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.
