| This show gets a TON of praise so I am expecting fervent disagreement; but, the ending upset me a little. I feel like it is sending poor messages -- that there are no bad people, anybody can change, and that having a special ability is pointless if you cannot help other people. Toichiro is presented as a psychopath. He has spent decades gathering energy to DOMINATE the world and actively does not give a shit about other people, including his son. Psychopaths do not change, they are born that way. Every bad guy in this show turns around and admits fault in their approach. The real world does not work that way. Like, at all. I get that it is an anime and I should suspend some level of disbelief; and, I do, with the ESP. Unfortunately, Mob Psycho 100 is preachy af, and that is difficult to ignore. The last thing I want to say is that it is okay to be special without it directly helping others. Mob's ESP is regarded as whatever. It doesn't make him special. What makes Mob special are the bonds he possesses and how he can help other people; but, ya know, Mob could also be special cause he's a fucking God. If you are talented in one thing, does that mean you stop putting effort into other things? Why couldn't he continue all the things he was trying -- improving his body and relationships -- while also taking pride in his ESP? Because this story was written by a child. Loved the comedy, art, and animation. |
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| Frankly, your gripe with the show comes off as a projection of your own pessimism rather than a critique of the show itself. Sure, real life doesn't "work that way", but seeking realism in supernatural shonen anime is ludicrous to begin with. Mob Psycho presents an optimistic possibility of human kindness; it does not take the kindness for granted nor does it assume that kindness is universally generalizable. In fact, Mob admits in episode 5 that not everyone is fortunate enough to live in a kind environment with positive influences, but that's precisely why he willingly chooses to be a positive influence himself. One's outlook on life boils down to matter of choice and mindset, while the potency of said outlook directly depends upon one's abilities and influence. Not all the villains changed for the better: Shimazaki escaped before any meaningful dialogue could be established; Ishiguro, Mutou, and Miyagawa from season 1 never appeared again; and Mogami didn't suddenly convert himself into a good spirit but rather maintained his vigilante attitudes. MP100 acknowledges the limitations of positive influence, but it chooses to give focus to instances where those influences were impactful instead. Secondly, you're confusing moral development with societal responsibility. The fact that Suzuki changed for the better thanks to Mob does not take away from his crimes, which was why was ultimately captured by the foreign agent and subjected to laboratory experimentation. Likewise, the fact that Reigen helped and inspired Mob does not take away from his karmic downfall at the hands of Jodo and the media. Mob's positive influence grants others a peace of mind that does little to alter their actual circumstances. Being kind to someone at a personal level serves to alleviate future need for legal arbitration, but it does not undermine laws themselves. Moreover, your understanding of psychopathy as a psychological construct is incorrect. Psychopaths lack empathy and an innate awareness of morality, but those attributes alone do not make them "evil". Although a large proportion of criminals are psychopaths, those criminals comprise a tiny percentage of all psychopaths within society. Many psychopaths managed to adapt to society by 'learning' the moral code via logical reasoning. On the other hand, though the anime touched little on Suzuki's backstory, he initially founded Claw as a peaceful organization to protect espers' human rights; Claw evolved into a terrorist organization after Suzuki's wife abandoned him, and after his organization was attacked by the government. At any rate, this demonstrated that Suzuki was capable of empathizing with others to an extent. Again, trait psychology as a field does not disprove Mob Psycho's message of human capacity for change. Some people are inevitably more difficult to change than others, while others require specific methods of persuasion to change. The fact that you or most people do not have the patience to facilitate that change in others does not take away from MP100's message. Likewise, your distaste of MP100's themes does not have to ground itself on logic. How 'preachy" one finds MP100 to be is a completely a matter of subjective experience. However, most critics of MP100 fail to fully comprehend that MP100 is a character-driven story where the "plot" revolves principally around Mob's character development as opposed to physical conflicts. What you might consider repetitive of the narrative reflects subtle shifts in the way Mob himself interacts with others. In that sense, I consider the recurring dialogues absolutely essential to the story's progression. On a final note, your frustration regarding Mob's fallacious ideology will be addressed by a final season of the anime if it ever comes. Otherwise, you're free to pick up the manga on ch91 where this season left off. |
Germs_N_SpicesJun 8, 2020 1:54 AM
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| Hey @Germs_N_Spices. You make some great arguments and conveyed your thoughts really well. I am glad you responded. I disagree with some of it so I will respond. Frankly, your gripe with the show comes off as a projection of your own pessimism rather than a critique of the show itself. Sure, real life doesn't "work that way", but seeking realism in supernatural shonen anime is ludicrous to begin with. I am a realist. I think there is incredible good out there; but, it is evil that provides meaning to the idea of good. In that regard, I believe there are truly evil people out there. I do not feel like Mob Psycho 100 s2 touches on that well. The second season is thematically different in a lot of areas than the first. The second season reeks of a typical young adult story, whereas the first is primarily a slice of life comedy. This is not an inherent issue; but, was unexpected. I have no issue suspending my disbelief. Science fiction is one of my favorite genres! So is shounen. I have a ton of shounen on my list. Mob admits in episode 5 that not everyone is fortunate enough to live in a kind environment with positive influences, but that's precisely why he willingly chooses to be a positive influence himself. One's outlook on life boils down to matter of choice and mindset, while the potency of said outlook directly depends upon one's abilities and influence. I respect what you are saying here and I wish the show conveyed this better (imo). Shimazaki escaped before any meaningful dialogue could be established Shimizaki basically admits that he is a bored child, not a cold-blooded killer. Mogami turned into an anti-hero and shows interest in Mob's approach. Every "villain" has this yin-yang cloak where good and evil are choices. The other characters you mentioned are from s1, which I do not feel possesses the same issues as s2. Moreover, your understanding of psychopathy as a psychological construct is incorrect. Psychopaths lack empathy and an innate awareness of morality, but those attributes alone do not make them "evil". I am well aware of what a psychopath is and I did not generalize psychopaths as evil. Psychopaths are machines. They do not usually make mistakes and excel in almost everything because they do not have human emotions like social anxiety and empathy for others to hold them back. Psychopaths are not evil. Evil people can be psychopaths but not the other way around. he initially founded Claw as a peaceful organization to protect espers' human rights Did the anime really touch on this? I don't remember ever seeing Claw as a righteous organization. Is this explained more in the manga? Regardless, the lack of exposition is a shortcoming of the anime. Suzuki is portrayed as an asshole till the end of s2. |
lucjanJun 8, 2020 7:59 AM
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