Review of Promare (2019) by Davrosdaleks1 — 18 Sep 2019

Promare takes place in a world where giant robot piloting firefighters go up against the Burnish, a group of people who control flames. The Burnish are also persecuted in this world and soon things become more complicated.

In my opinion, Gurren Lagan and Kill la Kill are two of the best anime of recent years. So when I heard that the studio and main director and studio Studio Trigger were making a movie, I made sure to see this.

This has a very unique look to the scenery. A simplistic lineless cel-shaded look involving neon colors and geometric shapes. The minimalist look can be pretty impressive at times, like a scene of the mountains at sunset. The costumes, giant robots, and actions scenes are all stylishly designed.

However, I did find the quick shots and frame rate to be a bit jarring. The character designs are from the same guy who did Gurren Lagan and I felt a couple of characters' looks felt recycled.

Promare has an over-the-top tone to it and isn't afraid to poke a little fun at itself. Still, the stakes and world building in this are enough that they are able to anchor the movie.

This does suffer from trying to squeeze a little too much into two hours. There are way too many characters. A couple of the firefighters don't really do much. At times, the film feels like it's going too quickly just jamming stuff down your throat. At other times, new plot developments feel like things are being stretched out.

The villains are rather one-dimensional and over-the-top.

The music is pretty good and helps set the mood.

Overall, I didn't like this as much Gurren Lagan and Kill La Kill. This movie just tried to do too much. This may've worked better as a TV show that gave eveything time to breathe. Promare though distinctive in style doesn't tread that much new ground from past anime that feature giant robots or characters with mutant abilities. Surprisingly, this isn't even the first firefighter hero-themed anime. That all said, I still had a good time. This is sugar food, lightweight fun.