Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 2 review: A filler episode that’s actually fulfilling

Mob Psycho 100’s second episode of it’s third season is a light, fun time, but is there more underneath the surface?

Mob Psycho 100 is finally back, after years of anticipation. The action-packed and marvellously animated anime series is considered to be one of the greats, even when its episodes are more simple.

The series, which follows a kind-hearted but unconfident middle school boy with apocalyptic level psychic powers, begins this season by going back to its simple roots: Mob helping Reigen out at his Psychic business.

Episode 2 continues this simple format, however, like Mob, there is always something more under the surface. So without further ado, spoiler warning for Mob Psycho 100!

Laughs and lively action are always present in Mob Psycho 100

This episode features what generally happens during early episodes of each season, Mob helping Reigen out with a client, and ultimately battling demons of some sort.

This client, a Yokai slayer, is a very enjoyable client to spend time with, as he isn’t anywhere near as mean spirited as a lot of Reigen’s clients tend to be. He is foolish and imposing, yes, but he is also very funny, believing con-man Reigen to be his friend and speaking in buzzwords to make himself sound smarter, which Reigen immediately – and hilariously – calls out. Reigen is funny in the way that he always is, pointing out others’ bad behaviour while also being a hypocrite.

The action set piece – which is battling a bunch of Yokai – isn’t far from any set up we’ve seen before, but Mob Psycho 100 always makes these battle interesting with stellar animation and the intriguing inner monologues of each character during the fight. This time, Mob effortlessly flicks away 100 foot demons while worrying about his school’s cultural fair.

The cultural fair also gives us a chance to see a bunch of returning characters in passing, which is always nice. This season is clearly aiming to be more school-orientated, which makes sense as that’s where Mob’s head is at the moment.

Filler, or hinting at the future?

While this episode is lighter in content, and likely won’t lead to much in the future of the season, there’s clearly reason for it being here, and we can see that subtly weaved throughout.

While Mob is worried about his school’s fair, he is for once able to come up with a solution without Reigen’s help, showing how he is both growing as a person and also growing away from Reigen. He even gets praised at school, a stark difference from what we saw at the beginning of the show. That’s the brilliance of Mob Psycho 100; as bombastic as it can be, it also manages to show revelations through the small and mundane, which is reflective of the series’ whole ethos.

There’s also a small post-credit scene, which we won’t spoil, but which shows how there’s likely going to be much bigger problems for Mob and co in the future. And we can’t wait to see it.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3 Episode 3 will premier on Crunchyroll on October 19.

Want more Mob Psycho Season 3 reviews? Check out our other episodic reviews below

Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12