Shigeo Kageyama

Lore & Background

One created Mob as a contrast to his previous protagonist from One Punch Man, Saitama, aiming to portray Mob as a weak hero who still gets involved in several fights and forms new relationships thanks to his kindness. According to Comic Book Resources, One said that Mob was based on himself during his youth as he barely expressed his desires of becoming a manga artist during his time at school. Director Yuzuru Tachikawa said Mob carries realistic traits for an anime protagonist as his primary desire is to live a normal life and be popular with girls to impress his crush Tsubomi. Character designer Yoshimichi Kameda also relates to Mob due to their poor confidence on themselves and thus are unable to properly express themselves. Answering to Tachikawa, One said that the concept behind the series comes from Mob's kindness and connections. When it turned into a fighting series, One came up with the idea of Mob having esper powers for slice of life chapters. Nevertheless, the protagonist's kindness remained intact due to how he changes people's lives citing Dimple's changes of personality after meeting Mob.

In Their Own Story

Mob is an eighth grade Esper with powerful psychic abilities. His bowl-cut hairstyle is his defining physical feature. He is not good at reading the atmosphere, and since childhood, has rarely felt or displayed intense emotion, typically having a dull expression on his face. He thinks his power is unnecessary in his life, so he avoids using it. He suppresses his emotions to keep his power in control, but when the percentage of his accumulated feelings reaches 100, he is overcome by the strongest emotion he is currently feeling and unleashes the full extent of his powers. He works at Reigen's spirit counsel for 300 yen an hour. After being begged to join the Telepathy Club to prevent their dissolution, he instead chose to join the Body Improvement Club hoping not only to impress his secret love, Tsubomi, but also to improve himself as a person. He is credited as Salt Middle School's urabanchō (裏番長 is roughly translated as "secret school gang leader") known as White T Poison, but this remains unknown to many including himself. Mob also possesses an unknown power which far surpasses even the height of his abilities, but is uncontrollable and only awakens when unconscious, and is called ???%. During the narrative, Mob encounters Claw, a criminal organization composed of many other Espers, gathering others with psychic powers for their scheme to achieve world domination. Group leader Touichirou Suzuki with their top agents battle Mob and his friends. While Teru and Ritsu fight against the Scars, Mob is stressed whether to use his psychic powers to save his friends or to run away as advised by Reigen. Reigen eventually calms him and accidentally absorbs his powers to take over the fight against the Scars. Mob, showing his kindness to Toichiro, redirects the power into his body, leading to a seemingly smaller explosion that keeps the city safe. In the aftermath, Toichiro admits his mistake and allows himself to be taken into custody, after apologizing to Sho. On television, it is shown that the apparent huge explosion actually caused the sudden growth of the broccoli seed that Mob kept in his shirt pocket, forming the Divine Tree. The broccoli tree's power is absorbed by Dimple to fulfill his wish to become a god. Having heard of this Mob convinces Dimple to stop with what he is doing, and refrains from using his psychic powers during their talk. After learning Tsubomi would leave school, Mob decides to confess his love to her but nearly dies on the way in an accident. This causes the return of ???% who starts destroying the city. As his friends fail to save, Mob's consciousness manages to contact ???% who reveals himself as Mob's suppressed emotions. As ???% reveals he fears to confront Reigen as he knows he is just using them for his own personal benefit, Mob is confronted by Reigen. Reigen confesses to Mob that he has been using him but still believes none of them are special just for having different skills. This causes Mob to accept himself and absorb with ???% After recovering his persona, Mob confesses his feelings to Tsubomi but is rejected. In the ending of the series, Shigeo becomes vice-president of the Body Improvement Club, where he first welcomes new students. Then, he walks with Ritsu and Teruki to Reigen's birthday party showing that he is now in control of his emotions and powers.

Reader's Guide

Shigeo Kageyama is a middle school student whose defining trait is his overwhelming suppression of emotions. While he possesses limitless psychic abilities capable of destroying cities, his primary struggle is navigating social interactions and finding genuine connection without relying on his powers. His arc transforms him from a passive vessel for others' desires into an individual who values his own feelings. Initially, he acts only when pushed to the breaking point, but gradually learns that expressing anger, joy, or sadness is healthy and necessary. He rejects the idea that power defines worth, choosing instead to value hard work and kindness. Mob's powers include telekinesis, telepathy, astral projection, and energy manipulation. His signature state involves his hair turning white as he unleashes suppressed emotions. Key moments include his confrontation with Dimple, his decision to leave Reigen's agency to find his own path, and his ultimate realization that being 'normal' is a choice, not a limitation.

Did You Know?

• Mob works as an assistant to con-man Reigen Arataka for 300 yen per hour.
• Mob is credited as the leader of Salt Middle School's 'White T-PO' or 'White T-shirt gang', but Mob is unaware of this title, and the term 'urabandchō' is not used.
• Mob possesses a state called ???%, where his psychic power is unleashed without emotional restraint, often when he is unconscious or emotionally overwhelmed. It is still his own power, not a separate entity.
• One said that Mob was based on himself during his youth as he barely expressed his desires of becoming a manga artist during his time at school.
• Mob is voiced by Setsuo Ito in Japanese and by Kyle McCarley in English for the first two seasons.