The following contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Mob Psycho 100 III, “Divine Tree 2 ~Peace~,” now streaming onCrunchyroll.
The fifth episode ofMob Psycho 100 IIIcontinues the series' upward trend, with Mob confronting the false founder of the Psycho Helmet Religion and the individual behind the brainwashing of everyone in Seasoning City. His levels of emotional stimulation continue to climb in this episode, as he is simultaneously saddened and angered by the path Dimple has chosen to take, as well as how it affects the people around them. Episode 5 is another Studio Bones masterclass, but it is also an eye-opener when it comes to Dimple’s character.
The confrontation is only just getting serious in this episode, as Mob’s emotions fluctuate throughout the rapidly deteriorating conversation between himself and Dimple. Will Mob be able to get through to his friend once again?
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A New God
As Mob approaches the Divine Tree, he speaks to the false founder via telepathy. Referring to himself as Psycho Helmet, the founder reveals his plan for the Psycho Helmet Religion, including the false origin story he has concocted to give credence to the religion. His desire is to become a new god through the manipulation of people’s belief, a force powerful enough to change reality itself.
With his false narrative and claims of being the reincarnation of their creator, Psycho Helmet claims to be leading people towards the right path — peace. All that is required of the believers is to pray to the Divine Tree for five minutes a day, and Psycho Helmet can sustain his overwhelming influence. The rest will be up to how the believers interpret the lore – a group that includes Reigen and Ritsu. When Mob arrives at the center, he is shocked to find Teru unconscious, bound to one of the many branches by countless vines, and even worse, the culprit behind this whole incident isnone other than Dimple.
Come Out, I Just Want to Talk
Despite being angered by Dimple’s actions, Mob really just wants to have a face-to-face conversation with him about everything, and perhaps come to some kind of understanding. Dimple’s first order of business is to try to recruit Mob into the Psycho Helmet Religion once again, and “join him at the top”; however, Mob refuses, as Dimple expected. Dimple reminds Mob that the entire city has become part of his new religion, and that he should stop putting up a fight and join. He further explains how he managed to brainwash everyone, detailing how coming into contact with, or ingesting a piece of the tree is how he managed to win everyone over.
The only individual who was aware that something bad was afoot was Teru, who also ended up being brainwashed. While some people weren’t directly brainwashed, Dimple explains that when surrounded by a large enough energy, people can get overwhelmed by their surroundings and conform to the status quo – this is how Dimplemanages to get Reigen. The final step of the plan is for the faith to spread nationwide, and then worldwide through the strength of the believers' faith. Mob implores Dimple to stop what he’s doing because it is causing damage, but Dimple only sees it as bringing happiness to people – he doesn’t see anything wrong with what he’s doing at all.
Anger
What irritates Mob the most about Dimple’s position is that he feels justified in using underhanded means to achieve his goals and making it impossible for anyone to defy him. This blind following that Dimple has created for himself even includes Mob’s good friend Teru, who lays it out simply: if Mob forcibly tears apart what Dimple has built, he will be making an enemy of every last person in Seasoning City – Teru included. Emboldened by his belief, Teru receives a great deal of power from the Divine Tree which he uses in his attempts to subdue Mob. Mob’s emotions continue to swell as he is forced to use his powers on Teru, something which he greatly abhors doing.
The episode does well to show just how profound the brainwashing is, as in a moment where it appears that Teru has overwhelmed Mob, he expresses regret for “hurting the Divine Tree”. The vines that hold Mob are in a way symbolic of the Tree’s influence and grasp over all its believers, and these vines continue to be a visual motif inMob Psycho 100 III.Despite being supported by the Divine Tree,Mob quickly defeats Teruin a blinding flash of light. Mob is left to combat Dimple, who fights using mannequins constructed from the roots of the Divine Tree.
Pain
ThroughoutMob Psycho 100 IIIepisode 5, Mob constantly reiterates that he wants to speak to Dimple in his true form, not the form of “the founder” that he has assumed with help from the Divine Tree. Due to the immense power up he’s experiencing while being attached to the tree, Dimple is under the impression that he can take Mob down; however, he does not realize how wrong he is, and how much of a mistake it is for him to turn the confrontation into a full-blown fight. Mob tells him that he’s saddened by the way Dimple is going about this, and even criticizes his goal of becoming a powerful god. Dimple reveals the unfortunate truth: he was always planning on doing this at some point, which of course, makes the relationship that he fostered with Mob since their meeting in the first season highly questionable, and the realization is very difficult for Mob to take.
Wondering if Dimple is avoiding addressing him in his true form because he is scared, Mob’s emotions are pushed beyond the 90% threshold. He sheds tears of anguish, but he has no time to cry has he realizes thathis powers are being siphonedby the tree and fueling Dimple. Dimple concedes that maybe he may not be able to convince Mob to calm down, so he suggests that he will get Tsubomi to do that for him, which sends Mob beyond 95%. Dimple explains that Tsubomi’s incredible sense of self and honesty when she does not want to do something are evidence that her involvement in the Psycho Helmet Religion is down to her personal values. Dangling Tsubomi in front of Shigeo like a carrot, Dimple suggests that he may finally be able to get her attention if he became the founder of the Psycho Helmet Religion, but Mob is no longer in the mood to talk.
True Form
Deciding to get serious too, Dimple assumes his so-called true form: a golden, muscular form he has dubbed “Godly Dimple”. He then unleashes a flurry of aptly-named attacks in an attempt to get Mob to give up; however, Dimple is aware that he’ll need more than that to defeat him. It turns out that Mob was correct in his line of thinking: Dimple is scared, and he tries to come up with a solid plan to beat him, using his knowledge of all of Mob’s major battles as the basis of his attack pattern. Dimple is flustered when Mob wholly rejects Dimple’s new self, and he unleashes a powerful beam attack that sends Mob’s rage to 99%.
Dimple immediately regrets the attack because he worries about having put too much power into it; however, when he feels the rage emanating from Mob as the dust settles, he finds himself quaking in fear. Mob confirms the strength of the attack by saying it could have killed him, adding that if it were any stronger, he would have actually lost all faith in Dimple. Mob tells Dimple that he just wants to know his true feelings, so Dimple admits that he was always trying to use Mob from the start. Mob is saddened by the truth, and a final blow from Dimple does nothing more than shred Mob’s school jacket, revealing the Smart Monkeyshirt Mob bought together with Teru.
Upon seeing the shirt, Dimple is so surprised that he can’t help but say exactly what’s on his mind: the shirt is so uncool. After all that happens in this episode, it caps with a hilarious final bit where Dimple’s stray comment about Mob’s new shirt is what sends Mob over edge, reaching 100%. The episode is by far the season’s most eventful, and the emotional stakes are the highest they have been thus far in yet another amazing week forMob Psycho 100 III.
