After four seasons, Mob has managed to accomplish the one thing he has always wanted: he has avoided the entire BL universe. The problem is that the series has not given him much else. Despite being its final season, the story still offers no genuine closure for its university-student protagonist, no meaningful relationship and almost no personal growth.
The setup remains unchanged. Mob spends his time desperately trying to escape romance, while fate repeatedly places him in situations designed to push him toward another man. Each of the six episodes, which run for roughly 23 minutes, contains two familiar “flags”—the kind of events that could launch a BL storyline. Mob’s role is to recognize the danger and find an increasingly elaborate way out.
Season three appeared to leave him caught between his ex, Kikuchi, and Hatano, a younger admirer who is still a minor. That apparent love triangle was ultimately revealed to be a dream, but Hatano’s feelings are real. He continues pursuing Mob and once again says he will make a serious move in three years, when he is no longer a minor. Mob, meanwhile, keeps doing everything possible to avoid him.
The season’s first four episodes run through one romantic setup after another. Spring pollen produces watery eyes and flushed cheeks. A quiet study session leaves Mob alone in a room with an attractive classmate. Two people are forced to share an umbrella. A street fight becomes the familiar heroic rescue. The holiday season supplies even more opportunities for romantic misunderstanding, all of which Mob treats as threats to be escaped.
There is an amusing contrast in the way these scenarios affect everyone else. The same flags that send Mob into a panic routinely push other men and couples together. They meet, pair off and vanish, usually leaving little lasting impression. The show still gets some laughs from the absurdity of the situations and from Mob’s exaggerated responses, but those moments are now the main thing it has left to offer.
One subplot works better than the rest: Mob’s brother and his boyfriend. Their storyline was genuinely enjoyable, and it also made the limited time given to them frustrating. I found myself wishing the series had allowed them more screen time instead of returning so often to the same cycle around Mob.
That cycle was clever when the concept began. By this point, however, it feels exhausted. Every new flag recreates the same joke, the same escape attempt and the same temporary supporting characters. Mob has remained essentially unchanged across all four seasons, while the plot has barely advanced. Given the show’s total runtime, I expected a real relationship to develop, some character growth and a supporting cast memorable enough to remain part of the story.
Because this is supposedly the final season, I tried to find enjoyment in the repetition. There are still occasional laughs, but the creators keep recycling a formula that no longer seems to work as it once did. This was the story’s final opportunity to give Mob meaningful development, and it once again comes up empty. If the series truly ends here, closing the curtain now feels appropriate—but it is disappointing that Mob never receives the sense of closure he deserved.
Rating: 5.5/10