What does it mean to be special? Some will cynically say that if everyone is special, then no one is. Others say that it’s because there are so many variables that of course everyone would have something that makes them special in a multitude of options they may not ever comprehend. What do you do if you are incredibly special but would rather be anything but? This is just one of the many questions Shigeo Kageyama struggles with. So who is this kid? What makes him so special? Let’s find out!
Shigeo Kageyama, or more commonly referred to as “Mob”, was born the eldest son with extraordinary psychic powers, mostly manifesting in telekinesis. The Kageyama family struggled with having such a powerful psychic due to the fact that Mob didn’t know how to control his powers, often bending things in the house by accident. To help him better control his powers, Mob would repress his emotions, which were a powerful fuel source for his abilities. Mob would also have a younger brother who, while having no psychic powers to speak of, was a handsome and talented kid in all academic and athletic endeavors. Mob looks at his brother with envy, while he may be exceptional in his psychic powers, he struggles to be capable of any mundane, normal tasks.
Mob wants to be a regular kid without his powers but he also has to deal with regular kid problems too like grade school crushes and wanting to fit in. If he must have these powers he’ll do everything he can to keep them tempered by staying as calm as possible, this leads to a build up, it will explode into some form based on the emotion that causes him to finally break one hundred percent of his repression, often leading to amazing feats of power. To help him gain control of his power and earn some money, he works for psychic charlatan, Arataka Reigen, who runs a psychic investigation service. Mob finds a parental figure in Reigen since, while he often uses Mob’s powers for whenever a real case of psychic phenomenon happens, is often there to show Mob that there is a life for him and his powers that can be used to help the world. Mob still believes Reigen is actually a psychic, much like the clientele. The two often deal with people who just are paranoid and gullible that Reigen aids with their problems, giving them placebos, unless Mob is genuinely required to help them, then Reigen lets Mob take over, under the guise of it being training for him.
Mob has very little difficulty in winning a psychic battle once he is forced to engage, but he is far more likely to make that the last resort. Mob prefers talking things out, he may be awkward but he’s still very much a good boy. Mob goes up against cults, gangs, and government agencies, all with god complexes due to their own psychic powers. The reality is that while these are mortals pretending they are so much more, Mob is someone with more power than all of them but he just wants to be like everyone else and wishes he wasn’t so bad at it. He joins the school’s Body Improvement Club to help him get physically fit since Mob has always struggled with his lack of athleticism. Thankfully, the club is full of some of the kindest and most earnest people who could support Mob, Mob may lack in his educational and athletic endeavors but he is quite good at making friends and finding those who care for him as much as he does for them.
There you have it! Mob Psycho 100 is a series that is made by the legend in his own time, One, of One Punch Man fame. In recent years, Mob has made his appearance in anime, making the leap from the manga page to the small screen. While the manga has completed, the anime is really just beginning. Be sure to check them out! See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Mob Psycho 100
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
