Tu Bian Yingxiong X

Alright, it's been three episodes, and I think it's time for me to share some thoughts. To Be Hero X might be one of the most creatively bold anime this season.

First, let's start with the obvious. The unique blend of 2D and 3D CG is phenomenal. While I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, it's great to see this kind of experimentation in the anime industry, and I welcome it. The way it mixes styles gives the show a look that stands out.

I genuinely believe this show strikes a balance between strong writing and impressive animation. Now, I know some people might raise their ... eyebrows at my comment about the writing, but let me explain. On the surface, the writing feels a little generic, but I think that changes once you look deeper. As the story moves forward, we start to get small details that hint at something more meaningful. These moments help us see that the story is actually touching on real-life struggles. It shows how things like societal expectations, relationships, and reputation can shape who we are, both in ways that define us and hold us back. You can really feel the writers' intention behind all of this, and it’s clear they want to say something deeper, even if it’s not obvious at first glance.

There was even a moment in episode two that hit harder than I expected. It was a quiet scene, but it stuck with me.

Now when it comes to production, it's clear that a lot of money and effort went into this. You can really feel how much Bilibili and Aniplex invested in making this show stand out. Having Hiroyuki Sawano on the soundtrack brings a whole new level of intensity and emotion. His music always adds weight, and it does the same here. The Japanese voice cast is also stacked. Every line hits perfectly, and the performances feel sharp and full of energy. The English dub is also really solid. Even if you're usually someone who watches sub, it's worth checking out the dub because it holds up surprisingly well.

This joint project between Aniplex and Bilibili is the first of its kind, and honestly, it feels like the start of something new. If this collab does well, I could definitely see more like it happening in the future.

If the story keeps building in this direction, I think we’re in for something special.

I'm cautiously optimistic about this. There's some interesting concepts at play within the trope of 'super hero influencers' and at the 'belief' based rules of this world are pretty quickly laid out. Too quickly perhaps, as the frenetic pacing of this show is probably its weakest aspect. It never stops, it never breaths, it never allows even its own serious moments to have weight because no cut is allowed to last more than a few moments on screen. How the show will keep up this exhausting pace for 24 episodes I have no idea.

The animation and style on display is obviously a big draw, ... especially amongst the seasonal isekai slop its great to see a show experiment. The 'main' style is lifted directly from Arcane and its fine. The cityscape is lively with animated billboards but the interior set designs are pretty lacking. The intercut 2D animations are all really nice to look at and exciting to watch. Looking at how the character 'X' is rendered in 2D and 3D in the OP, I'm not sure if the Arcane style was really the right choice. In 2D he looks crisp and sleek, like they'd fit in with a lineup of Trigger characters, but in 3D looks kind of muddy.

Nice II is a pretty shallow nothing of a character, standard straight male protagonist. Moon at least, had a fucked up and sympathetic situation she was coping with to make up for her similar lack of characterisation. There's no depth here, but a lot of flashy moments and concepts that seem to scratch at something interesting. Worth watching is you like exploring superhero tropes.

Pro: The animation is flashy. That's pretty much all it has though.

While being sold as a show about being a hero, it's really more about media and the plight of the celebrity. The masses are mindless consumers who see a flashy commercial of pretty people telling them to "believe in themselves" or some other generic canned corporate line and that builds enough trust in to give actors superpowers. The show starts with some random guy who is meant to show the civilian perception of heroes. And he outright says someone prettier will come along to replace the hero. Then immediately sees a hero die right ... in front of him. The reaction to this death by literally everyone is to ignore it and brush it under the rug. He is surprised, but is more concerned with the wacky comedy of the manager telling him he needs to replace him. So he just…does. He abandons his life and anyone he may have known or cared about and just plays pretend as a person he watched die. He does ballet twirls, winks at the camera, says "trust" and "hero" a whole bunch, and coasts. The only hesitation being if he's "good enough." The dead man's friends, colleagues, girlfriend, find out that he died and was immediately replaced, and they DO. NOT. CARE. No one cares that someone died. No one cares about anyone left behind. No one cares about protecting people from harm. All anyone cares about is their image and whether the people (that they're supposedly protecting) will let them profit financially or personally from it. It's always what does this tv show, this action, this death, this image, get the "hero." Whether that be a higher rank, the freedom to travel, cooler powers, nebulous fame, etc. And the writing truly treats these characters as heroes. That's the worst part. Play sad music, have them verbally spell out the situation the audience can already see, have some cool sakuga, and the in universe audience and the viewer are meant to eat it up. Because the good guys have trust and hope. And the bad guys use meanness and fear. And no one is any deeper than that. I guess somewhat fitting for a story about corporate schlock, this show IS corporate schlock. All flash and no soul.