To Be Hero X Ep 4 Review: To Be A Hero
After another great cliffhanger in episode 3, we continue with Lin Ling/Nice’s journey to rise in the ranks of heroes…not. This episode show us a complete collapse and undoing of the “hero” title that Lin Ling have been assuming. With God Eye/Enlighter exposing the truth to the world, Lin Ling now have to choose between being Nice or saving Yueqing…
God Eye as a villain is actually not that bad. Sure he is despicable as hell, but his action do unmask the ugly truth of this world to others. Maybe it takes another absolutely vile and jealous individual to expose the truth about a fabricated society. But deep down, all he wanted was for the public to see that he was right, and vindicate him for it. In the end, he was obsessed with being right, as well as stomping Nice’s reputation into the ground.
Once again, this world’s “power system” show us how insane it could be. Fans of “Nice” began protesting outside the Hero Tower, begging him not to go because it was obviously a trap – just like every series ever when a bad dude use the mc’s girl to lure him out. And while they are just normal people with zero powers, their “desire” to keep Nice away have placed a “pressure” on him. nice was literally “arms week, knees are heavy” as his amazing physicality was drained immediately whenever he tried to leave. At this point, if the “fans” want Nice to be gay, he would probably have to kiss a dude.
Once again, this world’s “power system” show us how insane it could be. Fans of “Nice” began protesting outside the Hero Tower, begging him not to go because it was obviously a trap – just like every series ever when a bad dude use the mc’s girl to lure him out. And while they are just normal people with zero powers, their “desire” to keep Nice away have placed a “pressure” on him. nice was literally “arms week, knees are heavy” as his amazing physicality was drained immediately whenever he tried to leave. At this point, if the “fans” want Nice to be gay, he would probably have to kiss a dude.
Still,, the Hero Association (heh, familiar name) sent another hero to deal with God Eye – the Man with an Iron Fist. But this guy ain’t just got the punch, he got the gimmick as well. His punches can make the target lose their memories – which is pretty OP! And at first, it seemed like he got the upper hand and basically boxed God Eye into a corner. But you already knew what was going to happen. God “Eye” saw through Iron Fist and basically psy-op the public into not admiring him anymore, causing him to lose his powers and basically became a normal chump. And God Eye was able to use his minion bots to defeat him.
At this point, Lin Ling couldn’t take it anymore. And he realized that…if the mantle of “nice” is keeping him away, all he needed to do was…abandon it. In his heart, he knew that he needed to stop being “Nice” (pun intended) to get what he truly wants. What “Nice” want and what people expect Nice to “want” is different from his. And the former Firm Man’s words echo in his head…”keep being yourself”. That’s when Lin Ling made up his mind – to go no matter what, even if that means he has to forfeit being Nice, to forfeit being a hero. The scene where he dragged himself outside of the Hero Tower was pretty impactful, although I find it funny that noone recognized Lin Ling was wearing Nice’s clothes until the very end.
At this point, Lin Ling couldn’t take it anymore. And he realized that…if the mantle of “nice” is keeping him away, all he needed to do was…abandon it. In his heart, he knew that he needed to stop being “Nice” (pun intended) to get what he truly wants. What “Nice” want and what people expect Nice to “want” is different from his. And the former Firm Man’s words echo in his head…”keep being yourself”. That’s when Lin Ling made up his mind – to go no matter what, even if that means he has to forfeit being Nice, to forfeit being a hero. The scene where he dragged himself outside of the Hero Tower was pretty impactful, although I find it funny that noone recognized Lin Ling was wearing Nice’s clothes until the very end.
Then we got to the showdown! And that was amazing. Lin Ling effectively lost all of Nice’s power, so he had to go up against God Eye basically barehanded. Luckily God Eye himself is also just a chump and is mostly relying on the visor and the minibots to fight with him. Still, it is too much for Lin Ling alone, and he got a beating. But due to his determination, he was able to get a few hits in. Even so, it is still not enough…unless….
God Eye – in his arrogance – livestreamed the entire thing to everyone. And the people witnessed Lin Ling’s courage and unstoppable emotion. And for some reason, his unused ads for “To Be Hero X” was broadcast everywhere, which contains his catchphrase “Anyone can be a hero”. They saw how Lin Ling was being beaten black and blue, yet he still press on. God Eye’s visor show Lin Ling’s damage throughout the entire body, if he had been a normal person…oh wait…he IS a normal person. The only thing that’s keeping him going is his intense feelings for Yueqing, and his belief in a normal person’s potential. At that moment, his feelings change the world – or at least, how the public view him. They saw Lin Ling’s heroics, and deemed him worthy of their trust. Power surged within Lin Ling, and he became blessed with power. Despite still being constrained by the system, he was able to knocked out God Eye and achieved victory. However, the Yueqing that was caught turned out to be nothing more than a doll. Lin Ling criticized God Eye’s hypocrisy of using a fake to expose the truth, and I guess this is where we can empathize with his purpose: heroes are just a marketing package, a luxurious lie wrapped in a human package so the public has something to believe in, and it’s all built on a house of cards.
The fight and choreograph of this episode was amazing still. However, I think they are swapping between 2D and 3D a bit…too frequent. I think if we cut down the artstyle change a bit, it would be more consistent and less jarring to watch. I know that the 2D and 3D switch is the highlight of the anime, but overusing it would backfire. Still, Sawano and his song “Jeopardy” really made this episode. My man never miss!
And lastly, we come to the ending. And I HATEEEEE IT!! It’s another insane cliffhanger that I have to wait another week to figure out. And I swear i will be livid if they pull some bs again. But this is also what makes it so good. The suspense keeps you coming back always! Can’t wait for the next ep!
=Aaron=
God Eye – in his arrogance – livestreamed the entire thing to everyone. And the people witnessed Lin Ling’s courage and unstoppable emotion. And for some reason, his unused ads for “To Be Hero X” was broadcast everywhere, which contains his catchphrase “Anyone can be a hero”. They saw how Lin Ling was being beaten black and blue, yet he still press on. God Eye’s visor show Lin Ling’s damage throughout the entire body, if he had been a normal person…oh wait…he IS a normal person. The only thing that’s keeping him going is his intense feelings for Yueqing, and his belief in a normal person’s potential. At that moment, his feelings change the world – or at least, how the public view him. They saw Lin Ling’s heroics, and deemed him worthy of their trust. Power surged within Lin Ling, and he became blessed with power. Despite still being constrained by the system, he was able to knocked out God Eye and achieved victory. However, the Yueqing that was caught turned out to be nothing more than a doll. Lin Ling criticized God Eye’s hypocrisy of using a fake to expose the truth, and I guess this is where we can empathize with his purpose: heroes are just a marketing package, a luxurious lie wrapped in a human package so the public has something to believe in, and it’s all built on a house of cards.
The fight and choreograph of this episode was amazing still. However, I think they are swapping between 2D and 3D a bit…too frequent. I think if we cut down the artstyle change a bit, it would be more consistent and less jarring to watch. I know that the 2D and 3D switch is the highlight of the anime, but overusing it would backfire. Still, Sawano and his song “Jeopardy” really made this episode. My man never miss!
And lastly, we come to the ending. And I HATEEEEE IT!! It’s another insane cliffhanger that I have to wait another week to figure out. And I swear i will be livid if they pull some bs again. But this is also what makes it so good. The suspense keeps you coming back always! Can’t wait for the next ep!
=Aaron=
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