The Thematic Consistency of Mob Psycho 100 Openings

One of the best things about Mob Psycho 100 is how much of a phenomenon the series is. The storyline, message, art, animation and overall direction, coupled together with a great soundtrack, make it an instant modern classic. Mob Psycho 100 boasts one of the greatest opening theme runs in anime history, and there are several reasons why.

Part of what makes the series such a phenomenon are these opening themes, which are thematically related and consistent both visually and lyrically, but also present some of the most creative, memorable and overall impactful opening sequences in modern anime. Mob Psycho 100 has a perfect run with these themes – here's how.

The Mob Choir

The opening themes of Mob Psycho 100 are all performed by Mob Choir, a band created specifically for the Mob Psycho 100 anime project. The band consists of main vocalist, Sana, stylized as "37"; who is a member and vocalist of Sajou no Hana, and depending on the specific song, the parties involved in the creation varies slightly.

Some of the best shows in history are also remembered for their opening credits sequence, and anime is famous for the emphasis placed on this crucial part of television, which often gives you an idea about the show's content and core themes. The Mob Choir is reminiscent of how older anime and western cartoons created theme songs for their series. Nowadays, it isn't uncommon for unique anime openings to be created for the purpose of the show itself; however, there has been a greater tendency towards the use of pre-existing music that features or shares certain themes with the anime itself.

[99]

The first opening, titled [99], was a collaboration between 37, lyricist and composer Junichi Sasaki, and guitarist Takeshi Masuda; with series author ONE also a lyricist on the track. It begins with what's perhaps its most famous line, "If everyone is not special, so you can be what you want to be", which brings the one of the main themes of Mob Psycho 100 to the forefront. The chorus continues to say something along the lines of "We can surely find more than one answer/solution". Mob Psycho 100 is a series following an adolescent boy through his journey of figuring out what he wants. The opening asks the mob who they are and what they will do. It presents coming of age, as well as the valuing of one's own life on the basis of it being one's own in a catchy theme song that also incorporates the numbers motif as part of Mob's characterization, with chanting and lyrics that switch between English and Japanese. Chanting, bilingual lyrics and a high-energy chorus are all part of the DNA of Mob Psycho 100 openings.

"Mob, what/why/who do you want?" are questions everybody has to ask themselves in life. The nickname "Mob" is a reference to the term used in gaming to refer to "mobile objects" and exists as a generic term to refer to NPCs that exist solely to be killed. In Japanese slang, this is used akin to "extra" in a film or television series; placeholder entities that have no higher purpose and merely exist as living parts of the environment – effectively, background characters. Asking a mob character what they want offers them personhood, and given the show's main themes, [99] is the perfect opening for the series. The visuals are extremely dynamic, colourful and surreal, showcasing aspects that communicate several messages. There is always something new to notice when one really analyzes the first opening of Mob Psycho 100.

[99.9]

The follow-up to [99], [99.9] by Mob Choir featuring Sajou no Hana touches on the same themes as the first opening; however, it brings more on elements like dealing with overflowing emotion, overcoming limits and of course, a variant of the number motif from the first opening in the line "passing the limits, the sight you will see is an undefinable percentage" before the instrumental drops for the chorus. The second season of Mob Psycho 100 saw the return of the Claw organisation as antagonists, and their logo appears in both first and second openings. Mob is pushed to a point that had never been seen prior. [99.9] pushes the concept of the first even further conceptually, asking crucial questions like "is this your ideal?", and with chanting of lines like "Get ready! Wake your psyche up, MOB!"

While it is obviously referring to the character Mob, this use of the word in this context is meant to be ambiguous – it is a continuation of the call to action presented to mob characters; a call for them to awaken to the life that is theirs alone to live. It is a continuation of the assignment of personhood to these mobile objects that serve no higher purpose. This is all tied together by the repetition of the same important line from [99] – "Your life is your own." Just like in [99], Mob is asked some more crucial questions to recall the main theme, as he is asked "Could you fill your satisfaction? You're a MOB, can't you feel your frustration?", reinforcing the double-meaning behind the use of "Mob" in the first and second openings.

This opening sequence features similar surreal and colorful visuals as the first opening, but some references to the first opening sequence in terms of what objects and characters are featured in the sequence. It is every bit as psychedelic as the first opening, and just like its predecessor, the general structure consists of catchy chants that involve invoking the main character in some way, a steady build-up towards "the drop", where the main chorus presents the climax of the opening sequence and the cementing of the core narrative of living life for one's self, becoming one's self, awakening from the slumber of not claiming this main character status for one's self.

"Crying my life, crying my psyche, crying my heart in such common places", again, the Mob Choir invokes the concept of the psyche like in the first opening; however, the development here lies in it going from "get ready, wake your psyche up" to a crying psyche. The growing pains of adolescence and coming to grips with oneself are seldom easy to deal with, hence the lyrics' following with "is this your ideal? Is this your mind? Once it hits 100, it begins". This is in the same vein as with 99, where Mob's emotional stimulation being expressed as a percentage, and 100% being the point where things begin to change.

1

The third Mob Psycho 100 opening is essentially a culmination of the building thematic and musical elements found in 99 and 99.9, and as such, it begins more confidently, with chanting lyrics accompanying the swelling music. The main lyrics begin with "I realized seishun wa gurei, shousou no shoutai wa fumei" (I realized adolescence is grey, the source of the angst is unknown). As the song reaches the much anticipated Mob Choir specialty that is the drop into the song's chorus and the chorus itself, the lyrics take from the same book as the previous two openings with English lyrics sprinkled throughout the song. "See what you can do now, my life, let me break it down" is evidence of the narrative presented by [99], furthered by [99.9] is reaching a critical point – the mob character has been disillusioned, confused and from that state of mind spawns a huge flood of emotions.

"WANT! yokubou mo", "YOUNG seijitsu na", "BURN kono mune de", "ONE mebaete kuru", a combination of the chanting that is a staple in Mob Psycho 100 openings, and the powerful vocals of 37 in the chorus indicate the awakening of the Mob character (both the protagonist and the figurative "extra"), with the lyrics translating to "WANT desire too"; "YOUNG sincerity"; "BURN in this chest"; "ONE sprouts" (like a plant) – the journey of the mob towards becoming furthered by the follow-up lyrics in the chorus: "TRANCE can't wake up"; "CHANCE want to wake up"; "STANCE front and back"; "ONE back to back". The idea is that the mob is awakening to their burning emotions, which is why there is a shot in the animation sequence of Mob with various pairs of eyes showing different expressions as a reference to his wildly raging emotions as he forges through the disillusionment through working with other people as one, back to back. "If we can become one, that smile will be one and only one."

EYES

From start to finish, the most frequently used motif in the opening sequence of Mob Psycho 100 III is eyes – especially used as a great connector between characters, frames and shots, etc. There are shots where characters are cycled through eyes first, shots where characters eyes are replaced with flowers and other objects, shots of Mob in his berserk mode with eyes glowing; and the sequence leading up to, and persisting in the chorus where various round objects suspended in space are shown, before an occult-looking eye appears, followed by rapidly cycling shots of the eyes of various characters before the "WANT" comes in, followed by the previously-mentioned shot of Mob in place with various pairs of eyes being cycled on his face at "BURN".

Ultimately, the eyes as "windows to the soul" in the most clichéd reading of the motif's usage here comes to mind, but also in the overarching context of awakening from being a mob to being a fully realized individual and how this season pushes forward with each character working towards something for themselves. Overall, [1] is mostly likely the climax of the Mob Psycho 100 opening trilogy in its evolution of the core themes presented in [99] and [99.9], and how it even uses these songs as leitmotifs in the music itself during the bridge after the first chorus in the full version of the song, it is clear that the intention for these openings was always to create a Mob Psycho 100 opening theme that communicates its core theme in ways that speak to the phenomenon that is Mob Psycho 100. The visuals in the sequence for [99] begin with a cityscape of neon with various electronic billboards flickering on and showing the eyes of characters. The idea of becoming one of many but still one together echoes in many ways: the use of crowd chants and switching between English and Japanese, not to mention the very name "Mob Choir" can be understood to be representative of the strength in collectives – many becoming one.

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