English Dub Review: Mob Psycho 100 “Urban Legends ~Encountering Rumors~”

Mob fears nothing…except jogging grandmas.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Things are getting awful boring around the office lately, so Reigen and Mob decide to head out and find some work for their psychic agency. To do that, Reigen has them hit the streets, looking for people in need of their particular brand of psychic abilities. Reigen sets up a little stand to find clients, but is confronted by Banshomaru Shinra, a fraud psychic who claims himself to be the “Psychic of the century.” Shinra tells Reigen to bugger off, but both of them meet a client who needs their help. She tells Reigen and Shinra that she’s attracted ghosts her whole life. Reigen offers her a psychic package, even though she may just be fooling herself.

Reigen then comes up with the idea of Mob, Shinra and him going around looking for supernatural events to try and make a tidy profit off of. To that end, they look up some urban legends that have been talked about around town. They investigate the legends but find that they mostly seem to be fake. That is except Shinra, who finds a resident raincoat flasher and chases him into the woods. There, they run into another, a more frightening urban legend who turns out to be real, a ghost who drowns people in the forest. known as the Dragger. Shinra tries to use his meager psychic powers (Apparently he’s not such a fraud after all) against the ghost but isn’t strong enough to beat her. However, Dimple comes to the rescue, having been directed by Reigen to keep an eye on Shinra. Dimple possesses Shinra and upgrades his powers in the process, standing more of a chance against the ghost. Dimple still isn’t strong enough though, so he calls Reigen and Mob for help.

Reigen and Mob head over to Dimple’s location, but in the meanwhile, Dimple is still on the ropes. The ghost, whose power has been amplified by the rumors surrounding her, pushes Dimple to his limits, doubly so since he’s in the flabby body of Shinra. At the last moment, Mob shows up and knocks the ghost away. Dimple then explains to Reigen and Mob that this isn’t an actual spirit, but just a rumor given form, created by the curiosity of humans. She only gets stronger the more you fight her and acknowledge her, so Reigen advises a retreat. Yet, Mob stands firm and swiftly defeats the Dragger by being ignorant of how scary the Dragger is supposed to be.

Our Take:

You gotta love Mob Psycho 100. It gets so much credit in the critical realm for having such a mature and complex portrayal of its characters, but it still knows how to have a good time. The first episode of this season was all heart, and this episode is all muscle; a fun, action-packed romp around that develops the Mob Psycho world while putting Mob and Reigen into some great situations. This isn’t an especially dramatic episode, but that’s more than alright because the animation and visual quality are astounding. This episode is a treat for the eyes and a reminder of why anime has earned its die-hard fan following.

The driving force of this episode is it’s fight scenes and the fun little odyssey that Mob and Reigen go on to find the rumored supernatural entities they’ve heard about. It’s a solid adventure that’s got plenty of that Mob Psycho charm we all know and love. As always, the superb voice acting, particularly from Reigen, (Who seems to be taking a larger role in this season) keeps your ears as entertained as your eyes while enjoying this story. By the time it’s finished, you’ll be wondering where the last 22 minutes of your life went, and clamoring for another episode of Mob’s adventures.

There isn’t much to complain about here, which is wonderfully refreshing to say. This is no doubt to the direction of the show that is incredibly artful and deliberate. To try and nitpick or point out things that could be done better would be insulting to the sheer amount of creative integrity found here. Each line has a purpose, whether to be witty, funny, or imaginative and doesn’t waste your time with the typical nonsense that comes with anime writing. There are so many cute little moments and fun scenes, whether it’s Reigen’s tiny, but affordable, table or Mob’s devouring of his giant pile of salty french fries, the episode understands how to keep viewer interest like no other and maintains a perfect sense of pace.

And, to top it all of, this episode of Mob Psycho creates an amazing tone that separates itself from most other shows out there, that of the “Comedy horror.” It pulls you in with its mysterious spook-factor, but then throws an egg on its own face in its final moments, by revealing that sometimes supernatural rumors are just that, rumors, and nothing more. There’s so much to love here, it has to be seen to be believed. One simply cannot recommend watching this show enough.