Modest Heroes is finally out in USA! Produced by Studio Ponoc, which consists of renowned talent from Studio Ghibli such as Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Director of When Marnie Was There) and Yoshiyuki Momose (Animation director for Grave of the Fireflies), Modest Heroes is an anthology that collects three different short films with varied animation styles and context, but all held together by a strong thematic thread of small figures making huge shifts in their lives. As the title of the volume suggests, Modest Heroes highlights those you wouldn’t initially consider “heroes” in the conventional sense, but that’s where the surprise and wonder comes in.
Critic reviews have been coming in since the film’s release in 10 January, and here’s what some had to say:
“Modest Heroes is a satisfying sophomore effort from Studio Ponoc, a collection of shorts that, together, resonate with the sentiment of that most joyous and courageous of adages made famous by the likes of Rod Serling.” – Toussaint Egan, Paste Magazine
“The writer/directors all give something unique – both visually and from a storytelling viewpoint – and that’s a bold and heartening sign for Ponoc’s future.” – Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle
“Modest Heroes is a fantastic first volume for an ambitious project, and fans will undoubtedly anxiously await what comes next. Seeing the creativity and the boundless imagination so tightly condensed in such a blissful way leads to a wonderful experience throughout.” – Nick Valdez, comicbook.com
Have you watched it yet? What are your thoughts on it?