How would you rate episode 16 of
To Be Hero X ?
Community score: 3.5
© bilibili/BeDream, Aniplex
Like with Ghostblade’s first episode, this episode makes episode 14 much better. While the protagonist of both arcs is different, it’s all the same story. And with this episode, we get our confrontation between the two heroes—and I’ll say this for Loli, even with her trust value in the double digits, she’s still not afraid to throw hands with a veteran top 5 hero.
Much of this episode is something I hate on a personal level: awkward humor. Of course, it all makes sense within the context of the story—Loli and Nuonuo have no reason to believe Ghostblade is anything but an obsessed stalker and Ghostblade is so socially awkward he doesn’t even think to send a single text message to clear everything up. So instead we’re treated to an extended sequence of Loli’s father attempting to play wingman and hook Ghostblade up with his own daughter. The secondhand embarrassment easily overwhelms any and all humor I could find in episode—though I’m sure to some this is the height of humor (no judgment).
On the positive side, what we do get from all this is some interesting bonding around the fact that almost all the people involved have terrible father/child relationships. For Loli, her dad is a workaholic who didn’t even notice his daughter had built a supersuit in their basement out of scraps till after she was already running around in it. Nuonuo had the emotionally-stunted Ghostblade for a father who thought watching from afar was enough for her entire childhood. And Johnnies, well, he had a happy family life till both his parents were murdered. It’s interesting to see them bond about this—even if their emotions are being toyed with by a now fully Fear-corrupted DJ Shindig.
What’s interesting about the fight that follows is that, honestly, it isn’t much of one. DJ Shindig once held the title of X—and he says that he is more powerful with his Fear powers than he had been with his Trust powers. The way that Ghostblade utterly dismantles him heavily implies that the current top 5 heroes are far more powerful than the early top heroes (and maybe even the more modern ones pre-Bowa)—which in turn casts Hero X as the most powerful hero ever born. It also means that even Lin Ling at the #10 slot might already be as powerful as some early Xs—it’s an interesting thing to consider.
But while DJ Shindig is defeated and Nuonuo learns the truth about her father, there is no time for a happy ending. With The Johnnies emotionally compromised and missing—and Queen and Cyan heading out on “vacation” (to a UFO crash in the middle of a desert?)—we’re rapidly approaching the final scene in Queen’s arc. But what will cause Big Johnny to go berserk? I’m sure we’ll start diving into that next week when we start The Johnnies’ three-episode arc.
Rating:
Random Thoughts:
• I liked the little re-contextualizing of Ghostblade’s actions over the episode that we got through Nuonuo reading his diary.
• As this episode takes place only a year before Lin Ling’s story (and Loli is currently unranked), the only way I see her making it to Rank 6 in that time is if she’s the one who resolves the whole upcoming “Big Johnny goes berserk” battle we are quickly approaching.
• So why/how did Zac (the head of FOMO) send The Johnnies (heroes that work for his rival at DOS) on this mission? Maybe, with DJ Shindig gone, he has no heroes of his own to send—which would mean he scouts and gets both Loli and Ahu into the top 10 in a single year.
• Surprising literally no one, the Fear cult have the same level of access as the Commission—if the two aren’t actually one in the same.
To Be Hero X is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.
Dil Nawaz — a writer who breathes life into emotions through words. I find beauty in silence, meaning in longing, and stories in every heartbeat. Writing for me isn’t just passion; it’s a way to connect souls, one feeling at a time.