Shigeo Kageyama, aka Mob, is a hero because he always chooses right over wrong and good over evil. He could have easily chosen a different path, but then he wouldn’t be the same moral compass as seen in Mob Psycho 100.
Of course, heroes always need villains to balance the stories that are being told. And while some villains have tragic backstories that made them into who they are, others may have only had a single occurrence that veered them down the path of villainy.
The role of every great villain is to push the hero into learning and growing. Villains are fun to watch because they are so flawed, and it often makes them feel more real than the heroes.
On the other hand, heroes may not always be perfect, but part of their growth process is making mistakes and choosing a better path – a path the villains were faced with and ultimately chose a different route. Today, we’re counting down some of the villains that have really put Mob to the test. Like any good hero, Mob helped most of these villains eventually change their ways.
5. Dimple
Dimple may not look like it, but he is a formidable foe. He was able to somehow survive being attacked by Mob, leaving him looking like Slimer from Ghostbusters.
Slimer now acts like the proverbial devil on Mob’s shoulder, but is really waiting for the right opportunity to possess the powerful teenage psychic. Even though he has helped Mob on numerous times, he still wants to take over the world.
4. Ishiguro
Hiding himself underneath a creepy gas mask lies an elderly man hiding his scarred face from the world. A powerful esper, Ishiguro believes the world should worship him.
His powers include telekinesis, gravity manipulation powerful enough to create black holes, powerful tackle and punch, and a finishing move called a two-ton guillotine in which he uses his combined strength with his gravity manipulation to decapitate his opponents. Intense stuff.
3. Ryo Shimazaki
Ryo Shimazaki is a powerful member of the Ultimate 5 and has convinced himself that he is one of the most powerful psychics. His huge ego is matched by his abilities, which includes teleportation, telekinesis, and extrasensory perception. Despite being blind, he can also see a person’s aura, allowing him to see the power within his opponents.
2. Keiji Mogami
Although he’s an extremely powerful evil spirit, Keiji Mogami was once known as the Greatest Psychic of the 20th Century. Facing a life of poverty and starvation while his mother was ill, Keiji would use his psychic powers to help people. After she died and began haunting him, he lost all faith in humanity and eventually ended his own life so that he could return as an evil spirit.
With a tragic story like Keiji Mogami has, it’s really no wonder he became a villain. Faced with the same circumstances, his story makes the viewers believe that anyone could become a villain.
1 . Tōichirō Suzuki
Every great hero has their very own archenemy. Batman has the Joker, Spiderman has the Green Goblin, and Mob has Tōichirō Suzuki. Most of the time, it seems that when a hero has met their match, it’s usually because the villain shares similar qualities to the hero. Which, in the case of Mob, it’s Tōichirō Suzuki, also known as Claw.
Like different sides of the same coin, Mob and Claw share the same abilities. But unlike Mob, who has genuine integrity, Claw doesn’t care about anyone around him, including his own son, as he strives for world domination.
Claw shows the viewers what Mob could become if he ever goes dark, and that makes him one compelling villain.