After theincredible events that took placeover the Winter Break, the ninth episode ofMob Psycho 100 IIIkicks off the final arc of the anime series with bad news for Shigeo: his life-long crush, Tsubomi Takane, will be moving away. With school back on in the new year, the news could not come at a worse time as it turns out that Tsubomi’s move will be sooner rather than later.
In trueMob Psycho 100fashion, the heartrending events ofthe Divine Tree arcare but a memory as life, very evidently, continues for Mob and the rest of the characters. With Tsubomi’s move looming, Mob gets it in his head to finally confess his feelings to her before it is too late, but he doesn’t realize just how difficult that is going to prove to be.
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Ask a Friend
With the events of the Winter Break behind them, the students at Salt Middle School are gearing up for the last stretch of the school year. The teacher of Mob’s class announces that Tsubomi will be relocating in a month’s time, which is a big shock to Mob’s system. Realizing that he hasn’t made any progress regarding his relationship with her, Mob decides that it’s finally time to confess, but he’s not the only person at Salt Middle School who has been harbouring a crush on her since she’s the most popular girl in school. The other problem is the fact that he’s never confessed to a girl before, so he asks the guys atthe Body Improvement Clubfor advice and about their experiences. While they all mean well, none of them have any actual experience with romance and the like, but they do end up being able to instill Mob with some much-needed confidence and pride in his “muscles”.
When the Body Improvement Club members leave to do their exercises, Mob turns his questions to the very concerned members of the Telepathy Club, but Takenaka interjects, telling Mob that asking them is pointless, to which Mob agrees. Takenaka suggests that he will ask Tsubomi out as well since he’s had a crush on her as well, but he rescinds that suggestion on the basis that he doesn’t plan on taking out his earplugs to read her mind. Tome, reeling from the sheer confusion she is experiencing from being exposed to the conversation offers the banal suggestion that Mob change his hairstyle prior to talking to Tsubomi about his feelings. With competition that stiff, and people literally lining up in droves to getthe chance to confess (and get rejected), Mob is clearly anxious about the situation. Running into her in the hallway, Mezato gives Mob a key piece of advice – he should avoid joining the masses and confessing his feelings to her in the same way everyone else is. She asks Mob why he even likes Tsubomi to begin with because she can’t understand the hype around her since it doesn’t seem like she’s interested in other people, not to mention the fact that the boys are mostly into her for her appearance. When Mob fails to answer the question, it brings him to Reigen’s office, and various other safe places in his life.
Ask an Adult
Mob turns to Reigen and Serizawa, telling them about how he could no longer concentrate after being unable to answer Mezato’s question. Reigen dismisses Mob on some level, telling him not to bring “puppy love nonsense” to work and adding that in general, all middle schoolers fall in love with is appearances, and that it is pointless for Mob toconsider himself an outlier. Serizawa reveals that he has never had such feelings for “a girl” (or anyone), but is happy for Mob being able to experience that for himself. He reaffirms Mob by telling him that if his feelings don’t change despite people’s opinions then it’s safe to say they’re real, adding that he doesn’t need to be able to put his reasoning into words for it to be valid. Reigen, refusing to be one-upped, changes his tune and tells Mob that that’s what he’d been trying to say, adding that he and Serizawa will listen to anything Mob has to say on the matter.
Mob doesn’t know what exactly he’ll say to Tsubomi when the time comes, but Reigen coolly gives him several decent pointers that he secretly found on the internet. The most important pieces of advice Reigen has for Mob is for him to express his feelings for Tsubomi using his own words and that there is no point in trying to put on airs with the person he’s trying to establish a relationship with. Serizawa is surprised by Reigen’s words, seeing that he’s pessimistic about romance despite being fairly popular with older ladies. Reigen admits that he would probably attempt to be slick and cool if he were in the same situation as Mob, revealing a sense of self-loathing when he says that if the hypothetical found out who he really was, he’d be rejected in an instant. This season’s Reigen has been particularly self-conscious and has shown instances of being deeply afraid of being “left behind” by the people around him, and he has consistently been shown to be grappling with a shaken sense of self amidst all the changes he’s seen in others.
Ask Your Bros
On his way home from Reigen’s office, Mob runs into Teru, who is appearing inMob Psycho 100 IIIfor the first time since the events of the Divine Tree arc. Mob tells Teru about the Tsubomi situation, and opens up about it being his first time confessing his feelings. Since Teruis extremely popular and gets confessed toon a regular basis, he figures that a step in the right direction is to take a page from the book of the various girls who have confessed to him: lead with a gift. Teru offers to help Mob pick out flowers and clothes, but Mob claims to not have enough money for clothes this time around. At home, Mob talks to Ritsu about his anxieties around confessing to Tsubomi. Ritsu unfortunately remembers Tsubomi having someone she likes who attends a different school, so for Ritsu,the situation is dishearteningbecause he has to support his brother in something that will invariably end in heartbreak. Mob can tell that Ritsu is worried about him, which calms him down. He gulps down a glass of milk, slaps himself on both cheeks with both hands, and pulls out his phone to call the Takane family landline.
Call Before the Storm
After getting through to Tsubomi, Mob tells her that he has something to talk to her about that cannot be dealt with over the phone. He suggests they meet at the park where they used to play as kids. Despite being incredibly nervous, Mob manages to keep it together for the duration of the conversation, as his emotional stimulation steadily climbs. Throughout the following school day, Mob’s percentage is raised as the day progresses, but he claims to be and appears calm. He goes to Smiley Flowers after school and buys a small bouquet for 1000 yen, but on his way out, he’s spotted by Minegishi, a worker at that particular florist, who very kindly trades him a huge expensive-looking bouquet for his small one.
Mob continues his walk to the park, stopping at a red traffic light alongside a younger child preoccupied withhis handheld video game. A black cat is nearly run over by a passing car, but Mob uses telepathy to gently stop the wheels so that the cat can cross the road safely. As it does so, it runs right past him. The light turns green for them to walk, so as he picks up his bag, the younger child crosses the road; fully immersed in his game with earphones plugged in, so he doesn’t hear the speeding truck coming. The next few moments are in slow-motion as Mob rushes in to push the child out of the way. The episode fades out with a shot of an unconscious Mob lying face-down, somewhat mangled on the asphalt, with blood oozing from his head inan ominous fashion that is all too familiar.
