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Nov 9, 2022
Is Mob Psycho 100 the greatest anime ever made? Maybe.
And I don't say that lightly. I've been watching anime my entire life and I have a strong comprehension and love for the medium. I deeply love this anime, but I also have some solid reasons why it might be the best anime ever made.
- Story, themes, and characters that work together flawlessly.
- Characters that you will fall in love with.
- An art style that is strikingly unique and full of passion from those animating it. The frames are packed with detail and seamless motion and the animators frequently use innovative techniques, marking this show
...
as a benchmark for great animation.
- Tackles each of its genres: shonen, slice-of-life, comedy - and becomes a shining example of each.
- Dialogue that isn't only witty and memorable, but makes you look at life in a whole new way.
- Killer soundtrack.
- OPs that take you on a mindtrip.
- Masterclass in writing.
And that last point needs to be emphasized. Pretty much everyone in mainstream entertainment is obsessed with things like "subverting expectation" and "deconstructing tropes". And MP100 flawlessly pulls off these two concepts which industry professionals around the world fail to grasp. Because MP100 is a deconstruction of the shonen genre. Need a bold protagonist? No thanks, we have Mob, a shy kid who doesn't want to fight and doesn't care about attaining power. Need a wise mentor? Instead, we have Reigen, a con man who seems like an idiot and turns out to be the wisest, most loveable idiot you've ever seen. Would you like to watch a super-powered hero become even stronger? Nah, let's watch Mob work out and try to better himself as a person. And the list goes on and on. This show flips every shonen trope on its head while at the same time being undeniably shonen.
And that's only part of what it achieves with its writing. Because all of this genre-bending stuff takes place in the background. ONE's true prowess is in character writing and in communicating themes. He can describe a simple life lesson to the viewer in a way that feels profound. Mob's desire to better himself as a person is just that: simple. It's normal to want to get better at talking to people, to want to get fit, to want to be more independent. Simple lessons, but when they come from Mob you feel as if you're seeing them for the first time. And after a few episodes with this character, you will be just as impacted by the events of his everyday life as you are by the fantastic threats he faces. Because with Mob, ONE has created a character that is undeniably relatable and human, an awkward boy who cares for people, who respects himself, and who wants to make his tiny corner of the world a better place.
All of that is to say that ONE accomplishes so many things at once. This is storytelling with dozens of layers wrapped in a simple-looking package. At first glance, MP100 looks silly, juvenile. It looks like a fun time, a zany comedy, maybe a slice-of-life or action anime. It is simultaneously all of these things and bigger than these things combined.
And one more thing: both seasons of MP100 are equally masterful. Of all the candidates for Greatest Anime of All Time, MP100 might be the most consistent. Normally, a single-season anime will have dips in quality throughout the runtime. This becomes even more likely for multi-season anime. Episodes that just don't land. Whole segments that feel slow, aimless. But out of all my favorite anime, MP100 seems to not have these dips in quality at all. If it slows down, it does so with purpose. Every episode is unique and every segment matters. Every major plot point and character moment is a triumphant success.
So is Mob Psycho 100 the best anime ever made? Maybe. And I do mean "maybe". I don't think that declaring "The Greatest Anime of All Time" is something that can be done. Because everyone thinks differently. This anime resonates with me profoundly. To another fan, it might be nothing more than fun entertainment. And there will inevitably be people who don't like it at all, or find it overrated, or boring. So I don't know if there is one Greatest Anime of All Time.
But I hope I've made my case for why this one deserves the title.
Note: At the time of this review, season 3 has not completed yet. There's always a chance the new season will bring this show down a few points. But it's my hope that season 3 finishes strong and solidifies Mob Psycho 100 as a timeless classic and one of the greatest anime ever made.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 2, 2019
Reading Tsubaki-Chou Lonely Planet is like stepping into a simpler life. School drama and family tragedies won't be found here. Instead, you'll see a blossoming love, one that feels beautifully pure, but heart-achingly real, told against the backdrop of everyday Japanese life.
Like many, I started TCLP after finishing Daytime Shooting Star, a manga that I loved but that left me unsatisfied. I expected to find a similar story: a young highschooler falls in love with an older man, but many obstacles await them. I also expected a similar love triangle. But TCLP was not at all what I expected. It doesn't share that many similarities
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with Daytime Shooting Star, but it's every bit as beautiful.
Ohno Fumi is a high school student whose father goes into debt, resulting in her having to leave her home. To pay back his debts, she takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for Kibikino Akatsuki, an anti-social writer of historical novels. At first, Akatsuki (whom she calls "Sensei") seems to do nothing but work, sleep, and glare. But Fumi quickly sees that Sensei is kinder than he seems, and what was a work relationship starts to develop into a sense of companionship, and maybe something more.
There is very little plot in TCLP besides the developing romance. That would usually bother me - I'm no fan of slice of life - but the everyday problems of their life are done so well, I'm always looking forward to what happens next. Yamamori Mika can take the simplest things and make them fascinating. She uses Fumi's budding feelings to give tension to every scene, so that something as simple as eating dinner can be exciting to read about. One of my favorite chapters is when Fumi and Akatsuki go to buy groceries, and the entire time Fumi is agonizing over her growing feelings. It sounds silly, but Mika Sensei is a master, and the simplicity of her work is what makes it shine.
But don't think that TCLP has no story. It does - a romance that feels realistic and perfectly understated. The romance has frequent developments that push the story along. The conflict between Fumi and Akatsuki stems from their own character flaws, which adds depth to the romance. It's every bit as much a story about two people falling in love as it is about two people trying to grow beyond their flaws. And to make things better, there's no love triangle!! Well, there IS one. But it's nothing like Daytime Shooting Star's. And it's not with a character you expect. I won't give any more away, but if you're like me and hate love triangles, TCLP is very safe to read.
Let's talk about the characters. After the romance, the characters are the highlight of this manga. The story is completely centered on Fumi and Akatsuki, whose personalities fit very well together. Fumi is soft-spoken but hard-working. She struggles with loneliness and tends to take care of others before herself. She's also full of fun quirks - she supposedly dresses like an old lady, she loves housework more than anything else, and getting a good sale at the grocery store is all she needs to make her happy. Her antics are amusing and her character voice is distinct, remindng me of Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket.
But the real star of this manga is Akatsuki. He is one of the most introverted manga characters I've ever seen. He writes in his room for hours and rarely leaves the house. When he speaks, it's usually a short, gruff answer to a question. Fumi will talk and he will respond off her, making their conversations some of the best parts of the manga. Because of Sensei's stand-off-ish personality, he has next to no friends and spends his days alone. Fumi's arrival starts to bring change into his life and as they interact we see who Sensei really is: a kind man who doesn't know how to interact with others.
Akatsuki is one of the best male leads I've read in a manga because of his depth. This is what Mika Sensei excels at - characters who are deep and 3-dimensional. You can't read this manga without falling a little in love with Akatsuki. Not only that, her drawings of him are the best I've seen from her. She puts such effort into drawing Akatsuki, giving him a certain sensuality, so that even if he's doing nothing romantic you can't tear your eyes from him. Akatsuki is a very sexy man who has no idea how sexy he is, and Mika's art brings him to life. Add to that what an interesting character he is, and you have one of the best male leads I've seen in shoujo manga.
The side characters are worth a mention too. The side characters are charming and unique, but not the strongest part of this manga. That being said, the two leads even things out. Much of the story is focused on Fumi and Akatsuki, so there's no need for really strong secondary characters. (And Gorou is a treat. I love the parts when he shows up.)
I could go on and on about Mika's art, how her style is one of my favorites ever, how she can make the smallest moments pop off the page, but if you've read her you already know. She's a true pro. What more is there to say?
My overall score of TCLP is a 9. It's one of the best mangas I've read in recent years. It's filled with unforgettable scenes, some of which may actually surpass most scenes in Daytime Shooting Star. It's a slow start, but once you fall in love with Fumi and Akatsuki's romance you won't be able to stop. The one downside to this manga is that it's had a shaky time getting translated. Most of it has been translated by a group called "Damn Feels", a really great group, but they stopped translating it around chapter 40. Then a different group picked it up, but only for a few chapteres. Currently it's being translated by a girl on tumblr called hakuko-yingying, who is doing good work on it. As of this review there are 60 chapters translated in all.
I highly reccomend this manga. The more people read it, the more chance of it being officially translated in english right? And you will not regret it. This is a wonderfuly unique shoujo in a sea of generic high school dramas.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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