To Be Hero X (Chinese: 凸变英雄X Tū biàn yīngxióng X) is a Chinese-Japanese donghua series directed by Li Haoling (李豪凌). To Be Hero X features multiple different alternating artstyles and is created by major and minor studios alike. It debuted on April 6th, 2025. It is available on bilibili and Crunchyroll.
Afraid that X can become a god and bring about another Downfall if he wins the tournament for the fourth time, the Commission and the four major hero agencies send their best non-top 10 heroes to kill him the evening before it starts. This leads to one, almost episode-length, action scene full of surreal visuals and some killer music. On sheer presentation alone, it’s one hell of a season finale – and that’s just the beginning to what we are given.
To a large extent, this episode of To Be Hero X goes about re-contextualizing the series as a whole, beginning with the inciting event of the entire superhero age as we have come to know it thus far: the Downfall. Until now, we were led to believe that Zero was the greatest hero that the world had ever known – but when he killed another hero by accident, the world began to fear him. So all his built-up Trust was converted to Fear and he was corrupted by it and after countless deaths, the relatively low-profile hero E-Soul was able to deliver the final blow and save the world.
But X has a different tale to tell. Instead of Zero being corrupted by Fear, he was evil before that ever happened. When he got absolute power, it made him see that his idealized world as the right one – and so he attempted to shape ours into it. Naturally, not everyone shared his idea, so he began killing all those heroes who opposed him. It wasn’t until then that the population began to fear him and his Trust value turned to Fear.
X also adds the mysterious remark that Zero is not dead and this is entirely true in a metaphorical sense. The presence of Zero has affected the actions of everyone in the series, be that directly or indirectly. On direct side we have the Commission. Their fear of Zero determines their course of action – causing them to do exceedingly immoral things in the name of the greater good. On the other hand, others such as Uncle Rock idealize Zero and the world he was trying to make – living out his philosophy and trying to bring it into existence some forty-odd years later.
On the indirect side, we have practically everyone else. From Ghostblade to Lin Ling, Lucky Cyan to Yang Cheng, everything that created them into the heroes they are today is a product of Zero and the Downfall. It’s just one grand chain reaction, dominoes falling on top of one another for 42 years. As X tells Ahu, to comprehend his objectives and actions, you must first observe the whole chain of events. Although his influence on the world began the night he provided Cyan with her first coin for performing, this tale is far more than his own personal story, which is why we, the audience, have been spectators of the tale over these last 24 episodes.
And by seeing the overall picture, how every piece on the chessboard influences the others over the years, it’s as if all this was fated to happen – like everyone has no option but to fulfill their own role in the given narrative. But because of his own powers over time and space, X has been able to see the overall picture and possesses the insight to act in a manner that goes against his predetermined role.
Logically, as a response to the present circumstances, X is supposed to pull out of the tournament. Those in power are aware of his secret identity and may threaten him and the people he loves. Doing what they desire might help him disappear into the background. Instead, X responds in a manner that throws this “fate” down the gutter. He enters the tournament, not as X but in his mortal form – coming out to the world and eliminating the Sword of Damocles over his head.
But, that’s not a decision without consequences. A guy with godlike abilities like X only works a 9-to-5, rides public transports and eats cheap takeout in a tiny apartment for one reason: because he wants to. X has done all this in order to remain grounded. He will never become the next Zero because he compels himself to remain a normal human despite his powers. He doesn’t see himself as superior to them, as an entity capable of recreating the world the way he wants. But when he reveals himself to the world, he loses this – his connection with the ordinary. In attempting to ensure that X never turns into Zero, the Commission has brought him closer to becoming Zero than ever before.
However, X has decided to take this chance in order to become the last line in the way of all the objectives of each of our puppet masters – whether that be Micky and his new world order, Uncle Rock and his second coming of Zero or Shand and his avenging his son. Naturally, there’s no reason to suppose that with his reality being powers, X can’t simply create himself a new secret identity down the line. But first, there’s fate to defy and a tournament to win.
Final Score: 9/10
