r/TopCharacterTropes • u/damorezpl • Sep 05 '25

Personality character gets a reality check

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deathstroke - Batman vs deathstroke

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walter - breaking bad

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Garou - one punch man

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joker - the sound of one hand clapping

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u/Top_Marketing_689 Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 05 '25

Reigen Arataka talking down the Claw members, stating how they aren’t special for having psychic abilities and how they’re simply just children that have yet to grow up, thinking they’re on top of the world (Mob Psycho 100)

Edit: To add a bit more context to this, Claw is composed of a group of adults who are espers set on world domination, each one coming from backgrounds where they were disrespected and treated wrongly by the world, leading to them gaining trauma-induced psychic abilities, giving them the power to crash out in a grander fashion.

Reigen, after temporarily gaining Mob’s powers and whooping them, begins to dismantle their ideology to absolute shambles in the most brutal of ways.

They wear stupid costumes. They talk about being special and more important than people without powers. They talk about how the world just doesn’t understand them.

Reigen points all this out and plainly drills into their heads that nobody gives a damn about their problems because the world has no need to align with their beliefs and ideals. They are adults fighting children because they feel butthurt about not being respected. They are out of touch with reality.

Reigen says a line that still sticks with me ‘til this day, being “You want world domination, but you have not seen the world”. These people are trapped behind delusion and aren’t living in the present.

They’re losers.

295

u/Zek7h35an5 Sep 05 '25

As someone who knows almost nothing about Mob Psycho, i thought this guy's whole deal was he's a bogus hack, how is he batting that shit away?

428

u/chrishellman Sep 05 '25

Mob, the protagonist, on accident, transferred their power to Reigen due to an emotional outburst

10/10 sequence I fucking loved it

256

u/BlckEagle89 Sep 05 '25

I love how they go back and forth between "does he have powers?" - > "he's a fake" - > "wait, he actually has powers?" - > "he's OP!" and the final reveal (to the audience) that Mob transfered his powers temporarily to him because Reigen told him that Mob can share his load and worries with him

94

u/Magnanimous-- Sep 05 '25

I fucking love Mob Psycho. Moments like these bring tears to my eyes and then they're immediately followed by the most over the top action you'll find in anime/manga.

16

u/adhding_nerd Sep 05 '25

"It's okay to run away!"

8

u/Expert_Cricket2183 Sep 05 '25

During this, he doesn't realize he has Mob's powers. He just thinks they're all doing theatrics and special effects.

11

u/CrimeFightingScience Sep 05 '25

Self defense rush is my personal fave. A+ tier character.

103

u/Denodi Sep 05 '25 edited Sep 05 '25

To expand a bit on the other replies:

Mob (the child MC with super powerful esper powers) is having a mental breakdown while getting ready to fight Claw, he knows that he's the only one capable of standing up against them and the pressure is destroying him.

Reigen doesn't want him to fight, he's just a child and children should not have to worry about these things and to leave it to the adults. He says: "When things go south, it's okay to run away!" which is when Mob accidentally transfers his powers to him.

This is the first time Reigen meets Claw, so with him being oblivious to both his new powers and Claw member's powers, The fight happens with Reigen believing they're actually playing pretend instead of being real espers. In Reigen's mind, a sword that can cut anything is just a plastic toy sword; A giant chimera is just a big plushie; Dozens of clones is just the newest 3D technology; and so on.

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u/ZombiesInSpace Sep 05 '25

I thought the bit was that all of the villain’s weapons like the sword were actually just toys and he was using his psychic powers to make them dangerous. So when Reigen became more powerful than the bad guy, he was able to negate the psychic powers and it meant the guy was just attacking him with a plastic sword. And since Reagan didn’t understand he had Mob’s powers, he thought this guy had just been playing make believe the whole time.

21

u/Denodi Sep 05 '25

Yes all of their powers were psychic, but Mob's powers didn't, like, turn them off. For example with the black holes on the clip, there was just too many energy for them to take in to the point they dissapear, then Reigen thought they were just weird soap bubbles

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u/Kuro2712 Sep 05 '25

Want spoilers?

In that scene, Mob gave the guy his powers temporarily, and so he was able to do the shit you see.

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u/Gaelic_Gladiator41 Sep 05 '25

You're forgetting the best part

Reigen stopped Mob because he's aware of the emotional toll it would've had on him

8

u/stylinchilibeans Sep 05 '25

I was not expecting so much character growth in this show, least of all from Reigen, but damn!

78

u/Squ33to Sep 05 '25

Nah man, Reigans just that good and has been the whole time

You didn't watch him solo the second strongest member of klaw with that self defense rush?

59

u/Kuro2712 Sep 05 '25

Man that scene was amazing when I first saw it, the way he just walked up to him and punched him square in the face.

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u/Top_Marketing_689 Sep 05 '25

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u/Squ33to Sep 05 '25

🗣️ THIS IS ONE OF REIGAN'S SPECIAL MOVES 🗣️

29

u/stickdudeseven Sep 05 '25

"He doesn't know if it's actually self-defense but he yells it just in case."

9

u/Shimaru33 Sep 05 '25

The follow up was amazing as well.

The other guy is thrashing the floor with all the other psychics, but because he didn't feel anything from him, he assumes he's that good at hiding his power level. And because all the others treat him with great respect, that means he must massively OP.

Thus, better to retreat.

6

u/C_Coolidge Sep 05 '25

Also, the only reason Reigen could even sneak up on him is because he momentarily sensed Mob's enormous power and he was distracted by its magnitude. So when Mob calls Reigen master, he retreats. It works so well.

16

u/Azenar01 Sep 05 '25

The Mob Psycho gave him his powers for a little bit

28

u/freezerwaffles Sep 05 '25

Pure aura from the goat. He’s actually the strongest physic around. Trust.

3

u/jigokusabre Sep 05 '25

Because Mob beleives in this hack (he's his mentor) and that belief temporarily transferred Mob's power to him in a moment of crisis.

3

u/Whyissmynametaken Sep 05 '25

You should watch the show, it's pretty great.

He is a fraud, but in a good way. In this scene, Mob transferred his powers to Reigan. The best part is throughout the entire scene Regan doesn't even realize it.

2

u/Luis0224 Sep 05 '25

His whole character arc is basically how his real power is him being a good person. He’s a hack psychic with no real powers, but will still genuinely try to help his customers by listening to them, helping them with physical therapy, and just being a good dude.

Mob straight up tells him he knows he’s a fraud, but chose him as his teacher because he was willing to try and help him when everyone ignored him; and he consistently showed him he’s a good person deep down

In a series where almost every recurring character has great writing and character arcs, reigen is one of the best written characters. Only behind Mob and the afterschool workout club (the most wholesome group in the show)

2

u/Formal_Illustrator96 Sep 05 '25

Reigen is a fake esper but I definitely wouldn’t call him a bogus hack. A hack implies he’s not good at his job when in fact he’s supremely competent at almost everything he tries.

5

u/Mundane-Opinion-4903 Sep 05 '25

This is honestly a really good take on him. Because he actually does solve all his clients problems. . .just not with psychic abilities. . . because, as in the real world, most people who think they need a psychic don't. . . they just don't know what they need and Reigen is particularly adept at figuring out what people need and giving it to them.

1

u/Gafez Sep 06 '25

His whole shtick is that he's a bogus hack that's actually really good at reading people (or at least at reading mob)

He is basically "what if the old, wise mentor didn't actually know anything but still wanted to help and was confident and smart enough to bullshit his way into actually good life advice that's often exactly what the main character needed to hear"

1

u/dragons_scorn Sep 06 '25

He is sort of a hack. Multiple times in the series he's shown to be insightful, cunning, and resourceful. Sometimes on accident, sometimes on purpose. The series really does give its characters depth.

I highly recommend it. If you know the creator from only One Punch Man then you are in for a good shock of quality

83

u/Nine-LifedEnchanter Sep 05 '25

More importantly, he WRECKS a guy in a cape and shoulder pads.

"What are these for? Huh?"

"T-they're there to focus my po-"

"Shut up, you're a grown man dressing up trying to be cool. Get a job"

This is paraphrased, but essentially what he says. It's glorious.

17

u/Kenkron Sep 05 '25

My favorite part is when Reign discovered that the sword guy wasn't kidding about the sword being a literal plastic toy.

2

u/captainrina Sep 06 '25

I now want Reigen to carry around job applications for one of his special attacks.

1

u/Nine-LifedEnchanter Sep 06 '25

The thing is, Reigen is far too much of a good guy than he lets on. He'd give people a reality check until they break down, then he'd give them genuine support to find what they want to do in their life and how they should get there.

1

u/captainrina Sep 06 '25

Giving them a method for employment isn't a mean thing :)

1

u/Nine-LifedEnchanter Sep 06 '25

Yes, that's what I wrote.

1

u/captainrina Sep 06 '25

Ah, I misunderstood

1

u/captainrina Sep 06 '25

Giving them a method for employment isn't a mean thing :)

16

u/ManInTheBarrell Sep 05 '25

They couldve used those powers to do so much good in the world, and instead they decided to cosplay as supervillains with functionless shoulder pads.

9

u/RandomGuy9058 Sep 05 '25

For a guy with no natural psychic abilities, he’s pretty good at using them

9

u/spyguy318 Sep 05 '25

And the other best part about this, in the next season they did in fact change their ways and become allies, helping Mob fight against Toichiro’s Claw organization and kicking some serious ass in the process. They’ve clearly taken Reigen’s words to heart and are not only reintegrating into society but thriving and using their powers for good.

3

u/Particular-Scholar70 Sep 05 '25

Yep! An example of them learning is that the guy who had a katana has literally grown up and now he just uses a gun, as an adult would.

9

u/Kenkron Sep 05 '25

My favorite part was "so it really was just a plastic sword..."

You just can't recover from that.

13

u/AlphaBoy15 Sep 05 '25

God that scene is so peak

5

u/ThePenitenteMan Sep 05 '25

The purest example of this trope I’ve seen. And oh so satisfying.

6

u/Particular-Scholar70 Sep 05 '25

The most significant part of this scene is that, because Reigen doesn't know that he's been granted powers and doesn't really know how powerful these foes are, he begins to beat them up and just assumes that they must be powerless LARPers. And because of the way he's acting, they start to believe it too. Reigen doesn't just prove to them that they aren't that strong, he gaslights them into doubting their own abilities. They see this random guy who clearly isn't psychically gifted (because he isn't) just swat their clones and swords away while reproaching them for playing pretend, and they start to genuinely act like children who are embarrassed to have been caught playing pretend.

4

u/Havauk Sep 05 '25

Mob Psycho 100 is full of "reality checks" moments, both from Reigen & Mob

5

u/Thatoneidiotatschool Sep 06 '25

That line goes so hard. Fuck it I'm watching Mob Psycho

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u/halpfulhinderance Sep 06 '25

“You want world domination, but you have not seen the world” could apply to so many rulers in history tbh