Summary
In a fun filler episode, Mob struggles with contributing to his school’s cultural fair, and Spirits and Such Consultation Office helps a strange Yokai Hunter take down the Great Yokai King.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 2, “Yokai Hunter Amakusa Haruaki Appears! -The Threat of a Hundred Demons!!-” which contains spoilers.
No matter how much we hate to admit it, almost every anime has to sneak in a filler episode at some point. Some fillers are better than others, and luckily this episode of Mob Psycho 100 happens to fall into that good filler category. There’s some quality information woven into the episode that sets the stage for later, but the plot is more fun and casual than usual.
It’s the kind of episode that’s filled with plenty of laughs, but even when they aren’t in danger, that doesn’t mean progress toward Mob’s (voiced by Setsuo Ito) next explosion isn’t slowly creeping up.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 2 recap
After the usual intro, we see an unnamed man in a cut-off gi looking at the divine tree from outside the city. It’s clear he’s come to seek out the tree specifically, but for what? We’re not sure yet.
Mob starts in school. His class is assigned jobs for this year’s cultural fair, where they run a haunted house. Like the previous episode, it seems Mob is indecisive about what he wants to do, but he does not seem to mind when he’s assigned to the costume committee. The other three boys seem enthusiastic, ready to dress the class up in white sheets, but Mob feels they should at least try to put in more effort.
The next few scenes are quick, setting up future development for the episode. During a student council meeting, the members discuss the upcoming cultural fair. Ritsu expressed concern over some of the other classes chosen displays and events but is eventually shot down. As the fair grows closer, Mob fears his group is not making enough progress. Meanwhile, at Spirits and Such, Reigen (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai) is working on new promotions when Serizawa (voiced by Takanori Hoshino) comes in and expresses an interest in taking night classes. Reigen approves and wonders where Dimple has been, as no one has seen him around lately.
It’s now that the mysterious man from the beginning of the episode reappears in front of Spirits and Such. He introduces himself to Reigen and Serizawa as Haruaki Amakusa. He explains that he hunts those “that writhe in the shadows,” and he’s on a mission to “put a stop to the incident before it has a chance to begin.” Although what he says sounds ominous, his general nervous demeanor and random outfit throw Reigen off. He asks the man to wait outside while he sees a scheduled client and is surprised to see Haruaki still there three hours later.
Haruaki is definitely an eclectic character who finally pushes Reigen to his breaking point after a long-winded introduction. Finally, he explains that he is a yokai hunter (yokai are a supernatural entity native to Japanese culture) and plans to stop them before they can resurrect the yokai king. Reigen again scolds him for wasting his time, but after Haruaki offers substantial financial compensation, he agrees wholeheartedly.
Mob shows up to speak with Reigen and is immediately included in the mission despite Haruaki’s protests that it may be too dangerous for women and children. As they wander the city searching for evil spirits, it’s apparent Mob is too distracted with managing the costumes for the cultural fair to really pay attention to the mission. Haruaki’s efforts lead them into an abandoned building with some faint demonic energy, yet Mob’s progress towards his next explosion suddenly increases to 31%.
The building walls are slimy and covered in strange tree roots. They soon notice the path they used to come in has now been covered by more roots, though nobody seems particularly phased by this turn of events. Then suddenly, a demon appears! Haruaki attacks it with his expensive, weak blade, breaking it in the process. Luckily Serizawa defeats the spirit with relative ease, but just as quickly, they’re confronted with an entire hoard of them.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 2 ending
As they fight more spirits, it appears that the great Yokai King has already been resurrected, much to Haruaki’s dismay. The King proclaims he and his four generals are going to cast the world into despair. Reigen suggests running, but it’s too late. Mob, despite doing his part to help fight the spirits, is still in his own head about the festival. His stress leads the progress towards his next explosion to jump up to 42%. It’s hilarious to see how effortlessly he takes down his foes while trying to figure out how to improve his class’ haunted house.
Serizawa also gets to show off some of his skills here, outmaneuvering demons and taking down generals. He’s not as strong as Mob, but he can still hold his own quite well in a battle, making him a valuable addition to the team. He and Mob take out the generals, causing the Yokai King to get upset and evolve as he gets ready to exact revenge. Mob defeats him so easily, we cut right to the King’s head on the floor destroyed.
After defeating the Yokai King, the group reflects on how strange some jobs can be, while Mob seems to have an epiphany about the cultural fair. He encourages his group to take things more seriously, as everyone else in the class is, as he sketches ideas for haunted house costumes. For Mob, the cultural festival is a success, while it is revealed that his brother Ritsu only complained earlier because his class chose to do a maid cafe.
Despite mainly being filler, this episode does a good job of keeping Mob’s mindset as a major focus. There are definitely a few “blink, and you’ll miss them” hints for what’s to come later as well, making it a lighthearted breather before things start getting intense.
What did you think of Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 2? Comment below.
