REVIEW: ‘To Be Hero X’ Episode 1 — “NICE”

Produced by BilliBilli and Aniplex, To Be Hero X (Tu Bian Ying Xiong X) is your next donghua (Chinese animation) obsession. While the series may find itself in the anime category given its release on Crunchyroll, this Chinese animated series from the folks who brought us Link Click is a little bit of My Hero and a lot of The Boys and all something new. With an original story from and directed by Haolin To Be Hero X Episode 1, “NICE,” sends the series off to the races and establishes as the top of Spring animation on Crunchyroll.

To Be Hero X is set in a world where outstanding heroes are applauded. Here, “trust” creates superheroes. If people believe “they can fly,” they will gain the ability to fly. Conversely, even if a hero has special powers, if they lose trust, they will also lose their powers. Trust is collected as data, and the ranking of heroes changes depending on the value.

Once every two years, the top heroes gather to compete in a hero tournament. Their performance there updates their “trust value,” and the ranking is reconstructed. The absolute hero who stands at the top of the rankings, people call him “X,” but right below him is Nice. That’s where Lin Ling (Natsuki Hanae/Mauricio Ortiz-Segura) comes in.

billibilli and Aniplex could have the animation hit of the season with To Be Hero X.

The low-level marketer designing campaigns and advertisements for heroes, Lin Ling, is fired when his idea for an ad that lets the average person see themselves as X flops with his boss. But as he stands on the ledge, taunted by the ads he made of Nice and Moon (Bryn Apprill), the heroic duo in the public’s heart, Lin Ling witnesses a tragedy. Nice walk off the roof and dies. To save his public image and keep the hero alive, Miss J (Stephanie Young) dyes Lin’s hair and pushes him into a new persona.

Thrust into the public eye because of his physical similarities to Nice, Lin Ling is dead, and Nice is all that’s left as he trains to gain more trust and ultimately gain powers in the process. It’s this point in To Be A Hero X Episode 1 where it takes off and both wear its influences on their sleeves while never feeling derivative. As a character, Lin Ling is compelling and endearing, and the increasingly odd and aggressive situation he finds himself in by being interrogated by a human lie detector is essential to making it work.

Lin Ling has to balance the expectation of behavior as Nice without burying who he is so as not to show the lies. Instead, he leans into his love of Moon as an idol fan into how he talks about her as their relationship comes under question. Not only that, he begins to understand what it is to be Nice. The more he give into the heroic persona, the more he changes. He gets abilities, his eyes change, and now he’s living Nice’s life. Lin Ling is the beautiful ballerino hero, and that’s the new reality.

To Be Hero X Episode 1 shows BeDream’s animation skill perfectly.

To Be Hero X is one of the best-looking animated series I have ever seen. Animated by BeDream, the studio has chosen to mix animation styles between 2D, 3D, and imbue both with a painterly aesthetic, popularized by Arcane, is unmatched.

Not just in the current Spring anime season, but across the entire field of animated series and feature films. This donghua is hands down one of the most visually striking series ever put into the world. In addition, the consistent quality across each scene is appreciated in a world where episode 1 quality can decline even within the one 23-minute runtime.

But what makes To Be Hero X Episode 1 showstopping is that the narrative rises to match the animation heights. This is just good storytelling. It capitalizes on a pop culture moment of flawed heroes and conglomerate structures around them in live action and in animation to tell a story. What happens when an everyday marketing guy becomes a hero? And what happens when he realizes everything heroic was a lie?

To Be Hero X Episode 1 runs with a concept and doesn’t stop, especially with its cliffhanger ending. This is what donghua animation can offer, and BilliBilli keeps pushing the envelope with its titles. With stellar characters and a narrative that fits the perfect pop culture moment, To Be A Hero X capitalizes on the rise of danmei and donghua and establishes itself among the best of the Spring season.

To Be Hero X Episode 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll with new episodes every Saturday.