#i can't call Shigeo my little meow meow without people acknowledging he's his own character /hj

[offbeateurobeatmiku]

ok so i really wanna talk about some of the adaptation choices bones has made in this last arc of mp100 that i really don't like (spoilers below cut for both the latest episodes of mob psycho 100 as well as the manga sections it's adapting from)

ok so just to be clear for this post I'm gonna use the name Shigeo to refer to ???%, and Mob to refer to the Mob we see for like 99% of the show. (it's just easier for me since that's the parlance I've been using since the original manga chapter came out and at this point it'd feel weird to call Shigeo ???%)

Ok so, the main issue I have so far is how they've removed the 2 main pieces of Shigeo characterisation in this arc and it does kinda leave his depiction so far with something of a dehumanising streak that I don't like.

So the first thing they cut is Shigeo's dialogue when he's first getting up after the car accident (I've included the relevant pages below). I feel this is really important as it's the first overt indication that Shigeo is acting with purpose here and has a will of his own separate to Mob's. In addition, I think it's really important because it frames the subsequent sections as Shigeo not just being on a mindless rampage or him acting on Mob's desire to see Tsubomi, but as his own conscious choice to see her regardless of what Mob or anyone else thinks.

Now the second main thing they've changed is Shigeo's reaction to Ritsu trying to destroy the bouquet, where in the show he just kinda pulls up a barrier in the same way as when Teru tries the same thing, in the manga he instead hunches over the bouquet to try to block it with his body. I think the manga humanises Shigeo a lot better here and is just generally a lot more impactful (especially with Ritsu seeing Shigeo's reaction to the bouquet being attacked). In addition, I think it also emphasises how Shigeo does care for and really doesn't want to hurt Ritsu which is why he doesn't use his psychic powers to attack Ritsu here like he easily could have. (This is a little more clear after Shigeo's dialogue to Mob in the next episode/subsequent chapters but I'll not go into it any further because I don't want to spoil it for the anime onlys and the manga readers will know what I'm referring to.)

While I think the anime adaptation is still good and I think Shigeo's dialogue next episode should make a lot of this more explicit (unless they cut it down for time). But I already feel like a lot of the nuances of Shigeo's character have been lost which just makes me a lil sad cuz he's my one of my favourite characters.

Oh also they removed Serizawa's transparent umbrella and made it opaque so it's easier to animate I guess. I'm less annoyed about this because I understand why they did it but I still really prefer the symbolism of the transparent umbrella.