Summary
What starts as a sweet, emotional episode takes an unexpected turn in the last few minutes that could change everything.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 9, “Mob 1 ~Moving~,” which contains spoilers.
Last week, Mob (voiced by Setsuo Ito) and the Telepathy Club went on an adventure to try and summon aliens. While it started off as a massive failure with some emotional backlash, it soon proved to be a worthwhile trip. They even encountered some real aliens in the end, although they accidentally left Mameta (Seiichiro Yamashita) behind for a while. Overall, it was a fun transitional episode meant to guide viewers into the last arc of the season. As Mob prepares for the end of middle school, things only seem to be getting more stressful instead of less so.
Mob Psycho 100 season 1, episode 9 recap
The episode opens with a flashback to a younger Mob. He’s using his psychic powers to impress a young Tsubomi with tricks. The two walk home hand in hand, and then suddenly, Mob wakes up—revealing the entire sequence to be a dream. He rolls over and goes back to sleep.
It’s just after Christmas break, and the kids are returning to school. In class, Mob’s teacher speaks of studying for entrance exams and swapping classes. Mob hopes that he will end up in class with Tsubomi, but the teacher then reveals that she will be moving next month. Mob is immediately devastated, as he planned on confessing his feelings for her after the entrance exam season. He decides he will have to ask her out sooner rather than later. It turns out that just about every boy in his class feels the same way, leaving him with many rivals to beat out. Progress until Mob’s next explosion slowly rises to 19%.
At the Body Improvement Club meeting, Mob reveals his plan to ask Tsubomi out to the other members, who are pretty shocked. He asks for their advice, but they decline, telling him his muscles are worthy enough already, which is to say that he is as well. Mob then asks the Telepathy Club members for advice as well before Takenaka butts in, saying they probably don’t have any advice to offer. He jokes about maybe asking Tsubomi out, and Mob wonders if he plans to read her mind, but he says it wouldn’t work for long anyway.
Somewhere on campus, another boy confesses his love to Tsubomi, only to be politely rejected. As he runs away, we see there is actually a long line of suitors wrapped around the building, waiting for their chance to ask her out.
Waiting outside of Tsubomi’s classroom, Mob is sweating and pacing as he internally panics. As he waits, Mezato walks up and informs him that Tsubomi is no longer in the room. He seems relieved by the idea of having to try his luck another day until Mezato tells him Tsubomi is actually behind the school getting asked out by dozens of other boys. However, she advises Mob not to go now, as Tsubomi will likely get caught up in the sea of mindless rejections she’s already given out and reject him too.
Mob asks Mezato what kind of men girls like, and she suggests that he be a gentleman who minds his manners. She lists additional traits like accepting and dependable, someone who can understand Tsubomi, as most boys only seem to care about how she looks. She says that Tsubomi is actually someone who has a hard time trusting people. When Mob seems confused, she suggests he try looking at her from another angle and asks what he likes about her in the first place.
The scene cuts to Mob sitting in front of Reigen, revealing that he could not come up with a proper answer to Mezato’s question. He assures Mob that it’s common for kids his age to get caught up in things like looks, while Serizawa says it doesn’t matter what other people think as long as Mob’s feelings remain the same. They listen as Mob tries to explain why he likes her, flashing back to the moment in the park again where he showed her his powers. She seems less interested this time, but Mob assures that he knows he likes her because he always has, even as children. Reigen offers Mob more casual advice before finally telling him that the most important thing is to be himself and to put his feelings into his own words.
On his way home, Mob runs into Hanazawa and relays the story of Tsubomi moving to him. Considering Hanazawa is popular and nothing like him, Mob assumes something like asking a girl out would be easy for him. However, Hanazawa reminds Mob of a time when he said they were similar, assuring Mob he needs to be more confident. He tries to offer advice, suggesting Mob bring a gift like flowers to help set him apart.
Later that evening, Mob’s studying in his room when Ritsu asks about Tsubomi moving. Mob reveals his plans to ask her out, which has his brother looking equally as stressed out. Ritsu thinks back to a time when he casually remembers Tsubomi mentioning having a crush on another boy and hopes that she won’t break his brother’s heart too back when she inevitably rejects him. It’s easy for Mob to pick up on just how nervous Ritsu is for him, and he tries to make him feel better by saying he’ll give it everything he’s got.
Mob Psycho 100 season 1, episode 9 ending
Voice shaking, Mob calls Tsubomi’s home and waits patiently for her to answer the phone. They make small talk before Mob asks if they can meet up the next day after school. He suggests meeting at the park they used to play at as kids, and although she accuses him of acting strange, she still agrees. Progress toward Mob’s next explosion slowly climbs to 24%.
The next day, Mob’s friends congratulate him on making some progress at school. He feels surprisingly calm about the whole thing, although his explosion progress continues to climb, first to 27%, then 30%, then 32%.
On his way to meet Tsubomi, he stops by the flower shop where Minegishi gifts him a much nicer bouquet than he could initially afford. Everything is going well, and Mob is feeling good about the help he’s received from his friends.
Pleased with how things are going, Mob stands at the crosswalk beside a child playing a handheld game. When a cat runs in front of a car in the middle of the street, Mob manages to save it with his psychic powers but doesn’t realize the child beside him has also walked out into the road. In a split-second decision, Mob rushes forward and pushes the child out of the way, taking the impact himself. The episode ends with Mob lying bleeding on the street.
While this season of Mob has felt a bit slower than the previous two, there has been a lot of good character development to make up for the lack of action. This episode really looked like the beginning of something special for Mob, but we should’ve known it was too good to be true. Mob Psycho will always surprise you when you’re least expecting it, and today’s ending was easily one of the most surprising and devastating of the series so far. It turned a perfectly fine episode into an emotionally devastating one in a matter of seconds. Waiting until next week to find out what happens just got that much harder.
What did you think of the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 9? Comment below.
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