Though it's very likely a homage to Trunks (of Dragonball Z fame), I personally think the look is pretty stereotypical and does a little bit of tipping the show to geekdom. A minor concern... but could be a problem if the show begins to pepper in geekism and alienate the mainstream audience.

And might that be a uniform? I don't know, whenever a certain group of heroes / villain / gangster start dressing alike, I laugh...

Some more thoughts here:

My Heroes ep.4 thoughts and review

well lets remember (and realize if you haven't already) that HEROES is basically becoming a 'comic book show' where things like the getup that Hiro had on (despite how 'stereotypical' it may have been, and the fact that i loved Trunks in DBZ) so considering that HEROES is this 'comic book show' it would makes since that as of now in the episodes that each character hasnt realized their full potential as all comic book heroes seem to be before the same thing (see XMen movies for a good idea of this, the students are 'normal' while they are at school and learning, but once they learned their powers they were in uniforms and all that)

i think this all comes back that many of the viewers of Heroes dont see this as a comic book series like you would the Xmen movies. Instead, they simply see this as a crazy twisting plot for a primetime show like LOST is, but LOST isnt a comic book show.

As far as detail/acting/etc., I love how this shows Masi Oka's (?) talent to play different characters (more like attitudes). First of all, wasn't he in The Office or something like that? That would show that he definately has a humorous side, also seen by the Hiro who is learning his powers and feeling them out (see Las Vegas scene). But when we see Future Hiro/Trunks omage show up, you see the seriousness and pure 'coolness' that he can bring to Hiro. I basically think that Hiro is the coolest ever, both current and future. Current cause he is flipping hilarious and seems to give a very realistic and very human feel to how real people would probably act given the same situation, and Future because he was just plain BadA$$ and i love that character arc for Hiro.

Also keep in mind that Hiro is the "geek" of the show (comic books, star trek etc...), this might be just how he thinks he should dress as a hero (not wanting to be in tights).

You make valid points. Problem is I don't think the creator wants it to be just another comic book show. I mean, why restrict yourself to a particular audience when you can have a larger appeal? Less $$ that way.

Note the tagline: "Ordinary people discovering extraordinary abilities". True about the confidence bit, but you can't possibly convince me that ordinary people go out and put on trenchcoats / tights after they discovered they have superpowers.

X-Men is a bit different because it's TARGETED AT GEEKS and the characters are born with superpowers.

The key reason why I enjoy Heroes so far is because they don't deal with that cartoonish-hero BS. Kind of like when Smallville proclaimed that the show is "No tights, No flight". Well, now they have flight...

Hiro's future getup is more Matrix-like than X-men (comic/cartoon) in tights. If you didn't know, the Matrix trilogy was a huge mainstream success and appealed to different people and not just Geeks. Same with the X-men movies. Also, Hiro isn't an "ordinary person", he's a geek.

Personally, I could give a rat's rear what the "average" viewer thinks. Half the people in the country are below average (unless you're a child from Lake Woebegon.)

Future-Hiro is from the FUTURE--and at least two to five years into it, from the length of his hair, his lack of glasses and his perfect English. If he's from one where Superheroes are common OR a post-apocalyptic world, odds are EVERYONE dresses like that.

Tom

And lets not forget that 90% of the viewing audience has no idea that the streotypical Trunks character is a sterotype at all. For many viewers who are not comics or video game fans the transition between the two Hiro's was incredibly drastic and totally unexpected.

Yeah, maybe it's Hiro's geekiness at work.
Still... from what I've seen, pretty bad taste.

Matrix?

Plot:
Costume design:



Well, if you are marketing the show you better care about what the "average" viewer thinks. It's the "average" people who dishes out the bucks and buys stuff from companies who sponsors the show. In any case, if you're right about most people being "below average" (in the US), all the better for capitalism - easier to control eyeballs and make people give you their money.

Grim idealogy aside, I'd rather they stick with average joe dress code. It just adds a nice touch of realism and relevancy to the show, and prevents it from becoming a geek's wet dream.



The contrasting part is well done. Not so much about Trunks, but more about the someguy carrying a Katana (even worse, a Japanese guy) - the superhero figure for the acne crowd. Next step? Give Hiro a wise, all-knowing grandpa with white beard and have him put on a sushi suit.

According to the comic, his wise, all-knowing grandpa died of cancer some time back...

Tom

Damn it... I guess they beat me to it.
Now who has the suit?

I dislike the future look, but I still believe, or atleast hope, that it's just Hiro dressing up for Comic-Con or something. Someone mentioned that he looked like a comic (or was it a manga?) character by the name of "Hiro" so I think it's very possible.

get over it. you don't like how he's dressed. so what. i thought he looked quite badass, stereotype or not. the only thing that i thought might be a little tacky was the radical soul patch he's got going.

and the average viewer wants to watch crap.

One thing I thought of when we first saw "Future"Hiro was how far from the future is this version of Hiro? And during the time frame from the present to "Future"Hiro there will be something that will change Hiro from giggly young adult to an English speaking, sword wearing sage.

My guess is that his sidekick will teach him English and he will use his powers to learn how to use a sword due to an "event" with a supervillian where he could have used a weapon. Maybe Sylar?

Besides he looks pretty bada$$ with the longer hair and the soul patch. What were you expecting yellow tights?

Heck, I'm probably more of a geek/old school comic book fan/gamer than anyone else in my family/workplace/circle of friends. And I STILL have no clue who Trunks is.

You're in good shape - don't need to find out. Stay away from the Dragonball Z anime, my friend. The flashbacks and monologues will consume approximately 15% of your time on earth.



NO... no yellow tights. Unless it's on Niki. And if it's really, really tight.



So nothing. I'm not losing any sleep over it.

But it is amusing the kind of elitism I notice from some people on the board here. What makes you think you're better than your so-called "average" viewers?

keep in mind this is not gonna be hiro's "look" for a while yet. This Hiro from the future might have very good reasons for dressing like he does (Besides being an Uber DBZ dork) and who knows maybe he legitimitely mastered the katana.

Anyway, at least for now, Hiro still has the button-up shirt and coke-bottle glasses. He's still gotta learn english.

I'm not sure if it will *ever* be Hiro's look. (At least in terms of the length of the show)

To get rid of a Japanese accent could take half a lifetime. My Japanese professor has known English for years and years, and you can't understand a single word she says.

Add that to the fact that he had super long hair (look in the preview where he tells Peter "This is what you've been waiting for"), I certainly don't think (Present) Hiro will be adopting this look anytime soon.

And yes, I do realize that (Present) Hiro could stop time before next week's episode, and learn 10 years worth of English, AND adopt a new look... but I'm not sure that will happen.

I don't really see how he looks much like Trunks.

go on google images and look up Future Trunks... plenty of pics to show the likeness (nevermind the hair, Hiro is not a sayan LOL).

Shoulder slung sword, zipper jacket, etc.

I hated future Hiro's look. It was too ... Blade/The Crow.

Exactly.
Oh well, I suppose next week we'd get to have a closer look at his outfit. Then we can say if we really hate it or what.
Give me a stumbling, fumbling Hiro anytime...

ditto!