To Be Hero X

Episode 14

Here we are at the end of our time with Loli—and I can't help but feel we're missing a big part of her story. In this episode, we get to see Loli suit up in her new prototype armor and defeat DJ Shindig, a former number one hero. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool fight and a fun action climax, but it feels like Loli has yet to become a superhero, not to mention finish her character arc.

Loli's heroics this episode are largely unseen. There is no SNS and no livestreaming—no Trust gained. She has a one-on-one fight in a high-security lab with only a few guards, some scientists, and a drunk lady as witnesses. Moreover, at the end, Ghostblade (already a top hero) swoops in for the kill, presumably getting all the credit.

That begs the question: how did she go from an intern making a battle suit on the company dime to an actual superhero patrolling the streets? When did she get her big break? When did she join FOMO as one of their new heroes? How did she climb the ranks to become the 6th-ranked hero, surpassing even Cyan and E-Soul along the way? What made the people accept her, and do they know the woman beneath the mask?

Then there are the dangling threads of her character arc. She wants people to accept her as she is—a cute girl and also a superhero. By the end, do we see this happening? Not really. The scientists and guards don't know it's Loli in the suit, so they wouldn't have an opinion. And when her father discovers it's her in the suit, he reacts badly, only to apologize briefly and explain he's just worried for her, but that's all we get! He immediately gets distracted by the Fear particle she's holding.

And to be fair, he's not the only one. The episode itself is more interested in the Fear research angle than in tying up Loli's story. A good chunk is spent on all the big agency heads and the commission itself meeting to discuss what has been learned about Fear since Cyan battled her way through the orphanage a year before. Moreover, Loli's big battle with DJ Shindig is meant to show that trust-based powers do not affect her, and neither does Fear, as we see with her holding a particle without getting infected.

This leads to the big out-of-left-field reveal that aliens exist and have even crashed on Earth before. Moreover, their ship is made of a metal that blocks both Trust and Fear abilities, which Loli used as an alloy in her armor. This is a game changer and something that could upset this entire hero-centric world.

Luckily, there is a bit of a caveat to this mysterious metal. It doesn't rob the superpowered of their powers. Rather, armor made from it prevents the powers from affecting the wearer directly. This means, for example, Queen couldn't alter gravity around Loli and launch her into the air. However, Lin Ling could punch Loli with his super-strength, and the mysterious metal would do nothing to lessen the blow.

It's an interesting wildcard to throw into the mix—and one that will no doubt become important as the series continues. I just wish its existence hadn't truncated Loli's origin story.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The good news, if you can call it that, is that the next arc is about Ghostblade. Maybe we'll find out why he is a stalker in his free time.

• I wonder how the alien metal would react to Hero X's powers. Would the reality around it change, but it remain the same? If so, it looks like Loli, not Queen, would have the best chance in a fight against Hero X.

• I still want to know how Trust affects Loli specifically. Does it make her stronger or smarter? Or does the suit block any effect that Trust could have on her? What about when she's not in costume?

• Judging by the fact that we know the order of the most recent people to hold the X title (Hero X, Bowa, Smile, and Mr. Matchstick/Ms. Blazing Fire), DJ Shindig must have been X over a decade before the events of the story.

To Be Hero X is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.