Anime Review: TO BE HERO X is both nice and not-so-nice

TO BE HERO X
Director: Li Haoling
Producers: Aniplex, bilibili, BeDream
Studios: Pb Animation Co. Ltd., LAN Studio, Paper Plane Animation Studio
Streamer: Crunchyroll
Release Date: April 5, 2025
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, donghua

Last month, our writers Adam Wescott and Hilary Leung reviewed the first episode of To Be Hero X. Now they’re back to cover the next three episodes, from the second to the fourth. Has the series lived up to their expectations? What’s going on with Moon? Where is our friend Ahu? Find out below.

The following write-up contains spoilers for episodes 1 through 4 of To Be Hero X.

An ordinary person

Adam: We’re now four episodes into To Be Hero X. A lot of the theories I came up with last time have already been proven wrong. How about you? Has the series met your expectations so far?

Hilary: I have no words. Honestly, I fully expected us to pivot to another hero in the second episode, so I was surprised we actually got a pretty fulsome arc of… what should we call Lin Ling’s Nice?

Adam: An ordinary person?

Hilary: Haha, sure. I saw fans sharing which heroes To Be Hero X would focus on in specific episodes, and at first, I was nervous. But seeing the first few episodes has made me feel a bit more confident. What about you, Adam?

Adam: Still no Ahu. 0/10!

More seriously, I was definitely caught off guard by how Nice-focused the first four episodes were. I bet that’s what the promotion was aiming for, though—bait you with ten heroes, then reveal that the “real” hero (for now) is someone who didn’t even appear in the marketing material. It’s exactly the kind of trick I’d expect from the Link Click folks, though it comes with its own limitations.

What’s surprised me most so far is how fleshed out the world feels, even without most of the top ten heroes in the picture. So many of the characters we’ve seen so far didn’t appear in the promos or even the opening or ending credits. It’s a full-fledged superhero universe with its own cast of heroes and villains.

Backstories

Hilary: I think it’s because the heroes and villains aren’t just sitting around twiddling their thumbs. They’re out there interacting with their surroundings, with regular people, and with each other. Somehow, the show manages to give the side characters personalities and backstories that make us care about them in such a short amount of time. Is there one side character from the first four episodes that really caught your attention?

Adam: If we think of this as a superhero universe, I don’t know if I’d be keen to read a spin-off comic about Firm Man or Wreck. That said, they work very well as subjects for stand-alone episodes. The staff behind this series are great at using each episode to stage a simple moral quandary, like “isn’t being a superhero tough?” or “wouldn’t it suck if your arch-nemesis was replaced by someone else?” Being simple isn’t a bad thing—these stories are punchy, impactful, and easy for people to relate to.

If I had to pick a side character with the most going on, it’d be Moon. Though that’s opening a can of worms we can save for later, if you prefer.

Hilary: Oh, Moon. We could talk about her for this entire roundtable, and it still might not be enough.

I think the show does a great job of wrapping up stories within a single episode. (I’d love to see more about Nice and Wreck pre-Moon, though maybe I’m just influenced by all the theories I’ve seen on Twitter.) Each episode centers around a core question that ties into To Be Hero X’s broader themes.

Speaking of Wreck, what did you think of his arc with Nice? Surprising? Unsurprising? I thought it was interesting that they were assigned to be each other’s nemesis.

An emotional Wreck

Adam: The moment I realized what they were doing with Wreck, I was excited—but also a little worried about how they’d handle his relationship with Nice. In the end, they showed how Nice and Wreck had a close relationship prior to employment without confirming whether they liked each other. Even so, the scene where they spilled champagne on each other from the couch was pretty suggestive. The animators knew exactly what they were doing.

You and I talked while drafting our earlier column about how China restricts LGBTQ content in popular culture. It didn’t make the final draft, but I wish it had—because I couldn’t stop thinking about it while watching episode two. Why not just confirm that Nice and Wreck had something? Anime isn’t always upfront about this stuff either, but Lycoris Recoil back in 2022 had a pretty solid pairing, for instance.

Maybe we’ll see more along those lines later. What did you think of Wreck’s story? To Be Hero X’s influencer-dominated superhero industry definitely has its casualties.

Hilary: Well, censorship, for one thing. They’re never going to be explicit about Wreck and Nice having romantic feelings, other than being “close bros.” The subtext and little clues are all we really get, but I think it’s enough. If you rewatch it with that lens, you can definitely see what kind of relationship they had.

That said, I think they framed Wreck’s motivation more broadly, not just through his feelings for Nice. Wreck wanted to be a hero, too. (“My dream of being a hero was shattered long ago,” he says, dramatically falling off the cliff.) Like Moon, his existence is tied closely to Nice. Wreck wasn’t just a standard villain—he was designed to be Nice’s nemesis. Without Nice, he’s nobody. He already lost his shot at being a hero, and without that “nemesis” title, he doesn’t have much left.

Adam: Everybody wants to be Nice—except Nice. That’s not nice. RIP.

Hilary: You’re making me an emotional Wreck. Anyway, I think they did a good job giving Wreck’s backstory a broader meaning. Poor guy, though.

Vulnerabilities

Adam: Even though To Be Hero X is a world built on surfaces, you can’t trust anything at face value. Whether it’s Wreck, who has his own life and perspective, or Firm Man, who ends up inspiring the girl he saved to become a supervillain, the show constantly upends what we expect. He even wants to show the world he’s more than just a literal statue of a man.

One thing I really appreciate about To Be Hero X is how it portrays its heroes as vulnerable. No matter how much time these people spend crafting their image, they’re still haunted by the same problems we all face. Marvel Studios used to do a good job with this—remember when the Avengers went out for shawarma after a big fight? Now they’re just lost in the multidimensional sauce. Even Spider-Man has a prestigious internship. When he’s crushed by rubble, you never doubt he’ll be fine a minute later.

But Lin Ling… he really had me worried going into his battle with God Eye. Did the self-described perfectionist live up to your expectations?

Hilary: I was really surprised by how much influence his fans had! They were literally pulling him back, yelling at him not to go rescue Moon. I thought their faith in him was just about Trust Value and him ranking up, but no, they have actual power. That raises the question: is this how it works for all the heroes, or is this a Nice-specific thing? And if it’s just Nice, why? Is it because he has Treeman backing him? Is this all some elaborate marketing scheme?

That said, I like the direction the story took with the symbiotic relationship between heroes and their believers—how they can quite literally make or break a hero.

I wasn’t surprised to see Lin Ling get his butt kicked. And like you, I was worried we were about to see a third Nice impersonator. That would’ve been sad. Poor Lin Ling didn’t even make it through the whole show… But the way they handled it reinforced that core theme: anyone can be a hero if they have someone worth fighting for.

Jeopardy

Adam: My favorite moment in episode four—and maybe in the whole series—is when God Eye tries to use his equipment to diagnose Lin Ling’s vulnerabilities… but can’t, because Lin Ling is covered in vulnerabilities. That, to me, is superhero populism at its best. Just because someone’s weak doesn’t mean they can’t kick your ass. Especially in a show where cheering for the underdog literally powers them up. (Even if the real underdog is still nowhere to be seen…)

It’s also a strong moment for Hiroyuki Sawano’s soundtrack. Lin Ling headbutts God Eye right as the signature Sawano vocal sting hits, and the scene cuts into slow motion—it’s choreographed perfectly. Sure, a lot of Sawano’s work can sound interchangeable, but when it lands, it really lands.

Hilary: Totally agree on the soundtrack. That’s the main theme, “Jeopardy,” so we’ll probably hear it again at peak moments.

God Eye had no idea what was coming. He thought our boy Lin Ling was a weakling—but Lin Ling proved him wrong with the power of love!

Adam: And speaking of love… I think it’s finally time we talk about Moon.

The Moon in the room

Hilary: We really have to talk about it? The Moon in the room?

Adam: Here’s what I’ll say about Moon: I loved the little animated sequence at the start of episode 2. It’s drawn in a much looser style than the rest of the series, but it’s funny and full of personality. I’d love to see more one-off bits like that outside of the action scenes.

As for Moon herself, she defies expectations from the start—or does she? First, she somehow isn’t dead after the first episode, but alive. Second, she’s very different not only from how her fans see her, but also from how Lin Ling viewed her as a civilian. She’s caged by her public persona, just like Nice. The detail that her teleporter changed from taking her anywhere she wanted to instead placing her near Nice is especially brutal.

I think To Be Hero X is trying to say something about Moon deserving to live her own life outside of Lin Ling’s orbit. It almost gets there, but then falls back into the grand superhero tradition of “fridging.”

Hilary: You beat me to it. I have to admit, I was a little thrown by the animation style in episode 2. I even had to double-check that I was watching the same show, but it really fit Moon’s personality. I’d almost describe it as childish, because she has these big dreams about travel and freedom that don’t really fit into this superhero society.

Overkill

Hilary: Moon died three times. That’s just sheer overkill. Sure, the first time was a fake-out (hello, foreshadowing in Episode 4), the second time was for the public, and the third time… yeah, she’s actually dead.

I think the message is depressing. She tried—and failed—to live her own life and be her own person. Which, I suppose, ties into her name. The moon can’t shine on its own; it only reflects the light of something else. She’ll never be able to exist independently.

It’s just sad and disappointing to see a female character get offed like that—Jujutsu Kaisen-style—especially after she finally won her freedom. Moon got her happy ending, and it was cruelly ripped away from her almost immediately. Across four episodes, she spends most of the time trapped in the role of “Nice’s girlfriend,” and we only get to see her truly happy in the end credits for, what, two minutes?

It’s also telling that every time Moon tries to be free, she has to “die” to make it happen—both the fake death and the real one.

Adam: The part that frustrated me—maybe even more than her death—was that I’m not sure she was ever actually happy on that island. She left her teleportation device behind (by accident?), so she had no way of returning. By the end of episode 4, she’s just sitting on a rock, wishing for someone to come find her. That felt less like a meaningful choice and more like setup to make the audience feel good when she and Lin Ling reunite.

And I get it: the show is very efficient at setting up and paying off ideas. But they could’ve framed that moment differently to give her some agency. Why not have her choose to stay on the island, even temporarily, instead of being stranded there?

Like we said earlier, it’s not a bad thing for characters to be vulnerable. But only Lin Ling gets to be cool because he’s vulnerable. Moon, at least so far, is just used to hurt Lin Ling. That worries me. The folks behind To Be Hero X have taken so many creative risks already—they should know better than to fall back on a trope that’s over fifty years old.

A remote island for you

Adam: The most charitable way you can read all this is as confirmation of Lin Ling’s premonition. He stays true to himself, he tries to change the superhero system by example, but he can’t escape the system itself. He and everyone he loves will always be caught in the gravity of Trust and Fear. I just wish the writers had found a more creative way to hammer that home.

Hilary: The end of Episode 4 really made me wonder—are we witnessing Lin Ling’s villain origin story? Could he end up trying to overthrow the superhero system, not as its savior, but as its destroyer?

And now that you’ve said it, it really is kind of tragic. I don’t think Moon ever truly believed she’d be free. It was always a pipe dream. She’s been let down so many times that when it did finally happen, she didn’t know what to do with it. She even admits it herself—she doesn’t know what she wants, only what she doesn’t want. Her goal was to escape, but not to anywhere in particular.

On the other hand, it almost feels like the writers—or the superhero system itself—are being cruelly ironic. Like, “Oh, you want freedom? Great! Here’s your own remote island. You didn’t want to be part of the system? Now you don’t have to talk to anyone.” Even her desperate message in a bottle gets washed right back to her. If Lin Ling hadn’t come back, she might’ve stayed there alone forever.

Adam: You’ve convinced me: Ahu’s been stuck on a remote island this whole time. The real mystery is solved.

Hilary: Lin Ling/Nice is going to rescue Ahu, and the two of them are going to tear down the superhero system together. That’s the story. We figured it out. High five!

The ultimate villain

Adam: I’m still curious to see where the show goes from here. As much as the way they handled Moon has me worried To Be Hero X might trip over its own vulnerabilities, it’s refreshing to see an original animated series with such a defined worldview. I never expected it to be as nerdy about superheroes as Hiroshi Nagahama’s 2017 bomb The Reflection—but I might be proven wrong yet.

Any last words? What are your hopes for the next stretch of episodes?

Hilary: I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Lin Ling. That ending didn’t feel like a goodbye.

We were both surprised by the direction the series took—sometimes in good ways, sometimes in frustrating ones. I’m hoping it keeps surprising us, just more of the “wow, clever!” and less of the “why would you do that?” I want them to keep taking risks, but not ones that leave us wanting to shake the writers by the shoulders.

Looks like E-Soul is up next, which I remember was one of the heroes you were most excited to see. What are you hoping for from their arc?

Adam: I’d love to see an arc told from E-Soul’s perspective instead of Lin Ling’s. But here’s something I just noticed: Lin Ling shows up in the ending credits with his post-Nice black-and-white hair. So we might be sticking with him all the way to the end. (Yet another reason not to skip the credits.)

I’m hoping E-Soul turns out to be just as unexpected as Lin Ling—and honestly, I hope everyone from here on out surprises us in some way. Just please don’t make Ahu the final boss. That would be too sad.

Hilary: You’ve spoken it into existence. If Ahu ends up being the big bad, I’m blaming you.

To Be Hero X airs in the United States via Crunchyroll.