Shigeo Kageyama

Creation

Mob was designed by manga creator One as a deliberate opposite to Saitama, the overpowered hero from his earlier work One-Punch Man. Where Saitama is overwhelmingly strong, Mob is portrayed as fragile and vulnerable, which means he often relies on help from other characters. One intended Mob to be a genuinely kind person who could serve as an ideal lead; rather than avoiding dangerous people or situations, Mob confronts his opponents in a way that reads as heroic. At the same time, Mob is supposed to come across as somewhat awkward or nerdy. When Bones took on the anime adaptation, One asked that Mob’s character stay true to the original manga. According to Comic Book Resources, One has said that Mob is based on his own younger self, since he rarely voiced his ambition to become a manga artist while he was in school.

Director Yuzuru Tachikawa has noted that Mob feels realistic for an anime protagonist because his main goal is simply to be popular among his classmates. Director Yoshimichi Kameda also identifies with Mob, citing their shared lack of self-confidence and difficulty expressing themselves. For the anime, the staff wanted to carefully show how Mob gradually begins to use his psychic abilities to protect himself. The second season was designed to put Mob up against more supernatural threats. Tachikawa has pointed out that Mob’s rejection of his own powers is an unusual trait. In response, One explained that the core of the series comes from Mob’s kindness and his relationships with others. When the story started to include more fight scenes, One decided to give Mob esper powers specifically to allow for slice-of-life chapters. Even so, Mob’s kindness never faded, as seen in how he changes those around him—Dimple, for example, undergoes a personality shift after meeting Mob.

Appearances

Shigeo Kageyama, often called Mob, is an eighth-grade student who happens to be an esper with immense psychic abilities. His most recognizable trait is his bowl-cut hairstyle. Since childhood, Mob has struggled to pick up on social cues and rarely shows strong emotions, usually keeping a blank expression. He believes his powers are unnecessary and tries to avoid using them. To keep his abilities in check, he bottles up his feelings, but when his emotional pressure hits 100 percent, the strongest emotion he feels takes over and his powers burst out uncontrollably. He works at Reigen's spirit counseling office for 300 yen per hour. When the Telepathy Club begged him to join so they wouldn't be disbanded, Mob chose instead to join the Body Improvement Club, hoping to impress his secret crush, Tsubomi, and to better himself as a person. Unbeknownst to him and most others, he is known as Salt Middle School's secret gang leader, the White T Poison. Mob also has a hidden power called ???%, which far exceeds his normal abilities but only awakens when he is unconscious and cannot be controlled.

In the story, Mob comes across Claw, a criminal group made up of other espers who are gathering psychics for a world domination plot. Their leader, Touichirou Suzuki, and his top agents fight Mob and his friends. While Teru and Ritsu battle the Scars, Mob is torn between using his powers to save his friends or running away as Reigen advised. Reigen eventually calms him down and accidentally absorbs Mob's powers, taking over the fight against the Scars. Showing kindness to Toichiro, Mob redirects the energy into his own body, resulting in a smaller explosion that spares the city. Afterward, Toichiro admits his wrongdoing, apologizes to his son Sho, and lets himself be taken into custody. On the news, it is revealed that what looked like a huge explosion actually caused a broccoli seed Mob had in his shirt pocket to grow instantly, creating the Divine Tree.

Reception

Shigeo Kageyama, better known as Mob, has drawn widespread attention in anime circles. Otakuzine Anime Magazine ranked him among the finest exorcists in anime history, highlighting the contrast between his immense psychic abilities and his timid demeanor. In 2020, a tea salon in Ginza even featured a drink adorned with his likeness. Comic Book Resources similarly praised him as one of anime’s top psychics, citing the sheer potential of his powers. At the first Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2017, his fight with Koyama won Best Fight Scene, and he was also up for Hero of the Year. By the fourth awards in 2020, Mob and his English voice actor Kyle McCarley earned nominations for Best Boy and Best Voice Artist Performance, respectively. In 2024, he was nominated for Best Main Character at the eighth edition. Critics have often responded positively to his character. Den of Geek noted that while his powers might suggest a typical anime hero, Mob subverts expectations by mostly rejecting his abilities and focusing on physical training to gain popularity. His shifting emotional states during different experiences were also singled out as a standout trait, with his mentor Reigen described as nearly his complete opposite.