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Studio Ponoc's Modest Heroes Anime Anthology Film Reveals New Visuals

The official website for Studio Ponoc's three-part anime anthology film Modest Heroes (Chiisana Eiyū: Kani to Tamago to Tōmei Ningen) revealed a new visual for the three films on Friday. The image below shows the visuals for (from left to right) "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" ("Samurai Egg"), "Kanini & Kanino" ("Kanini to Kanino"), and "Invisible" ("Tōmei Ningen").

Studio Ponoc describes the shorts as "tales of modest heroes of our times." Modest Heroes will open on August 24 as the first volume of Ponoc Short Films Theatre (Ponoc Tanpen Gekijō), an anthology of anime shorts divided into volumes with different themes. Yoshiaki Nishimura is credited as producer for the project.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who directed the studio's previous Mary and The Witch's Flower film and Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There, is directing the 15-minute fantasy adventure story "Kanini & Kanino" ("Kanini to Kanino") about two crab siblings. The short will be Yonebayashi's first original story.

Yoshiyuki Momose is directing "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" ("Samurai Egg"), a 15-minute "human drama" (based on a true story) showing the love between a mother and a boy. Momose previously worked closely with Ghibli director Isao Takahata in various roles on his films Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, including as animation director, storyboarder, visual design, and special scene design.

Akihiko Yamashita's "Invisible" ("Tōmei Ningen") is a 14-minute "action spectacle" that centers on the lonely struggle of one invisible man. Yamashita previously worked in various roles in Hayao Miyazaki's films in Ghibli, including as animator, animation director, character designer, animation supervisor, and assistant director in such films as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises.

Source: Modest Heroes anime's official website, Comic Natalie