oct. 3 pt 2.
also:
hey ! any tips on how to draw ritsus emo ass hair? u dont have to tho
here are my tips n tricks + general assumed structure
i dont draw his hair consistently but tbh you dont have to. just give him bangs and spikes that sprout from the whorl and ur good
genuinely, the best thing about Roy and Hughes' friendship is that Roy is a brutal pragmatist who is haughty, ruthless, and often cold and Hughes is a goofball who is always friendly, cheerful, and welcoming, but Roy is the hopeful idealist and Hughes is the cynical realist
[Image ID: A page from the Reigen manga. Panel 1: Reigen stands in a forest looking exhausted. He says, “At least I bought bug spray this time …” Panel 2: He sprays himself down. Panel 3: A closeup of his face. He’s dripping with sweat and his eyes are sunken. He says, “Preparations complete.” Panel 4: Reigen loosens his tie as he staggers towards the viewer. His face is sweaty and he has a haggard expression. He says, “All right then …” End ID.]
Okay listen it’s been a month since i read this and i CANNOT stop thinking about “At least I bought bug spray this time…” It’s just. It’s so Reigen.
This man is dying. He is being eaten alive by a curse that will kill him in less than 3 hours–probably closer to 2 by this point because this place is pretty far outside of Seasoning City. Since Serizawa couldn’t destroy the curse, he knows that Mob is the only person who could get rid of it–and he doesn’t think that he’ll get there in time, if he comes at all. Reigen’s last-ditch plan is to try to trudge into the most haunted forbidden evil woods he knows about in the hope that he can make the curse that’s killing him fight a different, worse curse, and if that doesn’t work at least he’ll die in a place far away from other people and the curse will be prevented from victimizing anyone else.
And what does he say when he arrives at the Evil Death Woods? “At least I brought bug spray.”
One of the things that makes Reigen’s character work is that he is Just Some Guy. A deeply bewildering, paradoxical guy who lies for a living, but still just a guy. Different characters in MP100 are trying to exist in slightly different genres, and for all his absurdity Reigen is the character who is the most grounded in the real world. He worries about his fire insurance during a psychic terrorist attack. He’s the one who goes “Hey, this is illegal?” and “Kids should not be dealing with this” and “You’re supposed to be adults, what is your PROBLEM?” when he’s introduced to the shonen-anime-villain Scars.
And he’s the sort of person who thinks, yeah, dying of a horrible curse in the woods would be bad, but you know what would be worse? That and bug bites. And he’s not … wrong, but it’s not something that anyone else in the series is going to think of. It’s such a normal worry in such an abnormal situation. It’s so grounded.
And it’s also … weirdly hopeful? I feel like a lot of people talk about this part of the manga like Reigen’s given up and is just marching to his death, but he really isn’t. Yes, he was willing to take on the curse to save Tome, and he’s well aware that he might die, but he’s still trying to get out of it with everything he’s got. He doesn’t have powers, but he’s really clever! He goes into a place with a time distortion effect in the hope that it will buy him more time! He manipulates the curse into turning around so that it gets attacked by the Mimic spirit but he doesn’t! If it had been a more even match between them like he’d hoped, he might have been able to get out of the woods even without Mob coming to save him.
He’s aware of the danger and how much the odds are stacked against him, but he hasn’t given up! And the bug spray feels indicative of this. He thinks he might succeed in getting rid of the curse. He thinks he might need to get out of the woods on his own. And if that happens, he’s going to be so happy about not getting covered in bug bites this time.
Ok so I just read your mp100 fanfic Faith and i know that it's an old fic (like 2016). But based on this fic and your perspective on mob and reigens relationship, do you think the mp100 ending and the reigen spinoff successfully ties up any loose ends and imbalances in their relationship?
I need to know bc the fic was so well done and i have to know what your perspective and thoughts are to the ending and mp100 in general now that it's finished. Ok sorry for asking so much!! Kudos for the fic btw!!
You read Faith? Man, that thing is old...
I do think the MP100 ending levels the playing field in a way that is appropriate, but I also feels like it does so by facilitating - um. Spoilers under the cut.
I actually think the MP100 ending is rather open-ended, but I also don't think that's a bad thing or unsatisfactory.
The MP100 manga ending facilitates their healthy separation.
Reigen telling Shigeo to his face about his biggest lie and insecurity - that he's a fraud - is the most important thing he could do. It doesn't even matter that Shigeo already knows he doesn't have psychic powers. It's that Reigen can admit it.
It gives Reigen a chance to say what has always been on his mind, gives Shigeo the chance to let him know that he admired qualities in Reigen that had nothing to do with psychic powers and that Reigen really did help him. Like, authentically, it did.
I don't know if you read all my BNHA meta as well, but if so, you'll know what I mean when I say that this moment is one of interpersonal intimacy where Reigen expresses his honne unobscured. In fact, I'm pretty sure that him taking off his shoes before running after Shigeo at ???% implies that he was ready to confront Shigeo even if it killed him. While this could be meant as something for the audience to perceive literally, you could also interpret this figuratively - that Reigen will be dead to Shigeo once he finds out.
Reigen is ready to admit the truth of himself to Shigeo and let Shigeo grow apart from him, which runs in stark contrast to the Separation arc - y'know, the one that ends with Reigen still unable to say the words "I am a fraud" to the general public or to Shigeo (and Dimple, who already knows) alone. It also signals to the reader (and potentially Shigeo) that Reigen doesn't need him (for emotional reasons) anymore. Reigen doesn't need to always call Shigeo every time he has a problem.
Why did Reigen choose to tell Shigeo a truth about himself during Shigeo's berserker psychic powers moment? I don't actually remember if he says it explicitly (it's been a while!), but it comes down to these two reasons, I think:
It's probably Reigen's last chance to tell him the truth.
It is the best way for Reigen to express that only Shigeo can stop himself. Nobody else can stop Shigeo from posing this kind of danger to others, and Reigen himself is there as a sign of trust as well as a stark illustration of what is on the line (Reigen's own life!)
It reinforces to Shigeo that he can connect with Reigen as a mundane kid rather than a kid with incredible psychic powers. He comes back to Reigen (and Dimple) after being rejected, cries like most people do, and is consoled like most people would hope to be. It is SUCH an ordinary exchange and I feel that is the point.
In some ways, the ending of MP100 enforces a boundary between them, as Reigen has his business and Shigeo has the rest of his life to live. But it isn't a bad boundary or unbreachable one. It's a more appropriate one that eliminates any codependency and insecurities they had in the past.
I hope that answers your question???
I have the bad habit of leaving my computer on sometimes, so my dad always shuts it down because it drives him nuts. but he knows not to close photoshop without saving my drawings and this is the shit he saves them as.
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.
Riza misquotes Shakespeare at one point in the manga and it got me thinking about what kind of plays they’d like
So the spirit copies someone you trust. For Tome that was Reigen. For Reigen that was Mob…
And for the spirit possessing Reigen (Rusty) that was becoming Reigen, because you can see his head forming from the Mimic spirit. Which is sad but expected, as it means the few nice words and promises Reigen gave Rusty to trick it were the best it ever heard, side no other face appears on Mimic.
Motherly Love.
and without the silly quote, because I can't decide which one I like best:
nora - she/her - yelling about other things in @extra-spicy-fire-noodles
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