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See, that’s what the app is perfect for.

Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna
yaboybokuto phantomrose96
phantomrose96

I was thinking about the conclusion to the 100% gratitude arc, and I was reminded of one of the main praises I’ve heard for Neon Genesis Evangelion. 

There are plenty of jokes floating around about Shinji being a crybaby (some people even hate him as a protag because of it), but I’ve seen a lot more people point to it as a strength of the show, characterizing Shinji as a real, ordinary, scared 14-year-old child. Shinji Ikari is in the same “chosen one” position as most shonen protags, but he doesn’t rise to the mantle with the precocious maturity of someone twice his age (as most shonen protags seem capable of doing), instead he buckles under the pressure. He resists, and he cries, and does terrible things to his mental state when he forces himself to carry through with what the adults have put on him. 

They force a responsibility on him that no 14 year old should have to handle. And like a real 14-year-old he CAN’T handle it. There is no other option. He carries through, at the sacrifice of his mental, physical, spiritual well-being.

This is exactly the kind of situation Mob is forced into during the season 1 finale. You could copy-paste any “Get in the fucking robot Shinji” meme here and have it work. You’ve got everyone that Mob relies on and trusts telling him to do something beyond what he’s emotionally capable of handling. Because there’s no other choice. Because they’ll die otherwise. And Mob, like Shinji, is willing to destroy himself to carry through with what  everyone else demands of him.

But Mob Psycho 100 has something that Neon Genesis Evangelion doesn’t–it has Reigen.

It has the authority figure, the adult, who takes Mob’s face in his hands and says, “No. You’re 14. You’re a child. What these adults are trying to do is not your responsibility. Protect yourself, Mob, and let me handle it instead.”

And in no uncertain terms, this saves Mob.

MP100 and NGE are unusual in their choice of creating a shonen protag who’s as vulnerable and anxious and fragile as a normal 14 year old would be in their shoes. NGE still forces Shinji to follow through on the things that destroy him. MP100, through Reigen’s character alone, doesn’t give in to that. ONE could so easily have ended the arc on an all-out fight, a bloodbath, an emotionally potent and traumatizing turning point for Mob, who’s coming to accept his terrible position. ONE refused to do that. Instead he drives home the point that  this is not Mob’s fight. 

He lets Mob run away. He lets Reigen take over. He doesn’t punish Mob for being vulnerable and young and scared. 

MP100 protects Mob.

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