Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 11 review: A battle of many faces

❘ Updated: 2022-12-14T18:18:55

Crunchyroll

Mob Psycho 100 is almost at its end, but with Season 3 Episode 11, it’s making sure to pull at our hearts before it goes into that goodnight.

Mob Psycho 100 is reaching its endgame, at long last. 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 11 makes defeating Mob seem like a hopeless endeavour, and yet its still packed with heartfelt emotion. But first, spoiler warning for Mob Psycho 100.

Mob Psycho 100 makes Mob the final villain

It’s official: Mob is the show’s final villain. Well, not Mob exactly, but rather all of his suppressed emotions and powers, a terrifying force that had been built up since the very beginning of the show.

This suppressed being was awoken by Mob getting hit by the car, and has now taken Mob’s desire to meet Tsubomi and pushed it to 100, turning Mob’s body into nothing but a vessel of destructive psychic emotion.

We get to see regular Mob interact with this entity in his own mind, and it seems like dark Mob wants to take over his body entirely, and make the old Mob disappear. It’s like the symbiote from Spider-Man, but this being is arguably more unsettling due to how – ironically – unfeeling it is. The anime does a clever job of making this Mob feel otherworldly, as it is an outline without a face that begins stealing the skin of human Mob’s own body.

Now it’s not only a question of other people being able to stop Mob – will Mob be able to stop himself?

Mob faces off against friends and foes

While we assumed that the episode prior to Mob’s breakdown was a victory lap for all the characters, it seems like some unexpected faces are getting a second go, like the body improvement club, who face up against Mob while trying to appeal to him. While some may wonder how they last so long – which is to say they last slightly longer than you would expect for those without psychic powers – this is in line with the show’s ethos: that having special powers doesn’t make you more special overall.

We also get plenty of espers trying to slow Mob down, from past villains – who manage to go through mini character arcs effectively in the short screen time they’re given – to close family members. The scene between Mob and Ritsu is particularly effective, as even though you know Ritsu is nowhere near as strong as Mob is, he still gets a moment of triumph that may bring a tear to your eye.

And yet, Mob is still going, and may lose himself even more in the future. The only ones who can stop him now are either Reigen or Tsubomi – who is still waiting in the park for him, despite the earthquakes and tornados.

Mob Psycho 100 has a habit of subverting expectations, so it’s anyone’s guess how this dangerous climax will pan out. But we can bet it will be just as epic and emotional as this episode was.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 12 will premiere on Crunchyroll on December 21.

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