Of the boy who lifted… with his mind
And now to turn your attention to a series that needed to be moved to the first week of July to make way for anime rumors: Mob Psycho 100.
This series was started by the mangaka One of One Punch Man fame as a contrast of sorts to both his previous manga and its central protagonist, Saitama. The protagonist of Mob Psycho is middle schooler Shigeo Kageyama, a boy who possesses the power of telekinesis but is remarkably restrained with their application. In fact, when we’re first introduced to the boy, at times he activates these powers accidentally.
Growing up, Shigeo, nicknamed “Mob,” is well-aware of his abilities and how much it makes him stand out. His main goals are to fit in with the rest of his peers at school and hopefully tell his crush his true feelings unimpeded, but there’s a bit of a snag: the boy has trouble reading social cues. Being an introvert is one thing, and it tends to overlap a lot with social anxiety and/or awkwardness, but they’re not the same thing. In summary, introversion in practice means that while the introvert has no problem interacting with folks, they don’t always favor having a rotating body of friends. In my experience in high school, in college, and in the Army, as much as I interacted with most of my peers, I stuck around with the same five or six people I always had, and that was fine for me.
Mob is generally similar, starting small and having, by my count, around ten people he talks to the most, over half of them outside of the school they all attend. Whereas Saitama from One Punch Man looked and often behaved disinterested in his job as a hero due to every single battle ending in a single punch and somewhat ruining the fun, Mob may look disinterested in a lot of things, but this is a trademark of his personality.
He has trouble expressing himself physically or verbally and often falls back on short sentences and responses in contrast to these hyperactive classmates of his. You could argue that this is a tell that he might be on the autism spectrum as noted by this Tumblr post:
And this video:
Keep in mind, the opinions expressed in both of these are those of the creators based on their own observations and are meant to be points of debate rather than absolute truth, so read and watch with an open mind, but take these opinions for what they are.
To achieve his goals, Mob shacks up with a fitness club at his school. In context, this is a direct snub to the club that had originally requested (read: begged) for him to join their numbers: the telepathy club. This club, started by student Tome Kurata is focused mainly on paranormal like that of telekinesis and extrasensory perception or ESP, which is applicable to Mob’s physical traits rather than something more personal. As another example of Mob being treated differently, the club tries to get him to join based on that alone, and was more of an excuse for a bunch of nerds to eat snacks and hang out compared to the body improvement club that actively works out every day.
When I say being treated differently based on a single trait, it’s easy to look at that as being dismissive or distracted by that single trait instead of treating it as part of a whole and think of bullying or teasing, but on the other end of the spectrum is parading that difference as though it’s the most amazing thing in the world when the reality is markedly different.
Largely by virtue of possessing such powers, Mob’s difficulty with others is that he wants to stand shoulder to shoulder with his peers, but his inability to read the atmosphere holds him back. Conversely, others want him to be able to react to the environment of a situation, but can’t understand themselves why he’s unable to do so. In the scene I described where he joins the fitness guys instead of the paranormal folks, the student council president in a somewhat hostile tone of voice doesn’t chide him for his indecision, but emphasizes that Mob should neither be pressured nor judged for his choices. It all needs to come from within, and so his decision to join a body improvement club may seem random at first until you recall that he wants to impress his crush. He didn’t let the telepathy club pull him in, instead he chose the team that would yield positive results, and one where his powers could reliably take a backseat.
Having said that, as the series goes on the paranormal finds him one way or another, sort of like Stands in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, he turns out to be a huge ESP magnet. Most of these people start off highlighting these traits as the be-all, end-all and expect Mob to follow suit, but as I’ve noticed, he’s not that kind of kid. As much as he doesn’t want these abilities to be hindrance, he doesn’t want them to be a highlight either; Mob wants them to be seen as regular as anyone who, say, has double-joints or light gray eyes or a scar or blemish–it’s a part of him, not all of him. And while a few characters learn to see him as they see themselves — a kid who wants to fit in no matter what — others, mostly antagonists, zero in on that aspect because it worked for them and they hoped to accomplish similar success after pairing or using Mob for themselves.
Outside of Mob’s immediate family, another person who shows him respect no matter what is his boss and mentor: Arataka Reigen.
In contrast with the boy, Reigen is an extrovert who can read people so well, if humans came with a manual, he could convince you that he co-wrote it. Note that I said “convince” as this is a part of Reigen’s character. While Mob is honest and kindhearted for the most part, Reigen is a con-man with all the confidence of an old west snake oil salesman. I jest, but these are lines referenced in either the manga or the anime. Reigen is fully aware of the scam he operates at his paranormal consulting firm Spirits and Such Consultation Office, where Mob works part-time after school. The name of the business doesn’t take itself all that seriously, and he knows that he’s more or less a glorified masseuse who markets home remedies as foolproof methods against ghosts and hauntings, but what makes him such a draw for many in the series and even people reading/watching the series is that in the face of adversity he can think on the fly.
Only some folks can stay composed under pressure and Reigen belongs in that camp. He consciously uses lying and exaggeration as a tool in almost every aspect of his life, professional and personal. It doesn’t work all the time, but it gets him quite far when it does. Mob though tries his best to fit in as honestly as he can but finds more difficulty in this aspect than Reigen, who can stumble his way into fame if he could. And this is largely the point, they’re opposites in personality but neither let’s that get in the way of what is portrayed as a fruitful mentor-pupil relationship.
Reigen is knowingly duplicitous to everyone, but doesn’t want Mob to become a shady individual like he is. Mob is honest and pure, but largely because he’s just a kid, he’s also somewhat naïve to how people really behave. Mob, above all, wants to fit in and have friends, and Reigen wants him to be kind, but also smart, which is part of what I love so much about the series. Mob’s a quiet boy, who wouldn’t hurt a fly unless pushed to do so, but still his a lot of growing up to do. Reigen will gladly help him out in this aspect, but doesn’t really throw him in at the deep end.
In regard to Mob’s telekinesis, it’s in line with his emotions. In response to different situations in the series, there’s a counter from 0 to 100. The more stressful a situation, the higher the number climbs and when he reaches his limit, his powers go into overdrive. How he’s feeling when he gets there also plays a factor and his powers are proportional to his emotions. On a good day, Mob can pass the telekinesis off as the parlor trick he would want it to be, but extreme feelings of rage, sadness, compassion, or even ecstasy results in great and, depending on the circumstances, dire consequences.
I’ve watched all three current seasons of Mob Psycho 100 and only recently did I discover the theory that he may be autistic. The two sources I pointed to at the beginning of this post hold a lot of weight, but I’m not sure how I feel about the theory. Both the sources provided are stating their own opinions, but I’ve heard similar theories thrown around for different characters in manga and anime, often as a joke due in large part to the overlapping of autism and similar disorders like Asperger’s, social anxiety, or just plain old introversion. The two prime examples that have taken residence in my head as of late are those of Chainsaw Man’s Asa Mitaka and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Jotaro Kujo. Even if it’s also a joke, the CSM fanbase has some more evidence of Asa’s traits than the JoJo base does regarding Jotaro. He just doesn’t like loud and boisterous people, and even wants his own mother to lay off a bit.
But it’s not like Jotaro is careless. Just rough around the edges.
For Mob though, the theory does highlight the complexity of autism and similar disorders, but most internet theories throw terms around like darts on a dartboard. And I think the only way to be certain is to ask One himself, but then again, these are just theories so I’ll just leave them be. It is interesting viewing for those who are interested. But of course if you wanna form your own conclusions, you can watch the anime or read the manga for yourself.
Before I leave, I want to preview next week’s topic in light of more anime news.
As far as I’m concerned, we’re getting a good serving.
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