If you’re a fan of anime then you should be familiar with Trigger. The animation studio is responsible for such hit anime series as Kill la Kill and Gurren Lagann. Yet, surprisingly, the studio has never worked on a feature-length animated film… Until now. Is Promare a film that showcases the talents of the studio or should Trigger just stick to animated series?
Thanks to its slick animation style, Promare gives us something that we rarely see in a Japanese animated film. However, the slick animation is the only thing that separates itself from the other anime films since the usual anime tropes are all there. If there was such a thing as anime trope bingo, then you’d probably hit bingo right away.
Promare follows Galo Thymos, a hotshot firefighting mecha pilot who protects the city from the Burnish. However, he soon discovers that the Burnish is not as evil as he believes they are when he meets the leader of the Burnish resistance group, Lio Fotia.
Although Trigger’s animated series isn’t for everyone, Promare is geared towards general audiences. Promare should please anime fans in general, not just fans of the studio’s work. Regardless, if you’re not a fan of anime then the movie won’t change your mind.
That’s because all the typical anime tropes are in this film—all the way down to the stereotypical anime characters. In other words, everything about the film is predictable. Meaning you know who the good guys and who are the bad guys are exactly based on their character designs and voices. So if you see a character that looks and sounds evil then they probably are the bad guys—even if the films paints them as the good guys at first.
Unfortunately, this also means that we get some predictable character arcs too. If you’ve seen one anime then you’ve seen them all. You know how each character will progress and who will have a change of heart. To be fair, the story is simple enough to where it’s easy to figure out how things will play out. We’re not talking about an animated film with complex ideas with a deep message. We’re talking about a film where firefighters fight fires with mecha suits. They’re going for entertainment value here, not for awards.
It’s just a shame that we don’t get to know a lot of the characters introduced in the film. If you’re expecting a film focusing on the group of heroes then it’s time to curb those expectations. The film focuses solely on Galo and Lio. This is their story and everyone else takes a backseat. So with all of the eccentric characters that you see in the film, I guess you’ll just have to come up with your backstory for them.
Regardless, the story takes a lot of cool concepts and puts them together. Imagine a story where mechas meet the Brotherhood of Mutants and you have Promare. If that sounds cool to you then the animation is better.
The visuals are very visceral and so incredibly artistic. Trigger’s use of 3D and traditional 2D animation brings to life this rich and crazy world. However, the character animation is a hit or miss. At times the animation is good and other times it looks rushed. It doesn’t fit in with the amazing background animation. Nevertheless, the animation itself rivals the look and style of Into the Spider-Verse.
Overall, Promare is an over-the-top, stylish, and entertaining film by Trigger. Even though the entire film feels like one long anime episode, that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s also incredibly gorgeous too. Not bad for their first feature-length film.
Rating: 4/5 atoms
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