Let’s get real: growing up watching Marvel movies and cool anime like My Hero Academia, most of us dreamed of being a Hero. Superpowers, cool costumes, flying through the air with cool music playing in the background? Yes. We wanted to be the ones saving the day, getting the crowd’s love, and perhaps even a kiss with our crush at sunset. Sounds cool, right? Not in To Be Hero X.

So, To Be Hero X watched all that, raised an eyebrow, and was like, “You sure about that, champ?” This is not a show about handing you a cape so you can fulfill your superhero fantasy. No. It’s here to take that fantasy away from you, watch it be sucked into a black hole, and ask you the real question no Marvel movie ever had the guts to say out loud: “Is being a Hero even worth it?”

Let’s set the stage. In To Be Hero X, being a Hero isn’t about inner strength or noble hearts or believing in the good of humanity. It’s about one thing: Trust scores. Imagine living in a world where how much people like you, i.e., literally how much they think you’re trustworthy, is scored, out there for everyone to see, and constantly ticking up or down.

Yes, it’s real-time popularity updates while saving the world. It’s Instagram influencer culture, but with punching and trauma. Now compare that to, let’s say, My Hero Academia, where being a Hero is the ultimate goal. It’s flashy and awesome. You’re your own master, billboards, fans, the whole package. Deku may cry a lot, but he’s still out there doing his thing.

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Sure, there’s risk involved, but it seems like being a Hero is worth it in the end. Not in To Be Hero X, buddy. Here, you save someone and gain Trust. Great. But blink, and you are done. This is where To Be Hero X strikes you where it hurts. Unlike other superhero shows, it shows you what it really costs to be at the top.

Lin Ling? Lost someone close. Whether they died or just became a totally different person, it doesn’t matter. They’re gone. Yang Cheng? Same. And these aren’t just background tragedies; they’re pivotal to who these characters end up as. Every step up the Trust ladder costs them something, and it’s never just time or sleep. It’s people.

Honestly, the only mainstream hero who even comes close to To Be Hero X‘s raw emotional cost is Spider-Man. Peter Parker constantly loses the things that matter most: his loved ones, his friends, even himself, just because he tries to do good. Every time he puts on the mask, his life falls apart a little more. To Be Hero X is that same concept, but without illusion. No victory, no glory, only sacrifice, over and over again.

That’s the core question To Be Hero X keeps throwing at you. It’s not even a soft, deep kind of thing. It’s more like getting punched in the face and then having a sad violin solo. Like, sure, being a Hero is awesome on paper. Rescue people. Be good. Show that your existence is worth something. All that.

But To Be Hero X flips that on its head and says: “Cool story, but if the price of becoming someone’s savior is losing your best friend, your sanity, and maybe your soul, was it really worth it?” Marvel heroes rarely ask that. There is always some silver lining in those films: family, honor, legacy, a place in Avengers HQ.

Even when Iron Man died, he went out a legend. In To Be Hero X, if you die, you’re forgotten. If you live, you’re alone. And if you’re lucky? You just end up empty. What’s really wild is how To Be Hero X shows you that the villains don’t even have to land a punch.

They simply need to exist. The very concept of being a Hero is so warped that it just consumes the Heroes from the inside. They pursue Trust like it’s oxygen. And in doing so, they stop seeing the red flags around them. Loved ones in danger? Can’t focus, gotta get that Trust score up. Friends turning distant? Nah, that’s probably fine, just keep saving people and smiling for the cameras.

By now, it’s painfully clear: To Be Hero X isn’t just telling a story. It’s pulling the curtain back on what it really means to put ‘saving others’ above everything else. The show isn’t anti-hero. It simply keeps it real about how messed up the whole hero thing is. So yeah, maybe that Trust score looks shiny. Maybe the people cheer your name. But if the cost is turning the people you love into corpses, strangers, or enemies, is any of it worth it?