The third season of “Mob Psycho 100” has all the ingredients of a great adaptation. It captures the essence of its source material, translating both the tongue-in-cheek and the emotionally raw and heartfelt tone of the manga to the screen. Then, it uses that essence, and what is already a great story to showcase some of the most dazzling cartoon visuals in an anime in years.
We’re not talking about intricate camera movements or fluid action, or realistic character animation, but pure “Looney Tunes” madness that sells the endless possibilities of the animation medium. Studio Bones filters the show through a technicolor lens that gives even the slickest and tensest of fight scenes with goofy physics and colorful visuals to remind you that, yes, this is a cartoon, and yes, it can be pretty ridiculous — and that rules. “Mob Psycho 100 III” can move from thrilling to silly, to horrifying and heartfelt in the span of a single episode, sometimes all of those in the same scene.
At the center of it all, is Mob. It’s a bit of a cliché to say that the characters are what sells a story, but here it is absolutely true. What makes this show different from ONE’s other major work, “One Punch Man,” is seeing how far the titular Mob has come in his emotional development. He’s made friends and connections, and he has people that care about him, and when those are threatened — or they give him terrible fashion advice — it can be heartbreaking and have apocalyptical consequences. In three seasons, “Mob Psycho” has given us not only the second-place contestant in the Tumblr Sexyman competition, but one of the most compelling, endearing anime characters ever. (Rafael Motamayor)