Looking back on a decade: Mob Psycho 100 is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The coming-of-age series of espers, exorcisms, spirits, and such has been beloved and critically acclaimed both for the animation and the heart of the story of growing up with Mob, his scam artist turned all-time Tumblr Sexyman and master of the “Salt Splash” exorcism technique, Reigen.
To mark the series’s 10th anniversary, Anime Trending had the honor of sitting down with Mob Psycho 100 director Yuzuru Tachikawa, Setsuo Ito, who voices Mob, and Takahiro Sakurai, who voices Reigen. In this interview, we talked about the series retrospective, their favorite shared scenes, and the impact of the series on their lives.
Congratulations on Mob Psycho 100’s 10th anniversary! From the very first season to the series’ final season, how does it feel to celebrate its 10th anniversary, especially knowing it’s still loved by fans worldwide?
Yuzuru Tachikawa: To be honest, I’m happy about it, but wow, I feel like those 10 years went by really fast for me. During the first season, I wasn’t aware of this anime’s popularity. It was during the second season that we were finally able to gather more staff, and the reach of the series became more apparent. For me, it really was a process of growing along with this series for ten years.
Setsuo Ito: These 10 years were also so fast for me — I still can’t believe it was 10 years ago. Through this work, I was able to go to different places as a voice actor, and everywhere I go, I end up running into fans of Mob Psycho 100, and the fact that it’s been loved so much by so many people over 10 years is incredible to me.
Takahiro Sakurai: Over these 10 years of doing Reigen’s voice, to see so many fans come to an event like this in LA — first of all, that’s beautiful to me. I love that about it. This has also led me to go back and watch the series again, and it’s just good fun. It’s just a great title!
Were there any scenes or vocal performances that you are most proud of in this series?
Takahiro Sakurai: For me, it was the Salt Splash. I knew that was going to be important, and honestly, I wondered, “Am I even going to be able to pull this off convincingly?” And the fact that I was able to do it gave me confidence in myself. Maybe I’m being self-complacent, maybe I’m too proud of my own work, but I felt like that was one thing I’m definitely proud of as part of the series.
Setsuo Ito: In all of my scenes, I try to give 100% of my emotions as Mob, but there was that scene in Episode 8 of Season 1 where he helps his brother and has to deal with his anger, and that’s when I finally realized there’s a different way to do this. That led me to some realizations, which was a milestone scene for me.
Many of Mob Psycho 100‘s themes center around change and growth. From looking back on everything from the entire series, do you feel that Mob Psycho 100 has changed you in any way? In what way?
Setsuo Ito: Everything. Absolutely everything. My growth as a person, I owe it to Mob Psycho 100. What I learned as an actor that I didn’t know then, I owe to that. Everything was such a learning experience — there was so much I didn’t know that I’ve been able to put into my work since. Mob is the basis for everything I have done since.
Takahiro Sakurai: There is a part where Mogami tries to drag Mob to the dark side and tries to expose him to negative emotions, and at that point Mob realizes that it’s a gift. And the phrase comes up: “You need to be thankful for that.” Maybe subconsciously everyone is thankful for the gifts they have, but that had an impact on me in that moment. Because Mob said that, it was more convincing because Mob was the one saying it. That led me to feel like I need to continue my life being more thankful and more grateful. Maybe this is commonplace, maybe it’s normal and natural for anyone, but if I say that phrase, it sounds cheesy and hokey. But if Mob says it, it has an impact, and it really digs in deep. That did change me.
Yuzuru Tachikawa: The fact that the cast would say something like that is more important than anything I could say as the director. For me, to work on that anime and work with staff that tells me that yes, Mob Psycho 100 led them to many opportunities for growth, it really has become foundational for a lot of people, including myself. When I’m working on a new anime title and I’m stuck on something, I think, “Ok, what would we have done on Mob Psycho 100?”
We were going to ask, “What do you think makes Mob Psycho 100 so endearing after all these years,” but I think you’ve hit the nail on the head that the heart of the series is in those shared scenes with Mob and Reigen. Reigen teaches Mob, and Mob teaches Reigen. What is your favorite scene of Mob and Reigen?
Yuzuru Tachikawa: I did the storyboard, and looking back on that from the second season, there is a scene where Mob recognizes Reigen as his teacher, and he says that Reigen is a good person. I love that scene.
Setsuo Ito: I like that scene as well; it’s a very impactful scene. I like the very last episode when Mob loses control and goes to Tsubomi, and he’s thinking of all the things that his teacher said to him. He is literally putting his body on the line and going crazy, but I don’t know, there’s something about that scene I really like.
Takahiro Sakurai: In the scene where Tsubomi rejects Mob, and he cries. From Reigen’s perspective, to see that and come to a realization, you think Mob is going to blow up and hit 100% and lose control again, but Reigen’s realization in that moment is what makes it a very powerful scene for me.
Mob Psycho 100 is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
