent pay. While this is a running gag in the series, it's also extremely pertinent to the character dynamics.
As Mob grows more confident, he realizes that he's been fleeced, but generally feels enough affection for Reigen to allow the situation to continue. While Reigen's exorcism business began as a sham, hiring Mob made all the difference. Urban legends, cult leaders, possessions: there's not much this awkward middle schooler can't tackle.
9 Harm: Because Mob Is Empathetic To Spirits, He May Become Apathetic To People
Mob hasn't been especially well-treated by humanity as a whole, and much of the show focuses on Mob's attempts to forge bonds with "normal" people. So is it any wonder that Mob should feel empathetic to the plight of other outsiders: spirits, to be precise?
In Season 2, Episode 3, Mob refuses to exorcise a family of spirits because he knows they are harmless. Reigen realizes that to Mob, living people and specters are equally worthy. While this character trait makes Mob more endearing, it could lead to disaster in the future. Given the choice between saving a terrible person or a kind ghost, why shouldn't Mob choose the ghost? Woe unto anyone who forces Mob to make such a choice.
8 Help: Mob Can Help Restore A Decimated World
Over time, Mob's capabilities prove immeasurable. Eventually Mob can use his powers to make plants grow (chlorokinesis), engage in astral projection, absorb and transfer psychic energy, and more.
There seem to be no limits to his abilities, and that includes the power to restore what's been broken or even create new life. The Divine Tree, a head of broccoli that grows from Mob's pocket in the season 2 finale, is proof that with Mob, anything is possible.
7 Harm: Mob's Fights Are Extremely Destructive
Although Mob may harbor the ability to repair objects and help things grow, there's no doubt that in general, Mob creates catastrophic amounts of damage. This is particularly true when Mob's internal meter reaches 100% and he loses control of himself.
Eventually, Mob learns to channel his emotions better during these outbursts, but when Mob is furious, buildings are bound to shatter and bodies are likely to shatter, too. By the end of season two, a cityscape looks like the finale of Akira, and a giant broccoli head can't make up for the disaster.
6 Help: Mob Saved Reigen's Business (& His Sense of Empathy)
Much as Mob is a beloved character, the series would be so much less interesting without Reigen. A self-professed swindler who left behind his boring office job to take a chance on opening a psychic business, Reigen lies to Mob about his psychic abilities in order to keep Mob around. But what begins as a con artist taking advantage of a psychic middle schooler soon becomes a mentorship that's genuinely affecting.
Mob has rarely been allowed to be himself, and Reigen has rarely been anything but selfish until they find each other. Reigen makes Mob feel important, and Mob helps Reigen stay in business and become a truly admirable person, too.
5 Harm: Mob is Celebrated Not For What He Accomplishes, But For Abilities He Can't Change
Mob never asked to by a telekinetic wunderkind, and doubtless often wishes he were someone else. It's not that Mob doesn't appreciate his abilities. It's just that they've never been something he could feel proud of, as they were inherently part of him. Instead, Mob longs to impress the girl he likes on the basis of merits he earns, and he joins the body improvement club with that in mind. His fellow club members love and respect him for trying so hard, but Mob will never be physically strong.
Mob's struggle to improve is painful to watch because it's so relatable. At some point in life, everyone has longed to excel at a sport, art, class, or skill that simply doesn't suit them. So many of humanity's dreams are unattainable, and in pursuing impossible goals, people often lose sight of their true strengths.
4 Help: Mob Has Humbled Many An Egomaniac
Just as Mob isn't as he seems, neither are many of the villains, spirits, and monsters he faces over the course of the series. While some of his former enemies become good friends, like Hanazawa and Dimple, others are punished. What most of Mob's opponents have in common is an overinflated ego, which makes them excellent foils to the humble Mob.
"Psychic powers shouldn't be used to harm others," Mob says, and it's one certainty in a world of uncertainty he's extremely stubborn about. Anyone abusing their abilities or using them for self-aggrandizement had better watch out, because an adolescent with a questionable haircut will surely put them in their place.
3 Harm: Mob is Accidentally Forming a Cult
Mob didn't ask to become a cult leader, but it seems to have happened anyway. In the wake of disbanding Dimple's cult, several former members became obsessed with Mob and began to see him as a god.
Cults are never good news. What people fueled by isolation and strong belief will do to themselves and others has proven devastating throughout history, and the growing Psycho Helmet Cult, while so far something of a running gag in the anime, has the potential to develop into something far more nefarious.
2 Help: Mob Proves That People Are More Than They Seem
Fans of Mob Psycho 100 sometimes have barriers to overcome when recommending the show to newcomers. Yes, the animation is fantastic and fluid, and the action is fast-paced and colorful, but the art style may be initially off-putting. Reigen isn't likable at first, and Mob seems bland, and the story feels almost aimless. But over time, it becomes apparent that all of these elements are entirely deliberate, and a prescient point is being made.
Just as Mob is more than he appears to be, so is Reigen, and so is this story. The hardest thing in this life is finding value and purpose within it, and sometimes that's an ugly process. Mob's journey parallels the journey all people go through, warts and all.
1 Harm: The World's Continued Existence Depends On The Fluctuating Moods Of An Omnipotent Adolescent Who is Never In Full Control
Season one addresses the fraught relationship between Shigeo and his little brother, Ritsu Kageyama. Being raised alongside an unpredictable psychic timebomb proved traumatic for Ritsu, and at one point decimated their relationship. Though Mob often comes across as unfailingly calm and kind, beneath the surface he's constantly processing darker emotions, trying to contain them before they burst out of him and wreak havoc
Though Mob is gradually becoming better at controlling his omnipotent outbursts, he's still a kid. What happened with Ritsu could happen again on a much larger scale. On a bad day, most people argue, cry, or devour a whole tub of ice cream. But when Mob has a bad day? Well, things tend to explode.