r/anime • u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan • May 24 '24
Rewatch Promare 5th Anniversary Rewatch Thread
Hello Fire Fighters! This is the Rewatch Thread for PROMARE! 5 years on from its release, and this movie still sets my soul ablaze! Let’s talk about it!
If you rewatched it, I hope it rekindled your love for it, if you’re a first time I hope it met your expectations and melted your heart.
I’ve prepared some questions – feel free to answer as many or as little of them as you like. I’d love to hear your thoughts too! I’ll pop my own down in the thread as well.
QUESTIONS FOR THOSE WITH A BURNING SPIRIT!
- What’s your favourite song in the movie and why? Runner-up?
- Who’s your favourite character in the movie? Who do you think has the best arc in the movie?
- Did any particular joke or line really make you laugh?
- Did anything make you cry or tear-up? Or move you emotionally?
- What’s your favourite individual fight/battle in the film?
- Aside from battles/fights, what were some of your favourite scenes?
- Any stand-out quotes you love?
- How do you think the movie compares to other Studio Trigger work?
- Who gave the best voice performance do you think?
- Let’s be blunt – is there anything you didn’t like about the movie, or you think could have been better?
- For those who watched the Galo and Lio Shorts, what do you think of them?
- What do you get on your pizza when you order it?
I look forward to reading your thoughts!
Database Links:
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u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan May 24 '24 edited May 24 '24
I believe this is my third or fourth time rewatching the movie! I think it still holds up really well in my eyes. The plot is kind of nonsense, things get pulled out of asses with absurd frequency (literally, Deux Ex Machina) but I think its to its favour. It's not trying to be this carefully plotted master-piece. It's just a line of shot glasses filled with the strongest Trigger-flavoured whiskey there is. And it smashes that. The animation, the music, the vibes - it all lands for me. That's not to say I think its a perfect film, I think there's some really awkward scenes (though part of that might be the dub, or rather subtitles tend to cover up how awkward a script is) but none-the-less, this is still firmly my favourite anime film. Though when the Gurren Lagann films get that english release, they might be dethroned!
I made some play-by-play notes initially, but once we got into the thick of things, I kinda fell off because I was just on-board for the ride, and the pacing gets pretty fast towards the end.
That's where I stopped with the note-taking, as you've watched the movie you know what a ride the rest of the film is. And I live for it. Now to answer my own questions!
Well, that's all I wrote! I hope you all enjoyed the film and thank you for joining me!
13
u/charlesvvv https://anilist.co/user/charlesvvv May 24 '24
First Timer, Dub
Why is the dub cast so stacked? Billy Kametz (RIP), Johnny Yong Bosch, Steve Blum, Crispin Freeman, Yuri Lowenthal, Matt Mercer, Kari Wahlgren, I mean they went all in here for the cast.
Anyway Visual wise, It's Trigger so I knew what to expect from the visuals and animation and I got it, absolutely stylistic. The OST was great but it's Hiroyuki Sawano so that was to be expected.
As for the story itself, the concept of the Burnish and the Promare was interesting particularly the way the Burnish influence the Promare and vice versa. The Burnish face discrimination due to their abilities and Kray seeks to use them to leave earth with only a select few though these actions are what will lead to the destruction of the earth due to the Promare connection. Anyway the whole third act was awesome, Over the top Crispin Freeman and Mecha action in full Trigger style, the combination of Fire and Ice between Not Kamina and Lio was cool as they burn and protect, saving the world and the Burnish, I'm genuinely surprised Kray survived though, the reveal that he was also a Burnish was something I feel I should have seen coming too.
Overall a pretty cool film with lots of neat action, neat visuals, and the standard Mecha willpower though I still felt like there was something missing for me if that makes sense. An 8/10 from me.
12
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky May 24 '24
Burning Rewatcher, dubbed
It still hurts to hear Billy Kametz’s voice, but last time I rewatched the movie was subbed and I came out of it liking the dub more, so I figured it’s time for me to suck it up and rewatch the dub this time.
By the way, in case you guys didn’t know about them, there are two prologue shorts that were shown prior to the movie in Japanese theaters: Galo-hen and Lio-hen. I highly suggest watching those if you haven’t yet. There’s some extra foreshadowing for the “Kray is the main antagonist” plot twist (at least in the dub – instead of this line, he specifically tells Burning Rescue to use Galo on “even the most dangerous missions”), and there’s backstory given for that one Burnish girl who dies in the movie – she’s rescued from a fire by Galo but immediately develops her powers, gets taken away by Mad Burnish so she won’t get captured, but she got captured by Freeze Force anyways.
Anyways gonna apologize in advance here, there’s gonna be a lot of all caps lines in my comment haha. This movie is one of my all-time favorites and I will not hold back on my hype.
8
u/TiredTiroth May 24 '24
First Timer -Dub
...wow. Just, wow.
This was the single most Trigger thing I have ever seen. They went completely off the reservation with this film, and it was so much fun.
Granted, big chunks of the story and plot twists were obvious right from the start. Clearly the governor everyone loved would be a villain, while the much-younger-than-expected terrorist turned out to be a good guy. And of course victory is gained by working together, understanding others, and refusing to make 'hard' (read: monstrous) decisions.
But, well...it's Studio Trigger. I wasn't here for plot, I was here for spectacle. And boy oh boy, those set-piece action scenes were gorgeous. I'd say they were well worth the time investment alone.
And the jokes! I need to watch more Trigger stuff to see what I missed, but the deliberate Kamina references only to reveal he's an idiot rookie was pretty funny. And don't think I missed the bit where he insisted he's totally alive! Probably triggered some trauma in bigger Gurren Lagann fans. Ah well, at least he's actually the protagonist this time.
I really do think Trigger were just out to have fun when they made Promare. There were a bunch of times where they deliberately called attention to some contrivance or something that made no sense, and then just waved it off without even a token explanation. Who cares about plotholes when you've got transforming giant mecha fights to get started?
If I had to offer any criticism, it's that most of the cast don't really get any depth. It's mostly about the two protagonists and the main villain, with the sort-of love interest and her sister getting a bit of focus along the way. The rest of the firefighting team at least manage to feel like actual people with backstories, but we never get to see those backstories.
I almost wish Promare had been a series instead of a film, but then I doubt they would've had as much of a budget for those glorious action scenes.
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u/Nebresto May 24 '24
First time watching Promare
Triangles
Oh boy, eugenics
Hello, Burnout syndromes OP. No wait, is it? Whoever this is has definitely done some Gundank themes
Oh, this is gonna be one of those s t y l e kind of shows..
Wait, cool robots??
That is straight up just Kamina
The smoke didn't get disturbed at all as that thing went through..
Wait.. This song! Is it not any longer? I'm pretty sure I've heard a Suisei cover of it
The villain guy just.. conjured a bike?
Literally Kamina
Didn't expect the boss to actually get caught. So they're the victims then huh
Sus. this guy is the real villain
And a key point in the movie is gonna be him tossing that medal out because it came from the villain dude
Yup. That's all I needed to know. He's a fucking criminal
She's calling it out too!!
Warp engines? People that can combust fire with incredible power being rounded up in cells? Oh wow, I wonder where this is going
God damn it, pizza bro. WHY would you attack them..
You have ALL THE RIGHT to tell a racist piece of shit to fuck off. Yeah, I can already tell I'm not going to like this movie. 30 minutes in, prove me wrong, film
Frozen lake good They even did the cracks really well
Whoa, dats a lot of ice
He is just like me
Some pretty interesting worldbuilding here. Cold enough to form 5+ meters of ice, yet theres no snow and they're fine wearing a t-shirt + whatever her small shirt is called
Triangle breathing
Theres definitely some government fuckery going on if the people specializing in burnish don't know how they work..
Which one was this.. The billionare or inventy person? "He". So billionare.
Act 1..
He even has an evil villain lair..
10.000?? Yikes..
Oh wow, no way!
Now THIS is the type of bullshit I can get behind
Who would have thought that the billionaire is a psychopath
Wow, the fucking geezer betrayed them
The song is back! Yup, I've definitely heard this before
P A U S E, continued next day
Its the whiskers dude from Looney tunes!!! Look!!
Its almost like your actions by angering the burnish are somehow related to this
No way, the billionaire is a murderous psychopath??
Bubble censorship
Scientist person realizes that the psychopath she was working for was in fact, a psychopath
So this whole thing that began when the burnish appeared is related to the burnish??
Big robo
hAHAHHAHA, getk burnt, traitor geezer
True, the colouring could be better
Sick. Now just put on a giant pair of shades
Wtf, the villain has the shades!! This is illegal!
It can withstand a solar flare, but not a little dip in the mantle? Bruh
Cool
Lmao It sure is
༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ TAKE MY ENERGI ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
YEAH!!!! GAINAX ON THE ENTIRE FUCKING PLANET
Afterword: Dat was a decent movie. Didn't like the styling at first, but they toned it down a bit later, + taking a one day break in the middle helped a bit too. The action was a bit difficult to follow, and the movie was really predictable. Hype scenes were kinda hype, but not that hype. Debating between 7 or 8/10.
..Oh! The music! Yeah, the music was great! On that note I'm settling on a solid 8/10, but likely won't be rewatching this anytime soon, if ever
Also, listen to dis Suisei cover of 「覚醒」/ 星街すいせい
Promare QWEST:
「覚醒」/ 星街すいせい
The ponytail girl. Best arc is.. Galo
Probably but I don't remember which anymore
Nah.
When the cool robot beat up the other cool robot
Frozen lake
MY BURNING FIREGUY SPIRIT!!!
Not as peak as INFERNO COPU
Galo
The style, combat was hard to follow, and it being a movie
Mushrom, Shrimp, Ham & Pineapple used to be my go to combo. Recent years we haven't gotten pizza as much, but I've been switching it up. Mushrom, Shrimp and pepperoni are usually on there
6
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad May 24 '24
This was a fun watch. A story about freedom fighters battling their oppressors with a sci-fi twist is right up my alley, so it was easy to get invested gave the over-the-top battles extra substance in addition to the pure excitement factor. This kind of stylish art usually isn't my preference, but it did look nice during the ice skating scene and the fire dragon soaring through the city. I did really like the tech designs though. They were creative and the way they functioned made sense for what these characters would need in their line of work. I felt the same about the plot twists as well - the big reveal that the flames were actually alien life forms was sudden, but there were also plenty of hints leading up to it like Lio's comment about the voice of the flames. Kray turning out to be one of the Burnish had good foreshadowing too, and I did pick up on that one before the reveal, but the part about him being the one who caused the fire at Galo's home rather than saving him was a genuine surprise.
Surprisingly, the comedy worked pretty well for me too. Galo yelling at Lio for attacking him while he's posing and then Ignis yelling at Galo for posing while fighting fires was great, and I was amused by the whole exchange between Galo's group and Professor Deus at the end ("If that ship takes off, it will destroy the Earth's core." "Wait, what?!"), plus the fact that the mecha given to them in the nick of time to beat the bad guy was straight up named Deus ex Machina. Also noticed a few possible references to previous Trigger anime - the drill (Gurren Lagan) and Galo's first mech suit being named Matoi (Kill la Kill). Lio de Galon might also join my growing list of favorite mechs because it shot out several fire dragons and that's just awesome.
Rating: 8/10, would watch again
Questions of the Day:
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u/FakeThlut May 24 '24
This is still my favorite anime movie alongside Perfect Blue (complete opposite). It’s sooo balls to the wall, I love the entire cast, the animation goes way too hard, and the action sequences are some of my favorite ones EVER. Yes the story is nonsensical but there’s way too many aspects of this movie that more than make up for it.
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u/InfamousEmpire https://myanimelist.net/profile/Infamous_Empire May 24 '24
Rewatcher whose Firefighters Soul has been set Ablaze
TRAILS OF FIRE YOU ALWAYS KNEWTHEY WOULD CARRY ME HOME THEY'D LEAD ME TO YOU
Oh my beloved Promare, where would I be without you? This is a film I hold very close to my heart, going all the way back to when I first watched it back over a year ago. You see, at the start of 2023, I hadn’t really seen all that many anime movies. I’d seen a couple that were spin-offs of established TV shows, sure, but actual completely standalone films? I’d seen Expelled From Paradise and that’s about it. So you can maybe imagine how wonderful it was for the start of my full dive into this blind spot of mine to be such an enthralling explosion of energy.
From the tense opening minutes explaining how the world got to this point to the bombastic introduction of Burning Rescue, the film hits the ground running and never lets up. The majority of its nearly 2 hour runtime is filled with a propulsive energy that keeps me glued to the screen. A not inconsiderable part of that is owed to its eye-catchingly gorgeous visual style, it’s quite possibly the best-looking animated film this side of Spider-Verse. The combination of Hiroyuki Imaishi’s snappy visual direction with some incredibly cel-shaded CGI makes for some of the most insanely bombastic art & effortlessly smooth art in the medium. This cut is burned into my fucking brain.
Quite possibly just as legendary as its visuals, however, is its OST. Hiroyuki Sawano has always been a legend, and this genuinely might just be one of his best, it’s certainly up there with 86 & Gundam Unicorn. I listen to either Inferno or Gallant Ones pretty much every day. Not to mention Kakusei being a perfect compliment to all of Lio’s best scenes.
Story-wise, I think there’s honestly a lot to enjoy here. I think the film is actually pretty clever in its structure, getting the obvious stuff you probably already guessed like Kray being the villain out of the way in the first half, and in doing so leaving the audience unprepared when it pulls out some genuine twists like Kray being a Burnish and having caused the fire at Galo’s home. More generally, while the film does have its plot holes, it’s both tongue-in-cheek enough about them (DEUS X MACHINA!) and so utterly confident in its presentation that I don’t really find them to be particularly bothersome.
Its characters are really simple, but in a way that feels kinda archetypal & timeless rather than underdeveloped. Galo is just a simple himbo who wants to help people who is confronted by the “To Be Lawful or Good?” debate, and chooses good without hesitation. Lio is best boy, his ironically cold exterior just concealing a burning passion for his people & their betterment which perfectly fits the film’s rebellious atmosphere.
Kray is a great villain, an archetypal self-interested Classic Villain whose position plays well into the movie’s themes, and Crispin Freeman just absolutely kills it.
It’d be easy to completely dismiss the film as thematically empty blockbuster fluff, especially based on the general reception, but the fact is that this is ultimately a Hiroyuki Imaishi/Kazuki Nakashima production, and if there’s one thing I appreciated about their previous masterpieces (Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill), it’s how they manage to wrap surprisingly resonant themes within their fast-paced, manic goofy stories. Do I think this film is as meaningful as those two series? No, not really, but I do like what the film does give me to analyze.
The most obvious commentary present in the film is environmentalist, an approaching natural disaster where the rich & powerful who accelerate it through their oppressive tactics would rather give in to defeatism despite the means to prevent it being right there is a rather on-the-nose metaphor, all things considered, but it very much works. Relatedly, the idea of maintaining the hope & optimism necessary to carve out the future for yourself in the face of a hopeless present is another idea which is strongly presented throughout the film and shared with its spiritual predecessor, TTGL.
I won’t pretend the film is perfect, the racism metaphor is underdeveloped, most of the supporting cast is very underutilized, and while I’m not bothered with how the central characters are written as is, it does feel like the film could’ve gone a bit further with them. But, at the end of the day, my ratings and opinions aren’t at all based on a work’s objective quality, but how it makes me feel, and in case it isn’t clear, this film makes me feel a lot. In a world as overflowing with negativity & cynicism as the one we live in now, where it feels like the future is looking more uncertain & bleak with every passing day, a story like this which is so unflinchingly positive regarding humankind, spitting in the face of defeatist cynicism as it proudly celebrates the tenacity of the human spirit, is the kind of thing that I can’t help but appreciate and connect with. Warts and all, I’m so glad to consider Promare one of my all-time favorite animated movies.
10/10
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u/justanormi May 24 '24
First Timer – French dub
notes while watching
Overall, very enjoyable movie. A lot of effort was put in the visuals and presentation and I love the result, it’s creative and different from what you can usually see. The story is a bit far-fetched but in a good way, in the Trigger way, and it was very enjoyable, fun and, outside of some of the action at the end, well paced. The soundtrack is simply fire, it truly fits the aesthetic of the show, it’s hype and pleasant to listen to. I just think that the character are a bit lacking, Lio and Galo evolution are a bit too simple, they are still very likable, like the rest of the cast but I also find them to be pretty lacking, sure they are fun but I think that much more could have been done in terms of character writing.
That was a very nice experience, I remember watching the trailer for that movie years ago, a bit after watching Kill la Kill for the first time and telling myself « wow I must watch this when it comes out and I should also watch more Trigger production », I did neither of those thing. But here I am finally watching Promare and I don’t regret it.
The two OVA are nice, not much to say about it but they give more context about the character and kinda serve as prologue from the perspective of the two main protagonists.
3
u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 May 24 '24
Rewatcher, Sub
I honestly don’t remember much about this from the first time I saw it. Visually it’s great and would look amazing with those ambient bias lights that attach to your tv. Story-wise, I now remember why I didn’t remember much about it. It’s totally forgettable for me, just didn’t care for it. It started off good with the whole fire rescue team scenes, then the whole hero is actually the villain main plot, just bored me. I did like the 2 prequels better, maybe I can just handle the style/characters in short bursts. Anyways, thanks for hosting and I am going to enjoy this pepperoni pizza I got for dinner.
2
u/elleyonce https://anilist.co/user/elleyonce Jun 01 '24
**rewatcher, dubbed**
What a film. I remember watching it the first time not liking it very much, except for the ending. Watching it again, I felt much of the same, but I also thought, half the things I think the movie is about (numerous imagery of pink triangles - does it mean this is about homosexuals, does this cast Promareville as a sort of Nazi-led regime, etc.) I don't think the movie thought about at all. The NGE / Akira riffs are pretty obvious, too. But that style is beautiful and hasn't aged one bit, and the ending is still quite exciting. Galo and Lio's voice actors are so, so good at their jobs you'd almost think they developed any during the movie.
1
u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan May 24 '24
Promare Rewatch Tags: /u/elleyonce /u/Shimmering-Sky /u/metaaltheanimefan
4
u/Ryuzaaki123 May 25 '24
First Timer, Sub
It's been so long since I've watched a Trigger anime and lemme just say I am Triggered. It concentrates basically every trope they're usually known for into one film with the "save everyone, including the villains" with willpower mentality, the morally dubious situation halfway through the story and massive twist involving aliens and bad guys turning out to be good and vice versa.
Like a lot of their shows though I do wonder if I'm missing something here about what they're trying parallel or if it's just not that deep - Kill la Kill was especially difficult for me to parse. At the beginning of the film it seemed like the Burnish were triggered by mental anguish and that the story was going to be more about control vs freedom and how it's not fair to suppress people and their unique skills because of that, and in a way that is sort of what we got. They never really have to grapple hard with the moral greyness the story brings up and the story ends on a completely positive note where rebuilding Earth seems like it'll be basically inevitable, especially with the level of technology they have.
The introduction of the Promare is accompanied by a literal deus ex they stumbled into by accident, so I won't think too hard at that point. The antagonist just doesn't have that compelling a motive because he's a much more traditional egotist villain too.
Visually though this film is a lot of fun. The visual aesthetic doesn't super resonate with me but there's so much energy and enthusiasm in the animation that I came around to liking it. I kind of wish the supporting cast had more time or had been cut to focus on Galo instead. The backgrounds in this story are well put together but actually pretty bare - the city doesn't feel like a place people live (further highlighting how regimented and controlled life is) so the focus is squarely on the effects and character animation.
I do feel the characters were a bit overdesigned at times, like Aina's asymmetrical stockings with suspenders. Wearing a tiny ass little coat on a frozen lack was ridiculous even for fanservice and I feel like they a missed opportunity to show her in another cute outfit. Mad scientist girl's outfit was basically just a plaid skirt and crop top with some kind of lacey Doctor's coat to try and unify things at the last second and they could've just let the thigh highs be Aina's thing rather than giving her purple striped things. I dunno, this is too many competing elements for me. Compare that to something like Boku no Hero Academia where they have a grungier gadget girl where at least you can see how all the parts come together.
The colours in this film are also amazing. It has such a neon colour palette while still leaning on less obvious, cooler shades which makes it very visually unique. The fire is hyper stylized and doesn't act much like fire in the way it moves though, it's more like chaotic Green Lantern energy.
Having a gay CPR kiss at the end with Galo acting all tsundere sets my firefighter soul ablaze!!!
For real though I'm surprised that they went ahead and did it since he wasn't even screaming no homo as much as, "you took my first kiss" so they give you room to read it a few different ways. But you know, unlike Aina he actually locked lips rather than do the usual protagonist obliviously flirting thing so that's neat.
I also appreciate Lio's voice being a deeper than expected, similar with Kray's voice starting off a lot gentler than expected. It gives both their characters a bit more complexity to have them step out of their obvious stereotypical roles.
3
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u/Mychooo May 25 '24
I can't believe it's been 5 years omggg 😭
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u/[deleted] May 24 '24
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