[DreamSword]

Episode #01: Beginning

What is Heroman?

Do you all remember The Reflection? If not, it was an anime helmed by Stan Lee, and the entire idea of it was an American comic in anime form.

And really, the idea is very much the same here. While it doesn't have the art style of a US comic book, Heroman very much aims to bring the general vibe of comics into an anime form, which leads to the show's' overall charm.

It's also why, for what might be the first time ever, I want to highlight the show's' ED before its OP in one of these posts, as I feel as though it does a great job at capturing the sort of spirit that the entire anime is basing itself off of. And it's just a really neat song and sequence ontop of that.

But beyond all of that, what's this show even about? Heroman is the story of Joey Jones, your average nerdy kid who lives in the West Coast town of Center City. That's right, the show takes place in the USA, and the very episode makes sure you know it, too. Anyway, Joey a meek high schooler who has to deal with things that would not be out of place in a Spider-Man story; You know 'em.

The Spider-Man comparisons are very much intentional, too. To the point I very much feel that they were done on purpose. We've got Joey as an expy of Peter, his friend Lina as a stand in for both Mary Jane and Gwen, and big bully Will is very much the Flash Thompson of the show. But don't worry, despite the very obvious influences, Heroman will put in the effort to differentiate itself in many ways as it goes on.

And with the Spider-Man comparisons comes superheroics of course! But one immediate difference between Joey and Spidey is that Joey himself isn't actually Heroman. That's actually the name of his robotic companion. And Heroman doesn't come to life via a radioactive spider bite, but rather his origin is a bit more mystical with Joey's' toy robot getting struck by a bolt of lightning during a bad storm. And thankfully there's no dead uncles required for a hero to be born this time around.

Though I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself in all of this. What exactly does the first episode detail? Well, it is very much an origin story and nothing but one. And I actually really appreciate that about it. It doesn't need some suddenly huge big evil mastermind blowing up the city to get everything started; Heck, the climax of the episode itself is Joey and Heroman saving Lina and her dad from a car crash. No, the entire episode is focused totally on setup, with character establishment for Joey at the forefront. And yeah, there's a ton to be learned about Joey as a character just from this episode alone, which makes him very likable very fast.

What also helps the experience alot is that this show's animation and art style are very pleasant to look at. I personally feel that this is some of Studio Bones' best work in terms of animation. And it me very sad that, when finding ways to watch this show, I came to learn some very important information: The blu-rays of Heroman actually made the show look worse compared to the original TV broadcast. Based on comparison photos that others have posted, it seems like whoever handled the BDs just slapped a filter over the footage and called it a day, and it results in alot of finer details getting lost. Thankfully, fans have made sure to preserve higher quality rips of the TV masters, which is what I'll be using during this rewatch, and I suggest you all do too.

Anyway, the first episode is very simple in what it presents and what it's trying to say, and that is also its biggest strength. Because it's so straightforward, it's able to easily stay focused on what matters, and executes that idea very well. I wouldn't call it the best anime premiere of all time, but it's one that I could very easily see as being underrated, and I very much enjoy it for what it is. Believe it or not, Heroman is actually one of my favorite anime, and I very much hope that anyone who decides to follow along with this rewatch will be able to see why by the end of the run. And hey, maybe it'll become a show that you love too.

Oh, and Stan Lee cameos in this episode. As he should.