Chiisana Eiyuu: Kani to Tamago to Toumei Ningen

MODEST HEROES, a 53-minute (yes, that's how long it is) animated feature which is actually three fifteen-minute featurettes in one program, is the second animated release from Studio Ponoc. Founded in 2015, the fledging studio found success nationwide with their first feature, the charming if derivative MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER. That film, handled by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and many other former animators at Studio Ghibli (who temporarily closed in 2014 but thankfully reopened recently), was more of a crowd-pleaser and technically more of a "Best of Ghibli" kind of showcase. MODEST HEROES, on the other hand, is something quite different, and may actually be all ... the better because of it. This "package film" (a term borrowed from the 1940's Disney releases MAKE MINE MUSIC, FUN & FANCY FREE, etc.) provides the animators the opportunity to experiment with various animation techniques and aesthetic styles. Each featurette, handled by different directors, is loosely tied together with various shots of the quirkiest film projector I've ever seen in any movie.

The first featurette which opens this anthology, "Kanini and Kanino", handled by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, is an absolutely breathtaking and imaginative underwater fantasy about a pint-sized family who wield staffs with crab claws (shades of THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY) who dwell at the bottom of the sea of all places. The titular characters are two siblings who are separated from their parents and set off on a journey to find them. This featurette is the only one of the three not to receive a dub, and interestingly, is rather limited with dialogue, giving the picture a bit of a semi-silent film treatment. (There are occasions where the characters call out each other's names.) This short mixes traditional animation with computer generated imagery to realize both its underwater environment and the monstrous fishes who cast ominous shadows above our tiny heroes.

After this stunner, we shift gears to a more down-to-earth, slice-of-life kind of tale, aptly named, "Life Ain't Gonna Lose." Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, this short is based on an actual true story about a little boy who is lethally allergic to eggs. His mother strives to support him while managing her career as a dancer, and the boy must eat special foods and avoid getting contact with egg yolk. It's a very relatable and nearly heart wrenching tale. The animation here is a bit more like a watercolor-painting style, but the short is no less impactful for it. This dubbed version features the voice of Maggie Q as the boy's mother.

The final tale, and arguably the gloomiest, is Akihito Yamashita's "Invisible", in which we follow a man who is literally invisible to everyone around him. All we see is his coat, hat, glasses, shoes, and gloves. He needs to carry a weight in order to stay on the ground, because otherwise he will float away. He does good deeds, but is unnoticed by others... until he sees a runaway baby's carriage. This short is animated in the classic hand drawn style, and with more shadowy colors. Again, dialogue is sparse in this short, but not to the same degree as in the first.

All three featurettes showcase the visual range of Studio Ponoc in ways that will leave you eager to come back for more and more. Interestingly, after the showing I went to, an interview with Ponoc producer Yoshiaki Nishimura aired, who expressed the need to try to stand out from other studios in Japan. His solution--to try to push the limits of animation and make their movies the kind that kids would enjoy and would also inspire adults. It's very rare to see animation studios today with this kind of thinking. Bravo to Studio Ponoc for making the approach. It will be very interesting to see what they do next. If you ever get a chance to see MODEST HEROES, I strongly suggest you do so, and without hesitation.

"Chiisana Eiyuu: Kani to Tamago to Toumei Ningen (Modest Heroes)" is Studio Ponac's second movie project after their debut film, "Mary to Majo no Hana (Mary and the Witch's Flower)". The film is a collection of three non sequential shorts that each tell a unique story about a heroic character and his or her respective journey. "Modest Heroes" is obviously not going to beat "Mary and the Witch's Flower", but it's still an enjoyable watch and it did certainly kept me interested the whole way through.

Short One: "Kanini & Kanino"
"Kanini & Kanino" surrounds the tale of two crab siblings whose life of living underwater becomes ... drastically different when their pregnant mother goes to the surface to give birth, leaving only their father to protect them from the dangers of the river. One night, one of the siblings attempts to travel to the surface, only for something dramatic to occur, ultimately leaving the two siblings to fend for themselves in the vast river environment. I can't really say much about the short. I enjoyed the visuals way more than the characters or the plot, with its fantastic blend of 2D animation with splashes of CGI for the river environment that is eye-catchingly beautiful to say the least (despite the CGI fish, but whatever). I'm not really invested in Kanini or Kanino, as forgettable as they are, and the fact that the short doesn't have any dialog hurts their dynamics as a whole. For the story and characters to be lacking in depth, the visual did make up for it to be considered for an enjoyable one-time watch.

Short Two: "Life Ain't Gonna Lose"
"Life Ain't Gonna Lose" is about the relationship between a mother and her son, Shun, who has a severe egg allergy that in-contact, could cause a life-threatening case in which Shun only has minutes to live. The short is based off a true story (claimed by the director) and it does a pretty good job keeping me interested in the characters and how they deal with Shun's condition. The mother is overly protected of Shun and tries her hardest to protect him from any harm, just to amend for all the times that she isn't there for him. Shun himself quickly learns to stay strong and formidable despite his unfortunate state and is eager to overcome any obstacles in his life to prove that he isn't frail and weak. The characters in this short are way more realistic and the hand-drawn artstyle complements it by having a sort of nostalgic feel, reminiscent of a children's storybook. The animation is fluid and the movements are more expressive that doesn't distract you from the overall atmosphere of the short. The intriguing aesthetic and the lovable character makes this short exceedingly enjoyable for anybody to enjoy, and this, along with the next short, produces a well crafted compilation if it weren't for the first short.

Short Three: "Invisible"
"Invisible" contains an interesting and ingenious concept that is explored in a very creative way. The short follows an invisible man, whom others cannot see. The man is required to carry a heavy object since he could easily be carried by a gust of wind without it. The short basically surrounds a day of his life, in which he ponders about his identity in life and his struggle of loneliness. What makes the short especially unique is through several brilliant action-packed moments that is exemplified by the gripping animation and the spectacular choreographer of the whole segment. Aesthetically, the short is bleak and almost depressing with its dimmed colors and almost dreary tone that sets it apart from the bright and colorful visuals of the previous two shorts. The Invisible-Man himself carries a dispirited mood that I can't help but feel sympathetic for. These design choices overall make the conclusion of the short extremely satisfying and makes the whole experience well-worth the watch.

So what can I say? Studio Ponac did a fine job producing these shorts and I highly recommend this to those who are fans of their previous film. Creatively impressive and tremendously entertaining, "Modest Heroes" is huge step for Studio Ponac to work with other directors and their consistency in quality has me anxiously waiting for their next project.

I just saw it and found a set of works intriguing. For me, the level of the stories goes up over the course of the three shorts. I will give my opinion on each one. (Spoilers maybe)

1. "Kanini e Kanino" - I think it started well, but over the course of history it has become somewhat confusing, having so many events grouped together, children who seem not to have, and it is not well explained about them, or why the mother of children simply rise to the pregnant surface, or why children who would be aquatic beings managed to get to the surface so fully. ... In addition to the aspects of the story, the combination of 3D and 2D to a certain extent is cool and acceptable, as the scenario has a more realistic style, while people are drawings, but I think it ended when the fish appeared! Why was the fish 3D in the water, but not out of it? I thought it was a good story at first, but confusing at the end.

2. "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" - It was a story that I particularly liked, showing Shun's egg allergy and the things he went through because of it, or his mother's concern for him. My favorite scene was that of the stairs when he had an allergic reaction to the ice cream shop, the stylization in that scene, the colors and the bubbles that move and give the air of explosion. Still, it wasn't one of my favorites from the 3 stories.

3. "Invisible" - It was one of my favorite stories. The scenario has a more abandoned style at the beginning of the short film, combining with the feeling of loneliness that the invisible man feels, always being alone. I can even empathize with him, seeing his loneliness, and how ignored he was everywhere. And at each moment he hopes to be seen, showing that perhaps this would make his invisibility disappear - as in the scene where the owner of the convenience store "calls him" and his face begins to "lighten". I twisted the entire short film so that it got along, and in the end I feel that I was rewarded even a little. It was my favorite of the 3! Despite its more lonely and abandoned aesthetic over time it gets simpler.

Modest Heroes is 3 shorts film by the newly formed studio Ponoc, former Ghibli employees. These 3 shorts films give us a much better indication of how Ponoc films are going to be different from Ghibli. I first have to say some sad news if your wondering ( probably not) why is this film so short like it doesn't even reach an hour all together well sadly this was supposed to have a 4 short film directed from the legendary late Isao Takahata for a personal reason or to give these new directors more exposure. Also got to give credit to Yoshiaki Nishimura ... the producer and is the only reason why this studio was formed giving these animators a chance to show off their abilities.


1st Short directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi definitely the most established director out of the 3 directing two films from Ghibli " The Secret World of Arrietty " and "When Marnie Was There" plus the debut film of this studio "Mary and the Witch's Flower". Plus he a veteran animator some of his best works in animation was Ponyo where she was running on the water catching up with the car...

Unfortunately, this is weirdly the weakest film out of the 3. It doesn't feel as intimate and personal than the other two felt for the directors ( how I see it). However, what this man is really known for is his expectational background work how he characterises his surroundings. They is a youtube video that does a solid job describing it but basically, his backgrounds is a reflection of characters attitude. it shows the rawness of the sea how its not only beautiful but dark and scary due to pollution ( not hamfisted) its easily done from symbolism. Unfortunately, the characters for me is really that effective however you got to appreciate its animation and making up a language. When watching i thought was watching the Japanese version however i was incorrect it just a made up language and its brilliant through characters expression you pretty much understand everything you need to know. The blend of CGI and 2D is usually hated for good reason as its uncanny however similar to Metropolis from Osamu Tezuka's the mix between the two is pretty good, however some moments it is noticeable. Takatsugu Muramatsu did the music i ain't much a critic of music however its really good his past work was all this directors film except The Secret World of Arrietty however the sync between the two is great two artistic complementing each other. I feel like this 18 minute short should have at least been 30 minutes for a good introduction however its still worth watching. A



2nd Short well this one is fantastic but first the director for this one named Yoshiyuki Momose a veteran Ghibli animator work since Grave of the Fireflies by Isao Takahata. This man done severely great key animations you just got to search it up, however for directing he's also just been doing music videos, specials ... hasn't really got too much experience directing however animation he's a champ.

Lol sorry for long set up anyways this film is about a kid dealing with food allergies. Its also about a mother dealing with these circumstances and teaching her son the right ways. Honestly thinking about it truly sad like going to festivals bunch of food around you and if some accidents go on ur mouth you could die ... They some interesting circumstance with the mother, however the short doesn't showcase it for too long however really looking at it it's kinda sad about how a child can affect ur dream career ( however maybe that's looking too deep into it). I don't want to give anyone spoilers as you know its 18 minutes each so i won't. However, will go little more in depth.

The animation is excellent that's a given but holy damn they is like one section where people are dancing and honestly reminded me of the animation style of Princess Kaguya. Anyways less said about animation the better but visually it reminds me of those flashbacks in Only Yesterday well it does make sense as he did storyboard the movie. Ohh yeah the English dub is excellent highly recommend and the facial animation is truly top notch maybe not as good as Only Yesterday ( best facial animation in anime period fight me lol) however comparing a legendary film to this is unfair. its basically maybe just about standard Ghibli ( which is a truly high bar) definitely better than Kyoto Animation. Also last note is the music is done by Masanori Shimada is i think his first music in anime however has tremendous talent can't wait for him to be apart of more projects in the future.


3rd and final short directed by Akihiko Yamashita which is my favorite film out of the bunch however strangest. His credits is impressive Animator director from From Up on Poppy Hill, Howl's Moving Castle, The Secret World of Arrietty ... done alot of key animation like Evangelion: 2.0, Spirited Away ... he got an impressive career however in this directorial not so much only a small 13minute short for the Ghibli museum which is like impossible to access.


They aren't really a lot of to be said for this one because they aren't really a plot of a sort. It's about an invisible man I think literally and figuratively. I won't really talk about the plot as its something you just have to experience.

The animation is the most fantasizing out of the 3, due to the main protagonist being an invisble man. They is an end sequence which is just epic.... the use of color is excellent and how the background is kinda a reflection on the main protagonist mindset everything being a kinda greyish hue. The cinematography is spot on and the camera work is damn impressive. Yasutaka Nakata the person who did the music did an excellent job can't really commend on more.


Conclusion these 3 shorts are pretty good, considering how mediocre anime has been becoming this is definitely a breath of fresh air. I wish the success for this studio and live up to Ghibli legacy as i assume after Hayao Miyazaki last film How Do You Live? ( however its miyazaki he probaly never retire at this point lol). Anyways hope you check out these 3 shorts by any means possible as these shorts aren't really for the money basically giving the studio exposure where the money rake in will be the studio next big project.

This anthology film isn't tied together with any particularly inventive meta narrative like some others out there, but like classics such as Robot Carnival, its collection of stories have one aspect in common: their themes. And as you may have been able to ascertain by the title of the film, that theme happens to be the concept of "modest heroes." Everyday people, some average and some not so much, who make sacrifices and acts of heroism both big and small. This can range from a young boy simply trying to not let an egg allergy get the best of him (in "Life Ain't Gonna Lose") ... to an invisible man ("Invisible") striving to find his place in a world that doesn't even acknowledge his existence.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director of Arrietty, Marnie and Mary, directs the first segment of two crab-children embarking on a journey to save their father. While my least favorite of the bunch, this is still quite the exciting journey during its runtime.

Life Ain't Gonna Lose is directed by Ghibli veteran Yoshiyuki Momose, who was the art director behind the stunning visuals in many of Isao Takahata's most artistically bold films (particularly Princess Kaguya and the Yamadas), in his (surprisingly) first ever role as a director despite him being such a storied artist. This film was certainly my personal favorite by far. The story was the most grounded, yet the animation and emotions portrayed gave it perhaps the most weight and impact of them all. Sometimes the most epic tales are those that can already happen in our own world. Fitting, as the inspiration behind this story was itself inspired by a colleague's detail of raising a child with severe allergic conditions.

The final segment, Invisible, is a visually jaw-dropping affair with an ambiguous and abstract plot that begs the viewer to see with their hearts instead of their brains. Loose and erratic line-work perfectly renders a protagonist that for all intents and purposes is not visible. Ironically, or likely even intentionally, this short features arguably the most impressive character acting out of the entire trio of films. The director was specifically tasked with bringing life and expression to someone without a face. Needless to say, the results speak for themselves.

As with nearly any anthology, the quality is variable, but always relatively high and impressive. And unlike Studio Ponoc's previous film Mary and the Witch's Flower, which was good but very derivative of the Ghibli-alumns' past work at said studio, it's clearly apparent that these stories were produced to be above all else, original, daring, and artist driven. I only lament that we will never get to see the contribution Isao Takahata was slated to put forth before his unfortunate passing. Beyond that though, this is a consistently impressive showing from Ponoc and I am absolutely in support of more thematically-tied anthology films coming from them in the future. They may not be as profitable, but the imagination and inspired drive behind them is far more apparent.

This 53 minute film is already a short film in itself, but it encompasses another 3 shorts, each of 14 or 15 minutes.

They are very simple and full of energy, not at all tiring to watch, and with great 2D animation. The scenarios are very neat, and the details are very characteristic, in all 3 shorts.

Each of these shorts has a different animation format and this gives more identity to each of them, contextualizing that they are different stories, but that in the end they are there for a single purpose.

Even the CG animation of the fish in the first short, plays very well ... with the whole atmosphere and the outfit, so it's really cool to see.

The soundtrack even gives you an incredible sense of immersion within each story presented in this film, even if it is not memorable and easily identifiable afterwards. It works and it's all she needs to make this movie incredible.

The first short tells about creatures that look very much like humans and live under the sea. It is an extremely visual short, you don't need dialogues to give you a context of what is happening, and everything ends up resulting in the message about overcoming your biggest fears and facing the challenges.

The second short has dialogues and carries a message about the difficulties of life that are already born with you and how to deal with it with a smile on your face, showing the day-to-day life of a very caring mother having to take care of her young son who has intolerance to egg.

I admit that this second short made me get emotional with a very raw scene that shows the boy doing one thing at a time inside the house until he ends up eating a scoop of ice cream that contains egg in the ingredients.

It is obvious that I will not say what happens after that or how it all happened, but here is my comment on this scene, because I was really moved.

And the third short tells the story of a person who is excluded from social life and ends up dealing with several fantastical situations in those 15 minutes, simply to meet and create a characteristic and an image of himself in the end so that people start seeing it.

You see several things happening and isolating the protagonist from this story, and it's quite sad if you think about it a lot.

In the end, that's why the name of this movie is Modest Heroes. With all these 3 short films, the final message that this film wants to convey is that we are all heroes within our own lives, and we all go through difficult stages, but facing problems and overcoming them is what really makes us stronger each day, and consequently heroes.

And you can even say that this film is too simple, but that's exactly what it wants to be. The name "modest" says it all. It is simple and unpretentious; simplicity is what makes everything vague, magical and rich within this narrative, and nothing fails.

That's why I found this film sensational and I recommend it to you.

In fact, this film is more proof that notes on websites do not matter much, when it only scores 6.95 on MyAnimeList... It is really a pity that a film so good, so simple and so great, is overlooked. But, do what? Patience...

Modest Heroes consists of three shorts aimed at children. The first short is about two brothers braving the dangers of the river to save their father from a fish. It is a straightforward story that children will enjoy and adults will not be too interest by. The second short is about a boy that is allergic to eggs. This has more application to adult life because it shows how the mother must change her lifestyle for the safety of her son, and it shows how there could be any number of unknown threats with such a common food as egg. The best short is about ... an invisible man who is both physically invisible and socially invisible. It is my favourite anime short because of how it handles this premise. The art style is not smooth and fluffy nor sharp and edgy, and has a particular aesthetic, helped by the animation style, to visually explain what sort of a person this invisible man is. Although he is invisible, he still does the right thing and helps people even when they don't even acknowledge his existence. He is the most modest hero of all.
Modest Heroes is primarily for children, and while not all the shorts may appeal to you, The Invisible Man is the best short ever made and deserves your attention.

I don't understand the low reviews. I found these shorts adorable, heartfelt, well-animated, and full of life with the limited time granted. I particularly loved the design of the crab characters from the first episode, the invisible man from the last, and the fact that almost no words were needed in either to create a moving piece of work. I'd highly recommend to anyone that likes heartfelt shorts.

While none of the stories are particularly unique, that's a big part of the charm. The art style varies from story to story and I found it especially fitting. The only story I found a bit lacking ... was the middle one.

Have studio Ponoc finally escaped the shadow of Ghibli, and become their own studio with something worthwhile to contribute to the world?

Nope

Kanini and Kanno
Studio Ghibli fucking died. After years of Miyazaki retiring, then coming back, over and over again, somebody finally told him that it was time to move on. Unfortunately for the sake of the many, phenomenally talented animators, Miyazaki insisted that if you didn’t create a film exactly the way he told you to, then it simply wasn’t good enough to make the final product.

All of this information is forgotten when people mention that studio Ponoc came from ex-ghibli animators. These people undeniably ... have the talent required to make a movie that, at a surface level could easily be mistaken for a Ghibli film. Unfortunately, after years of being told that they are only valued for their talent as an animator, and having their originality be stripped away from them, the Staff at Studio Ponoc completely lack any of the leadership qualities necessary to make a Ghibli-worthy narrative, to match the Ghibli aesthetic.

Inconsistencies plague Kanini & Kanno. At times it can be beautiful, at others you get the ugliest CG fish ever created. At times the characters can be charming, but then you remember that some dumbfuck had the stupid idea of making everyone speak Pokémon. If Mary and the Witches Flower showed us that the studio has the talent required to make a Ghibli film, but may have been misguided in their narrative delivery, Kanini & Kanno shows a studio unwilling to learn from it’s mistakes and unwilling to risk daring to leave the shadow of its parent company. When one of the notes I took while watching said “Who cares?”, you know that the film has completely failed at delivering the quality one would hope for from a film that can look this good.

4/10

Life Ain’t Gonna Lose
Life Ain’t Gonna Lose immediately improved my opinion towards the lack of leadership within Studio Ponoc. Finally, the changed art style shows a studio with animation talents beyond simply emulating what came before. It shows a director, hungry to make a name for himself, that understood that super-detailed animation simply wouldn’t work with the short-film he was trying to create.

It’s the narrative of the film that truly made me pay attention to a director that has proven his talents, and also that he can make a really fucking terrible movie (Ni no Kuni). First of all, the characters can say more than each other’s names so now I can see them as people and actually care about the struggles they go through, regardless of how mundane they might be. The film revolves around the relationship of a boy with an extreme egg allergy, and how his mother tries to help raise him to overcome, what the film clearly presents to be a disability. I won’t say anything more than that because it’s so short, but trust me when I say that it’s worth your time to check it out. Not many films can make me feel anxious from watching a kid eat ice-cream.

9/10

Invisible
This film is surprisingly dark when you consider who made it, and what it’s being packaged with. It follows an invisible man getting ignored to the point of what I can only assume to be a mental breakdown. Honestly the film is really depressing, not sad, just depressing. Like Jesus, imagine living everyday of your life, knowing that most people ignore you, that nobody cares about you and that you are just one of several billion completely replaceable human beings. Living a life completely aware that you’re nothing special. What a horrifying existence that must be to live in?

…

7/10

Overall – 7/10

This Review is actually the script to this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPhxb6j9PgI

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Modest Heroes is a 53-minute long movie composed of 3 short films from Studio Ponoc, these shorts are more about Studio Ponoc showing their potential and aptitude for great animation while still providing small stories with passable story arcs.

Kanini & Kanino:
The character design and their setup were very intriguing. There is no dialogue and the characters are only able to say each other's names. I'm a fan of silent films and think that when used properly, they can be more powerful than dialogue, coupled with a world that piques your interest only to fall flat, makes for a bad combo. -SPOILER- I really thought the ... mother character 'Kaka' died from one of those big fish, which reminded me of Finding Nemo but, it seems that she just went to give birth. Which then begs the question, why would you let a pregnant lady go alone in waters filled with threat? This is the weakest of the 3 short films in regards to the story.

The animation was good, the CGI water and backgrounds were great except in some frames where the blending between traditional and 3D was noticeable. I wasn't a big fan of the CGI fishies. Even with great animation, This comes in last compared to the other 2 shorts.

Life Ain't Gonna Lose:
Is a more grounded story about a boy suffering from an allergy to eggs and a mother dealing with the anxiety of her son's safety and the world's ignorance and dismissal of her son's allergy. The boy eats an ice cream only to feel weird and find out that eggs are one of the ingredients, going to a festival and accidentally getting something on you that has eggs and almost dying. The mother's valid reason for over protecting the boy and the boy feeling weak as a result. The mother feeling that her son can't be by himself and she has to risk her dream career to take care of him leads to a great story.

The dynamic cinematography and animation in scenes where the mother is peddling on a bicycle with her son on her back, the boy running down the stairs with his epi-pen, the mother and her dance team practicing their moves. This short had the second-best animation in my opinion.

Invisible:
The title says it all. It is a story about someone who feels invisible, literally and figuratively. Someone who feels that no one notices them, their actions carry no weight and are unnoticeable and insignificant. Someone who needs the aid of something else to give them weight, balance and footing. Growing up I was an invisible person for most of my life and I related to this one the most. There is nothing else to say than to watch this one and feel for yourself.

The premise with an Invisible man provides great animation opportunity, which studio Ponoc used to the max and then some. The character design, backgrounds, cinematography, coloring, music and rain were spectacular. The scene where the invisible man flys off his moped and the camera goes from in front to behind him through his clothing was revisited by me multiple time. The best animated short of the 3.

Final verdict, This is a must-watch if you enjoy great animation and are open to good short stories.

Modest Heroes is a 53 minute movie about 3 short stories. These shorts are beautifully animated and each carry a raw emotional power with them. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and I would recommend you to watch it as well.

The animation is insanely good. The movements feel alive, the CGI is superb and best of all, the scenery is amazing. Each short boast an impressive amount of details as well as a natural feeling. Looking at each scene give you the impression of immersion while keeping it as simple as possible.
The movements act with stretched lines and exaggerated body movements which makes it lively and ... smooth to look at (I forgot the animation technique). This is close to anime like Redline or Gurren Lagann. An impressive feat is that you can “feel” the weight behind each action.

The sound design is very fitting for a movie format. Listening to it feels in a word “Grand”. The heavy drums or the high chimes sets the tone of the scene and beautifully accompany a certain feeling. The music was what sucked me into the dramatic scenes very well.
Another thing is that the sound effects sounds so crisp. I once heard that David Production (studio behind Fire Force and JoJo) had a good sound design within their anime, but this feels even better. Just try to focus on the sound of bubbles or on a door opening. It makes me think that the world I look at is real.

What the three movies have in common is that there is a struggle to overcome, hence the name Modest Heroes. Each short carries their own theme but captures the essence of a modest hero. The “heroes” overcome a problem greater than themselves. But their act of heroism is just perfect for them. I think that the focus on the character themselves is done just right. They know how to paint a start very quickly to let it escalate to the point of their deepest point. To see how they turn the tides is a feeling equal to taking a fresh breathe of air.

There is little to no narrative, so the anime heavily focus on the animation part. If you’re into a good spoken plot, then this might not be your cup of tea. On the other hand, if you love to focus on greatly animated short drama then this is your pick! I liked it for what it tried to be. A simple yet powerful story.

So I recently watched a movie named "Modest Heroes" and I'm pleasantly surprised. Before I start with my review of the movie, I should say, that Studio Ponoc, which made this movie, was completely unknown for me until I decided to watch this movie. Also I should say, that this is no ordinary movie, you're used to, because this movie is only like 55 minutes long and is made out of three short movies of lenght from 10 - 15 minutes. Every movie is, how the title of the movie hints, about heroism. But it's not about typical universe saving heroes, but more about normal ... "everyday heroes". However, let's get to the movie(s).
First movie short named "Kanini and Kanino" (Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi) tells a story of two crab siblings, whose mother went to a surface to give a birth. And only their father stays underwater to protect them. The plot is good in my opinion, but honestly, it probably won't be the main reason, why would you want to watch this movie. The main reason will probably be the animation, which is breathtaking. It's a combination of classic 2D animation and CGI, which looks really bad very often, but in this movie it looks more than magnificent. And the animation was even more enjoyable in combination with beautiful soundtrack, some of the songs I would describe as "magical" and it really helps to add a right atmosphere to the movie. Of course, it's not a best soundtrack I've heard, but I think that it's good enough to help you enjoy this movie.
Second movie short which posses a name "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" (Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose) throws us right into the life of the young boy named Shun and his mother. But little Shun has a lethal allergy to eggs, so his mother is trying to protect him every day from everything what contain eggs. It sounds pretty easy, but it's not, if you consider that she also have to maintain her career as a professional dancer.
The plot in this one is little bit better in this one. It aims on the relationship between Shun and his mother, it acts very naturally and tempo is pretty smooth, thanks to the great script made by Yoshiyuki Momose. Animation here is a typical 2D animation, we are used to from before, but it looks more... Artsy, I would say. And of course, soundtrack in this one is also great. It perfectly underlines the mood of a movie, because it's cool and happy, but if I remember correctly, there was one or two little bit more dramatic songs.
And now, let's move to the last movie of the trio, which is named "Invisible" (Directed by Akihiko Yamashita) and it's about literally invisible man (which is probably just some metaphor for a person overlooked by society). But it's not his only and main problem, his main problem is that he is lighter than air, so he have to go out with some little bit heavier object in his hands, because if he would go out without it, he would start to float up to the big and scary storm clouds and then he would disappear for ever.
So, the plot here I found little bit more enjoyable than the plot of "Kanini and Kanino", but also little bit less than "Life Ain't Gonna Lose". The animation of this one is just beautiful. It's again a typical 2D animation, but here it looks perfect and the backgrounds are just breathtaking. But this movie has one small problem for me, a soundtrack is not very significant. Don't get me wrong, it's still good, but the animation just got all of my attention, so the soundtrack was moved on a different track.

So, "Modest Heroes" is a great collection of animated movie shorts, which carries a lot of smaller or bigger problems, but is still something I would recommend.

It’s somewhat hard to rate an anthology altogether, especially one like this with no interconnectivity between each story.
So, here’s a short review and scoring for each of the three stories!
Kanini & Kanino—a cute fantasy family story. Lovely animation, and adorable characters, but very predictable and hits all the story beats that you would expect. I enjoyed the world and am sad that the short runtime meant we didn’t get to see much of it. Overall, whilst I wouldn’t say it did anything wrong, it wasn’t very impactful in the end. 7/10

Life Ain’t Gonna Lose—as a slice of life fan, I very much enjoyed this one. ... Just focusing on the struggles of a mother and her son who had a severe egg allergy in a world where most things have eggs in them. It sort of made me thing about how difficult that must be, as eggs are something used in a plethora of products; even things you don’t think would have them do. Again, the animation style was gorgeous—more unique than the last story, reminiscent of ‘Up on Poppy hill’ and ‘only yesterday’. 8/10

Invisible—I loved this one! It’s about an invisible man that no one notices; and who is tethered to the ground only by the fire extinguisher he straps to his back to stop himself from floating away into space! This one had my favourite animation style of the three, being shaky and somewhat gloomy to match the characters state of mind. The sound design was also impeccable. 10/10

So overall, I gave it an 8/10 as I feel it was the best balance of the three scores!

Very good concept. There is 3 story in this movie. every story is different type of story, got their own style and it's unique.
The author did a very good job. Showed us some stories about different sides how terrible the life can become and how they fight for it.
the art was good too. Sound system was excellent. Nd those characters was perfect.
I really enjoy it. I really enjoy it overall.
showed us different and new stuff. Hoe two kids survived with their father, how a kid who got problems with eggs. he can even die by just touch of an egg. He survived it, The ... last story which is my most favorite story. An invisible man no one can see him but he still survived and still surviving, Even tho it was tooo tough.