I gotta say, that was the strangest episode of Mob Psycho 100 in three seasons AFAIC. Unexpected, too – though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. I mean, in a setting where telekinesis and telepathy and giant gestalt broccoli are real, well – why not space aliens? I guess for me those things aren’t as outlandish as this was. They’re not real but they’re grounded in reality, and they exist as a means to further develop the cast. This – this was just out there, straight sci-fi. Though not exactly the sober and drily intellectual kind.
Now, looking back on it, I’m still not sure whether this episode was incredibly brilliant or just incredibly weird. Even the visuals were a big left turn. At times a staggering avalanche of huge frame rates and movement, at times hazy and indistinct. I believe that part was quite intentional, which would take me in the “brilliant” direction. It was dreamlike, and I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what it was supposed to feel like. It actually reminded me of an episode of Space Dandy, another Bones series where experimentation rules the day.
This whole alien thing, starting from the cliffhanger last week, had the feeling of a narrative Trojan horse. The first half of this week was building on that theme, presenting this is the most grounded of Mob Psycho plotlines, a straight-ahead tale of adolescent imagination indulged. The drive up Mud Boat Mountain was eventful for the most mundane of reasons – Mob getting carsick, nervous driver Reeigen missing the turnoff for the hiking trail, Tome being increasingly sullen and difficult. Eventually everyone gets lost on the mountain after Kijibayashi and Mob go off to take a piss, and Reigen only manages to find the trail after considable time-wasting meandering in the woods.
Tome still doesn’t believe Takenaka is a telepath, and has a bug up her butt about the boys basically doing all this as a lark at her expense. Which, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth. Eventually he convinces her the obvious way – by reading her thoughts – and things turn in a heartwarming direction. Even after Takenaka (who was late because he stayed up late researching) admits that the author of the book with the alien-summoning spell went to jail for fraud. It’s all very “the friends we made along the way”, with Reigen playing the role of wise but respectfully detached adult mentor to a T.
Except the spell works. Which, you know, I kind of suspected it might, even if I did call this a surprising turn. There are aliens – they’re pink and translucent with huge hypnotic eyes – and they have a spaceship with a tractor beam. There is a language barrier but Takenaka’s juju seems to work on them too. Eventually the kids are beamed up, and even Reigen lets himself be drawn in. And it seems very much like what we have here are alien middle schoolers – they certainly act like it. And it’s implied they’re all girls, too, which will play a significant role later on. Games are played, snacks are shared, gifts are exchanged, everyone hangs and shoots the shit till morning in true pubescent fashion while a bemused Reigen lounges in an alien beanbag chair and frets about mundane things.
Thus, we have our second heartwarming “Afterschool Special” head-fake of the episode, because the aliens decide they’re going to keep Inukawa. Who, without Takenaka there to translate, has no way to communicate with his captors (hosts?). And, if I read the signals right, they basically drug and molest him. All this gives us a quite magnificently imaginative and beautifully executed look at the aliens’ world, and it all seems convivial enough on the surface. Inukawa exterminates the aliens’ arch-enemy and becomes a hero, and eventually manages to communicate his desire to go home – and if nothing else, the aliens do return him apparently in one piece, if now spoiled for marriage.
There’s a lot I could be asking here (like whether the others were trying to get Inukawa back or anything, and how long he was gone). But I get the sense I’m not supposed to be asking. This was the sort of episode you almost expect to be told was actually just a dream, except it seems to have actually happened. The reason this tips towards genius rather than just random for me is the way that very sense is communicated by the writing and the art, working in perfect synch. Absent any reason to do otherwise I’ll look at this mini-arc as a one-off, a Bird solo in the middle of a performance of “Night in Tunisia”. It may not fit seamlessly with the rest of the series, but it was a fascinating detour to be sure.
Antony Shepherd
November 24, 2022 at 10:25 pmDefinitely surreal, in a very good way, but apart from the suspicion that Inukawa may be in for ‘death by snoo-snoo’ it was just really pleasant and nice.
At one point I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d done The Carpenters’ “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” as an insert song, it really was that strange.
But also a nice palate cleanser before the build to the finale.
Raikou
November 24, 2022 at 10:35 pmYeah, I assumed that this episode directed by someone who worked at Space Dandy, because I kept reminded by it.
Seeing as Inukawa does not look significantly older, I’m guessing not that long? Or does time passed differently in alien world? But as you said, I don’t think that really matters for us.
Guardian Enzo
November 24, 2022 at 11:06 pmIt’s Hakuyu Go, who’s quite a legendary animator and episode director, but according to ANN he never worked on Space Dandy.
Orion Taylor
November 25, 2022 at 12:52 amInukawa was only gone for 10 days in the manga.
Orion Taylor
November 25, 2022 at 1:01 amThese two eps were just supposed to be a fun whacky adventure. The series desperately needed a breather between the Divine Tree and the final story arc. Also, it’s such a great payoff for Tome and the telepathy club’s story arc.
My favorite part is the reveal that the alien’s spaceship is a club room where they just lounge around, eat snacks, and play games, which is 1000% on-brand for ONE’s style of storytelling.
The aliens didn’t intentionally abduct Inukawa, they thought he wanted to immigrate to their planet when he made his declaration of friendship (at least that’s what it says in the manga). In the manga, Inukawa’s adventure on the alien homeworld is told over the course of several omake’s during the final story arc. I didn’t think they were even going to adapt it, but nope, they decided to adapt the hell out of it. I personally really really liked it. They took like 15 panels (not pages, just panels) and turned it into whatever this was. Incredible.
Guardian Enzo
November 25, 2022 at 7:49 amInteresting. I think some of the clarity about what happened was missing, but it was certainly a fascinating diversion.
Sonicsenryaku
November 25, 2022 at 3:31 pmWhen Inukawa declares his friendship with the aliens after mentioning he was staying over a friends house, one of them points to him and the others give an approving thumbs up, which was meant to be the viewer’s tip-off that something was communicated that Inukawa and (at the time) the viewer weren’t privy too. In that moment, Inukawa’s comment was misconstrued by the aliens as an invitation from him to come their homeworld. Rather than a text explaining it like in the manga, the anime decided to just show the miscommunication play out through the interaction, but it was in a “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of moment
Guardian Enzo
November 25, 2022 at 4:05 pmI did and I did.
Aera
November 25, 2022 at 3:04 amI did say in the previous comment that I hoped all the kids would have a great time together, regardless of whether or not they were able to summon aliens. I’m glad that the Telepathy Club, especially Tome, had a good time. Kind of arguable for Inukawa but at least he managed to get back home. My favorite part of this episode was when Reigen looked at the kids from afar and said: “they’re blinding…”, really showed how happy the kids were to hang out with aliens. And yeah, the Space Dandy vibe is very strong here for some reason.
It was an acid-trip ride of an adventure (especially during the credits sequence). I think it’s both brilliant and weird (in a good way). A very much-needed breather especially after Dimple Arc and…whatever the final arc has in store for us. From what little we see in the next episode teaser and the new trailer, it’s going to be an emotional ride starting next week…
sonicsenryaku
November 25, 2022 at 3:41 amI would say this episode was absolutely brilliant, but considering this mini arc and the last arc are my favorite stories in the series, that comes as no surprise. I deem it incredibly brilliant for the reasons that you so sharply keened on to:
“the sort of episode you almost expect to be told was actually just a dream, except it seems to have actually happened. The reason this tips towards genius rather than just random for me is the way that very sense is communicated by the writing and the art, working in perfect synch.” The very fact this consistency remains is evidence (to me at least) on a technical writing level why this leans towards genius
The particular oddness of this mini-arc is quite unlike anything featured in Mob Psycho thus far: the way in which it combines the mundanity of the hiking adventure with genuine wholesomeness before then hitting you with wonderous sci-fi iconography and the more rambunctious, titillating side the adolescent experience really elevates the arc from being just some innocuous way to spend time before the finale, into something special. It’s the perfect “that was the oddest and best night of our lives” type of side story, being equal parts heartwarming and off-kilter. It’s the kind of mini-arc adventure where the more you think about how it’s put together, the more brilliant it starts to become as this weirdly on-point representation of the halcyon experiences of youth: the comfy, happy, times we share with friends doing our best to live life in a fulfilling way and the wild, spontaneous, salacious side happenings we get into that feel like memorable once in a life time experiences, as represented by the Inukawa side adventure. I definitely don’t think the aliens drugged him with the intent of sleeping with him. This part of the story always came off to me as a bunch of teenagers partying the night away, getting shitfaced, and being carried away by the mood as a result of the inhibition as you would see in a lot of parties in media: you know, wild house party and getting so hammered, you couldn’t remember much of last night type of shit. It felt like ONE’s way of sneaking by the whole minors-alcohol law in Japan and essentially writing in an underaged drinking teenage party scene where said teenagers throw caution to the wind and party hard under the influence the entire night, which I find hilarious, especially when you consider that Inukawa was break-dancing in front of all these girls naked……never change Mob Psycho
The fact ONE places this arc right before the finale makes it work extremely well at being the high point of these characters’ lives; a sort of eccentric calm before the storm. The mini-arc is efficient at some many things: exemplifying how much of a dependable and take-action lad Mob has become, bringing closure to Tome’s character and capturing the wholesome indulgence of adolescent whimsy, showing how much of a good-natured person Reigen continues to be despite being a scamming liar, bringing pathos and closure to Takenaka, a character who only showed up in the series for seconds prior, and establishing a wholly sci-fi element to the Mob Psycho World; it’s good stuff
Guardian Enzo
November 25, 2022 at 7:54 amI like the drunken teen house party gone out of control analogy. I do think what happened to Inukawa comes off as a little more sinister in the anime than how it sounds like in the manga, but this does make sense. I’m wondering if the aliens are all girls, though, especially as it’s implied they may indulge in the same activities we do. Is there going to be a little Inu-alien hybrid running around after nine space months?
Sonicsenryaku
November 25, 2022 at 12:57 pmIf there is an inu-alien wondering around, I wonder if the aliens have a child support system lmao
Stephen
November 25, 2022 at 10:05 amI thought it was a significant drop in quality until it went overboard then it made sense and became brilliant sort of episode. Maybe the surrealism could have been a bit more exaggerated from the outset since it’s Mob here!
Joshua
November 26, 2022 at 5:29 amThe mixed reaction to this episode, and yet the reaction to the latest Bleach episode makes me ponder for a bit regarding the nature of sakuga being used in anime. In a way, it’s becoming a bit like CG in blockbusters, where it all depends on how it’s being used, either to enhance and embellish the scenes (like in Dune 2021 to give a recent example), or use it as a means to an end (i.e. most noisy, incoherent blockbusters with a CG-laden third-act like the glut of superhero films coming out lately) and it’s almost always the latter that makes audiences act like obnoxious chimpanzees because they’re getting their loud action scenes where everything is happening but no one cares about anything else.
MP100’s episode felt like the former in this case and Bleach felt like the latter.
Joshua
November 26, 2022 at 5:54 amAdding to this since I ran into an error on trying to submit my full comment on my end: Granted though, CG-laden third acts can still be good, but only as long as it involves people from both the heroes and villains that we genuinely care about throughout the entire story, such as motivations, what they’re capable of, getting to know them more; and it doesn’t devolve into massive-scale fights with massive stakes at hand because of how shallow that can be. I’m sure someone is aware of this with another shonen airing this season *coughBnHAcough*.
And since Bleach has a legendary problem with its plot and characters, that’s why these sakuga-laden fights made me feel nothing despite trying everything to impress.
sonicsenryaku
November 26, 2022 at 2:53 pmThe funny thing about some of those mixed responses is that some of the outcry are from anime-only’s who heard about the 20k+ frames of animation episode info leak and came in expecting all that effort was going to be poured into an action-packed episode. I tried to warn some people after evidence from the final Mob Psycho S3 PV showed that the “legendary frame count” was going to be spent on a slice of life adventure, obviously in an attempt to temper the expectations of those who were expecting action action action, but it’s not like that was doing much anyway.
From what I gather, some people really are just disappointed that Hakuyo Go’s return to Mob Psycho was “wasted” on an episode without action; some expected the aliens to be the next big threat and for a huge fight to break out. Not getting (and instead peaceful alien girls) that seems to have caused some viewers to dislike the episode. I think disliking the ep is fine in and of itself; but i think it begs reiterating that Mob Psycho is a character piece first and thrives off of exploring its characters under an insightful lens through well-written characters written punctuated by defined strengths and flaws that are logically examined through character arcs emphasizing emotional growth, interpersonal development, and self reflection. I get wanting an action sakuga fest, but to think a more somber, heartfelt, slightly raunchy, slice of life teen adventure that emphatically upholds the themes of the series is a waste of an animator’s talent because it wasn’t an action episode, is beyond me. That logic does not read as sound and fails to compute with me as a result
Simone
December 6, 2022 at 3:26 amI for one must appreciate the irony that this episode essentially means that Mob Psycho 100 is now (also) an isekai show.