TV Review | To Be Hero X (Series Premiere)

“To Be Hero X has striking CG while also mixing different styles of animation. It is a real visual spectacle. The series premiere shows great promises. It’s an intriguing and entertaining start, offering a new take on superheroes.”

To Be Hero X is a collaboration between Aniplex, bilibili and BeDream. The series is directed and written by Haoling Li starring Japanese veterans Mamoru Miyano, natsuki Hanae, Kana Hanazawa, Koki Uchiyama and Yuichi Nakamura. It premieres tomorrow in the US and on Sunday in Europe and the UK on Crunchyroll, episodes release weekly on Saturday/Sunday.

STORY

In this world, it is people’s trust that give a hero their power. And depending on their value, a hero’s ranking can change. Superheroes are like idols at the mercy of their audience. To Be Hero X offers new take on superheroes. Like My Hero Academia, it’s something that feels truly different from what we have seen before, which makes it so exciting. We have seen so many superhero stories on screen in the past twenty years so in order to keep the audience invested you need something different. And this is exactly what this series is.

The series premiere focuses on the superheroes Nice and Queen. They are the manifestation of the perfect male and female superheroes. Starting with them is a smart move especially with the twists and turns the story brings. It’s at the same time quite intriguing with the mystery going on and entertaining with introduction of these two characters and what’s the life of superheroes in this world. This series opens big with its first episode. It shows great promises and has the potential to be one of the best anime of the year.

VISUALS

Moreover, To Be Hero X has striking visuals. Because it’s CG it obviously stands out among other anime series but it also stands out among other CG projects. It has its own visual distinct style. It’s colourful with highly detailed scenery and slick character designs. The heroes are designed on purpose to be visually attractive and appear as an ideal to achieve. Beyond pure CG, the series mixes different styles of animation. In fact, it also uses a 2D-like style for some scenes. It’s something that really pops. Mixing animation styles always leaves a mark. Undoubtedly, this series is a real visual spectacle. Everyone will be talking about it.

CREDITS

Since it’s the series premiere, things are a little bit different from the rest of the series. Indeed, this one doesn’t feature the end credits you will see in the other episodes, instead the end credits is the opening credits. Thus, you get to hear ‘INTERTIA’ performed by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:Rei. As usual with Hiroyuki Sawano, there is no disappointment. It’s an explosive and dynamic song that will stay in your head. The song will be available to stream online starting April 6. Having this song at the end of the first episode just makes sense. It keeps you in the atmosphere of what you have just watched.

On top of that, the end credits (which is actually the opening) is extremely stylish in the best of ways. It mixes different styles of animation like the CG of the series and two styles of 2D-like animation. The transition between these styles is flawless. It’s a real pleasure for the eyes.

VERDICT

To Be Hero X has striking CG while also mixing different styles of animation. It is a real visual spectacle. The series premiere shows great promises. It’s an intriguing and entertaining start, offering a new take on superheroes.