Summary
Overall, this episode is a solid introduction to the new season, as well as Mob’s current mindset as his middle school years come to an end.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 1, “Future -Career Paths-,” which contains spoilers.
After much anticipation, the third season of the popular anime series Mob Psycho 100 is here, and it’s been going strong. Fans may remember that several major developments occurred at the end of season two. First, Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama (voiced by Setsuo Ito) took down the Claw and got their leader, Toichiro, to see the error of his ways. Then Reigen (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai) opened a new office and hired a third employee named Serizawa (voiced by Takanori Hoshino). Finally, due to Mob’s power and a packet of broccoli seeds in his pocket, a giant broccoli tree, nicknamed The Divine Tree, sprouted in the middle of the city and attracted a new cult following.
It was a crazy ride, but season three’s opening episode does an excellent job of bringing us back into the world of Mob and setting up an exciting new arc.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 1 recap
The episode opens up with a familiar monologue detailing the darkness of the world and the psychics who aim to combat said darkness. After this, we join Mob and his friends from the Telepathy club in a heated discussion of their school’s recent career path surveys. As everyone goes around the table sharing what jobs and aspirations they’ve written down on their papers, Mob quickly begins to realize everyone has put far more thought into their futures than he expected. Mameta also mentions that Mob’s longtime crush, Tsubomi, has applied to the prestigious Yuzu Pepper High School. The more out of his league Mob realizes she is, the more progress we make toward his next explosion (or his next uncontrollable catastrophic psychic episode). It is currently at 7%.
It’s clear by this point that Mob is anxious about his future and the idea that he doesn’t have major aspirations like everyone else. As usual, he turns to his boss and mentor, Reigen, for advice. His penchant for exaggerating his nonexistent psychic abilities leads Mob to believe that Reigen only took on this job as a psychic after he’d already gone too far in his previous position, which isn’t very reassuring. However, he makes it known that Mob can always work with him in the future if that wasn’t obvious to the middle schooler already.
After a quick reintroduction to Serizawa, the newest Spirits and Such Consultation Office employee, the gang takes on a new client with a haunted antique figurine. It’s clear to Mob immediately that the item is cursed, and Serizawa is tasked with performing the exorcism since he “failed” Reigen’s secret test to see if he would pick up on his inability to notice the item’s cursed energy. Although Serizawa accidentally damages the figurine in the process, it allows Reigen to show his prowess for simple repairs. Gluing the figure back together with cooked rice is his most significant contribution to their efforts, but hilarious nonetheless.
Back at home, Mob still has no idea what he wants to do with his life. His parents and brother, Ritsu, all offer their opinions to no avail. Mob tries getting advice from a number of others, including Dimple and his friends from the Body Improvement Club, but it only seems to depress him more as he realizes everyone else has a clear path for their futures.
Meanwhile, while Mob is dealing with his inner crisis, he learns from his classmate Mezato, that the giant broccoli tree he created has started to garner a following, just like the Psycho Helmet Religion. As the tree’s creator and the object of this mysterious cult-like religion’s worship, she encourages him to step forward and reveal his identity, but he refuses as always.
The episode comes to a head as Reigen, Mob and Serizawa see another client who claims he’s possessed by an evil spirit ruining his life. His bleak outlook and overall depressing demeanor resonate with Mob as the client reflects on how a single mistake destroyed his life and kept him from truly accomplishing anything.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode ending
Reigen runs to the convenience store to gather supplies and quickly realizes that what they thought was a straightforward bought of depression and laziness is, in fact, a demonic wraith, after all. Serizawa and Mob eliminate the threat using their combined psychic abilities, much to the client’s appreciation.
Things come full circle as Mob and Serizawa admit they both feel like their lives aren’t heading in the right direction. It’s the perfect way to tie everything back to Mob’s career path survey and the anxiety he’s been feeling about his future all along.
While Reigen does not actually have any psychic abilities, his true value always comes in the surprisingly good advice and lessons he offers. For a moment, it seems like Mob has come to terms with the unpredictability of the future, as he assures Serizawa as well, but that is not the case. Progress toward Mob’s next explosion is now at 18%.
After a meeting with his homeroom teacher, Mob finally realizes he doesn’t want to get too comfortable working at Spirits and Such forever. He admits this much to Reigen, who assures him that he’ll one day figure out what he wants to do outside of working there, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a sweet moment between the two of them, but it’s also clear that it finally offers Mob the peace of mind he’d been seeking the entire episode. Not knowing what you want for your future is a common concern many people, especially children, can relate to, so it’s nice to see a series that reminds you there’s plenty of time to figure it out.
While this seems like the end, just before the episode is over, we see a glimpse of Dimple sitting on top of the Divine Tree as people worship it below. We may not know his plans yet, but seeing as Dimple always has something up his sleeve, this will undoubtedly play an important role later. It’s a great way to get viewers interested in what is to come.
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