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
The Loli arc of To Be Hero X has wrapped, and the series is now more than halfway through. Adam and Hilary are back to discuss these two episodes and Loli’s rocket-powered baseball bat. Were they more or less impressed with this arc than Queen’s showing last time? What did they think of the show’s most unexpected reveal so far? Will X resign from his job as a hero to become an interior decorator?
The following write-up contains spoilers for Episodes 13 and 14 of To Be Hero X.
ADAM: Last time, Hilary, you said Queen’s story frustrated you because other characters—like the Johnnies and Bowa—overshadowed her. Do you think Luo Li/Loli’s arc, which also spans just two episodes, had the same problem? Or did it handle that better?
HILARY: Hm…Loli’s arc dives more into her background and her insecurity about not being seen as a real hero because of her cute appearance. It’s another example of how hard it is to be a female hero when people don’t take you seriously based on looks alone. Queen also struggled with that—she felt she had to reject parts of herself, like her love for Lucky Cyan’s music, because they didn’t fit the public’s image of a powerful woman.
I also liked that although she wears a suit of armor to hide her face, it’s not a dull gray mecha suit. It’s pink, comes with a cap and a baseball bat, and the face displays cat expressions on a screen. It’s still cute!
But I can’t say Loli’s story really grabbed me. It lacked emotional depth for me (though I do just prefer stories with tragic undertones—so maybe that’s a me thing). That said, Loli’s arc moved the plot forward more than any other so far. We finally caught a glimpse of someone who might be the Big Bad.
Dress how you want
ADAM: Yep! At first, I thought this mysterious character (who shows up in the opening credits) was E-Soul. Maybe they’re related? But now it seems like they’re someone else entirely.
I agree with you—Loli’s arc feels thin compared to the rest of the cast. I like the idea behind it. It’s another example of how trust values make life harder for people; as long as Loli’s peers see her as just a cute girl, she’ll always be held back. That’s especially frustrating for her, because she likes being cute! Her power armor helps her strike a balance between who she is and the image she wants to project as a hero.
I also liked the parallel with her friend at the lab, Nuonuo. We first meet Nuonuo wearing a dress and colorful hairpins out at night. But when Loli later sees her at work, she’s changed her clothes to blend in better. And we know why: even though she dressed professionally when applying for the job, the company still assigned her a secretary role—until Loli’s dad gave her a shot. So it feels meaningful that this arc ends with (a very drunk) Nuonuo showing up to the lab in her civilian clothes to yell at her coworkers. The show is saying, “Yes, be mindful of work expectations—but also dress how you want.”
That said, the other arcs wrapped up their characters’ storylines. I didn’t get that same resolution here. It feels more like the show hit pause on Loli’s development. Even her big win in episode 14 comes down to the special metal she used to build her suit, not personal growth.
What do you think? Also—were you shocked that To Be Hero X now includes…aliens?!?
Aliens versus zombies
HILARY: I definitely did a double-take when they dropped the alien spaceship reveal. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised—after all, zombies showed up in Lucky Cyan’s story. What supernatural creature from horror will we see next? Real ghosts in Ghostblade? Is his ability to control ghosts… with a blade?
When Lucky Cyan returned to the orphanage, we saw Fear turning people into zombies. But that didn’t happen when Fear latched onto DJ Shindig. Maybe Fear manifests differently in heroes versus non-heroes? The former become zombies, the latter get those glowing red eyes and a vengeance arc.
But now that aliens are in the mix, I’m not sure what direction the show’s going. Will we get awkward lore dumps to explain the zombies and aliens? Or is this a genre pivot—like what Link Click pulled off?
ADAM: There are still so many facts about the setting we don’t know. For instance, every date in the show is counted from some mysterious event. Was it the first alien contact? The origin of trust values? A global catastrophe?
I’m guessing we’ll eventually get a big scene where the Truth of the Setting is revealed—classic mystery style. Maybe Ghostblade will walk into the parlor room and say, “As we all know, aliens are real.”
But even if the twist makes sense mechanically, that’s only part of it. The bigger question is whether the show can make us feel it, whether it lands emotionally through the characters and their arcs. The jury’s still out on whether the series can pull that off and still do right by everyone’s stories.
Dance like you want to win
ADAM: Since you brought him up, I want to shout out DJ Shindig. He’s fun! His power works equally well for a hero or a villain, but it’s also the most disturbing one we’ve seen in the show so far. I don’t think we’ve met anyone else with mind control abilities—outside of Fear, maybe. Still, it was satisfying to see Loli blow him away with her rocket-propelled bat. Serves him right. (Also kind of hilarious that between Loli being inspired by his disco mask and their final showdown, he got canceled and turned to a life of crime. Alas.)
HILARY: Yeah! I was surprised we got a character whose powers edged into “villain” territory. And yet he still managed to be the fastest to earn the X title. It kind of reminded me of My Hero Academia, where Shinso’s Quirk lets him brainwash people after they respond to him. His classmates are scared of him and think his power’s better suited to a villain. I do wish we saw more of how DJ Shindig actually used his ability as a hero, though, besides throwing a killer dance party.
Do you think we’re finally shifting into the main conflict of To Be Hero X now that we’ve met someone who might actually be the big villain? Or do you think Ghostblade’s arc is just another detour, like Loli’s?
ADAM: That’s a good question. Loli’s arc already felt like a step away from the whole Queen, Cyan, and Johnnies situation. Ghostblade might be another step away, toward the deeper mysteries of the setting.
But my guess is that it’s all building toward one central question: Why did E-Soul kill Moon in the present? Was it really about her? Or Lin Ling? Is X involved somehow, even though he’s only been in like two episodes? It’s a mystery, for sure.
The bet
HILARY: Gasp—what if E-Soul was mind-controlled by DJ Shindig!? We don’t know yet if any of this is going to tie together or be executed well, but hey, at least the show’s fun to watch.
ADAM: Little did we know, under that stoic mask, E-Soul was actually yelling, “Let’s party!!”
HILARY: I think I just solved the mystery. Who needs Sherlock Holmes when you’ve got me? My job here is done.
ADAM: It could also be that the episode marked “????” in the chart is the one where we finally learn about this mysterious villain. Want to bet on it? Loser has to watch an anime of the winner’s choosing.
HILARY: Ha! Deal. But I’m betting the “????” episode won’t be about the villain at all. Instead, it’ll be fully dedicated to how X decorated his apartment. We’ll see him unrolling blueprints, talking about furniture layouts, and figuring out the vibe he wants the space to have. In the final minutes, he finds Ahu on the street and has a deep realization: “Ah, this is my best friend.” A slice-of-life episode about X discovering he was meant to be an interior designer, not an all-powerful hero. Yep yep. nods confidently
Threadbare
ADAM: Two more things I’d like to say about Loli. The first is that I like her weird chameleon hat. It’s funny that even when she isn’t wearing a superhero costume, she’s walking around with giant eyes on her head. That’s dedication!
The second is Loli’s machines. An ongoing thread through To Be Hero X is valorizing the tech industry; compared to the easily manipulated public, every scientist and/or tech CEO we’ve met so far is in it for the greater good. Loli’s absent scientist dad is no exception. I expected that Loli would have to win him around with her genius, but nope, we learn quickly that he cares for her and also respects women. That’s the kind of guy he is.
But then: he’s also the kind of guy who stores alien technology in his basement where his daughter can get to it and build weapons as well as fashion technology. He’s mad when he finds out, but what did he expect? This is where I had trouble suspending my belief rather than the alien thing. Other characters that we’ve met in the series so far were either ordinary people (like Lin Ling) or had backgrounds that explained their personalities (like Queen growing up within high society.) Loli on the other hand just happened to be in the right place at the right time while also being a genius.
It felt threadbare to me, in the same way as the scene where Loli draws a message on a restaurant window to send a message to Nuonuo’s stalker. Somehow there was nobody else in the restaurant, and no service staff saying, “please do not draw on our windows!” Did that stand out to you, too, or was it not really a problem?
Not the strongest
HILARY: That would’ve been such a great comedic moment if the service staff was freaking out and telling Loli to get down from the table. Missed opportunity!
I was too harsh on Queen because out of all the arcs we’ve seen, Loli’s was the weakest in terms of characterization. I’m sorry, Queen. bows down If I’m going to be brutally honest, from what we’ve seen so far, Loli feels like a character who was hastily thought up. Like the team realized they needed another female character to balance out the mostly male top 10 hero list, and that’s how we ended up with Loli—a cute genius with a cute machine.
There’s some good stuff here, as we both pointed out. But in comparison to the other heroes, Loli’s arc just isn’t the strongest.
ADAM: So I guess that’s our verdict on Loli’s storyline: cute, but not necessarily strong, at least so far. Any hopes for the upcoming Ghostblade arc?
HILARY: His appearance definitely suggests he has a tragic backstory, which I’m eager to discover. But what if he doesn’t? What if the slightly melancholic expression in his eyes is just his natural state? What if he just likes wearing a mask? What a subversion of expectations that would be.
I’m hoping Loli’s arc is just the first part of her story, and that we’ll see more of her during Ghostblade’s arc with a proper resolution. As for Ghostblade, I’m really curious to hear what his voice sounds like, what his powers are, how he came to work for MG, and who he actually is. What about you?
Table flip
ADAM: I have this half-formed idea that Ghostblade might be the faceless guy stalking Nuonuo—but who really knows? Mostly, I’m hoping Ghostblade will bring even more variety to the setting. To Be Hero X’s world already includes idols, aliens, and men with disco ball heads; I’m excited to see what they do with a mystery or noir story. Hopefully, it’ll play to the team’s strengths. Also, maybe Ahu will show up and help out. Who’s a better ally for a noir story than a talking dog wearing a hat and tie?
HILARY: So what I’m hearing is—you just want more Ahu.
ADAM: I’ve been waiting forever. Please, Ahu…
That said, we did get Loli’s silly hat this episode, plus her rocket-powered baseball bat. So I’m hanging in there for now. I bet she could hit a baseball really, really far—for Ahu to catch.
HILARY: So many missed opportunities—it makes me want to flip a table. We could’ve had so much Ahu! But I’m holding out hope for a scene of Ahu playing fetch. Maybe in that “????” episode, there’ll be a scene where X takes a break from decorating to play baseball with Loli’s bat. He swings, hits the ball really far, and before he can retrieve it, a little doggo with a top hat comes tottering over with the ball…
Anyway, we’re still a long way from our beloved Ahu. Ghostblade first!
To Be Hero X airs in the United States via Crunchyroll.
SDCC COVERAGE SPONSORED BY MAD CAVE
