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EP. REVIEW: Mob Psycho 100

Mob crying when he fought Tsuchiyo was also very in line with his character, and her convincing him to fight her fairly seemed in line with what little we know of her character (I liked her, hope she becomes an ally).

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As for the episode itself, I too particularly appreciated the Tsuchiya scene, which does a good job clearing up the usual misconceptions people have about the idea of violence against women (in entertainment or elsewhere).

I wish her line about actually being the more morally reprehensible of the two for beating on a child was included, but her line of thinking can easily be inferred from her inner thoughts at the beginning of the fight. She clearly isn't cool with the idea, but she'll definitely go in if need be.

I don't see many people point this out, but I believe Mob's reaction to his battle against Tsuchiya says way more about Reigen himself and the kind of relationship they have than it does about Mob's own moral compass. It's quite adorable to see that Mob takes his master's lessons to heart to the point of straight up crying when he believes he's disregarded or gone against them. On the other hand, this kind of dated reasoning does seem to paint Reigen as a bit of a fedora tipper with the ladies who should probably spend more time socializing than overworking himself to death and faffing about with a gullible middle schooler.

Obviously none of the animeonlies will care, but I'm so, so, so happy with Shou's VA and color scheme. I was very worried that BONES would pull a fast one on us and make his hair green or something, so I have to say I'm relieved. It also appears that he's got his own music theme, which does sound really good. A shame we won't get to see much of him this season (and I'm legitimately disappointed that he wrecked Ritsu offscreen) but I'm hopeful we'll get an announcement for a sequel sometime in the near future.

I wouldn't call it misconceptions. Perhaps misinterpretations? Men are generally physically stronger than women, but the idea that domestic violence can be prevented merely by teaching boys not to hit girls physically simplifies a complex discussion about factors of abuse--mutual respect, not using force to get what you want from others, not feeling entitled to others' time, love or resources, the importance of consent, etc--general ideas that apply equally to both genders. I have no problem with the simplistic "don't become violent with those physically weaker than you," as long as its backed up later with more complex ideas and not old fashioned chivalry (or "fedora tipping," as you call it) which tends to rely on men deciding what's best for women. In that vein, listening to women describe what they want within interactions is as important as knowing not to hit them as a general rule. Tsuchiya looks like she's a strong physical fighter even without the addition of psychic powers, and being treated as an equal sparring partner is important to her. Respecting that is very much in line with mutual respect even as it overrides traditional chivalry. Hope that made sense!

This episode was pretty packed, so we might yet get Shou v Ritsu in a flashback next week. You never know.

Lofty words about the value of normalcy and the evils of arbitrary meritocracy are well and good, but when you exist in a world where might actually can make right, and you happen to personally be the mightiest, couching your victory in populist rhetoric comes across as a little hollow.