To Be Hero X Review: A Sharp, Stylish Take on Identity and Hype Culture

To Be Hero X is the kind of anime that tricks you at first glance. It walks in loud, messy, and deliberately ridiculous, then slowly reveals that all that noise is hiding a surprisingly sharp and deliberate piece of storytelling.

The world building is where the show first shows its hand. The Trust Value system sounds like a punchline, but the longer you sit with it, the more you see how precise it really is. It turns fame, hype, and fear into actual resources that bend the world. Heroes rise and fall depending on what the crowd believes on any given day.

The show plays like a puzzle dropped on the floor out of order. Each arc feels standalone until it suddenly clicks together with everything else. Timelines bend. Perspectives shift without warning. The disorientation is intentional. As the pieces line up, you stop taking anything at face value and start wondering which version of events is true, who benefits from that version, and who is controlling the cut you’re allowed to see.

The visuals amplify this even further. The multi-style animation isn’t a flex or a gimmick. It’s a storytelling tool. One moment you get clean, high contrast action, and the next it snaps into loose, sketchy comedy. The whiplash isn’t random; it signals changes in tone, identity, or perspective. The way the show shifts aesthetics becomes part of how it communicates meaning.

What really surprised me is how strong the meta layer is. The show understands the machinery of hype, viral cycles, and creator economies almost too well. Heroes are produced, marketed, and retired the same way content is. Public trust is manufactured through PR plays and hit jobs. The satire hits because it reflects systems we already recognise, pushed only slightly into exaggeration.

But even with that level of cynicism, the show keeps a real emotional core running underneath. Every now and then, the noise drops. Characters break, open up, or just stop performing long enough for something real to slip through. These moments land harder precisely because they’re surrounded by chaos.

By the time it ends, *To Be Hero X* stands out as one of the most distinctive anime of the year. It’s loud but thoughtful, absurd yet precise, and far more intentional than it pretends to be. If you enjoy layered storytelling and shows that reward paying attention, this one stays with you long after the credits roll.