Anime Column] 100 Anime to Watch by Keyword! 100 Anime to Watch No.9 "Mob Psycho 100" and more!

Drinking parties among anime fans tend to be a game of association. When someone says, "XXX has XXX scene," someone else replies, "Speaking of XXX scene, don't forget XXX. Anime and animation are connected by invisible threads like this. Let's follow the "anime to watch" using keywords as clues.

Mob Psycho 100 " is one of the new programs for July 2016. This work is a "supernatural power".

The main character is Shigeo Kageyama (a.k.a. Mob), a very plain eighth grader. Mob works part-time for Shinryu Reigen at the "Rei toka Sodanshitsu" (Spirit and Counseling Center). Reigen is a fake psychic who rounds up his clients with a flattering tone. Mob, however, is a genuine psychic.

When Mobu was a child, he once hurt his younger brother Ritsu by involving him when he used his psychic power. Since then, he has sealed off the use of his psychic powers against humans. However, when Mobu gets involved in various incidents and his emotions reach 100%, his overwhelmingly powerful psychic ability is released against his opponent.

Until the end of the 1980s, I guess. The word "psychic power" used to refer to telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the power of the mind, and telepathy, the ability to communicate with the mind.

Eventually, however, a special type of ability appeared that was more single-functional or visually impactful. For example, think of the "paper wielder" in " R.O.D. " or the "ghostly ripple (stand)" in " JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Nowadays, these "supernatural powers" are more mainstream, and are called "xenohypnotic powers," which is slightly differentiated from "psychic powers" (to be more precise, "supernatural power" is a term that is used to refer to a kind of "supernatural power" that is not a supernatural power). (To be precise, "supernatural power" has become a subcategory of "heteronomy").

In the context of such recent trends, "Mob Psycho 100," in which psychokinesis and telepathy appear, has a slightly nostalgic flavor. Furthermore, the seamless connection between "psychokinesis" and "ESP" is also nostalgic, in line with the occult boom of the 1970s. Mob Psycho 100" is a 2016 anime that beautifully expresses such nostalgic toolkit with powerful artwork.

So the keyword this time is psychic powers.

When it comes to anime about supernatural powers, " Genshiken Taisen " is the one that cannot be missed. The story is about a high school student, Azuma Takeshi, who gains psychic powers and throws himself into a battle against Genma, a fundamental evil that wants to destroy the universe at large. It is based on a manga published in 1967 by novelist Kazumasa Hirai and manga artist Shotaro Ishimori (Ishinomori).

Gensho Taisen" is a story of an ordinary boy who awakens to his special abilities and faces a world crisis, a story that was at the dawn of the "chuuni" (middle-aged) pattern. Because "awakening" is more important than effort in this supernatural ability, readers who are "ordinary me" can read the story sympathetically.

Psychokinesis, telepathy, and wall-piercing are some of the psychic abilities that appear in "Genma Taisen. One of the features of "Genma Taisen" is the expression that an aura covers the body when psychic powers are used. The expression of the aura rising from the contours of the body was very impactful, and many animations followed this aura expression.

Speaking of supernatural powers, " Akira" is another work that cannot be missed. This work, which is so famous worldwide, tells the story of supernatural research secretly conducted by the military and the delinquent boys who happen to be involved in it. The word "Akira" is more than the name of an important character; it drives the story as "a symbol of psychic power beyond human knowledge. The work is highly sensitive to delinquents, so it shares some sympathy with the contemporary cyberpunk movement in the "punk" part of the story.

There are two central characters: Tetsuo, a boy who is the only member of a delinquent group who is captured by the military and awakens to his supernatural powers. The other is Kaneda, the leader of the group and Tetsuo's older brother. Tetsuo, who uses his psychic powers with a complex, gradually goes out of control, and Kaneda tries to stop him.

When they fight, Tetsuo wields his powerful psychokinesis. Kaneda, however, has no psychic powers at all, so he uses a prototype laser gun and other weapons to fight. This asymmetrical battle is one of the features of "AKIRA.

Tetsuo's psychokinesis grows stronger and stronger. The process of the escalation of his power is depicted with a high level of drawing, which is another reason why this work is one of the legends of the series.

The last one is " Babil II," a classic of the psychokinesis genre. Both psychokinesis and telepathy are read into the ending lyrics. Both the opening and ending songs are so memorable in the history of anime songs that even those who have not seen the film may have at least heard the song.

A feature of the psychokinesis battle in "Babil II" is the appearance of an "energy shock wave" that damages anyone it touches. When psychokinesis is used in a supernatural battle, it inevitably results in a rather plain picture of "two characters staring at each other with a great look on their faces" (as an aside, the live-action movie "Dark City" took this picture quite seriously).

) However, this energy shock wave, also called "electric shock," has electric shock-like effects and is a technique that looks quite good on film. I am sure that this "original supernatural power" is the distant root of the evolution from a mere supernatural power to a visually interesting "other power.


(Text by Ryota Fujitsu)