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.