'Promare' Isn't Necessarily a 'Fire Force' Derivative

Promare is the first ever feature-length anime film of Studio Trigger (co-produced with XFLAG), which is known for the anime series Kill la Kill, Darling in the Franxx, and SSSS.Gridman.  It is directed and written, respectively, by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakashima, the tandem who basically laid the groundwork for Trigger with Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill.

The film’s premise and lore are uncannily similar in the basics with Fire Force.  Most probably, there’s some form of copying done by one on the other.  Regardless of which ripped off which, both ended up with imaginative and wonderful execution.  Each one can be enjoyed and appreciated uniquely.  In other words, Promare is not necessarily derivative of Fire Force, and vice versa.

Thirty years before the main plot of the film, a catastrophic event called the Great World Blaze occurred.  At that moment, innumerable cases of spontaneous human combustion simultaneously took place all over the globe, resulting to the death of half of the world’s population and extensive chaos and damage. Since then, it has become possible for certain humans to mutate and develop mysterious fire powers.  These pyrokinetic humans came to be known as the “Burnish”, and due to the Great World Blaze, identified Burnish are immediately treated as criminals.

The plot follows Galo Tyhmos, a rookie of the elite group of fire fighters called “Burning Rescue.”  Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, it is the job of Burning Rescue to put out fires caused by the Burnish, rescue people, and – if necessary – combat and capture the Burnish responsible.  In their most recent mission, Galo and his Burning Rescue colleagues have to go against a purported Burnish terrorist group called “Mad Burnish”, which is led by the formidable Lio Fotia.  However, soon after that fateful encounter, Galo gets his hands on a shocking piece of information that turns everything he’s ever believed in upside down.

The most striking thing about Promare is its animation.  Its look gives off the impression of being both minimalist and complex.  For the unversed, the seemingly simplistic and over-the-top frames might come off as amateurish.  But the animation is actually intricate, expressive, and dynamic with its stylized designs and trippy explosions of shapes and colors.  Moreover, it can be a feast of visual metaphors for those who are willing to invest the time in analyzing it.

Meanwhile, the script is solid enough not to be a distraction.  However, it’s still flawed that it can bother you if you allow it.  The narrative doesn’t feel as tight as it should be.  The twists-and-turns are rather predictable.  Most of the characters are quite undeveloped, and are essentially just ornaments in the background.  Luck and arbitrary conveniences play critical roles in making the plot work (this is partly forgiven when it made this self-aware joke: one of the major plot devices is called “Deus X Machina”… because its creator is named Deus. LOL).  The yaoi tension between Galo and Lio is somewhat cringey.  It lacks a proper epilogue that would have “cooled down” the story; it almost just abruptly ends after the climax.  And, sometimes, it’s as if it wants to be a pilot for an anime series rather than a stand-alone film.

In the end, albeit rough around the edges, Promare is definitely must-see anime.  If nothing else, it’s a high-octane, balls-to-the-wall spectacle.

I believe – visually and narratively – Fire Force is better, though.