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Ponoc Short Films Theater: Modest Heroes Gets New Teaser Trailer


Modest heroes, big screens.

Earlier today, the official website for Studio Ponoc’s Ponoc Tanpen Gekijō (Ponoc Short Films Theater) film series updated with a trailer for the first entry, titled Modest Heroes (Chiisana Eiyū: Kani to Tamago to Tōmei Ningen lit. Small Hero – Crab and Egg and Transparent Human –).

The 90-second teaser previews the three stories in the feature, with character dialogue and a narrator delivering the major story elements.

Ponoc Short Films Theater: Modest Heroes hits Japanese theaters on August 24. Three shorts will be included:

  • Kanini & Kanino: A fantasy tale about two crab siblings. Run Time: 15 minutes.
  • Life Ain’t Gonna Lose (Samurai Egg): A human drama that displays the love between a mother and her son. Run Time: 15 minutes
  • Invisible (Tōmei Ningen): A self-proclaimed “spectacle action” short that focuses on the lonesome trials of an invisible man. Run Time: 14 Minutes

Ponoc Short Films Theater: Modest Heroes Poster VisualEach of the shorts will feature a different director:

  • Kanini & Kanino: Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Mary and The Witch’s Flower, The Secret World of Arrietty)
  • Life Ain’t Gonna Lose: Yoshiyuki Momose (Ghiblies Episode 2, Space Station No. 9)
  • Invisible: Akihiko Yamashita (A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail)

All three directors previously worked at Studio Ghibli on projects. Kanini & Kanino will be Yonebayashi’s first original feature.

The film’s composers are as follows:

  • Kanini & Kanino: Takatsugu Muramatsu
  • Life Ain’t Gonna Lose: Masanori Shimada
  • Invisible: Yasutaka Nakata

The confirmed voice cast includes:

  • Kanini (Kanini & Kanino): Fumino Kimura
  • Kanino (Kanini & Kanino): Rio Suzuki
  • Mama (Life Ain’t Gonna Lose): Machiko Ono
  • Shun (Life Ain’t Gonna Lose): Sōta Shinohara
  • Father (Life Ain’t Gonna Lose): Kentaro Sakaguchi
  • Doctor (Life Ain’t Gonna Lose): Kentaro Sakaguchi
  • Invisible Man (Invisible): Joe Odagiri
  • Blind Man (Invisible): Min Tanaka

Source: Eiga Natalie

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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