Summary
Somehow, Mob Psycho 100 only gets better with age, as it delivers yet another quality episode on the heels of the finale.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 11, “Mob 3 ~Trauma~,” which contains spoilers.
Episode 10 of Mob Psycho 100 season 3 took a sharp left from the wholesome friendship and confession storylines to remind us exactly what Mob (voiced by Setsuo Ito) is capable of, and it’s still a lot. Although surely everyone was happy to see that Mob wasn’t injured, the inevitable rampage he went on still made you feel for him. After all that, he still hasn’t gotten the chance to confess to Tsubomi (voiced by Uki Satake)and likely never will if no one can snap him out of it soon. With an episode title like “Trauma,” fans can’t help but worry about the safety of Mob and everyone else. If this episode is anything like last week’s, then Mob’s city-destroying tantrum isn’t finished quite yet.
Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 11 recap
The episode opens with a student council meeting.
Ritsu gets a vision of Mob in his erratic state and immediately runs out of his meeting. He wonders if Mob was rejected, and that’s why he’s lost control like this. As he runs to his brother’s aide, Ritsu sees the vast devastation Mob has caused throughout the city. Amongst the debris, Ritsu finds Mob’s bag and can better piece together what happened from the scene in front of him.
At the Convenience store, Mob is battling against the workers, who also happen to be former Claw members, when Toichiro walks up. He tells them to leave the rest to him before launching a garage of punches on Mob. At first, it seems to do something, but then Mob counters with a massive psychic blast that levels everything nearby. Toichiro notices that instead of seeming unhinged, Mob seems liberated, like he’s finally stopped holding back for once. No matter what he tries, Mob appears to get the better of him, proving how much of a discrepancy there is between Mob’s abilities and everyone else’s.
Just before Mob’s power crushes him, Toichiro’s son Sho comes to help him. Toichiro explains the situation to Sho, and although hesitant about fighting Ritsu’s brother, he has to fight after Mob attacks them. After getting hit by a blast, Toichiro manages to absorb some of Mob’s power. He hopes that if the two of them can hold out long enough, Mob will eventually run out of stamina and stop on his own.
As Ritsu runs to find Mob, he thinks back to what could’ve made Mob snap like this. He remembers when his brother used to share his powers and emotions, but after their incident, years of suppressing his emotions helped to create this new “version” of him. He soon stumbles upon Hanazawa’s battered body in the street.
Sho and Toichiro engage Mob in battle, using their joint strength to try and hit him with blasts, but to no avail. Like Toichiro did with him, Mob absorbs their power and launches it back at them, hitting Toichiro. Sho encourages his father to run away, but he would not make it with his injuries. As they brace for another attack, Mob’s body stops, struggling to move. Inside his mind, Mob does his best to stop this other version of him from attacking his friends, and they realize that this is their best chance to stop him. Toichiro plans to sacrifice himself, absorbing all of Mob’s excess power, but stops when Sho calls his name. After thinking about his son and family, he decides to do the smart thing and flee. As they walk away, they wonder what will happen to Mob now, as Toichiro thinks no one will be able to stop him.
Mob is still wandering the streets when the Body Improvement Club members run up to him. It turns out they’ve been looking for him to escort him back to the safety of the shelter with them, but after he attacks them, they realize something is off with Mob. They think he must be sleepwalking and try to take him with them, but Mob blasts them away again.
Locking hands with Mob in an attempt to subdue him, Jun wonders if Mob has secretly always been this strong. Although he admires the strength, he says they’ve always admired Mob for who he is and hopes he will return to normal. Although on the inside, Mob is touched, his unhinged version sends Jun flying. Just before he can hit the ground, Ritsu saves him with his powers as he walks toward Mob.
Ritsu tells Mob he’s always been afraid that something like this would happen but that there’s no need for him to be scared of this version of his brother, as it is just as much a part of him as any other. In the midst of the moment, a new progress counter appears to climb from 34% to 35%.
Despite the touching speech inside his head, Mob is panicking, trying to encourage Ritsu not to come closer, as the unhinged version of him is not the same caring brother he thinks it is. The progress counter goes from 51 to 52% the closer Ritsu gets to Mob. As he reflects more on their relationship and how much Mob was truly holding in, the counter rises to 53%.
Mob does his best to hold the other version of him back, but the progress counter hits 82%, which is too much for him. Unhinged Mob uses his powers to trap Ritsu in place, and Mob begs him to stop as progress reaches 95%.
Slowly, Mob’s body advances on Ritsu, and inner Mob is afraid of hurting his brother. Still, Ritsu refuses to give up, as he realizes that maybe if he can surprise Mob, the sudden change will shock him out of this state. The progress counter hits 99% percent before we realize it was never keeping track of Mob, but Ritsu instead. Just like his brother, Ritsu manages to tap into his own immense power. At 100%, he’s able to catch Mob off guard, knocking the bouquet from his hands.
Ending Explained
As Mob reaches for the bouquet, Ritsu manages to get a hit on it, causing Mob to cover it with a protective barrier. The more Ritsu attacks, the angrier the Unhinged Mob becomes. Mob pleads for him to stop as Ritsu is launched from the bridge they are fighting on.
On the news, reporters speculate what could be behind these attacks. As they talk about potential government involvement, the scenes flash through various old friends of Mob watching the broadcast.
Police have most of the street barricaded off, but that doesn’t stop Reigen and Serizawa from running right past them in an effort to get to Mob. Meanwhile, Ritsu sits in the street, hoping that Mob will return to them, as he has done all he can.
While searching through his subconscious, Mob finds the mind of the unhinged Mob. and confronts it. It accuses him of being the “fake” here and encourages Mob to leave, as he cannot be stopped.
Although the terrain has become dangerous, Reigen asks Serizawa to help him get to Mob so that he can help him. Meanwhile, subconscious Mob tells the real Mob that he took over after being hit by the car, as Mob could no longer move his body. Considering how badly Mob wanted to see Tsubomi, this other version of him tried to make that happen using nothing but sheer willpower. Of course, this upsets Mob, as he doesn’t want anyone to end up hurt on his behalf, but the unhinged version accuses Mob of trying to invalidate him yet again.
The more this other Mob digs into the real Mob, the more the real Mob’s skin begins to crack, with pieces eventually falling off. As a piece of him floats off, attaching itself to the unhinged, subconscious Mob, he explains that the next time they wake up, he will be the real Mob.
This was definitely the best episode since the conclusion of the Divine Tree arc. It found a perfect way to balance the trauma and emotions of the characters while keeping the viewers engaged with good dialogue and quality action sequences. There’s a lot of heart in Mob’s relationships, and it’s nice to see everyone he’s ever helped come together to try and help Mob in his time of need.
It’s felt like a while since Ritsu was at the forefront of an episode, but his introspection and acknowledgment of his past with his brother was handled well. It made their standoff that much more satisfying when we saw that he had inherited powers similar to his brother’s.
The only person left to confront Mob is Reigen, and if their meeting is half as intense as Mob and Ritsu, it’s sure to be a fantastic finale.
What did you think of Mob Psycho 100 season 3, episode 11? Comment below.
