There's something I haven't seen mentioned about MP100 s3e5 that, personally, I think is the best moment of the series
When Mob is laying in bed trying to remember what happened to Dimple, he can't, but he gets the sense Dimple is gone for good
And he does something he's never done in the entire series before
He cries
Without exploding
He feels sadness and grief and doesn't suppress it, he just cries fully without his psychic powers going haywire
The WHOLE PREMISE OF THE SHOW is that he suppresses all of his emotions, because he's scared of what might happen if he doesn't, yhe whole show is about his journey to eventually be able to grow as a person and express himself without exploding
And that's it, right there in his bedroom, such a quiet and understated scene not 10 seconds long, THAT'S his breakthrough
When Dimple sacrifices himself to save Mob, it's the culmination of his character ark, the first and last selfless act after a lifetime of selfishness
And when mob just let's himself cry in his bedroom, it's the breakthrough of his character ark, after a lifetime of suppression (obviously he has more growth to do the rest of the season, but this is the starting block)
They both grew as people because of the others friendship it was so perfect they did both major character moments in the same episode to show that
And I felt so proud of Mob in the final scene aaaaaaa my sweet baby boy feeling his own emotions I cried too ngl
I JUST FINISHED MOB PSYCHO 100 AND HOW CAN I EVER BE NORMAL AGAIN??
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE TO LET YOURSELF ACCEPT YOURSELF IN ORDER TO GROW AND STOP HURTING PEOPLE AND SUPRESSING EMOTIONS what do you mean everyone has parts they hate about themselves that they hold in their heart AND YOU WILL GET HELP FROM OTHERS BUT YOU HAVE TO FACE YOURSELF ALONE?? Accept the parts you don’t like are part of you but that all at once you can change??
what do you mean everyone grows and we have to have faith in them to let them and it won’t stay like that forever and the things you hate about yourself are part of you and have made you who you are??
WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS OKAY TO BE REJECTED.
what do you mean it’s okay to run away.
what do you mean I’m crying over this silly little anime.
What do you mean that it was about mob becoming 100% whole. Himself.
I see people everywhere all the time raving about how flawless and satisfying MP100’s ending episode is, and I agree. But sometimes it kinda takes me aback exactly how well-planned the entire story is, especially because it began as a webcomic.
The individual relationships Mob has with the “Big Three” (Reigen, Teru, Ritsu) each follow their respective themes from start to finish, with the application of each theme to the story changing as it progresses but the major idea remaining the same—until the final arc, which is broadly split into three episodes, each featuring the culmination of the respective relationship.
Teru’s theme is strength, Ritsu’s theme is communication, and Reigen’s is acceptance.
More under the cut bc this got a little long.
We find each of the Big Three struggling with these concepts throughout the series. Teru grapples with what it really means to be strong, Ritsu struggles to open up and communicate his feelings with his brother (garnering resentment), and Reigen refuses to accept the self he hates, opting instead to build his career and his relationships out of lies to hide this despised identity.
These are also, coincidentally, things Mob is struggling most with. Mob’s terrified of his strength, he’s unwilling to open up about his guilt and self-hatred, and he outright refuses to accept his powers and his repressed self on many occasions throughout the story.
But the finale is structured to not only perfectly demonstrate and polish off the ways in which the Big Three have overcome the struggles of their themes, but also how that growth powers their love for Mob, subsequently helping Mob achieve the same growth.
In S3E10, Teru finds true strength by enduring pain and humiliation in order to save people and forge connections with others. Not only does he rescue Shigeo’s victims, but it’s his love and strength that allows him to push through Shigeo’s powers at any cost to wake Mob up internally and begin the process of ending the disaster. It’s because of Teru that Mob wakes up and realizes what he’s done, in much the same way that Mob helped Teru realize what he’d done at Black Vinegar.
In S3E11, Ritsu manages to communicate his unfiltered feelings to Shigeo for the first time and ends the tentative, repressive resentment boiling between them (both Ritsu and Mob harboring resentment for “Shigeo” specifically). He talks about how he hates this destructive side of him and how scared he’s always been, but this honest communication is what allows Ritsu to see the situation clearly beyond the scope of his repressed resentment and accept Shigeo as a part of his brother that’s not to be feared. It also opens the door from Shigeo’s end, finally knowing how his brother feels and not having to tiptoe ineffectually around the issue. Ritsu’s open and honest communication allows Mob to locate where Shigeo is being held in his psyche, opening up a channel of communication between him and his repressed self. This communication is what allows Mob to be confronted with the truth of the disaster he’s created, and this ability to talk it out with himself is crucial to ending his suffering.
Finally, in S3E12, the finale, Reigen is confronted with the ways in which he’s inadvertently worsened Mob’s condition with his inability to be genuine and makes the decision to drop the smoke screen and come clean about everything. The fear and gravity of it brings him to tears, but he bares his true self to Mob, admitting the things he’s done wrong and confronting the side of himself that he hates. He has to come to terms with this aspect of himself, even if it hurts him, and even if it hurts Mob. Self-acceptance is, in this moment, non-negotiable. Seeing Reigen’s true self in its entirety for the first time leads Mob to realize that everyone has flaws and a darker side to them, and it doesn’t make you a bad person to mess up, but you have to embrace it all unconditionally and own up to it honestly and without hesitation. Reigen, and everyone else, saw this ugly and angry side of Mob and continued to love him unhesitatingly and unfalteringly. And so, Reigen’s acceptance inspires Mob to accept Shigeo, ending the disaster and finally making Shigeo whole and happy again, unfettered.
It’s honestly fucking masterful. It makes my chest tight. ONE is genuinely something else.
