batneko:

more facts that are extremely easy to miss in Mob Psycho:

• Reigen Arataka (last name first name) is a kind of unusual name that pretty much translates to “great spiritual power.” I don’t know what his goddamn parents were thinking.
• standing out is frowned on in Japanese culture, so Ritsu not acting like he’s naturally gifted is pretty normal. the fact that he has a complex goes easily overlooked even by the other characters.
• Teru’s hair is bleached.
• boys usually call each other by their last names so Teru and Mob are on normal-friendly terms with each other. an exception to that is childhood friends, which many of Mob’s classmates are, in which case it’s not weird to use a childhood nickname.
• “Mobu” is both a pun on how he looks like a background character, “part of the mob,” and an alternate reading of the characters in his first name, ala Deku from Boku no Hero Academia.
• the reason massages are such a big part of Reigen’s business is that there’s a very very common belief in Japan that curses can manifest as physical pain or stiffness.
  
• Reigen’s thing about always burning his mouth is called a “cat’s tongue” and basically means he’s too sensitive. in manga and anime this trait is usually given to cute girls.
• Reigen turning red when he drinks is called “alcohol flush reaction,” and is pretty common in Asian people. it’s mostly harmless but it means he might also get sick super easily from drinking.
• spoon-bending was popularized by Uri Geller, a repeatedly-debunked “psychic,” who became weirdly memetic in Japan, to the point where the pokemon Kadabra is called “Yungerer” there (more or less pronounced “yun-geller”). is this relevant to Mob Psycho? no, not particularly. but did I just learn about it and need to tell someone? yes, absolutely. absolutely.