A brand new season of the anime Mob Psycho 100 has just premiered, so I will give an introduction for those who may be interested in checking out the series. Mob Psycho 100 is an anime based on the manga by ONE, the writer and artist who also created the One Punch Man series.

The anime adaptation by studio Bones began in 2016, and follows Shigeo Kageyama, who goes by the nickname Mob. He’s a shy and honest middle school boy trying to find his place in the world. However this task is much more difficult for Mob than for other kids his age, as he has powerful psychic powers and runs into trouble when he comes across ghosts or other psychics that want to harm others. 

Mob luckily finds himself a mentor in Reigen Arataka, a self-proclaimed psychic who specializes in exorcisms, though unlike Mob, he doesn’t have any real powers. Mob is much too gullible and easily believes Reigen when he tells him he’s a real psychic, and he starts working for Reigen’s consultation office, Spirits and Such. Now that he has a real psychic working for him, Reigen has to solve real psychic problems for people instead of scamming them, as he doesn’t want Mob discovering he’s a fraud. 

The pair work together on various cases, exorcising spirits or removing curses, all while Reigen carefully dances around his lie that he has psychic ability. Reigen says his powers are “too strong for this case” or that he is “testing Mob’s abilities”. Along the way, the two happen to legitimately help one another; Mob’s honesty and purity help Reigen to become less of a scumbag and Reigen, beneath his lies, does actually help Mob as he grows up and faces real world struggles that his psychic powers are no help against. 

It’s not all character growth and good vibes though, as Mob’s strong psychic abilities and young teenage emotional instability don’t mix well, causing his powers to overload sometimes. His powers force a break in his personality where he goes out of control, often needing Reigen or his friends or family to calm him down as he destroys whatever bad spirit or psychic triggered his break, along with the city around him. Mob’s family at home is mostly normal, as his parents don’t know about his abilities and just think he’s a struggling student.

His brother, however, is not as normal. Ritsu Kageyama is the same age as Mob and possesses similar psychic abilities, but without a mentor to guide him, his abilities and attitude are much rougher than Mob’s, causing some strife between the two occasionally.

His less stressful relationships include people he met in school and during his work. There’s Tenga Onagawara, a rough and tough pompadour-sporting delinquent, and the rest of the Body Improvement Club, a physical fitness club Mob joins in an attempt to bolster his body and confidence. Tome Kurata, a classmate of Mob’s who believes he has psychic powers, but doesn’t actually have any proof, starts a club for psychics with him.

After a fight, Teruki Hanazawa, a fellow psychic, becomes friend and rival to Mob. His most bizarre friend however, is a spirit who he exorcised from a cult leader, who is now Mob’s friend and offers him sage advice. His name is Dimple due to his pronounced dimples in his spirit form. 

Mob Psycho 100 is a wonderful series with great heart and feel-good character moments, set in between some well-animated and stylized psychic-versus-psychic action, of course. With stylish production and involving story, this is a great series for anime newcomers who want something that’s not too intense or long, or anime fans interested in spiritual or slice of life series.

Mob Psycho 100 has two completed seasons you can find on Crunchyroll, and a third recently-premiered season you can find on Hulu. With around thirteen to sixteen episodes, it’s definitely worth a watch.