Mob Psycho 100′s third season just premiered on Crunchyroll, and along with it, an entire army’s worth of questions arouse. The manga created by One undeniably comprises one of the most interesting power dynamics in the shounen world, thus becoming one of the most awaited series since its animated counterpart was announced in 2016. With possibly a few of the strongest characters in the world of anime, Mob Psycho 100 truly made a name for itself when it gathered a few powerhouses in its midst — especially considering the fun-hearted nature of the show.
Although the anime series isn’t the type of story that takes itself too seriously — the severity of Reigen’s agency and how it started as a fraud being the best example — its characters with psychic powers are not to be underestimated. The main character, Shigeo ‘Mob’ Kageyama, has quickly become one of the most destructive and overwhelmingly powerful main characters in all of the shounen’s anime, only being challenged by a handful of characters in the story. During the third season’s debut, Mob and Reigen welcomed a new psychic to the Spirits and Such Consultation Office — Katsuyama Serizawa.
Who is Katsuyama Serizawa?
Serizawa, prior to joining Reigen and Mob, was a former member of the Ultimate 5, and an ex-participant of Claw. He is also a very powerful Esper, meaning he naturally awakened his psychic abilities, showing he is far stronger than many other psychics as natural espers are very rare. Serizawa is well aware of his power but is absolutely frightened of losing grasp of his abilities — which he did very easily. He is, ultimately, haunted by his own power, to the point where he would completely burst with psychic power just from losing his trusty comfort item, the umbrella.
Before joining Claw, Serizawa was incredibly naive and sheltered, hiding himself to keep others safe for 15 years and staying in his own bubble due to his anxious personality. He is also someone who cares for the well-being of others, oftentimes placing other people’s needs and safety before his own.
As an ex-member of the Ultimate 5, Serizawa was highly dependent on Tōichirō Suzuki, who saved him from his bedroom, handing him an umbrella as the extension of the room Serizawa had been in for so long. Consequently, the psychic became someone who does not take action without guidance from others, although some of his confidence has slowly but surely been returning after Reigen took Serizawa under his wing as the third (well, second) psychic at Spirits and Such Consultation Office.
Is Serizawa stronger than Mob?
So far in the anime, Serizawa and Mob have fought one time, with the younger psychic emerging victorious. During their altercation, Mob won Serizawa over through empathy and kindness, using his 100% friendship power to easily win the fight, and ultimately share his friendship memories with the psychic, thus, showing him he had been used by Tōichirō, who never considered him to be his friend. To him, Serizawa was merely a strong tool for protection. Through this, Serizawa was able to understand the true meaning of friendship, saving Reigen against Tōichirō, melting his trusty umbrella in the process, and thus starting a new era of freedom.
But what would have happened if Mob and Serizawa had truly engaged in a psychic fight?
Long story short, Mob would’ve certainly won. Granted, Mob has only reached his ‘100%” state once, meaning he has only filled up to his full potential during just that one instance. However, by showing his power against Serizawa, it was quite obvious the older psychic wouldn’t win in a fight. Although, he would certainly hold his own against Mob — as he has before — becoming one of the only people to be able to withstand his own in a fight against the titular protagonist of the series.
He has also been able to handle Tōichirō at 3% with just his umbrella, showing he is, by any means, no ordinary psychic. Serizawa was also the strongest Esper in Mob Psycho 100, showing that he has the potential to become an even stronger fighter — even if he may never reach Mob’s 100%.
Naturally, considering the anime is still ongoing, there ought to be plenty of information that will be ultimately unveiled. So, every single fan of the series should expect quite the shift in Mob and Serizawa’s power progress. As the psychics who keep the agency profitable — although Reigen would disagree — both characters are certain to grow and learn more as they face newer and more difficult challenges ahead.