Tu Bian Yingxiong X

To be Hero X and another notable series (LOTM) is a wake up call to the Anime Industry that their way of doing things will no longer be tolerated by consumers much longer. Why is it that 99% of the Anime coming out look worse than the ones we had over a decade ago? I couldn't help myself from that rant, now back to the review.

To be Hero X is a breath of fresh air, stylistically, with constant changes to the animation styles to keep you on your toes. A show that doesn't punish you for paying close attention to each panel where you will ... be left questioning why does this frame look the way it does, every single panel is drawn and animated with the utmost care.

It's a deconstruction of the Hero genre of how they even came to be "Heroes". It's one of the oldest tale in history, did the Chicken comes first or the Egg? For this instance, did the Heroes and Villains get their powers before or after they were loved or hated by the public? It appears that every character in the show that has supernatural powers is derived from the congregation of human emotions, Trust and Fear.

The first episode surprised me in a lot of way, as I didn't really understand how they were going to mix the animation style to flow naturally but they did and don't be surprised if you find yourself not realizing the animation had shifted from 3d to 2d with so many different cuts. I also wasn't expecting much from the plot, but the first episode was intriguing enough for me to want more. Donghua's don't shy away from dark themes and they do a great job in making it feel natural so I am excited to see where they go from here.

It is easily one of the most promising anime 2025 has seen yet. The storytelling, soundtrack, background music, and even the art style that fluctuates between 3D animation and Japanese 2D anime are amazing.
This feels quite similar to MHA in terms of its synopsis and initial setup, and I hope it will keep me hooked as MHA did (at least for the first 4 seasons). The only con I noticed was the sometimes unneeded background sounds during comedy scenes that feel awkward.
Anyone who wants the story of a slightly comedic, inspiring hero person going up in ranks to become no.1 (all might) will love this.

P.S. ... - The opening shown in the end was an absolute banger!!

It was a good first episode. Will probably have to watch it more of it to decide and change the review.
Well one cannot decide after just watching one episode.
But I have to point out that the Cliffhanger at the end was just diabolical.
Characters seem ok.5/10
Animation is very good. 8/10
It also has unique art style different from your regular anime.
Also the goat hiroyuki sawano is behind audio department so it has to be good.
People who love good animation and some cliche anime trope will probably like it.
Also I will probably change it after watching all the episodes .