Promare - Movie Review

Written by Shiggins

Thrill la Thrill.

Quickly becoming one of my favourite animation studios in Japan, Trigger have been getting some fame over the years for their distinct Gainax-influenced style (the two founders originally worked for Gainax and helped create Gurren Lagann) and unique stories, including Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia. And now we're here with their first film release. Did they stick the landing, or should Trigger have never left the weekly schedule?

Okay, now just... lean in a little bit closer...

Note: Some minor spoilers ahead.

Promare is set on an Earth where, 30 years prior to today, a large number of people exploded with fire powers and literally wiped out half of humanity. They are hunted as terrorists by the government and firefighters, nicknamed as "The Burnish". Today, protagonist Galo Thymos is one of the firefighters who spends his time putting out the flames and fighting the Mad Burnish, an organisation led by the stoic Lio Fotia. Of course, things aren't quite as simple as that and conspiracies are discovered, plot twists are revealed, and madcap action occurs.

I must be a Burnish too, because I'm burning for him.

Before I continue, I should make it clear that I have only watched the dubbed version of Promare. If you're a sub-only viewer... well, I personally think you're missing out.

In the dub of Promare, we have quite a few veterans of the anime acting world. Johnny Yong Bosch (Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach, LeLouch vi Britannia from Code Geass) plays the angry and love-of-my-life Lio, with Billy Kametz (Josuke Higashikata from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure) as the cocky and swaggering Galo, Crispin Freeman (Alucard from Hellsing, Itachi Uchiha from Naruto) as the serious Governor of Promepolis Kray Foresight, Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (Nurse Joy from Pokemon) as Galo's ally Aina Ardebit, and many others that would take too long to list. However, I can say that there is no weak performance in this entire film. Some of the performances are utterly ridiculous, but this entire film is ridiculous! If anything, it's weirder to not be ridiculous.

The one downside of this being a film over a tv show is that most of these characters feel underused. Fun while they last, but could have lasted more.

And honestly, that's what's important to remember with Promare. This is classic full-blooded Trigger from top to bottom, and that means you better get ready for some of the strangest and silliest plot twists of the year. I won't dare spoil them, but the cinema screen I sat in was full, and we all had a good laugh at how absurd the plot could get. However, Trigger's self-awareness and sense of humour keeps everything right with these reveals, and never takes itself too seriously. One of my favourite jokes of 2019 actually came from Promare, involving the name of a mecha that appears during the third act.

Speaking of mechas, let's move on to the animation. Once again, Trigger have absolutely nailed it. Everything is so fluid, gorgeous, and moving constantly in all the best ways. At the beginning of this film, the director (Hiroyuki Imaishi) appeared and was asked to promote this film, and he said "there's lots of colours" with a smile. Mate, there isn't a lot of colours. There is a parade of colours! A buffet! Every second this film is on screen, it's a bombardment of colour and beauty, and I couldn't look away for a second! And I really needed to pee, but I stayed, damn it!

This film just one-upped Ghost Rider! 12 year old me just got his mind blown!

Of course, the action isn't just beautiful, but tons of fun too. Ice-bullets, mecha suits, fire armour... It's all very creative, well-choreographed and I won't dare spoil it, but I had a massive grin on my face during every battle scene. I can only imagine the amount of storyboards that Promare left behind in it's wake. And every scene has some great music and songs, composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. Who is that? Oh, he's the man who composes the music for tons of anime, including Attack on Titan! Yes, he knows how to hype you up! Bless this man, and bless the song Kakusei, performed by Superfly, that had me and my friend literally bouncing our heads along with it.

I'd say the only time the film really slows down is when certain drama comes into play. I liked the stuff involving Aina's sister Heris, played by Erica Lindbeck (Farnese from Berserk, Mordred from Fate/Apocrypha), and every time the wonderful supporting cast of Galo's co-workers are here, I loved it, but... look, I'll be blunt. I didn't care about Aina's feelings for Galo, and I don't think the film cared either considering it is only mentioned once or twice and has no real resolution. You'll absolutely be more invested in the relationship of Galo and Lio.

Life was good to Johnny Bravo after his run-in with Shaq convinced him to run for Governor.

We've all seen the "two opposites that fight until they work together" plot before, but Promare's screenplay and pacing makes Galo's ferocity and boasting battle Lio's stubbornness and cool attitude splendidly. From their first fight to their inevitable team-up, it's so much fun, and could easily have been the entire film. And yes, I wanted them to get together in every way. Was it that obvious?

Promare is one of the best experiences I've had in the cinema this year, which will no doubt annoy many who believe the greats have to be tragic history films or gangster paradises. Is Promare one of the most perfect or emotional films out there? No. It's a rollercoaster of what makes Trigger so damn enjoyable, with all of their familiar tropes and tendencies refined to a nearly-perfect anime film that I will be watching again and again without shame, and I urge you to do the same. The "Promore" the better, I say!

And yes, there is a drill.

Movie Rating: 9/10

Best Performance: Johnny Yong Bosch as Lio Fotia.

Best Part: Galo and Lio developing their relationship.

Worst Part: Some hype-killing drama that delays the action.

Weird that Fire Force got a rival in the exact year it debuted it's anime.

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/