MP100 Be Reiterating The Importance Of Positive Adult Influence In Child Development.

Grief in art

Grief is an interesting subject for depiction, because it isn't ever really just one feeling. It's a cluster of feelings, an array of very different, sometimes almost contradictory emotional states, which collectively we understand as expressions of that one underlying condition, which is grieving.

So how do you show that? How do you take that and make it visible to an audience? Many, many artists have tried, and their attempts are varied, fascinating, and very occasionally heartbreaking.

Let's take a little non-comprehensive walking tour of grief in art history, from the 1400s to the 2020s, from the religious to the cartoony, and get in our feelings a bit.

my predictions for mob’s haircut, if he gets one

a mask of my own face (i’d wear that)

mob’s hobbies include

being kind to all of god’s creatures on planet earth

lying to his brother

out of the 90 or so panels that ONE devotes to the mental fight between shigeo and mob in mob psycho 100's confession arc -- from mob's conscious awareness of shigeo's presence to shigeo's eventual dissolution and assimilation of mob -- just seven show us that the child can actually be heard arguing with himself from the outside.

since the anime concluded its run last year, i've had those panels on my mind. studio bones only animated the largest one and relegated shigeo's speech on it to internal dialogue (much more on that decision here). they're so compelling that i decided to redraw them in my own style.

this is the seventh and last of them. it occurs just before shigeo smacks reigen in the head with a chunk of fallen city in hopes of scaring him off (it doesn't work).

its text reads:

｢他人が”僕”を飼い慣らすことはできない。モブの本当の姿を知ればあの人は僕を開放するよ。」 tanin ga boku wo kainarasu koto wa dekinai. mobu no hontou no sugata wo shireba ano hito wa boku wo kaihou suru yo. 'no one else will be able to tame me. now that he knows mob's true form, that man will set me free.'

[image ID: amidst swirling teal winds, hair wild and eyes aglow, a teenaged japanese boy wearing a gakuran and an eerily neutral expression muses 'tanin ga boku wo kainarasu koto wa dekinai. mobu no hontou no sugata wo shireba ano hito wa boku wo kaihou suru yo.' storm clouds are gathering around his eyes as he speaks, partially obscuring his face.]

ONE's original panel:

この一連の他の絵 kono ichiren no hoka no e other drawings in this series panel 2｜panel 3｜panel 5｜panel 6

Me: goes to the Fullmetal Alchemist exhibition once Also me: (shhh, I know this scene could never have happened. It’s a metaphor)

i like manga reigen's coloring because it feels more natural but anime reigen's somehow better fits his personality

Honestly both colors fit their respective personalities.

Manga!Reigen is a loooot more toned down. The bombastic antics (that he’s known for in the anime) are reserved for when he’s trying to put on a show, frustrated, or super afraid. Even his Reigen Roast ™ is tame in comparison. He looks more ugly-frustrated with the group’s inability to understand, rather than actively looking to drag them like his anime counter part.

When he’s not doing those motions, the rest of time Manga!Reig is just kind of an apathetic, depressed, regular pathetic, and average kinda guy. Which! fits one of the major themes of mob psycho 100 anyways: Congrats! You’re one of the masses just like everyone else! The brown hair and black tie fit better for this interpretation. Duller colors bring out his more mundane, pensive, wistful side.

Anime!Reigen brings out waaaaaaaaaay more of his showmanship, and this is also a fun angle! For a media based largely in visual movement, this was a great decision. Gold hair for valuing intellect (since hair is above ur brain), gray suit bc he’s morally gray bdum tss, and pink tie to show that he’s got some heart in the midst of it all. These are all very great color choices that showcase other facets of Reigen’s character.

And the anime gives him equal moments to look cool, and to look like a damn fool.

This color design is honestly more memorable and marketable as well. Plus the character designer said they gave him a pink tie since it makes him look more “shady” and I can get behind that.

Congrats this is the end of the rant! Both are good!If some of you were expecting a ‘that’s why this version is better’ conclusion I aint sorry though. They’re just two designs that emphasize different sides of the same character. 

This means for my stuff where I draw somber/weighted things, Manga!Reigen’s colors fit better. But for things that are more energetic and fun, Anime!Reig’s colors are more suited.

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.

I’ve seen comments elsewhere complaining about Reigen yet again lying to Mob and regressing but I really didnt see this scene that way.

a) Reigen didn’t pull a “I am your master and my powers tell me they’re fine”. He said he thought they were safe and told Mob a legitimate reason to assume so. The only ‘lie’ would be his utter calm and certainty as he said it, since he isn’t sure. But he had to act like that so Mob could calm down in turn. But ultimately, he didn’t lie or trick Mob into it, he made no certain statement and gave him an explanation;

b) Despite the fact that he didnt lie, if his supposition turns out wrong, Mob is likely not going to react well anyway. Reigen knows this. He said to Dimple Mob might hate him forever, and that’s something Reigen is also risking. Considering the face he made after Mob passed out, his gamble wasn’t to make his own life easier by not dealing with angry Mob, but a gamble for Mob’s sake. And he knows what he’s risking for it.

Reigen loves dogs + dogs love Reigen = happy Reigen. Please consider:“)