To Be Hero

Teluge Dec 28, 2016

10

The Humor is as low brow as it gets, Swiss Army Man anyone?Great Anime.  . Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! . Dude had a stroke during episode 1 you don't find out about this till episode 12 when the doctors come in and say so, Tack on the fact that he lost his job by sacrificing for his daughter. So from almost the very beginning this show is about a "good" father thinking he isn't "Good" enough to make it, to protect his daughter, the world or even himself. And it's kinda heart wrenching at the end when the little girl figured out why he didn't want to tell her how the story ended, he had no faith in himself, but she didn't care, she just wanted him back. And before the next door neighbor told her the truth about her father, she only saw him as useless even though he was far from it. And in the end he said screw it too and fought to be the good parent he was and not some conceited twit that he once upon a time used to be. Protecting hiss daughter.If I had to guess the low brow humor part was just thrown in to make it seem much much more like a dream cuz the further we got from episode 1 the more surreal it got.</div> . Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! . In wrapping up I didn't plan on giving this anime any time at all. However now that I've watched it all the way through I'm gonna find the Chinese version, seeing as how the Japanese cut parts out and re-watch it and this is easily this seasons best Hidden Gem.

MyOwnAlarum Aug 1, 2018

4

For a filler-show with bizarrely manic humor, To Be Hero isn’t really bad per se… it’s just not that good either.  The first nine or ten episodes are random, gross, and utterly meaningless.  Somehow, the finale manages to tie it all together and turn most of the garbage into gold, but this added layer of depth doesn’t really make up for the first 80% of the experience.  The story centers on a selfish and unreliable lech whose toilet transforms him into the most unappealing superhero imaginable.  Unable to speak without uttering profanities, he must save the world and protect his daughter while living as an over-the-top pervert with terrible hygiene.  As the synopsis suggests, the series relies heavily on crude gimmicks and callow humor.  Boob jokes are nearly as common as poop jokes, and they’re not always mutually exclusive.  The repetitive punchlines give characters a one-dimensional feel, and few of them are ever more than they appear to be.      The humor starts to make more sense when you consider the production was supervised by Shinichi Watanabe, a man famous for directing Excel Saga and spending his entire adult-life dressed up as Lupin III (no joke).  He’s eccentric but popular, and he brings with him a wide range of talent.  The  casting is one of the show’s high points, and features long-time melodramatists Kenjiro Tsuda (Soul Eater’s Mifune) and Yutaka Aoyama (Naruto’s Sasori). The rest of the production quality is a little awkward, at least in part because this is technically a multi-cultural endeavor; Watanabe aside, Haoliners is a Shanghai studio aiming to export more Chinese animation. Though it was released simultaneously in both countries, the two versions are slightly different and both feature localized music and dubs.  Watanabe’s influence is still noticeable but comes across as a bit old-fashioned, especially in style and tone.   Hero does have one selling point that makes it worth considering; it’s technically the prequel for To Be Heroine, a far better show that I strongly recommend watching.  Heroine uses the same themes (and characters) as Hero, but it weaves them together much more cohesively.  It’s not absolutely necessary to watch one for the other, but it helps make sense of the antics later in the sequel if you do.

Jertin2 Dec 29, 2016

7

The anime comes out of the gate almost as if it is aping One Punch Man, but it settles into a more sitcom style comedy about the cast clashing over Min-chan. Who wouldn't clash over the adorable Min-chan though? Re-read that crude tag for another description of the jokes that will be employed, a key feature of the main character's hero transformation is the inability to express himself without being perverted. I was more entertained by the wacky cast of aliens and references to the third wall. ("Could you say that in dialogue font instead of monologue font? I couldn't hear you!") The animation is particularly bare bones with maybe 3 set pieces used consistently and even then not with much detail. You'll find it moves smoothly though due ot its cartoonish nature. There's maybe 2 guitar riffs that will be played during flashbacks and emotional moments, probably not something you want to binge watch in one sitting, give this anime an hour at a time. Thankfully the anime is only 3 hours long, and there's somethign to be said for short and sweet. Watch! - but don't expect to be blown away if you're expecting fight scenes, drama, or over-arching story. It all gets tied up in a "neat" little bow at the end.