Mob Psycho 100 vol. 8

The last time we saw Mob and Reigen, they had been invited along with a host of other psychics to the house of a millionaire who was offering big bucks to the individual who could successfully exorcize his daughter.  It seemed like it could be the basis for a reality show, until Reigen went in and found out that the spirit possessing the girl was far stronger than anyone could have anticipated.  Hell started to break loose and we find out the reason why in the first chapter of this volume.  The spirit possessing the girl is that of Keiji Mogami, a spirit medium who was responsible for popularizing the profession on TV but also had a secret dark side.  Dimple had a run-in with him where he found out all the bad things Keiji was up to before his death and he DESPERATELY wants Mob and Reigen to get the hell out of here.  Mob isn’t having any of this, of course, and has a plan to bypass his opponent’s defenses:  Astral projection.  Even if he can pull it off, the question remains of what he’s going to do when he finds himself on his opponent’s playing field.

The answer to that is kind of uncomfortable to read as Keiji sees great potential in Mob.  Potential for the young boy to become just like him.  What follows is an in-depth interrogation of why our protagonist refrains from using his powers and whether or not it actually counts as a form of privilege.  Would Mob be able to hold onto this ideal if he was constantly being bullied at school day in and day out?  “Mob Psycho 100” isn’t about to depart from the shonen manga playbook to show us the worst-case scenario answer to this, but what mangaka ONE does feel like there was actual thought put into it along with plenty of style.  I mean, it involves talking “snot” along with plenty of visual flourishes to show that the mangaka makes up for in execution and presentation what he lacks in aesthetics.  The story being told here in vol. 8 is certainly a familiar one, but the way it’s delivered here is more engaging than anything else.