Mob Psycho 100 III— EP8
↳ Kurata Tome
Something I really like about Hanazawa Teruki (and something I can appreciate a whole hell of a lot better now) is things like this.
I mean, he’s not an unselfishly altruistic person (far from it), and good god in heaven you could write whole books on this kid’s mental state (which I’m not going to because I don’t think I should/have the words to do so respectfully), and how his past informed his attitude and everything he’s done…
Teruki, in his earlier appearances, was similar to Bakugou.
…Actually, no, he was a lot like Bakugou - to the point where when I first saw Bakugou in action, I was raising an eyebrow. That’s not to say he was as bad as Bakugou (we’ve not seen anything from Teru that suggest he started out as early as Bakugou did, causing havoc/bullying/being an ass) but god all knows that he wasn’t a very nice kid before Shigeo read him the riot act and then ???% knocked him into the goddamned stratosphere.
I mean - he kept an almost godlike control over his school/the surrounding areas via his considerable power, saw himself as the ‘main protagonist’ and everyone else as ‘extras’, had absolutely no compunction about using his power to hurt other people, had a goddamn mental breakdown when the actual protagonist began to show him up/shatter his worldview, hated the protagonist/hurt him (and was desperate to do so to keep his belief that he was the strongest) because of that…
And I can go on.
There are a lot of parallels between Teruki and Bakugou - but then there’s where their paths divide.
Teruki decided to change. He made the conscious decision to change.
(The basis behind it, how shallow his potential reasoning, how quick he made that decision, his hypocrisy - especially in the scene with Ritsu - or whatever else aside - for now, that’s not important. People in this fandom have gone into Teruki’s personality a lot better than I ever could, so I’m not going to say too much on that!)
Teruki decided that he needed to do something else, because this wasn’t working. He got a firsthand glimpse into something that made him feel small and scared and helpless, and he works at turning it around.
And now, looking back on that with everything I know now, that’s amazing.
Hanazawa Teruki is only fourteen years old (or right around that age).
And he saw that what he was - wasn’t a very good person. He had nothing to fall back on beyond his powers. He had nothing, had never truly earned anything without his powers to personally benefit himself, and when he truly saw that, he realized it was time to change.
I’m not saying it was easy. I’m not saying it’s super quick and ‘oh he’s now a nice person!!!!!’ (no matter how much Teruki may want people to believe that). Pieces of his…darker personality pop out frequently. (Like, the whole torture thing. Jesus Teruki. That was hilarious, but also what the fuck.)
But he’s trying.
There was no reason for him to help train the weaker esper kids, to spend a lot of time helping them become the moderate powerhouses they are now. (Like seriously. Teru’s a fucking awesome teacher, good god.) There’s no reason for the good stuff he does! He doesn’t have to do it, doesn’t have to do anything beyond not hurting other people with his powers (for fear of Shigeo and ???%).
He doesn’t have to do any of that.
But he is.
Like Bakugou, I don’t think Teruki has ever had a person tell him no, before the ‘changing moment in his life’. Teruki probably didn’t even have his parents - they’re certainly not present now, and from his apartment and how he dresses, he’s probably not had them for a long time.
But unlike Bakugou, Teruki is trying to learn.
He’s trying to be kind, as someone who was maybe never taught that, as someone who has to painstakingly learn that after years of no restraints.
I think, despite everything and his personality and whatever reasoning the kid may have, Hanazawa Teruki wants to be kind.
And that means a lot to me.
its compare tiem
so obvs weve allll heard the handsome/cool thing, the japanese word there is the same and can be used in both ways, and that makes sense like even 'cool' in english could be used in like a flirtatious/romantic way in the right contexts
anyway with that OUT of the way manga teru feels anxious. a little desperate. hes caught off guard but means what he says with every ounce of his being. mob is. so. handsome. and/or cool. hes so serious he cant even smile. look at that closeup, the eye highlights.
but anime teru has been WAITING for this. the dreamworks face. the shoulder touch. psh. it aint nothing. youre so cool, mob, girls just see you and theyre attracted to you. why is that even surprising? like boys are attracted to you too, yknow, because youre amazing, like probably especially even boys who are your rivals, like if you have any, which you do, im your rival
okay i will briefly relent and say the 'haha...' panel which seems desperate might be more properly translated 'oho...' in which case theyre more similar. sry!! i just think contrasting the readings is fun
Wow ok. Unfollowing now. I thought he was just a funny twink I had no idea he ran a scam agency that claims to deal with spirits. I also just found out they employ minors and apparently don’t pay them fairly :/
You cannot even begin to comprehend Reigen Arataka. He pretends to be psychic for a living. He’s been cancelled on twitter. He has godlike massage skills. His closest friends are middle schoolers. He convinced multiple high-ranking members of a terrorist group to rejoin society. He met aliens and gave them his pajama shirt. He made his own website and it looks hideous. He knows how to fire a gun. He gives surprisingly good advice. He was once trapped in a parallel dimension and almost starved to death. He ranked 4th in the national whac-a-mole championship
Umbrella (Suzuki’s gift) vs. Business Cards (Reigen’s gift)
the reason mob wins his fights is because he tells people to their faces that they're friendless pathetic losers and he feels bad for them, and he means it so genuinely. like how do you come back from that
2 Psychic Peas in a pod
(This is from awhile ago on twitter but it still holds a special place for me. These 2 would be the best of friends)
Mob Psycho 100 understands what I want in a fighting show. I don’t want to worry about if the character will survive (he’s fine bro, he’s a super-powered middle schooler), I want to worry about if he’ll reach emotional fulfillment or healthy communication with strangers.
And also throw shit around with his mind.