• Title: To Be Hero X 
• Episodes: 24
• Aired: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025
• Producers: BeDream, Bilibili, Aniplex
• Studios: Pb Animation, Studio LAN, Paper Plane Animation Studio
• Genre: Action, Fantasy
• Rating: PG-13
• Content Warnings: Flashing lights, intense colorful animation, profanity, suicide, psychological trauma, violence, blood, multiple deaths

To Be Hero X is an original donghua series directed by Li Haoling, known for Link Click. It stands out for its stunning visuals — with seamless transitions between 2D and 3D animation — and non-linear storytelling that keeps the audience guessing and theorizing until the end.

The story takes place in a world where anyone can be a hero and obtain superpowers, as long as they earn trust from people. The hero with the highest trust value is bestowed the title X. In this world, heroes are capable of doing great things, but at the same time, they’re unable to act in ways that go against how people perceive them — the side effect of trust.

More than a typical superhero action series, To Be Hero X delves into the hero system and follows the top 10 heroes caught in a web of political intrigue, drama, and moral complexity.

⚠️ Spoilers and sensitive content ahead. For your safety, please review the series’ content warnings at the top of this article.

One Snap Is All It Takes for Animation Change

To Be Hero X instantly hooked me the first time I saw a portion of its 6-minute trailer, where the animation switches between 2D and 3D art styles, with the 3D sequences  reminiscent of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Arcane. For someone who enjoys fluid and striking animation, it’s total eye candy. The great thing about it is that it also serves as a storytelling device rather than just pure aesthetics.

In To Be Hero X, trust earned from the people, enables an individual to become a hero and have special abilities. It’s measured as trust value and displayed on their wrists. Every two years, the top 10 heroes participate in the Heroes Tournament to vie for the title X, the hero with the highest trust value and ranking.

According to the official To Be Hero X website, here are the rankings of the top 10 heroes we follow:

• Rank 1:  X
• Rank 2: Queen
• Rank 3: Dragon Boy
• Rank 4: Ghostblade
• Rank 5: The Johnnies
• Rank 6: Loli
• Rank 7: Lucky Cyan
• Rank 8: Ahu
• Rank 9: E-Soul
• Rank 10: Nice/Lin Ling

The trailer is an excerpt from To Be Hero X Episode 23, “Lie”, where we finally witnessed X use his powers against the Phobiaclones, from Ahu’s perspective. X has the ability to manipulate space and time, allowing him to travel through multiple dimensions with the snap of his fingers. This changes the world around him, which is why we, the viewers, see it portrayed in both 2D and 3D art styles.

The animation change also has something to do with the story timeline, which is told out of order, if not entirely in reverse.

Your Atypical Superhero Story Told Nonlinearly

The current timeline takes place sometime between Year 40-41 After Commission (40-41 AC), as shown in Episodes 1-4 and 24, all of which are in 3D. Meanwhile, the events preceding this period are portrayed in 2D, spanning Episodes 8-20. However, there are a few exceptions: Episodes 5-7 appear in 3D despite occurring in 20-39 AC, and Episodes 21-23 appear in 2D despite taking place during the current timeline, with the only other deviations occurring when X uses his powers.

As with its non-linear narrative, To Be Hero X has no fixed protagonist. Each hero serves as the main character of their own story, with their own arcs that overlap and build upon one another and ultimately coming together in the end.

In Episode 1, “Nice,” we are introduced to Nice, the “perfect” hero who jumped off to his death, and Lin Ling, a former employee who is forced to take his place. Lin Ling’s arc ends in Episode 4, “The Commoner,” when people start to believe in him, eventually becoming a hero on his own. We never saw him again until the finale, but it’s during his arc that we get to know other heroes such as Moon and Firm Man with a sub-arc of their own.

Starting in Episode 5, “One Actor,” we follow Yang Cheng, a child theater-actor who replaced the hero E-Soul and took a bad turn in life. Starting in Episode 8, “The Cyan Girl,” we follow Lucky Cyan, an orphan who was exploited for her luck, in pursuing her passion for music and becoming a hero. This is the first time we see X in his civilian form, when he dropped a coin in front of Lucky Cyan after singing on a sidewalk.

What comes next is Queen’s arc starting in Episode 11, “Road to the Crown.” She strives to become hero X to overturn the corrupt hero system, inspiring young women such as Loli to become heroes. Loli’s arc starts in Episode 13, “Tough Girl,” where we see her defying gender stereotypes and befriending Wang Nuonuo, Ghostblade’s estranged daughter. We then follow Ghostblade starting in Episode 15, “Affective Disorder,” as he accomplishes his hero duties while struggling with his marital issues.

The plot shifts once again in The Johnnies’ arc in Episode 17, “Whisper Flower,” where we follow Little Johnny as he deals with grief and discover his father’s ties to other heroes. And at last, in Episode 20, “The Ruins Incident,” we witness the top heroes, Loli, Nice, Ghostblade, The Johnnies and E-Soul — in one event. Unfortunately, instead of fighting aliens, they go head-to-head with each other — with Queen and Lucky Cyan saving the day.

In Episodes 21-23, we discover Dragon Boy’s abusive upbringing and Ahu’s journey of becoming a hero, even as a dog, with Nice’s arc intersecting both of theirs. We learn about Smile and the reason behind his death, and Ahu’s quirky connection with X. Episode 23 also brings us full circle, as we later see Nice crash out before being transported to the rooftop of Lin Ling’s office building in Episode 1, where he took his own life.

Episode 24, “X,” takes us back to the present, following Episode 4, where X effortlessly escapes the kill order issued by the Hero Affairs Commission to prevent him from participating in the 21st Heroes Tournament. After X and Ahu’s conversation about fate that brought all of them 10 heroes together, we are shown two more shocking twists in the day of the tournament — Nice is resurrected with cracks all over his face, and X participates in his civilian form to “defy” fate, marking the season finale.

What Makes a Hero?

Truthfully, To Be Hero X can be confusing. It can be hard to keep track of who’s who and when events occur, and some heroes aren’t as compelling as others or aren’t written well enough for viewers to connect with them. There are still questions left unanswered, and the overlapping arcs and lore bomb in the finale can surely get overwhelming. Yet with all these, we’re just scratching the surface — as the 24 episodes merely serve as a prologue for Season 2.

Despite the risk, To Be Hero X has proven that their chosen story direction successfully works — ambitious, yes, but definitely possible. Every hero has a story to tell and we discover their involvement in the huge politics at play, where they are all pieces on a chessboard. The power system surprisingly feels grounded in reality, as it mirrors how public perception can shape an individual, and the animation quality stays strong until the end.

To Be Hero X certainly puts a new spin on the classic superhero action formula, as the heroes we follow in its world are the ones who need to be saved. In the end, it all asks us the same thing, “Where could your faith take you?” 

Final Thoughts

Shifting across timelines and following multiple characters can be confusing, but it’s a gamble that To Be Hero X pulls off spectacularly in the end — where we are presented with rich lore, well-crafted plot, and multilayered characters that are just as impressive as the animation. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, and it truly stands out among the anime of Summer 2025.

Watch To Be Hero X if you’re in for a new and exhilarating ride that takes you through multiple dimensions — quite literally. Whether you’re an animation fan or not, this series is guaranteed to be a visual feast. What’s more, it’s not every day you come across a superhero aura farming with powers that can manipulate even the animation studios, and their budget.

Watch all episodes for free on YouTube.