Mob Psycho 100 Episodes 9-10 (Review)
By: Mithrandiel[yasr_multiset setid=11]
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Scarlette's a bit swamped following her trip to PAX, so I will be more than happy to share my thoughts on the recent episodes of Mob Psycho 100. First, let's catch up.
Episode 9 - Recap
Mob and Hanazawa begin their infiltration of Claw headquarters. After crossing paths with Terada, a member of Claw's upper echelon known as the "Scars", they are able to extract enough information to discover their hideout and begin their mission. Of course, Terada doesn't appreciate being bested by a couple of middle schoolers, and therefore attempts to get the better of Mob and Hanazawa before they get a chance to enter the compound. Unfortunately for him, Mob has no patience when it comes to saving his little brother, and makes quick work of Terada.
Inside the building, Ritsu and his fellow espers plan an escape of their own. Facing overwhelming odds, and accompanied by a rag-tag team of espers with laughably weak powers, Ritsu makes the best of the situation and demonstrates more of his growth by dispatching obstacle after obstacle.
The Scars are keeping a close eye on Mob and Hanazawa during their rescue attempt, and Koyama sees his chance to put Mob down once and for all. Seeing the trouble he gave Mob last time, certainly he'll have to go 100% again to handle this fearsome threat?
Right?
Ahem. So it looks like in their previous battle Mob was holding back quite a bit, as he makes quick work of Koyama and continues venturing into the compound unchallenged.
Episode 10 - Recap
Dimple, Mob and Hanazawa make their way into the Claw HQ and split up almost immediately - a cardinal sin when exploring a secret base. Dimple is naturally curious and begins poking around, coming across a conspicuous door and disposing of some low-level lackeys in the process.
Unfortunately, all the racket summons a Scar - and a rather troublesome one at that.
Meanwhile, Hanazawa is greeted by a rushing wall of flame as Miyagawa, a pyrokinetic, halts his advance.
After a brief clash, Hanazawa emerges victorious before being confronted by two Scars who quickly knock him unconscious and capture him.
Mob has his own difficulties as he defeats not one, not two, but FOUR Scars during his journey through the compound. His first enemy is Mukai - a young girl who commands an army of wooden dolls. Her abilities are impressive - but compared to Mob's destructive power, her strongest weapon is easily destroyed.
After Mukai gets her toys smashed to pieces, an older-sister Scar named Tsuchiya who is skilled at hand to hand combat goes toe-to-toe with Mob. At first she seems to be getting the better of him, until he reveals that he's holding back because his master said guys that hit girls are "the biggest losers around". She then makes the mistake of telling Mob to come at her with full strength.
Oops.
This appears to be a running theme, as the next Scar to get sent out, Takeuchi, is introduced and defeated within approximately 60 seconds.
Mob eliminates Scar after Scar before finding Ritsu. His recently awakened younger brother has formidable powers to be sure, but still finds himself outclassed by Claw's upper echelon. In his attempt to control his rage, Mob finds himself overwhelmed in rejecting his outburst and passes out as well. With the Kageyama brothers and Hanazawa all captured, things get even worse when the leader of claw makes his appearance!
Reigen?! I guess we'll find out more next week...
Review
Mob Psycho 100 definitely upped the action in the last couple of episodes as Mob seems to be getting more comfortable using his powers against others. His partnership with Hanazawa is effective, though it's obvious from their match-ups that Mob still vastly outclasses Hanazawa in power. Hanazawa's hair game is strong though...Ritsu's development over the last few episodes has been a welcome departure. I'm a bit concerned that his transformation will be your traditional "good guy gone bad" arc, but his honesty is refreshing. No longer is he the doting and perfect younger brother...we understand why he acted the way he did, and now that he's awakened to his powers we can begin to see some interesting development that adds some much-needed dimension to the younger Kageyama brother.As we've seen more fight scenes in the last couple of episodes, we get more of an appreciation for Studio Bones animation style - the fluidity of motion captures the frenzy and fury of the psychic clashes while still slowing down enough for you to realize what's going on.The stunning revelation at the end of episode 10 leaves me wondering just what kind of long-con Reigen might be playing at. Either A) He's a really good con-man and found his way into the organization or B) he is actually an "insanely powerful esper" as Mob has been claiming this whole time. In either case, I'm very excited for the first 5 minutes of next week's episode.Overall, a strong couple of weeks for Mob Psycho 100 leading up to the end of the season! Let's see what next week has in store for us!
