REVIEW: ‘Mob Psycho 100 III,’ Episode 2 – “The Threat of a hundred Demons!!”

Mob Psycho 100 III has begun and has kicked into high gear with the second episode. While the first episode was a lot more introspective and less action-packed, the second is a lot more action-packed and humorous. The episode starts with Mob and yet another middle school conundrum he’s faced with when he and some classmates are tasked to make a costume for the school’s upcoming festival. In Mob Psycho 100 III Episode 2, while his classmates would prefer to take the easy way out, Mob, serious as he always is, thinks differently and is forced to contemplate his options. Meanwhile, a wacky new self-proclaimed Yokai Slayer named Amakusa Haruaki is introduced and offers Reigen a lucrative yokai slaying job he simply cannot refuse.

Like the previous episode, Mob Psycho 100 III Episode 2 starts out slow and calm, but things get steadily more intense in terms of both comedy and action. And while the comedic scenes didn’t really get much of a laugh out of me, I still appreciated how the anime continues to present us with these bizarre and outrageous scenarios from equally bizarre characters. An aspect of the episode I didn’t appreciate, however, is how little the Yokai are touched on in this episode. Spirits, ghosts, and manifestations of strong emotions have all been elements of the series from day one, but this episode seemingly (to my knowledge) introduces Yokai and groups them up as just part of the paranormal and doesn’t bother to expand on their existence at all, which is a shame.

Other than that, it is a good episode narratively, especially as it follows the previous episode’s footsteps in seamlessly blending the episode’s main plot and subplot and finishing strongly with the two supporting one another. And like the first episode, it ends off showing what a great character Mob is and how surprisingly diligent he is, almost unrealistically so for being just a middle schooler. He’s always practical and is always striving for self-improvement, which is so far becoming a theme this season. This is even more supported by Serizawa, the former villain turned professional psychic under Reigen’s employment who’s also on the same journey after the events of the last episode.

Production-wise, the staff at BONES were able to properly flex their creative muscles with the action scene featured in the second half of the episode. Despite being short, the scene featured smooth transitions, lots of crisp impact frames, and tons of swift movements. The episode also showed off superb sound design via the fight scenes and wacky character moments, which the first episode lacked. 

Overall, I enjoyed Mob Psycho 100 III Episode 2. It successfully blends a healthy amount of action with comedy and also does a good job of displaying the steady growth of the main characters that’s been occurring since the last season. Unfortunately, nothing much has happened in terms of a grand narrative for the season, as the episodes so far only follow the characters and their daily lives with regular and supernatural events. I don’t doubt this will change eventually, but for now, there’s nothing narratively significant of note.

Mob Psycho 100 III Episode 2 will premiere on Crunchyroll on October 12, 2022 with new episodes every Wednesday.