Idea: Takenaka Is Using His Powers In This Scene. He Notices Reigen Staring At Him, And Decides To Listen

Friends, once again :’)

I swear I just wanted to talk about how much I love Tsubomi and then it turned into a 4,000+ word dissertation on her, Mob and why I think Tsubomi is so important to mp100’s narrative despite, or maybe because of, being a very minor character.

I haven’t counted, but I think Tsubomi shows up in less than 30 pages throughout the entire comic, plus a single omake. That’s really not much, especially considering half of those appearances are just to point out that she’s present in the given scene.

In other words we never get to know much about her and she has no character development to speak of (unless you want to call her remembering that Mob exists character development). Normally that would annoy me to no end - Love interests that only exist to be love interests and the “guy gets the girl in the end (as a reward)” trope is boring at best and offensive at worst.

I was apprehensive while first reading through the comic because right off the bat it looks like mp100 sets itself up to follow the “guy gets the girl” narrative. However, ONE did a pretty clever thing with the trope by both taking advantage of the expectations we have for it and completely discarding them.

“Middle school boy tries to impress the girl he’s in love with” isn’t exactly an adequate description of mp100’s plot. Anyone can see from very early on that that isn’t what the story is about at all. But to Mob? To Mob that’s exactly what it’s about. Everything Mob does that doesn’t involve people being in immediate danger, everything Mob wants to change about himself, is to some degree motivated by Tsubomi. In his mind Tsubomi is the end goal and he’s doing his best to make his life a “guy gets the girl” kind of story.

But, by thinking like that, even after years of never actually talking to her, he has put her on a pedestal where she has become an ideal and no longer a person. Mob never really talks about Tsubomi or gives any explanation as to why he likes her so much, and I guess because she’s the school idol and lots of boys are interested in her, no one really questions it either. Of course he would like Tsubomi, right? Everyone likes Tsubomi.

Tsubomi gets to stay on her pedestal, silent and with almost no sign of a personality, for almost the entire comic. It isn’t until chapter 94 that we get to see her as an actual person, because that’s when Mob, for the first time within the comic’s timeframe, treats her as an actual person by doing something as mundane as handing her a paper tissue because she sneezed. Even Takane Tsubomi sneezes you know.

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mobdonalds (more below the cut)

Can it be considered fanart if it involves the collective effort of 4 almost-uni-students spending 1.5h at a local mcdonalds cutting up nori, arranging fries and artfully using ketchup packets to recreate the faces of mp100 characters?

Further info on our reasoning behind the type of food used for each character:

(All in good fun, we were just goofing around with our food)

Mob is a double cheeseburger while Ritsu is a normal cheeseburger - this is due to Ritsu's feelings of inferiority

Haystack Teru gets some nice fries for his hair for that golden crispy look

Reigen is the plumpest juiciest burger with the nicest bun because. You know.

Shou... I'm so sorry Shou you deserved better (ignore how it looks like a crime scene)

Roy Mustang Q&A (Character Guide Translation)

from pages 122 - 123 of Fullmetal Alchemist Character Guide

T/L notes: [comments/additions]. I did not translate literally, as usual, but I tried my best to keep the essence/tone of the sentences.

Q&A | REVELATION OF MUSTANG’S SECRETS

Four men + α (with no girlfriend) will answer questions about Mustang! Let’s reveal the secrets of the Colonel!!

Q: With whom did he spend his 30th birthday?

HAVOC: Somebody finally asked! [lit. trans.: I’ve been waiting!]. He was so proud that he celebrated every year with everyone, but only for his 30th birthday, he was alone and lonely, and went home and drank all by himself. Colonel Mustang — the king of popularity — drinking alone!! He was busy with the transfer to Central, and that’s on top of the mess with Barry, right? Moreover, he was confined in a military hospital so he could not make an appointment for a date. Serves him right!

FALMAN: While he [Mustang] was in the hospital, a bunch of visitors arrived at the headquarters [looking for him]. There weren’t any for the second lieutenant, though.

HAVOC: SCREW YOU!!!

Q: Is it true that he is the type [of person] hated by dogs?

FUERY: Instead of saying hated, I feel that it is at the same level as being regarded with dislike. In his attempt to make the dog obey, the colonel approaches it bossily, which in turn, makes the dog wary of him.  He tried to lure it with bait before, but it seems he failed. So even the colonel has his weak points…

Q: Is it true that he has a habit of sleeping with his mouth open? [it comes with the picture of Roy in the Archives Room with Szieska waking him up]

FALMAN: It’s true. While on duty, he is quite focused on showing that he is finishing his work that is why he is exhausted. I’ve also heard of a testimony that he was sleeping while hugging a pillow and was drooling with his mouth open in the nap room of the Eastern Headquarters. [this is based on Havoc’s report from Roy Mustang Observation Diary]

Q: How does he code his research notes?

BREDA: It seems that everything is [coded with] female names. Furthermore, his notes are written as a date diary. Well, in that case, he has to come up with women’s names one after the other.

Q: Did he really steal someone else’s girlfriend?

HAVOC: Some guys were jeering [at Mustang] when he fought Ed in the parade grounds in the past [in Flame vs. Fullmetal battle]. That would be unjustified resentment from a misunderstanding if the break-up line was “I have someone else I like.” Even so, I understand the desire to think that the girlfriend was stolen. Me too… *tears*

Q: Is it true that his drawing [skill] is bad?

FUERY: Rather than saying he is unskillful, [we can say] he is as good as an elementary school student. An alchemist is someone who can draw a perfect circle with his bare hands, but this is quite interesting. Edward seems to have the same level of drawing skill as the colonel.

Q: Is it true that his type of woman varies [i.e. he has a wide scope]?

EDWARD: He is on the same level as everyone else!! This is annoying~ You’re right. The Colonel smiles at any woman — no matter who she is —  and he says the sweetest things to her that teeth could fall off. He’s a scary bastard. I think older women are no exception.

Q: Which part of a woman is the most attractive?

MUSTANG: Wow. I would say a woman is attractive no matter where you look at, I can’t decide. *laughs* But if I may dare say, it’s the “thigh.” [yes, I triple checked the translation, it’s not the leg, but thigh!!]. With that said, Havoc…

HAVOC: BOOBS~!!

I really like the questions from this Q&A (OMG, the first and last Qs killed me!!), but translating Edward’s answer was such a pain. His speech pattern is so informal, I got confused with the words several times!!

I was laughing my head off while translating because Team Mustang (especially Havoc) is epic <3 Falman’s replies are very polite. Fuery’s answers are kind and cute. Havoc’s bitterness and snarky comments are absolutely hilarious. Ed is being annoying and angsty, while Roy is smooth as silk as usual.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. There are still some interesting Q&A pages I’ve bookmarked from FMA Institute DX that I’d like to translate. I hope I find enough motivation to do them!! Until next time~

Aftermath (part 1)

I offer… a post-canon comic i decided to start on a whim. will i finish it? hopefully. Part 1 - You are here! | Part 2 - coming soon..?

Hi! I love all your MP100 metas. Truly amazing! Here is a popular take on mob which I noticed quite common in eastern fandom but not brought up much in western: shigeo actually has very strong ego, in a way that he only allows himself to be affected by words he wants to follow, sticks to his wants without giving in to others' wishes, and sometimes breaking others' worldview (teru) or challenging (ritsu, dimple, reigen) simply by following his own will, which relates to ??? . What do you think?

*blushes* THANK YOU AAAAAHHHHHH

i agree with you! shigeo himself is not even aware of his own strength in that regard for much of the story; watching him become more comfortable with his own iconoclasm is one of the things i enjoy most about mob psycho 100. i think shigeo's strong will and (mostly) unshakeable principles are maybe not mentioned as much in western fandom because shigeo is pretty far from the western--i'm just gonna say american here, because it's the perspective i'm best acquainted with--ideal for a young male protagonist.

we tend to prefer at least some degree of blustery, extroverted self-confidence in our heroes; soft-spoken, sad, traumatized kids who seem unsure of themselves don't fly here unless their character development involves 'outgrowing' this. shigeo is understated, and quiet, and downbeat, and kind of sickly even after gaining stamina. he also doesn't trust himself or his own perceptions for quite a while, and i've read more than a few reviews of MP100 in which these qualities made it easy for the authors to discount him as a whole. if a viewer finds him 'boring' or can't relate to him at all, they won't bother to stick around for his steely tenacity or his surprising resistance to groupthink.

despite his apparent 'weakness', he doesn't give in easily, doesn't bend even if his life is at stake, and even manages to persuade others or change their hearts in his own quiet way, simply by being himself. and his strong ego, as you put it (i would actually say his id, if we're going freudian with this) actually SAVES HIS LIFE. repeatedly. that and ???% are one and the same.

i live in a country where quiet people are routinely overlooked because they're not boldly proclaiming their greatness to everyone they meet; to me, shigeo is a reminder that i don't have to compromise who i am to have a successful life. and that is a powerful message to hear at any age.

I did some Mob Psycho hand studies this week because I love how expressive and simple the studio draws them!! Most of these are.. Reigen’s hands. I want to study every Reigen frame.

Reigen Arataka’s Character Song - Thank You, Espers (超能力者にありがとう）

Reigen Arataka is given a character song as part of the 99 Album, titled Thank You, Espers (chounouryokusha ni arigatou). Translation and link to song given below read more! ;

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I see people everywhere all the time raving about how flawless and satisfying MP100’s ending episode is, and I agree. But sometimes it kinda takes me aback exactly how well-planned the entire story is, especially because it began as a webcomic.

The individual relationships Mob has with the “Big Three” (Reigen, Teru, Ritsu) each follow their respective themes from start to finish, with the application of each theme to the story changing as it progresses but the major idea remaining the same—until the final arc, which is broadly split into three episodes, each featuring the culmination of the respective relationship.

Teru’s theme is strength, Ritsu’s theme is communication, and Reigen’s is acceptance.

More under the cut bc this got a little long.

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I really love how Teruki’s hair acts as a barometer to his personal development. It’s so true-to-life for teenagers (guilty of this).

His hair drastically changes whenever something big happens that affects his outlook on life or his sense of self, and it’s exactly the same as when your friend would show up to school one day with an extremely different hairstyle, maybe even dyed a different color, and you’d think like, “Something must have fundamentally changed in your life’s trajectory and your personal understanding of it”. (Honestly, being a teenager is just a series of these moments strung together by homework and video games.)

And every single time his hair changes, it’s against his will. Sure, he usually chooses how to style it afterwards, but both of the Kageyama Scalping Incidents, Sakurai’s hair chop, etc. were against his will. But without fail, it always happens at a major emotional turning point in Teruki’s life. Him being snapped out of his superiority complex (mostly), him being influenced by Reigen’s 1000% and finding a passion for teaching, Mob breaking his own pedestal with the Confession accident, etc.

Teru’s gonna walk into a room at some point in the future with a totally different hairstyle that he chose for no real reason at all, just to shake it up, and everyone’s going to be like Oh My God Teru What Happened and he’s gonna be like, “????? Does it look that bad???? 🥺”