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 t 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.

Although the animation is splendid, I feel like there's something missing on every episode I watch. The pacing also seems odd. There doesn't seem to that excitement to watch the next episode. The story seems somewhat simple, and the characters till now feel very bland. Also I feel the japanese dub doesn't work all that well with the animation speed. The characters move and talk very different to what's being portrayed on the screen, so it all feels very jarring and out of place. Actually, the dubbing feels very similar to some japanese dubs on some of the Hoyoverse games.

Elephant out of the room, yes, it looks fantastic. Everyone agrees that not only do the 3D and 2D styles look good in their own right, BeDream transitions between the two beautifully, potentially leading the way for a new artistic genre, but To Be Hero X has... some issues. Most notable out of the gate, the pacing.

While only four episodes in, when it comes to emotional beats, everything moves way to fast. Things happen, characters physically respond, but as far as motivations or emotional reactions beyond the most basic level we don't see any character development. When it comes to shows, imagining being able ... to sit down and talk with the characters, know what they would want to say or do given the chance, means the writers have done a good job at fleshing out the characters. The viewer can imagine a character existing beyond the camera. In To Be Hero X's case, the characters are barely able to maintain their existence even on screen, with close to zero believable motivations or reactions these characters are not given the chance to be themselves, ironically much like the main theme of the show. Rather the inhabitants of this world are hurriedly posed as needed in order to narratively rush from point A to point B, skipping anything that would give someone a reason to care about anyone. While I'm fine with monster of the week type stories, hell, Cowboy Bepop did it, and that definitely manages to write compelling characters, here it just feels cheap, with little direction beyond finding the next story beat to try to make you forget that despite a character dyeing a scene or two ago and that miraculously no one seems to care.

To Be Hero X reminds me a bit of Go! Go! Loser Ranger, a great premise bogged down by poor writing and little to no though put into culminating a greater narrative arc. In Go! Go! Loser Ranger's case, between rushed story elements and little to no sequential storytelling, it was pretty apparent the writers had given up on creating a cohesive narrative and were simply trying to cover the source material as quickly as possible, ignoring answering some of the frankly interesting questions IT raised.

Despite all of this, I am very interested to see how they manage to introduce the entire cast they've heavily d in the opening. If Lin Ling isn't even the true main character (to my knowledge being listed as a ed character until recently) the choice to frontline him for at least the first four episodes without so much as a cameo from the top nine is a... choice?

I guess the three episode rule is turning into seven for this show.