Arataka Reigen

About Arataka Reigen

Arataka Reigen runs the Spirits and Such Consultation Office and calls himself the greatest psychic of the 21st century, despite having no powers at all. A master of cold reading, sales patter and sheer nerve, he solves clients' problems with massages, photo editing and Mob's borrowed power. Beneath the con artistry he is Mob's true mentor, teaching him that kindness matters more than talent.

Appearance

Reigen is a slim man in his late twenties with light brown hair swept to one side and a face built for salesmanship, quick smiles, raised eyebrows and total confidence. He wears cheap grey suits with a pink tie at the Spirits and Such office, and a tracksuit or casual wear off duty. His body language does half his acting for him: sweeping hand gestures, sudden bows, dramatic poses over clients, and a completely different, softer stillness in the rare moments he is being honest.

Personality

Reigen is a fast-talking showman who can sell anything to anyone, including himself. He is greedy, theatrical and shameless in business, inventing techniques like salt splashes and dramatic readings on the spot. Underneath, he is the most morally grounded adult in the series: he never lets Mob believe powers make him superior, he despises adults who exploit children, and when it matters he will walk unarmed into a psychic battlefield to tell Mob the truth nobody else will say. His dishonesty about himself and his honesty about everything important coexist in one very loud man.

Background & Story

Reigen quit a boring office job to found the Spirits and Such Consultation Office, building a reputation as 'the greatest psychic of the 21st century' out of advertising, massages, digital photo touch-ups and nerve. When an eleven-year-old Mob wandered in asking how to control real psychic powers, Reigen took the boy on as a part-time exorcist, the actual power behind the business, while genuinely advising him to never use his gifts to hurt people. Years later his double life of fraud and mentorship covers everything from cults to televised exorcism humiliations, and his hold on Mob's trust is tested to breaking point before the two rebuild it as something more honest.

Powers & Abilities

• Cold Reading and Persuasion: Reigen reads clients' body language, fears and wishes almost instantly, and talks frightened people, and occasionally hostile espers, down from the ledge.
• Jack-of-All-Trades Services: Massage, curse-lifting theatre, photoshopped spirit photos, business advice and sheer improvisation: his 'techniques' are ordinary skills performed with total conviction.

Key Relationships

• Shigeo Kageyama: His employee, secret weapon and the closest thing he has to a son; his one great rule for Mob, never use your powers to hurt people, shapes the whole series.
• Dimple: The spirit who sees through him completely; the two con artists develop a grudging, bickering respect.
• Katsuya Serizawa: The powerful shut-in Reigen talks down and then hires, giving Serizawa the normal life Claw never let him have.
• Tome Kurata: A club president he treats as an honorary part of the office's orbit, indulging her UFO dreams with surprising sincerity.

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