Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 9 review: Mob becomes a K-Drama hero

Mob Psycho 100, in all of its twists and turns, becomes a romantic dramedy in Season 3 Episode 9, with shocking consequences.

Mob Psycho 100 is finally back, after years of anticipation. The action-packed and marvelously animated anime series is considered to be one of the greats, and it’s hard to imagine it ending, despite us reaching the penultimate few episodes.

The series is described by Crunchyroll as follows: “Kageyama Shigeo, a.k.a. “Mob,” is a boy who has trouble expressing himself, but who happens to be a powerful esper. Mob is determined to live a normal life and keeps his ESP suppressed, but when his emotions surge to a level of 100%, something terrible happens to him!”

Episode 9 is, on the surface, a light hearted romantic episode, but you can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. But first, spoiler warning for Mob Psycho 100!

Mob Psycho 100 goes full romantic dramedy

Mob Psycho 100 is always perfectly able to mix its light-hearted moments with its more dramatic ones. It’s what makes the series stand out, so it’s odd that this episode, which is arguably the best example of this talent, is doing something rather cliched.

See, this episode features the entire male population of the school trying to ask out Mob’s crush, Tsubomi, after it’s announced that she’s moving away. Mob himself wants to ask her out, but doesn’t feel brave enough to do so at first. He goes to everyone he knows for advice, calls her asking to talk the next day, and even picks up flowers for her on the way. It’s like you’re watching a romantic slice-of-life show, but it’s not unwelcome.

Now, were this an ordinary slice-of-life show, you may expect the hero to get the girl. Even if Mob is somewhat unpopular, he’s been working on improving himself, and Tsumobi is mysterious and individual enough as a character that her going for him seems possible. Then again, this show likes to play with expectations, and the hero getting the girl is one cliché that Mob Psycho will no doubt put a spin on. It’s interesting watching a crush play out where you genuinely don’t know what’s going to be the outcome.

Through these events, we also get to see just a smidge more of Tsubomi as other characters explain how she seems disinterested in most people. As we’ve stated many times before, it’s always great to see more of the inner workings of one of Mob’s biggest driving forces. We just want to see more please!

This episode is the calm before the storm

This episode gives a moment with almost every significant character, as if it’s giving everyone a final last hurrah before the series hits its ultimate climax.

There’s plenty of sweet moments, and we even get to see Mob’s growth in endearing parallel shots. We see him running with a slight sweat, and gently kicking a football in gym class, which contrasts with him kicking mindlessly and falling, and collapsing on the running track, which was how he was only 2 seasons prior.

He also states that he feels much more comfortable expressing his emotions now, showing how his character has developed over the course of the show. It’s incredibly wholesome to see, and you almost feel giddy watching him speak with Tsumobi on the phone, and walk with the flowers that he’s been gifted from an enemy turned ally, in preparation to ask his crush out.

However, all of these events are so sweet, that you can’t help but feel like something is off. There’s an underlying dread that builds over the final moments of this episode. And it’s not just the fear that Tsumobi will reject him.

Inevitably, something terrible does happen. We shan’t spoil things, but it’s definitely something you’d expect to see in a romantic K-Drama. It’s almost a little too cliché, especially since you’re easily able to guess what’s going to happen moments before it does.

However, this is clearly only the beginning of Mob’s problems, and considering that new teaser trailer for the show’s final arc, these upcoming episodes are gonna be a doozy.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 10 will premiere on Crunchyroll on December 7.

Want more Mob Psycho Season 3 reviews? Check out our other episodic reviews below

Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12