Ritsu Kageyama is the younger brother of Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama inMob Psycho 100. He seems like a normal, non-psychic kid at first, but that changes as the series goes on. Ritsu is clever, on the student council, and generously praised by his parents for being “normal.” Ritsu seems “bland” and quiet at first, but it is revealed that there is much, much more going through his head than people realize.
While Mob has his fair share of baggage, Ritsu also shares that baggage simply by being close to his brother. Some things that Mob goes through directly affect his younger brother, such as all the shenanigans in the 7th Branch Arc. With a brother like Mob, it’s no wonder that Ritsufeels inadequate deep down inside.
Personality
Ritsu is a quiet, smart middle schooler. As mentioned earlier, he’s on the student council, which is typically only for high ranking students. While Ritsu seems well put together and mostly a kind person, it is revealed during season 2 that he’s incredibly insecure. He looks up to his brother Mob but also envies him for his psychic powers. He feels as though he can’t keep up with how special his brother is even though he tries hard to do so. In fact,in the opening song of the first season, one of the lines is “just like Mob,” which might be a reference to how Ritsu wants to be like Mob. Despite wanting to be similar to Mob, Ritsu is much less humble and believes himself to be better than most people. This is especially obvious after it is revealed that he also has strong esper powers.
RELATED:15 Best Anime To Watch If You Love Mob Psycho 100
Powers and Skills
During season 2, Ritsu finds out he is also an esper like Mob. This does make sense, considering they are siblings. The stress of the student council corruption starts to get to him, thus triggering his psychic abilities to activate. Dimple helps Ritsu control his psychic abilities by possessing him.Ritsu’s powers are obviously very strong, but they don’t match up to other espers such as Teru or Mob. Regardless, Ritsu hones his abilities and ends up using them for somewhat immoral purposes.
He uses his newfound psychic abilities to teach student council member Shinji a lesson for being incredibly corrupt. Ritsu also uses his abilities to beat up people who mistake him for Shigeo or “White T.” At one point, heforces Dimple to stop possessing himdue to the fact that Dimple starts disagreeing with him about how he uses his powers. Dimple recognizes that this is way out of his hands and runs off before he can get hurt. Teru sees Ritsu and finds Mob so he can stop his younger brother.
Relationships
Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama
As mentioned throughout this article, Ritsu has a complicated relationship with his older brother. On one hand, Ritsu is afraid of Mob’s powers. On the other hand, Ritsu looks up to Mob and how strong he is.They share feelings with each otherafter Mob finds Ritsu again in the 7th Branch Arc. It’s revealed that both of them deeply care about each other but have trouble expressing this.
Teruki “Teru” Hanazawa
Teru is a good friend of Mob’s and by proxy a friend of Ritsu’s. The first time they meet, Teru has no clue that Ritsu is related to Mob. He sees Ritsu going overboard with his psychic powers on some school hooligans. Teru intimidates Ritsu into stopping by showing him how strong his own esper powers are. Later on in the series, Ritsu and Teru can both be seen occasionally helping Reigen and Mob at the Spirits and Such Consultation Office.
Dimple
Originally, Ritsu thinks Dimple is some kind of ugly balloon floating near their house. When he finds out he’s a spirit, hetries to exorcize himby beating him in the face with his knee. Dimple helps Ritsu realize he actually has psychic abilities. When Ritsu bends a bunch of spoons he wasn’t holding, they make a deal in which Dimple will possess Ritsu and help him gain control of his powers. This works out until Ritsu gets a better hold of his powers and forcefully ejects Dimple from his body.
Arataka Reigen
Reigen and Ritsu don’t have much interaction at first. Ritsu only reallyknows him as Mob’s mentor. Reigen tries to get Ritsu’s help before he awakens his powers, resulting in Ritsu giving Reigen the cold shoulder. After awakening his powers, Ritsu starts to see through Reigen and his “psychic powers” facade. Despite this, he occasionaly helps him due to Mob saying he is actually a good person.
RELATED:Mob Psycho 100 III: Why This Season’s Pacing Is Brilliant
Main Role in the Series
Ritsu is Shigeo “Mob” Kageyama’s younger brother. At first, he was simply another character in Mob’s family, but he ends up having a more important role as time goes on. During the 7th Branch Arc, Ritsu is captured with other children espers to become indoctrinated into the organization. Claw actually wanted Mob and not Ritsu, however Ritsu was pretending to be Mob during this time. The fact that Ritsu was abducted spurs Mob to help save them as well. During this arc, it is also revealed thatMob is terrified of hurting his younger siblingagain like he did when they were children when Mob went out of control protecting his brother. While Ritsu isn’t exactly a foil to Mob, he does showcase the difference in power that Mob has with other espers.
With everything Ritsu has been through, it’s no wonderhis character is so much more developedin the most recent season. Ritsu has become a well-rounded, powerful psychic similar to his brother. Despite the similarities with powers, Mob and Ritsu are still very different characters. Due to the fact that they have their own personalities and a developing sibling relationship, they become a brother duo that is incredibly relatable for many fans with siblings. More of Ritsu can be seen in the current season ofMob Psycho 100, which is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
MORE:Mob Psycho 100 III Episode 12 Review – Confession ~ The Future
