Burning With Passion
- Run Time : 111 Minutes
- Genre : Action, Mecha, Sci-Fi, Super Power
- Airing Date : May 24, 2019
- Studios : Trigger
Contains Spoilers
Promare Introduction
Studio Trigger should be an easy name to recognize in the anime world. With amazing works like Gurren Lagann, Darling in the FranXX, Kiznaiver, Kill la Kill and a multitude of other series, Trigger has built a name for itself with some of the coolest—and strangest—anime series ever crafted. Promare is the studio’s latest work in the form of a nearly two-hour movie and we will say this, it’s one heck of an amazing watch! Promare takes place in a strange future where many human beings gained a very strange mutation. This mutation altered those affected and allowed them to harness the power of fire within their very bodies. Those afflicted with this mutation are called the Burnish and are hated by normal humans for their extreme amount of damage via their flames. After thirty years, the human race has found themselves back to a peaceful existence with most of the Burnish gone. Though a few renegades still exist and have dubbed themselves the Mad Burnish. In order to avoid widespread chaos, several units are created to fight back against the Burnish and one of those is the Burning Rescue team led by Ignis.
Promare focuses mostly on one specific rookie member named Galo Thymos who already has established himself as a wild card who tends to live by his own code. The first half of the movie establishes the main characters and also shows the Burnish Leader known as Lio Fotia who ends up being the counterforce to Galo. The middle of Promare’s story is where things get way more intense when you learn that the world’s magma core is beginning to go out of control and has led to a past hero turned Governor—Kray Foresight—to begin using Burnish as test subjects to teleport 10’000 humans via a spaceship to a distant planet like our own. Promare begins to speak to your inner heart when you learn the Burnish aren’t all bad and they only unleash the fires within them as a means of escaping their inner fire’s voice. Lio especially begins to change Galo and his original thought on all Burnish as a while.
By the final hour of Promare, we learn that the Burnish aren’t using fire but are actually harnessing the might of a parallel universe’s species called the Promare—Yes, we get a title drop near the end of the movie. What’s worse is that Kray’s plan to use the Burnish as the spaceship’s fuel actually will speed the planet’s destruction up destroying the world quicker than expected! By mere chance, Lio and Galo find a computerized doctor who tells them the full story of the Promare and gives them a giant robot—again this is Trigger—that allows Galo to pilot and Lio to act as a fuel source without being hurt. The two team up together and attack Kray to stop his plan and save the world! We won’t spoil the ending—that would be going too far—but Promare as a whole was a great movie held back by only a few minor issues. Below you will find three reasons why you absolutely should check Promare out and why you might want to skip it.
1. Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill feels
If the first thought you have when watching Promare goes towards “this looks like Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill”—then you aren’t wrong. Promare has the team behind both of those legendary shows and it shows with its impressive character design and amazing set pieces. Galo will quickly make you think of Kamina and we aren’t complaining about that in the slightest.
2. Hiroyuki Sawano Greatness
Already boasting an impressive creative team, you add the fact that Hiroyuki Sawano did the music for Promare and you have beautiful visuals and a wickedly powerful OST. Promare has some tunes we pray get released via iTunes or at least in the form of a CD, because we need this soundtrack now.
3. Dramatic but Moving Story
Yes, Trigger tends to make anime series that are quite ridiculous in nature—look at Uchuu Patrol Luluco and/or Gurren Lagann—but if you love those shows, you know Trigger has a secret power few studios have. Many of Trigger’s works have truly impactful stories that while silly, tend to have dramatic narratives that scream raw emotion. Promare does the same by making you question life and how people are often categorized or segregated as a whole for the wrongs of a few. You’ll be amazed that Promare as sci-fi based as it is has a lot of heart that will keep you engaged in its story and often making you want to take sides.
1. Poor Burning Team
Promare’s biggest weakness in our minds is that within this movie, there are a slew of awesome characters who basically get thrown aside quickly. Galo, Lio and Kray become Promare’s biggest characters while the other members of the Burning Rescue team end up playing second fiddle. They do get some screen time here and there, but after the first twenty minutes, they lose a lot of mention in favor of the three mentioned above.
2. Explosion of Themes
Promare’s biggest weakness hands down is how the story is delivered. Due to this being a movie Promare often feels as if its going through the motions quickly and throws at its audience a slew of themes without ever diving into them with a lot of depth. We could see this not being a problem if Promare was a 12- or 24-episode long series, but as a two-hour movie, it loses a lot of punch due to its overly quick pacing.
3. Maybe A Bit Too Much Like Other Trigger Works
While seeing a studio adhere to designs and themes from other animations is a cool thing, it equally is a bit of a weakness. All throughout Promare we couldn’t help but compare elements of the movie to shows like Gurren Lagann. That makes Promare feel—at times—as if it’s using other series to help it be impactful and makes the overall uniqueness fade a bit. We don’t want to keep comparing one work to another while watching it and we’re sure many of you can agree with that.
Final Thoughts
Promare isn’t the best anime movie we’ve ever seen, but it’s a truly awesome one if you love Trigger’s style. There are numerous small issues Promare has that keeps it from being its own work, but at the end of the day, our two-hour view time was enjoyable and put a smile on our faces. That to us is the most important aspect of any anime film. That being said, are you folks anxious to watch Promare? Let us know via the comments and for all your anime movie review needs, be sure to keep stuck to us here at Honey’s Anime!
Author: Aaron
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