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
This was originally posted on K-Comics Beat.
Now that the Queen arc has wrapped and To Be Hero X has reached its halfway point, Adam and Hilary return to unpack the latest twists in this strange superhero world. Did Queen slay this week? Can a series that started by fridging its female lead actually pivot into feminism? Plus, we meet Big Johnny—and Ahu might have some real competition.
The following write-up contains spoilers for the 11th and 12th episodes of To Be Hero X.
Bow to the Queen
Adam: Last week, Liu Yuwei—better known as Queen—made her first appearance during Lucky Cyan’s arc. Now, she takes center stage in her own. What’s your read on her, Hilary? Do you respect the Queen?
Hilary: Yes. Yes, I do. We all bow down to Queen in this house.
That said, I’m a little conflicted about this arc. I liked where it ended up, but I think the show sidelined Queen’s story to spotlight other characters like the Johnnies, Bowa, and X. Also, Ahu’s throne in my heart? It’s looking shaky now, thanks to Big Johnny.
I liked watching Queen’s walls slowly come down. She pushed herself to the top on her own terms, but we finally saw her vulnerable side—first when X delivered her first loss in the ranking competition, and again through her friendship with the Johnnies and Cyan. What about you, Adam?
Glass ceiling
Adam: I want to take a moment to unpack some of what I think is happening in these episodes. Queen’s arc introduces one of the series’ most loaded ideas so far: that “trust values” are skewed by institutional sexism. We already saw a version of this with Moon, whose teleportation powers got tied up in her relationship with Nice. Now, we’re seeing it on a larger scale. In this world, the glass ceiling women struggle to break is literal—not just metaphorical.
Queen is smart, hard-working, and extremely lucky—because that’s what it takes to succeed in a world literally rigged against you. She wants to change the status quo (and who wouldn’t, when it’s so deeply unfair?), but she believes she has to cut away parts of herself to do it. Liking cute animals or enjoying Lucky Cyan’s music doesn’t fit the image of an all-powerful woman who shapes reality.
I’m not sure whether To Be Hero X falls into its own trap by saying, “Aha! The real Queen is just a big softie!” But Lucky Cyan’s presence helps balance that tension for me. Giving us two women—three, if we count Bowa—with different perspectives and backstories adds much-needed depth to a world that’s been pretty guy-heavy up to this point.
Theme versus character
Hilary: These are all great points. I just think it’s unfortunate that Queen’s arc ends up more about the themes than about her as a character. The earlier arcs struck a better balance between who the character is and what their story is trying to say. These two episodes focused less on Queen herself and more on the failings of the hero industry. I don’t necessarily mind—Queen was the perfect character to highlight that—but I still felt like we only skimmed the surface of who she is.
Adam: There’s definitely something funny about the fact that Queen, the number two hero and one of the most powerful people in the To Be Hero X world, only gets a measly two episodes to make her case to the audience. The glass ceiling in action!
Let’s look at the previous arcs. Lin Ling’s story asked whether you can stay true to yourself and still succeed. Yang Cheng’s was a tragedy about sacrificing what you want for what you think you need. Lucky Cyan’s was a rags-to-riches story centered on a young person deciding who they really are while the world tries to mold them into something else. Queen’s story, I think, is about learning to let go—that her life has value whether or not she becomes the number one hero. That’s why her friendship with Lucky Cyan matters so much. And it’s also why Queen is such a great ally to Cyan: she never asks her to be anyone but herself.
If there’s one character I don’t feel I fully understand, it’s actually Bora. She’s framed as a rival in Queen’s arc, but I had a harder time figuring out her role compared to the others. What do you think, Hilary?
Losing to a nobody
Hilary: I could see where Bowa was coming from, and it ties into what you just said about Queen’s story. Bowa doesn’t have much self-worth. She’s angry and resentful when Micky says Queen paved the way for the female hero boom with that speech she gave back in university. It makes Bowa feel like she only became the number one hero because of Queen—not through her own efforts.
Losing to a nobody like X crushed Bowa’s confidence just as it did Queen’s. Both of them fell into a pit of despair. But while Queen managed to climb out thanks to her friendships with the Johnnies and Lucky Cyan, Bowa wasn’t so lucky. I think beating X would’ve given her the validation she needed. Instead, gossip forums planted the idea that Queen had manipulated the competition and climbed the rankings through nepotism. That added fuel to Bowa’s fear that she’s a nobody too.
The hero ranking competition isn’t really about who’s the most powerful or who has the highest Trust Value. For these characters, it’s about who feels the most worthy. But I think we’ll see more of what Queen meant when she said X represents “limitless possibilities” as the story continues.
Fear and jealousy
Adam: It’s shocking when X shows up and flattens Queen as easily as blinking—especially considering Queen’s powers aren’t so different from his. If her ability is to determine the laws that govern reality, does X simply rewrite reality itself? That’s a terrifying thought.
Bowa’s fear and jealousy make sense to me, too. Fighting so hard to be taken seriously, only to lose everything in an instant, is a brutal experience. Maybe power amplified her insecurities. But like you said, a Bowa who believed in herself might’ve used that power to do good.
What I was really hoping for in the confrontation between Queen and Bowa was more give and take. Bowa has turned Queen into the face of her Fear—a dynamic that mirrors real life, where people sometimes lash out at peers instead of the system that harmed them. But that’s all we get. Bowa never realizes during their fight that Queen is just another person. Queen never comes to understand why Bowa is in so much pain. They beat each other up for eight minutes, and then Bowa is taken into custody.
Queen gets closure through her moment with Cyan. But Bowa’s story just stops. Maybe we’ll see her again—there’s still half the series left. But I would’ve liked a glimpse of what came next for her. Did she grow? Did she break? Or is the tragedy that she might be stuck like this forever?
Wake up, sister
Hilary: I was definitely missing some dialogue in that fight—or at least some internal thoughts from the characters. The only line we got was Queen saying, “Wake up, sister. You’re not even ranked in the top 10!” And then it just ended. The cut to Queen in the hospital felt so abrupt.
Adam: Yeah, I agree. That ending was jarringly cold. Queen telling Bowa she’s “delusional” lands especially harsh when you consider that both of them were blindsided by the same mysterious guy and his reality-breaking finger snap.
Even though the show focuses on small, personal arcs, I think To Be Hero X’s out-of-order storytelling is actually more confidently written than its characters. Every hero we’ve met so far is an archetype—ordinary guy, sad boy, idol girl, ice queen. The puzzle of the plot—when certain events take place, how it all leads up to Moon’s death in the “present,” or what this mysterious date they’re all counting toward means—is where most of the intrigue lies for me.
The simplicity of the characters is a strength in some ways; it gives the viewer a clear read on who they’re watching and what they’re supposed to root for. But I totally agree—the show is at its best when it adds layers of uncertainty. Like: is Wreck really Nice’s archnemesis, or just playing the part on TV? Are Bowa’s insecurities a personal failing, or a reaction to a world that refuses to acknowledge her worth? Which characters get that extra depth—and which don’t? These are the questions I’ll be watching closely as we head into the second half.
Hilary: I really need to find time to sit down and map out the timeline. I think I have a rough idea of which events came first, but with it being a weekly series, I keep losing track of where we are in the story.
A change in art style
Hilary: To do a slight pivot—we saw a shift in art style during Bowa’s story. What did you make of that?
Adam: There were definitely scenes in these episodes that reminded me of the Moon flashback from episode two. I’m not sure if it was the same animator, but I was glad to see those stylistic flourishes again. The To Be Hero series has always played around with different art styles, and I think that’s part of its charm.
Overall, I liked how these two episodes looked more than Lucky Cyan’s. But yeah, the complete disappearance of CG was strange. Even if it’s a budget issue, it feels like an odd inconsistency—I’m hoping it turns out to be intentional or at least gets acknowledged somehow.
Also, I’ll admit something that might sound a bit blasphemous: I didn’t love the fight between Queen and Bowa. I respect that it got a full eight minutes, and I appreciated touches like the yutapon cubes. But for a fight that long, I wanted more variation—more back-and-forth, more emotional stakes, or like you mentioned earlier, some kind of internal monologue. Without that, it felt flat to me, which is a shame because I’m sure the staff wanted that moment to really land. What do you think? Am I totally off-base?
Hilary: You know what? I’m in the same boat. The animation itself was great, but some of the cuts were awkward enough to pull me out of the scene. And honestly? Some parts were… a little boring. Which is such a letdown, especially since this might be the only time in the whole series we get to see a female hero go up against another female hero.
Collateral damage
Hilary: Like you said, I think it’s the lack of variety, the lack of dialogue (internal or otherwise), and the lack of emotional weight we’ve come to expect from Lucky Cyan and Yang Cheng’s stories. The fight felt like it was just checking a box labeled “big superhero showdown.” I also expected more from Queen’s telekinesis—you can do so much with that power! But all she really does is throw up a shield and freeze Bowa in place. The rest is just clashing staves and crashing into shipping containers. Maybe I would’ve felt differently if Queen and Bowa had had more chances to actually interact.
Also… where are those guys Queen apprehended? Did they just regain consciousness and sneak out while Queen and Bowa leveled the place?
Adam: I was wondering about the collateral damage, too. It’s one thing when Spider-Man is trading blows with the Green Goblin or Kamen Rider’s dropkicking monsters in an alley. But Queen and Bowa flattening an entire section of the city in eight minutes? That’s got to wreak havoc on local real estate values…
Hilary: As for the CG—I don’t miss it, exactly, but the shift from CG-heavy episodes to fully 2D is definitely jarring. And it raises even more questions about X’s powers. Those PVs released before the show aired made it seem like his finger snap could shift the world between 2D and 3D. That would’ve been such a cool, unusual power. But if the CG’s really gone for good, then I guess we’re back to square one on figuring out what X’s deal is.
You dropped this, Queen
Adam: What are your hopes for the second half of the series? I’m just glad that—even if the To Be Hero X devils are only giving us one episode about Ahu—we’re at least getting three episodes about Little Johnny and his fluffy friend Big Johnny. They can’t take that away from us.
Hilary: Sounds like Queen didn’t quite take the crown for either of us, so I’m hoping we’ll get to learn more about her in the coming episodes. The next arc’s about Loli, a bright-eyed kid inspired by Queen’s example—which is a sweet way to tie their stories together. But if that ends up being the last we see of Queen? Come on. This is all we get for the number two hero? Our Queen deserves better.
Adam: I think I liked Queen’s story a bit more than you did. One thing I’ve really come to appreciate about this series is how every arc can live in a totally different register. Queen’s arc gets to be this stoic, epic story about a lonely powerhouse learning how to connect. Lucky Cyan’s is a zombie-idol comedy. And yet the show lets both of those stories live side by side—as seen in that great scene where Cyan and Queen are cruising together in that cool car. To Be Hero X is big and weird, but it holds itself together surprisingly well.
So maybe I’d say, “You dropped this, Queen.” But I think she’s still got time to pick it up again. Then again, there’s only one king in my heart—and that’s Ahu.
Hilary: I’m a cat person, so I had the same reaction as Queen when I saw Big Johnny. But I’m holding strong for you, Ahu!
To Be Hero X airs in the United States via Crunchyroll.
