Mob Psycho 100

• 1. Introduction

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  Mob Psycho 100 follows a middle school boy named Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob, who carries immense psychic power and works constantly to keep his feelings down. The two facts are linked. His power threatens to break past its limits as suppressed emotions build up inside him. Mob wants a normal life like the people around him. Yet trouble keeps finding him. What happens when the most powerful person in the room would rather feel nothing at all? How did a web comic by an artist known as One grow into a sprawling franchise? And why did a dubbing dispute draw so much criticism of a streaming company?

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• 2. A Web Comic Begins

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  On the 18th of April 2012, One began publishing Mob Psycho 100 on Shogakukan's website, writing and drawing it himself. In December 2014 the series also became available on Shogakukan's mobile app. It ended on the 22nd of December 2017, after a run of more than five years.

  Shogakukan collected the chapters into 16 tankōbon, the bound volumes familiar to manga readers. The first came out on the 16th of November 2012. The last followed on the 19th of July 2018.

  Dark Horse Comics announced on the 23rd of April 2018 that it had licensed the series for English serialization in North America. Its first volume reached readers on the 24th of October 2018.

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• 3. Reigen, Con Man Mentor

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  Arataka Reigen calls himself a spirit medium, and the series treats him as a well-meaning con man. Mob works as his assistant, partly to learn how to control his abilities. It is an odd apprenticeship, since a boy with genuine power learns control from a self-proclaimed medium. Around the pair swirl ghosts and other espers.

  Reviewer Steve Jones, writing about the final episode of the anime, praised what he called "a brilliantly animated display of Reigen getting the everloving crap kicked out of him." Few supporting characters earn that kind of attention from a critic.

  A spin-off manga titled Reigen began on the 19th of March 2018, serialized on the Ura Sunday website and in the MangaONE app. Shogakukan released a compiled volume on the 19th of February 2019. Dark Horse announced in March 2020 that it had acquired the book for English release, and the volume was published on the 2nd of December 2020.

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• 4. Bones Adapts Mob

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  On the 2nd of December 2015, Ura Sunday announced that Mob Psycho 100 would become a television anime. The studio Bones produced it, with Yuzuru Tachikawa directing, Hiroshi Seko writing the scripts and Kenji Kawai composing the music. Twelve episodes aired from the 12th of July to the 27th of September 2016 on Tokyo MX. Other stations, including ytv, BS Fuji and TV Asahi Channel 1, carried it later. The opening theme, "99", was performed by Mob Choir, and the ending theme by All Off.

  After a screening of three Bones films, attendees reported that the studio hinted at progress on another Mob Psycho 100 project. In October 2017 an event anime was revealed. It was a 60-minute compilation of the series with new scenes centered on Arataka Reigen. On the 18th of March 2018 it screened twice at the Maihama Amphitheater in Chiba, and it later reached home video. At the end of that event, a second season was announced, with the staff and voice cast returning.

  Mob Psycho 100 II aired 13 episodes from the 7th of January to the 1st of April 2019. Its opening theme was "99.9" by Mob Choir featuring Sajou no Hana, who also performed four ending themes. An original video animation followed on the 25th of September 2019, again directed by Tachikawa.

  On the 19th of October 2021, Bones confirmed that a third season was in production. Takahiro Hasui directed it, with Tachikawa as chief director, and the main cast and staff returned. Mob Psycho 100 III, the third and final season, aired from the 6th of October to the 22nd of December 2022. Across the seasons the opening themes carried the titles "99", "99.9" and "1". The third season ended with a theme called "Cobalt".

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• 5. Beyond the Screen

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  On the 12th of January 2018, a 12-episode live-action Japanese drama premiered on Netflix. TV Tokyo broadcast it in the MokuDora 25 timeslot from the 18th of January to the 5th of April of that year.

  A stage play was announced in October 2017 and ran at The Galaxy Theatre in Tokyo from the 6th to the 14th of January 2018. Keita Kawajiri wrote and directed it. Setsuo Itō, the anime's Mob, played the same role on stage. Ryōma Baba appeared as Reigen, Takeshi Nadagi as Dimple, Takuya Kawaharada as Teruki Hanazawa and Gaku Matsumoto as Ritsu Kageyama.

  A second play, announced in June 2018, played The Galaxy Theatre from the 13th to the 17th of September. It then moved to the Shinkobe Oriental Theater in Hyōgo from the 20th to the 23rd of September. Shoichiro Oomi and Kentarou Kanesaki replaced Yūya Kido and Naoya Gomoto as Tenga Onigawara and Musashi Gōda, and Seiichirō Nagata joined as Shō. A third play ran at Hulic Hall in Tokyo from the 6th to the 15th of August 2021, again with the earlier cast and staff.

  A drama CD called "Psychic Human Show" was released on the 25th of January 2017. Its 15 tracks were written by One and Tachikawa and mix humorous skits, character songs and talking songs. The anime's character designer and animator drew the jacket illustration.

  On the 17th of November 2022, a fanbook arrived with detailed information on the characters, story and setting. It also gathers illustrations from manga artists such as Hiromu Arakawa, Kotoyama, Takako Shimura, Nagano, Ryōji Minagawa and Itaru Bonnoki.

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• 6. Dubs and Disputes

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  Crunchyroll simulcast the anime, while Funimation carried the simuldub, an English dub released alongside the Japanese broadcast. Bang Zoom! Entertainment produced that dub, which arrived in December 2016. Crunchyroll later streamed the second and third seasons, the compilation and the OVA as well.

  From the 27th of October 2018 to the 3rd of February 2019, Adult Swim's Toonami block broadcast the first season. Jason DeMarco, an Adult Swim executive producer, said legal issues blocked the second season. Crunchyroll held the Japanese version and Funimation held the English version, and the two companies were not yet under one owner. The third season also missed the block, mainly because of Crunchyroll's "unwillingness" to work with Adult Swim on syndication deals for most of its catalog.

  Elsewhere, Madman Entertainment imported Funimation's release in Australia and New Zealand. Manga Entertainment distributed the series in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Animax Asia simulcast it in Southeast Asia, and Muse Communication later licensed it there.

  Kyle McCarley, the English voice of Mob, became the center of the next controversy. Crunchyroll was set to produce the third season's simuldub itself instead of Bang Zoom!, recasting some roles. It chose in-person sessions at its Dallas-based studio, after relying largely on remote recording early in the COVID-19 pandemic. McCarley said he would likely not return, because Crunchyroll had refused to negotiate a potential union contract for future anime dubbing with his union, SAG-AFTRA. He offered to work non-union on season three if Crunchyroll would first talk with SAG-AFTRA. That did not happen, and he did not return. The news prompted much criticism of Crunchyroll on social media.

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• 7. Praise and Prizes

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  By July 2016 the manga had more than 1.2 million copies in circulation. By December 2022 the figure passed 2.8 million. The comic book writers of San Diego Comic-Con named it one of the "Most Wanted Manga" of 2016. In 2017 it won the 62nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category, and in 2019 it was nominated for a Harvey Award in the Best Manga category.

  Ian Wolf of Anime UK News gave the first two volumes 8 out of 10. He argued that One's art aims to be funny rather than stylish, and that its roughness suits chaotic fights. In one clash, Mob deflects a knife thrown by Teru and accidentally slices off a massive chunk of Teru's hair. Wolf found the fight interesting because one participant was "trying their hardest not to fight." He also felt the rough style lacks pathos in dramatic moments, where the anime's music and color do better.

  At the first Crunchyroll Anime Awards, the first season won Best Action and Best Fight Scene for Shigeo against Koyama. It was nominated in six other categories, including Anime of the Year. At the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2020, the second season won Best Animation and Best Opening Sequence for "99.9". The Japan Media Arts Festival named the series a Jury Recommended Work in its Animation Division in 2017. In November 2019, Polygon and Crunchyroll both placed it among the best anime of the 2010s, as did IGN.

  Anime News Network listed the first season among the best anime of 2016. Nick Creamer praised its visual style, its character story and its ideas about heroism and society, which also appear in One's other work, One-Punch Man. Lauren Orsini admired Mob's coming-of-age story, the animation and the music. James Beckett gave the second season an A+, calling it "about as close to perfect a season of television as I can imagine." Kirsten Carey of The Mary Sue called the ending emotional. She said the last arc added an important new message that made her cry, one that had been building quietly throughout the series.

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• 8. Internet Fame

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  On Tumblr's 2019 Year in Review, Mob Psycho 100 ranked second behind My Hero Academia among the Top Anime and Manga Shows. Arataka Reigen placed fifth among the Top Anime and Manga Characters.

  In September 2020 the series went viral for a stranger reason. American businessman Eric Trump, a son of President Donald Trump, posted a tweet tying the series to allegations of censorship by Google. His complaint was that Google Search results for the word "mob" showed Mob's face rather than a group of people.

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