This episode was too short. Too short I say! I was constantly keeping track of the time and the closer it got to end, the sadder I got. Anyways, let’s talk about the actual episode, shall we?
While the Serizawa and Mob fight was short, it felt pretty impactful. Especially when Serizawa was basically a foil to Mob with both of them having lived in fear of their power going out of control and hurting others, even being used by others. I had a feeling that Serizawa wasn’t completely on board with taking over the world with Touichirou. He seemed a lot nicer than the others. Especially compared to Shimazaki as that guy didn’t even hesitate to beat up a middle school kid while Serizawa initially had a bit of reservations in fighting Mob.
Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate how blunt Mob has become, especially when it comes to pointing out if someone’s way of thinking is wrong. Mob did not shy away at all with telling Serizawa that he was doing bad things by following Touichirou. And man was Mob just 100% honest with telling Serizawa how he actually hasn’t regained a place in society and is actually disrupting society. It feels like Mob is holding a bit more confidence in how he confronts others now. Especially when you compare him to how meek he was with dealing with Teru in the first season. Freaking character development at its finest.
We also get the reason why Serizawa seemed to follow him so blindly as the guy was basically a shut in for 15 years and Touichirou was the one to pull him out of it by offering him a purpose and safespace under the umbrella. And while it was completely ironic how Mob pointed out that Serizawa was just being used, unlike Touichirou, Reigen did eventually come to care for Mob and was actually acting as a voice of reason for him.
I also want to point out how more creative Mob is starting to be in his fights. He faked getting hit and knocked out only to push back with Serizawa’s guard was down.
Mob also achieves shounen protagonist status by using the power of friendship in his fight. Though I do like how Mob basically won by taking in Serizawa’s sadness and then throwing it back at him while showing him what he himself went through. I also really like the detail of the colors of psychic powers with blue and red being good and evil respectively. While Serizawa’s psychic aura is purple which tells me that he could be swayed to both sides, which does happen. I actually felt really bad for him when he left the room because he couldn’t stand watching Touichirou beat up his own son. Not to mention he felt like complete garbage for not stepping in. I completely sympathize with him on that since I too have a tendency to leave a situation when I feel completely powerless to help. I feel ya Serizawa…
Speaking of Sho, I’m glad that he finally sees the growth that Mob has gone through. I was honestly getting annoyed with his rather belittling attitude towards Mob for a while. It’s as if he didn’t believe Mob could change, but HAH, my boy sure showed him. I also appreciate how Mob doesn’t hold the fake-out of his parents death against him and can put it behind him to face the bigger problem at hand. He even comments how Sho probably has a lot going on as well. Man, Mob is such a good boy.
Can I also say that the symbolism this episode was on point? Especially when it came to Serizawa’s umbrella. The umbrella was established early on in the episode that it was a safespace type of object that was given to him to calm his anxiety. However, when Serizawa was having a heart-to-heart chat with Mob, the umbrella was off to the side. Serizawa was able to feel calm and safe with Mob, putting his anxieties to the side. The second being the umbrella ultimately being destroyed by Touichirou’s attack, signifying that Serizawa has turned his back on him and has discarded the safespace that was used to blind him to the truth. UGH, SO GOOD.
When Mob was talking about how everyone grows from their encounters with others and that they need others, I was mildly miffed that Emi wasn’t in that group shot. I know I keep complaining about the lack of Emi but I really liked her. But it would have made sense if she were there too since she did end up helping Mob grow and think about things seriously for the first time. However, I can’t complain too much since she was highlighted as one of the unique individuals in middle school.
Honestly, I have to wonder how the heck did Touichirou even come to this mindset. Completely shunning bonds and such and declaring how everyone is inferior to him. His way of thinking is so simple and single-minded. He’s basically the epitome of a man-child, just like how Reigen described how the ex-Claw members were before. I mean, the way that he was just shouting out “disappear” as he blasted laser beams was rather telling. Also I am at a loss at how the heck this guy has a child. Who is this poor soul of a mother of this man’s child???
I also didn’t appreciate seeing Mob get the crap literally beaten out of him again. I hate seeing this poor boy being beat up like this. It’s also kind of disturbing seeing a full grown man just punch a child’s face in like that. This guy literally has no sense of morals. It’s like Mob said, he’s basically stuck in a middle school-like delusional mindset. A chuunibyou if you will. I was honestly hoping that Reigen could talk this guy down like he did the ex-Claw members but in a more glorious fashion. Unfortunately, Reigen didn’t really shine too much this episode, even with that gun shot he pulled (though a tad random). But I suppose he already beat the Ex-Claw members and Shimazaki, so him beating the big bad would have been too much. However, it makes sense that this final boss will be the one that Mob ultimately takes down since Reigen did it last season.
Just one more episode after this one and I am 100% not ready to see this season end. I wonder how Mob is going to beat Touichirou as the guy is overwhelmingly powerful with a dangerous mindset to boot. I’m sure that 100% Rage isn’t going to finish the guy off. I’m sure a different 100% will come into play that will finally open Touichirou’s eyes. How, I have no clue. This guy is seemingly stuck in his own delusions. Guess I’ll have to wait for the last episode and be prepared to be blown away.
