Review of Mob Psycho 100 II

This series has been a wild ride. A good one. Great, actually. I initially avoided this series for the strange art that circled the web. The odd green sentient blob that was always included, the multitude of strangely shaped and varied background characters, and the dull-eyed protagonist. After being enticed into the series by a multitude of eye-catching memes (I am a sucker for memes), I find myself addicted. Season 2 of Mob Psycho, in particular, has put this series among my favorites. The story is somewhat predictable, yes. It follows common tropes of the overpowered protagonist with a major tendency of conflict avoidance being pitted againstdestruction-happy antagonists. The art is a bit of an acquired taste: kind of a turn off for those who have no idea what they're getting into. This anime, however, stops being sub-par at this point.

There is a built story behind Mob's avoidance of conflict. There is a concrete basis that centers the story and keeps our protagonist from spiraling out of control. The art, although initially seeming "not pretty" in fact does a FANTASTIC job of communicating feelings and delivering more information than traditional anime art. The music and background sound does a wonderful job drawing the viewer in, creating suspense through reedy tones or accenting comedic effect with cacophonous notes.

What is most amazing about this show, though, is the characters. There are few animes that I have seen that embody character development as well as Mob Psycho does. It is particularly obvious in this season. This is seen primarily in Mob himself, moving from the soft, anxious main character to one that recognizes his flaws and makes efforts to change. And in most cases, these aren't spontaneous changes! They are gradual, subtle shifts. There is also major character progress in his master Reigen, noticeable not only in his actions, but also in more subtle senses, more and more obvious in his shifting intentions toward Mob.

The overall message behind this show isn't ESPs are cool. It isn't for the amazing battles with explosions and monstrous amounts of power (though those parts are pretty freakin' cool). This anime stresses the importance of connections between people and how in the end, we are only human because we have one another. And that is just so dang heartwarming.