tysm @kneemothefish for this post with all the sticker gifs!! I might be dense and be saying the same thing as that post, but I discovered you can get the actual official tbhx stickers this way. Like, not just as custom self uploaded ones! My guess is because they are identical to the actual files, wechat can recognize them.
For many users if you simply go to wechats sticker gallery and search "凸变英雄X”, nothing will appear. It could be region locked so some users cannot see it.
Instead go to that aforementioned sticker post and download ANY ONE sticker. Upload the ORIGINAL FILE to your customs stickers.
send it anywhere (like idk, to your mom), and tap on it. You should be able to add the official entire set!! The person u send it to can also add this way!!
*Not including official art since that's easy to find, this is mostly a masterpost on different costumes and where they can be found in the series up to this point (episode 5) and a bit of speculation along the way. Spoilers of course.
To start off, Inertia. There are two distinct E-Souls in the opening- the blue one which is YC (if it's not then the PVs sure are fucking with us) and the gray one who is the "original" E-Soul (in quotes because who knows how many there may potentially be. For the sake of the post, the guy with the missing arm/the "original" in reference to YC will be referred to as such.)
Kontinuum - it's actually a bit hard to tell. The grayscale filter doesn't help much, and the helmet shape doesn't seem to match up with the others. A lot of the time it can be difficult to tell if the different shapes are purposeful or design/consistency errors with how complex his design is especially when cross referencing between 2D and 3D. The loss of an arm would have me lean towards the original, but the build and coloration leans more heavily towards YC. Then again, it's possible it's someone else entirely.
Since Tumblr likes to limit the amount of images in a post, there will be more in the reblogs c:
Character PV time! Starting off with the character concept PV- this is why we know the blue E-Soul is YC. Of course I conveniently didn't screenshot it for this post, but we see him at the start of the video and watch him put on the helmet, so it's as clear as it could possibly be. (Plus, you see his hair sticking out.)
And then the big one- the character trailer. This one has enough screenshots it'll be stuck split between posts, unfortunately. We have OG E-Soul, and his costume appears to be the same as the one we see in year 36 (the detailing on his missing arm is much more subtle in the 3D model, though). This is also the same model we see in Inertia, though the helmet does look slightly different (It's less detailed in Inertia, likely to save time animating. He is on screen for barely a second, after all.) But of course OG E-Soul isn't the interesting part about this trailer, so onto part 3! See you in the reblogs
Continuing the character trailer- we have this dark E-Soul who appears, attacks OG E-Soul, and disappears. I've seen a lot of theories about this one and who he might be, but my personal theory is more a manifestation of trauma. It interests me that his weapon is a blade protruding from the arm that E-Soul lost.
During the majority of the trailer we see another older iteration of E-Soul's suit. While we don't know how old it is comparatively, I'd say it's likely a bit older than whatever design YC's original costume was based off of since they share many similarities but this seems to be before the two eyes fused into a visor. Plus, it has that retrofuturistic/kinda megaman style that would hint towards it being much older.
On that note, here's YC's suit before the lighting upgrades!
Buckle up, this one's full of speculation. Or at least a lot of questions.
OG E-Soul has the same costume in year 20 when he saves YC and in year 36 at the anniversary event, which means either:
- His costume has not changed during this 16 year span of time, strange if he has so many costume iterations
- He's wearing an old suit for some reason
- Something else weird is going on
Bullet point one can also be disproven easily- during YC's performance when he's ridiculed it's stated that his costume is a suit that's 5 years old.
Him wearing an old suit is also unlikely- he has plenty of actors behind him to be a living museum, why would he not be representing his own modern era? And if he were to wear an older suit for his anniversary event wouldn't he be wearing his very first one?
But things seem to line up with the merchandise for this to be an older suit- at least at first glance. The mask seems a bit different, but that could be based on another era, but the action figure is what we get to see twice in two different times. Lack of detail we will simply credit to the limitations of 2D vs a 3D model. But the detailing on the 3D version of the action figure is different than our standard OG E-Soul costume that we're seeing at the anniversary event- it has additional lines on the shoulder pads, there's an extra "collar" coming off of the shoulders that overlaps his neck, and notably no missing right arm (then again, neither does the one in the 2D animation, so that might just be something they do with his merch or stuff produced before his injury). Of course this is also operating under the assumption that this is the same action figure as well.
Or I could be overthinking and they just wanted to add extra detail to make the action figure look extra cool. Still an interesting detail to notice.
All of this to say- if he DID have a different, older costume back when YC was saved, why did we see the modern one at the start of the episode? I think it's possible we might have an unreliable narrator- YC clearly idolized E-Soul as a child and truly saw him as the symbol of hope that E-Soul said his mask represents- what if he wasn't really saved by him that day and made up the story in his head to cope? All he tells himself and has convinced himself is E-Soul saved him, so when he thinks back on the memory he just sees E-Soul. Not a time-accurate E-Soul, just E-Soul. Or again, I could be overthinking.
Bonus: E-Soul posters in the workshop
We're reading the end! One or two more parts of this to go and we'll be caught up (for now)
Lighting upgrade! We're told this is the fifth generation costume from this company- not sure if they mean that's the fifth the company made or E-Soul's fifth suit, but I'm going to assume it's the latter.
We also have PLENTY of E-Soul actors! And oh hey- there's that shit from the action figure! At least... Mostly? It has a different head than the figure, so either E-Soul has a lot of transitional costume eras where he swaps around assets from older costumes and brings in new elements or I'm just crazy and this is a standard animator modelbash to save time and not have to design a whole extra suit. Definitely interesting though! There's a bunch of different variations here- I spotted between 5-7 at a glance, it's hard to pinpoint because honestly its 4am and I have to be up for class in 4 hours (whoops) but if somebody wants to take their time individually sorting them all out be my guest.
And finally, saved for last since it's our most recent (chronologically) sighting: the maybe/maybe not cause of death for our dear Moon.
If I remember to perhaps I'll keep this thread updated as episodes progress if we see new suits, or maybe my ADHD will get the best of me and I'll forget this thread ever existed.
I'm really hoping over the next few episodes we'll be able to start chronologically ordering E-Soul's costumes, but that's a problem for people who are more versed in the timeline than I am.
Sorry it took so long! My college semester is finally out which means I actually have the time to update this now- the last couple weeks got really busy. It's wild looking back on the old posts now and seeing just how much changed past episode 5!
Before we dive into episodes 6+ in the thread, some things I somehow missed in the previous posts:
Trailer 1 (going off of the Crunchyroll trailers) had this E-Soul, which specifically seems to be the suit that Shang Chao made!
I also somehow managed to miss adding the E-Soul cameos in episode 3, so here they are now! First, the 2d style from the file visuals.
And then the 3d cameo. (It is VERY hard to get a clear screenshot of him here with how quickly he moves)
I also wanted to revisit the PV for a minute- upon 10000 more rewatches in a much slower speed I noticed you actually can see the gold highlights on his suit! It's just incredibly hard to notice when watching at a normal speed because of the black fog only clearing away at the very last second, and it only shows in these close-up shots. After finishing E-Soul's arc (and watching this PV more than any sane person would) my current running theory based off of the time of day the PV starts and ends at and when the E-Souls' fight begins is that this PV takes place right before the battle, with Old E-Soul reflecting on his past while waiting for a battle to begin that he knows he won't survive.
Alright, moving past the things I missed and onto episodes 6 and beyond!
The first glimpse we get at anything new costume wise is Shang Chao working on the new glove upgrade. Of course, this appearance doesn't last long since it's just a prototype.
At the end of the episode we get the full suit reveal!
We also get to see a bunch of suit pieces in the workshop that Shang Chao was working on, and of course he tries on the helmet.
And we, uh, get a field test to see how effective the helmet is. Let's call it that.
Episode 7 is where we get to see more of Yang Cheng wearing the costume, and we get this really nice detail shot of the gloves.
And a really nice turnaround of Old E-Soul for all the old man enjoyers out there!
And a close up of the Old E-Soul mask! I'm a huge fan of the subtle screentones and other textures you can find here.
Yeah... I fear this post is for the dilf lovers and the dilf lovers only. Come get your juice, y'all.
I can not even describe how much I ADORE this transition from 3d to 2d by the way, it scratches my brain in a way I can't put into words.
And this is where shit starts to get real, so I am sitting down and preparing to spend a half hour or so screenshotting and sorting all of the damage to each costume in the E-Souls' battle. Needless to say, that will put me FAR past the image limit if I put it in this post, so that will be in part 7!
Edit: Half an hour of screenshotting has turned into over an hour, and unfortunately it is 4am so I need to get some sleep, so part 7 will come in the next couple days! I have all the screenshots at least, but I just can't stay up much longer to organize them and type out post commentary, so that will have to wait for now.
Last weekend you gave us an incredible amount of support and unlocked all of the donation stretch goals! In return, we made available a couple goodies, from special assets, Scarland Artbook Layout Templates, printable stickers, the actual books (in minecraft!!) and a printable postcard, they’re available for download on itch.io!
Find the itch.io here and download it! Lots of things can be used for minecraft as a resource pack or printed out as stickers or art prints!
You CANNOT convince me the reason E-Soul wears a mask isn't so that he can pass on the handle whenever he likes, and that the real reason for the cosplay competition wasn't to pick a successor.
nah cuz what tf kind of group even is mighty glory seeing as its top members consist of: guy who likes jumping thugs in dark alleys and beating them to near death, guy whose characteristic is assasination but his thought process feels more like the start of a psychological horror film, and e-soul
and you'd think e-soul would be the less weirder one but then you watch his pvs and come to a realisation that mighty glory has a type (weird dudes with pretty vague and pretty fucked up backstories)
TBHX WECHAT STICKERS ARE SO CUTEEEEEEE PLSSS
havent seen anyone share the gifs so i shall do it!!
(i tried to name them to the wechat names but my chinese is ass af)
google drive w all the gifs :DD
(edit- omfg i put the wrong link.. shame)
(edit2- check out @supremefloof for adding to wechat if its not in ur region!)
Shang Chao is one of the characters of all time. spoilers below! this post is also very long.
THESE DANG ENERGY DRINKS ARE IMPORTANT! This shot is symbolic of something!
these could be "Electro Energy" brand drinks (the brand mentioned later to show how Yang Cheng E-soul is costing money for Mighty Glory).
Is that a "no. 8" or a "no. 0"? 8 would make sense but there's problems with that, those being -> 1. is E-soul still rank number eight here? and 2.:
the trailer shows that this drink belongs to X, with the character presumably meaning 1,0, or some really sadistic way of writing X. (secret, even more sadistic evil third thing is that that's like, a three or something and the timeline is fucked). the drink NEXT to it belongs to E-soul (maybe those are electro energy). So, maybe this drink means that E-soul is X in Year 36. ofc, we have no idea what time this trailer takes place.
it looks like this stupid extremely hard to read borderline secret code font (/hj) is going to be a frequent occurrence! hopefully somebody with more dedication than me can decode it fully at some point.
background ads continue to be very intriguing. where exactly does this take place? we got "langley & co booksellers", "malibu surf shop", alongside chinese signs. probably a lot are just easter eggs but very fun!
In the interrogation room, I really interpreted YC's animated flashback sequence as a panic attack.
he's stuck on two ends from "nothing" to "way too much". He doesn't feel he belongs on either, and yet he's self-internalized a bunch of stuff at the same time. he's like lin ling on trauma steroids.
I like Xia Qing (i think thats her name?) better than I thought I would. girl knows what she wants and drops hints! she's also the most normal well adjusted person I've seen in this entire show.
i really, genuinely for the love of god hope those criminals weren't telling the truth about YC hiring them. If time travel theory is real I'm flipping a table. I dislike time travel theory but I can't put my finger on why.
SHANG CHAO IS SO SUSPICIOUS. even including what happens to him he shows up at exactly the right time with exactly the right stuff. He's weirdly super invested. I don't think he's evil but I think we are going to see his motivations/backstory in the next episode (and yes. singular next e-soul episode). we still don't know why Pomelo/you zi was kidnapped!!
Some guesses are that he really wants to differentiate himself from his dad, which is why he jumps at the chance to market Yang Cheng.
or yk. he's gay. who knows
OG E-Soul. first of all, YEESH he just trains shirtless covered in scars and doesn't wear anything under the suit 😭interestingly, he wears a mask all the time but doesn't care about his agent/manager/General Business Blonde Guy seeing him train shirtless and armless.
blonde dude got some nerve talking to this guy like that when he's one-arming like 200 pounds in front of him 💀
he seems unconcerned with whether people trust New E-soul, because nobody could mistake the two. this really lines up with the idea that he's old as Dirt and did some insane feat.
However, Mighty Glory doesn't see it that way because it's about money. TBHX absolutely is providing commentary on capitalism and the commercialization of heroes. (ie. an old symbol of institution brought down by the new age and adapted into something else that matches the ideas of the time) The contrast of a living legend like E-soul and his relationship with Mighty Glory + the media made me feel like Mighty Glory built itself around him with dubious implications for his opinions on the matter.
E-Soul hasn't fought people in a while! so my theory that he's retired is right so far.
ENLIGHTER!!!!! this felt like a crossover cameo but logically the episodes are only a few years apart. Enlighter seems like a big deal here though! Did he used to be higher ranked a few years ago and fell off in Lin Ling's era? ...why did he snap. that's not going to be important is it. brainrot brainrot
TBHX is also for sure highlighting how the transition into the digital age is effecting the Trust System, saying how E-soul had to do so much more work than YC. I wonder how the nuances of the Trust system were different before the spread of the internet. TBHX is a modern show, set in modern times and made to be extremely relevant to current world issues!
our running ideas about Trust seem spot-on so far. YC is getting a fraction of E-souls power. meaning E-Soul is really, really powerful! even though he's not doing anything right now.
SURVIVORS GUILT, PT 2. the similarities between the traumatic events of Yang Cheng's childhood to now are insane. holy shit poor guy
is someone gonna get dramatically shot every episode????? why??? at least Moon is not unique in this regard. hide your side characters nobody is safe 😭
twenty tumblr notes on this shot being wayyy too significant for my emotional health
I DON'T TRUST THE TIMELINE. I DON'T TRUST THE TIMELINE. E-SOUL PV IS SO INSANELY STRANGE.
I love Enlighter. Most annoying man you've ever met in your life actually does stand for truth and justice. Refuses to stop being complete pill about it in very petty ways. Motivated primarily by spite and envy but unwilling to lie or cheat to get ahead. WILL go through your entire internet history to drag out all your receipts just because you beat him in a popularity contest. Still isn't actually revealing anything untrue or even misleading.
This was gonna be a yaoi ship post, but then I noticed Xia Qing’s lukewarm reaction and my thoughts diverged...
Is Xia Qing not happy for Yang Cheng? Or does she think that Yang Cheng shouldn’t be using E-Soul’s title?
She did say this later:
It seems Xia Qing and Shang Chao have different ideas on what kind of hero Yang Cheng should be. Perhaps Xia Qing is worried about Yang Cheng losing himself to the E-Soul name, but Shang Chao thinks differently.
To Shang Chao, there is no difference between Yang Cheng and “E-Soul.”
Yang Cheng is E-Soul, and E-Soul is Yang Cheng.
With or without a mask, Yang Cheng is still the same person. It’s like how one person has different aspects to himself. You just get to see their different sides at different times.
But Xia Qing thinks differently:
To Xia Qing, Yang Cheng can only be one or the other. He cannot be both Yang Cheng and E-Soul.
Xia Qing’s and Shang Chao’s contrasting beliefs are really interesting. I wonder which kind of belief will be portrayed as the “right” one? Should heroes be separate from their civilian self? Or should a hero also be a human first?
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