To Be Hero X Ep 7 Review: Lightning In The Dark
In my previous review, I have compared this series to The Boys and Tiger & Bunny, but now I see that I am mistaken. To Be Hero X is much more ambitious, and strive to be even more deep than other. Yang Cheng’s – aka the new E-Soul – arc has just gotten 10 times better, and 10 times darker than what I expected. Another chapter to the dystopian world with seemingly no super villains, just hero agencies and their agendas.
After Shang Chao’s death, Yang Cheng has sworn revenge for his best friend. On that night, he has identified the enemy – the same goon who kidnapped the kid before. However, after getting more intel from Enlighter, it seems that those goons are already off the face of the Earth, so all that’s left is to go after the mastermind behind it all – the person who put the hit on Shang Chao. And in Yang Cheng’s mind, it could only be one person – the one who will benefit from handicapping Yang Cheng – the old E-Soul. However, that proves to be completely false later as we got a crazy plot twist after.
But as always with these types of series, Yang Cheng has already been consumed by the wheel of karma. He blamed himself for Shang Chao’s death, but not without reason. During a flashback of that fateful night, we saw Yang Cheng would have made it to save Shang Chao…but he suddenly cancelled his power…
In that split moment of life and death, Yang Cheng thought about how Shang Chao is a perfect human being, how he always seem to get what Yang Cheng really wanted. He was jealous of his relationship with Xia Qing and how she relied on him. Shang Chao seems to be able to do everything – from promoting Yang Cheng, developing his assets, as well as possessing powerful connections to pull him out of scandal, and even arranged a “coronation” for him. Shang Chao was – in Yang Cheng’s mind – his rival and his idol. His jealousy made him hesitate during that split moment, and even though he regained his sense afterwards, it was too late. A momentary lapse of judgement had cost him his best supporter…forever. So now, he will never, ever waver again. The new E-Soul right now is like an arrow of lightning strung on a bow that is drawn with maximum strength.
But as always with these types of series, Yang Cheng has already been consumed by the wheel of karma. He blamed himself for Shang Chao’s death, but not without reason. During a flashback of that fateful night, we saw Yang Cheng would have made it to save Shang Chao…but he suddenly cancelled his power…
In that split moment of life and death, Yang Cheng thought about how Shang Chao is a perfect human being, how he always seem to get what Yang Cheng really wanted. He was jealous of his relationship with Xia Qing and how she relied on him. Shang Chao seems to be able to do everything – from promoting Yang Cheng, developing his assets, as well as possessing powerful connections to pull him out of scandal, and even arranged a “coronation” for him. Shang Chao was – in Yang Cheng’s mind – his rival and his idol. His jealousy made him hesitate during that split moment, and even though he regained his sense afterwards, it was too late. A momentary lapse of judgement had cost him his best supporter…forever. So now, he will never, ever waver again. The new E-Soul right now is like an arrow of lightning strung on a bow that is drawn with maximum strength.
On the old E-Soul side, he didn’t really want to get into this meaningless conflict when Yang Cheng call him out, but the name E-Soul was on the line – his entire career and identity. If he was truly 100% virtuous, he would have conceded the title. But I guess deep inside, he wanted E-Soul to be the image of a hero who never backed down. If he just conceded like that, the old E-Soul’s image and everyone’s admiration of him would be shattered. Maybe he just wanted the people that he managed to cheered on to keep going no matter what. So he had to accepted the duel.
It turned out that the old E-Soul’s manager had nothin g to do with Shang Chao’s death, and even the kid’s kidnapping. They are just doing what a managing agency need to do: follow the higher-ups order and maintain E-Soul’s order as best they can. His behaviour during Yang Cheng’s interrogation was just a desperate attempt to capitalize on an unexpected opportunity – nothing more.
The old E-Soul seems to be a genuine good hero – who has put his own into saving people in the past. Now, he’s too old to go out and fight villain. So he settled for doing promotion and maintaining a good image, as well as being an idol – kinda like a retired athlete. Even so, he must know that his days are numbered and the day will come when he gets replaced by someone else – someone younger. And he may feel that this might be it.
It turned out that the old E-Soul’s manager had nothin g to do with Shang Chao’s death, and even the kid’s kidnapping. They are just doing what a managing agency need to do: follow the higher-ups order and maintain E-Soul’s order as best they can. His behaviour during Yang Cheng’s interrogation was just a desperate attempt to capitalize on an unexpected opportunity – nothing more.
The old E-Soul seems to be a genuine good hero – who has put his own into saving people in the past. Now, he’s too old to go out and fight villain. So he settled for doing promotion and maintaining a good image, as well as being an idol – kinda like a retired athlete. Even so, he must know that his days are numbered and the day will come when he gets replaced by someone else – someone younger. And he may feel that this might be it.
And here comes the fight! This is another same vs same match-up, but their difference is quite noticeable. The old E-Soul is relying more on his tech provided by his company – basically Qan-T’s Sword bits and Age’s C-Funnel. Yang Cheng – young and eager – was bestowed with E-Soul’s superelectric power, fights more like a speedster. The visual effect is amazing. You can see each bits and parts from the old E-Soul’s weapon and how it dance around fluidly like a rain of petal. Kinda funny since E-Soul was voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa – someone who doesn’t use funnel a whole lot. We can also see the tenacity and determination of Yang Cheng – since he was ready to throw away everything in this fight. The fact that he was able to push the old E-Soul to the brink was really amazing – although it may also be due to the changes in followers. And finally…the deciding moment came. Both put their all into their ultimate attack for a final clash – where everything was revealed…
The true mastermind behind all the incidents – the kidnapping, Yang Cheng’s rise to power and investigation, Shang Chao’s death, and finally, this very moment between the two E-Souls – was none other than…Uncle Rock. Yes, the muscular yet funky uncle who run a cafe is actually the Director of the MG Company who manages E-Soul himself! He knew that it is time to replace E-Soul, so he set out to find, or rather, “build” his replacement. He opened a cafe, put up some E-Soul stage plays, and discovered Yang Cheng. From that point on, everything has been in his plan. From Yang Cheng saving the kid, to Shang Chao becoming his supporter, to Shang Chao’s assassination…it was all orchestrated by that man. The two thugs that kidnapped the kid and killed Shang Chao was put 6-feet-under concrete by the man himself. His cold-hearted demeanor and matter-of-factness once again revealed to us how this world works. A world full of lies, deceit and cut-throat business.
I think at the end of the fight, Yang Cheng has realized that he has officially become a gear in the machine. Due to his jealousy, he has lost something he cannot take back. So now, this is his atonement. Shang Chao wanted to make him the new E-Soul – and so, he will become one, he has to. Xia Qing has realized this isn’t what Yang Cheng actually wanted, but what he was forced to want. She must have noticed his hesitation back then, and understood his regret. Xia Qing might not blame him, but Yang Cheng did blame himself. And so, their paths cannot align anymore. Yang Cheng has become the new E-Soul – the unwavering electric blade of MG Corporation. So Xia Qing had no choice as Yang Cheng drifted away from him. This episode show us that not even The Boys could have come up with this masterpiece of a plotline in just 3 episode. What an insane arc that rivals Yin Ling’s story.
=Aaron=
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