Episode 20

"Even Then ~Continue Forward~" is the 20th of the Mob Psycho 100 anime adaptation, and the eighth episode of the second season.

Synopsis
The day for the annual marathon at Salt Middle School was drawing nearer. Mob proclaims that if he places in the top 10, he'll tell Tsubomi how he feels about her. Everyone around him cheers Mob on, and he starts training hard every day until the day of the event. Meanwhile, Tsubomi and her friend Miki go to Reigen's Spirits and Such Consultation Office with a request. Ritsu happens to be at the office, helping out in Mob's absence, but he hears Tsubomi say something rather surprising.

Plot
A flashback shows a young Mob and Ritsu chasing after a toy airplane, where despite their mother's protest, they do, and Mob faints and hurts himself. The pain from the scrap on his knee would cause, Mob's psychic powers to go haywire, much to his mother's concern, but to his father's amusement.

Mezato visits the newly established Psycho Helmet Cult HQ with 700 members strong, with new recruits joining periodically. There is no scripture or clue how to run it; their only cause is the belief that their leader is an Esper that Mezato knows the cult's leader is Mob. The Cult's popularity is also gaining traction on the net, and with it, Mezato believes if Mob appears before the cult, it'd have a massive growth in people who wants to see it.. just for fun.

At Salt Middle School, it's announced that the 5km marathon is coming up, and the students in Mob's class cry foul over it. After class, Mezato approaches Mob and asks to meet her on the rooftop around lunchtime. Dimple appears behind Mob and comments on how another girl will ask him out again. However, Mob thinks she only wants to talk, and that Dimple was being melodramatic. On the rooftop, Mezato suggests that Mob use his powers to win the marathon and impress a religious cult that are all fans of his. She'd go on to explain how avidly interested they are in Mob, who nearly deduced his identity and have located what school he goes to thanks to a candid photo of him they procured. On the other hand, Mob wants to participate in the marathon without using his powers and hopes to impress his crush Tsubomi after his string of mishaps in the past. His main goal is to be one of the top ten runners in the marathon that year.

Afterward, Mob informs his Telepathy Club friends about his goal, and they learn that last year he placed 291st out of 300. To try and help him, the boys try and give Mob helpful advice; however, they're all shot down by Tome's pessimistic realism. Out of nowhere, Onigawara appears, gives Mob a motivational speech, and loans him his running shoes. Despite this kind gesture, Goda, accompanied by the other Body Improvement Club members doing squats outside, reveals that the running shoes are the wrong size for Mob. Tome then comments on how the remark was uncalled for.

After school, at the office, Reigen learns from Dimple about Mob's goal for the upcoming marathon and decides to do training exercises with Mob to prepare him for the marathon. During their first training session, Ritsu learns from Dimple about Mob's goal and has apprehensive feelings about it. However, Ritsu would also cover for Mob doing some household chores due to Mob being exhausted from his training.

As Mob continues his training, Ritsu and Teruki assist Reigen with his work at his office. Just as Reigen was going to assign the two tasks, Tsubomi and a friend of hers entered the office. Their appearance makes Ritsu hide because he doesn't want Takane to figure out that Mob is associated with a shady business. Tsubomi's friend Miki tells Reigen she's there seeking relationship advice, so Reigen has her fill out a questionnaire. After Miki does, she and Tsubomi are served tea by Teruki, and as Reigen reviews the questionnaire, he realizes they go to the same school that someone he knows goes to, much to Ritsu's agitation. While Reigen continues reviewing the questionnaire, Tsubomi finds a picture of Mob on the Satisfied Customer Board. Once Miki's advice session was complete, Tsubomi asked for relationship advice about a person she was interested in from her cram school. After her explanation, Reigen suggests that she ask the person out immediately and believes she won't be rejected by doing this. With that, the two leave as Reigen warmly says they're welcome back whenever they want.

Meanwhile, Mob continues his marathon training, and at a park bench, Miki and Tsubomi enjoy some soda from a vending machine, and Tsubomi reveals that she lied about her question. In truth, she wanted to test if Reigen was legit or not and her impression of him, in the end, was favorable, while internally remembering the picture she saw of Mob and Reigen on the board.

On the day of the marathon, Mezato hopes that Mob succeeds in impressing his cult fans, while his parents worry for Mob will do well or not. Although Mob was nervous about the race, his fellow Body Building Club members cheered him up. After the race starts, Mob faints and scrapes his knee, but continues onward despite Dimple offering to possess him to help him meet his goal. Eventually, Reigen appears jogging beside Mob and informs him and Dimple that Mob's current placement in the race was 74th, but soon Mob faints due to extreme exhaustion.

When Mob finally wakes up in the school infirmary, his teacher Mr. Koga informs him about the race results for him and Ritsu. As Mob decides to walk home, his mom prepares a celebratory dinner for her kids as the doorbell rings and Ritsu answers it to see Sho, one of Claw's espers. Finally home, Mob finds his home ablaze. Entering it, Mob processes the situation until despite Dimple's protest finds what appears to be his family's charred bodies on the ground causing his emotional state to go ???%.

Notes and Trivia

 * The ending graphics featuring Banshomaru Shinra, Emi, and Minori Asagiri are replaced with Sho Suzuki.
 * The scene with Tsubomi and Miki is adapted from the Omake.