PHOTOS: Mob Psycho 100 III Exhibition Says Goodbye to Old Friends
It’s not often we, as anime fans, get a complete adaptation of a manga, giving us the chance to experience the full character arc of the characters we love. But the Mob Psycho 100 TV anime gave us the chance to do just that, delivering on every count and not leaving a dry eye in the anime fandom.
Over the Christmas season, Mob Psycho 100 took over the Ikebukuro PARCO with festive imagery throughout the center culminating with an exhibition at the Parco Factory event space, bringing one certain arc of the third season to life.
Beyond this section will be spoilers for major plot points of Mob Psycho 100 III. You have been warned!
Walking into Reigen’s Office
The sign for Reigen’s office greeted me as I walked into the exhibition, looking pre-worn and as detailed as it would if it were on the side of a building. A faint sound of the third season’s opening “1” by Mob Choir was heard in the background as I walked past signatures of the cast and staff (and ONE himself!), as well as character bios and a hint of what’s to come in the rest of the exhibition.
Before going through the veil, Mob greeted every visitor to the exhibition along with more sketches from Mob Psycho 100 manga creator ONE.
Beyond the veil gave me the answer to where the source of the music was coming from — it was the opening playing on a projector screen! Looked great up there as it did on my screen each week.
That’s when I walked into a near-perfect recreation of the Spirits and Such Consultation Office. A chill ran down my spine, not from the spirits that may inhabit the office, but how much like a small Japanese business it felt. It was a perfect representation of those offices that are renting a one-room apartment near a train station for next to nothing. Horrible memories they hold for me.
Unlike those offices though, Reigen’s had a working phone. When the phone rang I was allowed to pick up and hear a cute message for Reigen himself.
Wandering Through Broccoli
Outside of the office was one of the smallest roads I’ve seen in Japan with posters of the Psycho Helmet Cult on the walls and the floor with and psychic aura analyzer in the corner.
After watching others using the analyzer, I was curious to learn what color I would be. Is it green? Purple? Blue?
Nope, I get the cutting-edge of fashion, worn by the most powerful of psychics. If only others were as blessed as I was. With my newfound drip, I was ready to tackle the broccoli.
And this is where it becomes obvious what the exhibition is telling: the story of the Divine Tree Arc and of Dimple’s demise.
Beyond the domain of God Dimple, key animation of the arc was shown off amongst the rumble of the events, complete in order from the meeting with the stinky man all the way to the defeat of the tree and Dimple’s eventual redemption.
The best shot on display was the sketchy line art on the key animation frame of Teru getting ready for a punch. The final frame was right below it showing the process the sketchy hand-drawn lines take to be converted into digital pieces of animation keyframes. The original key frames of the entire fight were also just utterly thrilling to see.
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Next to them were the character design sheets for the third season, complete with Mob’s stylish monkey shirt and the perfect chiseled butt of God Dimple.
In the middle of the room were these boxes with character portraits on them that by themselves looked cool, but actually held a special secret — inside was the eye catches from the episodes on repeat in a very surreal experience.
Saying Goodbye to Dimple
The words above show the desperation and eventual acceptance Mob goes through in trying to reach Dimple, as his voice echoes through this main exhibition space. This voice led to one of the weirdest exhibition spaces I’ve seen in my years.
It was Dimple, this was who he was. It was the perfect send-off for a character we’ve gotten to know and love over the last six years of the anime adaptation. He may not have been perfect, but even in the end, he was there for Mob and pushed him forward.
The final branch of the exhibition was the usual “leave a message on the wall,” but unlike most exhibitions, this was the perfect place to say farewell to the green gaseous ball of psychic power.
Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram. One and only 1!
