This post discusses plot spoilers through episode 5 of the series.
Read my First Impression here!
I watch anime for all sorts of reasons, but beyond just enjoying it for its aesthetic properties I also appreciate the many different stories that are told within the medium. I think one of the better ways to achieve some sort of empathy is to read or watch stories about people who are different than yourself, and while anime characters tend to be homogeneous in their own way, I’m still amazed at the variety of characters and stories there are to experience. It is always nice, though, when what I’m able to decipher of an anime’s worldview feels very much in line with my own.
It’s taken me until the second season of this anime series to hone in on the fact that its biggest strength has always been Shigeo’s (Mob’s) decision to choose kindness over all else. Typical for most heroes, he tries to avoid hurting others outright; it’s both a testament to his personal ethics, as well as a reaction to having been bullied himself. While others might take these experiences and twist them into an excuse to lash-out (we see many such characters throughout the series), Shigeo chooses not to perpetuate unkindness or fall into the trappings of his power, and it’s the active and deliberate nature of this choice that drives home the story’s message.
This set of episodes continues to build on the thematic idea introduced in the first episode of the set – that choosing the way of kindness will positively influence others much more than utilizing brute force to wring action out of the unwilling. Mob’s world is dotted with the types of people we’re all familiar with – small-scale, casual bullies whose own lacking self-esteem festers and twists into a desire to bring down others. Given an injection of uncommon psychic power, these otherwise simple harassers transform into people whose identity is wrapped-up in the violent expression of their one very obvious distinguishing characteristic, and its this combination of rare ability, poor self-esteem, and ill-founded superiority that causes many of the other espers that Mob meets to take their “bullying” of mere mortals to the next level. This is essentially the whole story behind Mogami in the last couple episodes in this set – he has a bone to pick with the world and his powers allow him an avenue to seek revenge. Because Shigeo has these same abilities and has been picked on in much the same way as his compatriots, we’re drawn to the things that make him different from others.
Shigeo has the benefit of a loving family, including a younger brother who, while almost falling victim to outside influences of “bad” espers, remains a positive component in his life. He has a valuable mentor in Reigen who, while often smarmy and manipulative, also manages to be perceptive and wise at unexpected moments. He’s got supportive friendships in the Body Improvement Club, less-supportive (but still, ultimately, worthwhile) relationships in the Telekinesis Club. Even the opportunist spirit Dimple has become sort of a grudging supporter at this point (I think of him as this story’s Nyanko-Sensei; he’s there because he wants something valuable, but sticks around because he’s actually developed caring feelings toward his target). It’s these relationships that allow Shigeo to bounce back from a lot of the situations that others might find isolating. These people and the relationships and perspective they provide allow Shigeo the avenue of choosing kindness instead of obliterating his opponents. This set of episodes does a great job of presenting that.
There are a few striking occurrences in these few episodes. The first is Mob’s resistance to performing the exorcism of a haunted house. A group of college students hires Reigen (and, by association, Mob), to help them take a spirit photo, and then to exorcise the ghosts that appear in the photograph. Mob’s perception is such that he identifies the three ghosts as a family who died together and who wish to spend a little more time on Earth before fading out to wherever ghosts go. He struggles with the task, because the family isn’t hurting anyone or doing anything wrong – but the clients are demanding action anyway. It’s a scenario that complicates the morality around the jobs Mob and his fellow psychics and exorcists perform, and causes our protagonist to question his own actions and the ethics behind them.
Episodes 4 and 5 are not only a visual treat, but a good summation of the themes of the story so far. Mob directly confronts the evil, disembodied Mogami in his own mental head space, and Mogami’s power and hatred initially overwhelm him. He’s forced to experience manufactured scenarios in which his own powers don’t exist and he’s bullied and spurned by all his classmates. It’s Mob’s connections to others that ultimately rescue him (or, in reality, allow him to reach the point of rescuing himself), and he voices the intent to choose the pathway of kindness in expressing his abilities, rather than utilizing them as a tool of domination. These episodes are bolstered by some of the most exhilarating animated sequences in the series thus far, and really reiterated the reasons why I’m a fan of the series in the first place.
So far, this new season of Mob doesn’t skate by on the goodwill of the previous season. The story takes its core focus on human interactions – relationships, bullying, self-betterment – and expands on that through its protagonist in a way that feels natural. I’m a bit wary that, like season 1, it may fall back to a more standard kind of plot in the back half – there’s obviously a few clues that the members of Claw are still hovering in the background. Even more “standard” episodes of this show are often better than “good” episodes of others, so it’s difficult to complain when the highs are so high.