Mob Psycho 100 first premiered on television in 2016, gaining immediate success from the animated format of ONE’s manga by the same name. The story, known for its quirky and endearing characters, follows the shonen formula adored throughout the world of anime. With a highly overpowered main character still in middle school, Mob Psycho 100‘s plot is a recipe for success among young adults and anime enthusiasts alike, who enjoy a panoply of interesting and unique characters.
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The plot of Mob Psycho 100 revolves around Mob, a not-so-average middle school student who just so happens to be a psychic able to obliterate and exorcise spirits. The young student works for Arataka Reigen at the Spirits and Such Consultation office, where the duo takes on odd jobs to exterminate evil spirits. Mob is the psychic taking care of the entity in question, while Reigen exists. The caring and funny duo ensures viewers a wholesome and relatable friendship and mentorship between a student and his elder, but who is Reigen?
Who is Arataka Reigen in Mob Psycho?
Reigen, also known as the “Greatest Psychic of the 21st Century”, an alias which he chose himself, is Mob’s mentor and boss in Spirits and Such Consultation Office. He is a con-man who is not at all qualified to fight spirits, as he has no psychic abilities at all. From the get-go, the audience is introduced to a character that has no qualms with manipulating students, enemies, and allies alike. Reigen has what’s called “the gift of the gab”, using his conversational abilities to get him out of any situation or lure his prey into his web, thus earning a lot of monetary value through his persuasive speaking.
Reigen, generally speaking, is a complex person. He is proud to a fault, always reluctant to admit his mistakes while being extraordinarily self-conscious and afraid of others’ perceptions of himself. While being the ideal con-man who somehow gets out of every tricky situation, Reigen is still someone who follows his ideals and morals, guided by principle and incredibly emotionally intelligent. He advises Mob time and time again, helping him by humbling the talented psychic and teaching him morals and how to become a better person, however ironic that may be. The older man teaches Mob to be noble and honorable, even if he doesn’t always follow his own advice. Regardless, he is still aware of what’s deemed wrong, even though his greedy identity wins in the end.
Despite his inner turmoil, Reigen is an extremely capable and intelligent man. He’s a people person, capable of analyzing each situation he finds himself in. He pays close attention to his surroundings, and, more specifically, to the psychology of others and their actions. In spite of his reputation as a con-man, Reigen is very caring about those around him, evident from his friendship with Mob, in which he willingly carries Mob’s burdens if it means the boy will suffer less in the long run. The alleged ‘psychic’ is also very intuitive, paying close attention to detail, and, consequently, he is someone not easy to manipulate or fool.
Reigen’s relationship with Mob deepens as the story develops and their workload increases. The duo starts sharing a bond much like that of a mentor and his peer, and even a close friendship. The friendship they share has made them better in their own way. Reigen cares deeply for Mob, to the point where he can easily tell the young boy’s emotional state despite his stoic appearance. The older man also never dismisses Mob, listening attentively to him and giving him advice. Reigen’s biggest fear is that Mob would hate him and abandon him, showing that he is a very lonely man who heavily depends on his only friend thus far, to the point where he would let go of his business if it weren’t for Mob joining the team of one.
How did Reigen come up with Spirits and Such Consultation Office?
According to Reigen, he decided to pursue his dream of creating Spirits, such as the day he realized he had very strong psychic powers (again, which he doesn’t have). He supposedly had achieved all of his goals at his previous job, and the Consultation Office was a way to create a new challenge. Naturally, none of this is true and it is, once again, proof of Reigen’s guilt and fear of rejection that led him to keep up the act.
In reality, the reason why Reigen started the business isn’t fully disclosed, but it is assumed it was because it was easy money. At the agency, Reigen offers a wide variety of psychic-related services, including seances and exorcism. Without Mob around, Reigen would simply brush off the “spirits” through his abilities as an expert masseur. He also uses salt a lot to get rid of spirits, as well as his many attacks which he comes up with on the spot, making it a fairly easy business to deceive others – especially if they hold no previous knowledge on the subject of spirit entities.
Despite being a con-artist, Reigen still holds some sense of morality in the workplace. Many customers at the store complain that other exorcists take advantage of them, without offering any solutions or help, scamming them along the way – all of which is something that Reigen, funnily enough, despises. For this reason, even as a con-man, Reigen always offers some sort of service to his clients, whether that may be a reinvigorating massage or just some salt thrown in their faces. His work ethic proves to be especially helpful when clients complain of muscle and back pain, for which Reigen extends his psychic pretense to make a little extra on the side.
In the current events of the third season of Mob Psycho 100 III, there are three workers at Spirits and Such consultation office: Reigen, the boss, Mob, and the latest addition, Seriwaza, a former member of Claw and a talented psychic that ensures that Reigen can continue exorcisms despite not having any psychic powers.
At the moment, each episode of the third season of Mob Psycho 100 III is still coming out every Wednesday at 12 pm ET on Crunchyroll.
