Episode 2
Doubts About Youth
– The Telepathy Club Appears-
Reigen continues to successfully pull of his “scam.” He convinces a client that his apparent use of +18 teen porn sites has given the client a digital curse. At first the client isn’t buying it, but after Reigen gives an “exorcism” he feels healed. Reigen also continues to take advantage of Mob’s naivety and manipulate him into continuing to work for very little. Reigen’s behavior is troubling, but I can’t seem to view him as being evil or bad.
Meanwhile, at Mob’s school we see a student, Takenaka storm out of the Telepathy Club. This results in the the club falling under the 5 min. member rule. The president Tome-chan and her 3 fellow members are tasked with finding a fifth member. They fail to get anyone to join because the club is considered to be “creepy.” Obviously, Mob is considered the perfect candidate, mainly do to his lack of friends. However, it is clear that he really isn’t that interested in joining.
Reigen and Tome-chan have an funny conversation, where Tome calls him out on his scam. One of the members reveals that he basically only joined the club, “just to goof off.” Anyway, Reigen and Mob, dress in drag in order to infiltrate the all girls school. It’s a little refreshing that Reigen wasn’t convincing as a little girl. The two girls inform him that they believe that the school is haunted. Mob searches for it and find that it has been stacking the girls. Mob traps it within the gym as the girls play basketball. The ghost is a glowing green giant, wearing glasses, called Evil Spirit: Scent-Ghoul .
Mob destroy’s the arm of the spirit. Knowing that it’s too weak to defeat Mob, target’s a student as an hostage. It’s useless of course as Mob quickly destroy’s the ghost, as it disappears into the afterlife he tell’s Mob that he should “live life to the fullest.” The following day Mob is about to sign up for the telepathy club, when he is told he should only join if he truly wants to. Mob flashes back to when he was a child and shows the girl of his dreams his ESP powers. She quickly get over it and falls for a jock. In a surprising and funny twist he chooses to join the Body Improvement Club.
This was a very entertaining episode. I don’t know how long Reigen scams can work. Mob seems too naive to get that he’s being used, but it’s possible he erupts and loses control of his powers. The animation in this series is being used in a particularly clever manner. Ranging from being sketchy and pencil like, to simple but thick black outlines to completely detailed animation. This isn’t unique to Mob Psycho 100, but it is becoming an important part of the series.
