Promare Review and Analysis: The Representation and Oppression of Minorities

A flurry of colours and an absolute visual spectacle, the innovative Studio Trigger’s Promare is steadily approaching its third anniversary on the 25th of May. Whilst it still remains no doubt that the film establishes its own identity through the use of aesthetically compelling action scenes and outrageous creative risks, as time has passed, we as an audience are left to discuss the underlying tones within the narrative, if you are paying close attention to the movie – this being the noticeable allegory for oppression.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Makashima, Promare defines itself with its incredibly stylised animation; taking full advantage of geometric shapes with the use of sharp lines and curves, as well as fast-paced takes packed to the brim with bright, vivid colours, the movie solidifies what Studio Trigger stands for and serves as a blueprint for their works going forward. The film constructs its own unique aesthetic that, quite frankly, explodes out of the screen upon watching – helping to provide itself with its own developed name and personality. Through the duration of the movie, however, this scuffle of blazing hues and lack of realism suddenly becomes parallel to a situation akin to drastic world events.

On the surface, Promare appears to rely solely on its bombastic and overly exaggerated battles to compel the audience and have their eyes glued onto the screen during its runtime – with the first fifteen minutes of the film showcasing Trigger’s experience with their key factors of colour, movement and art, we are subsequently introduced to the main characters of the film and learn about as to how they reflect one another. In the beginning, we are shown the events prior to the movie that have led to the means of the futuristic society the main narrative is built upon. A cataclysmic event known as the “Great World Blaze,” where a numerous amount of people across the globe were suddenly engulfed in flames, killed approximately half of the world’s population – cutting to thirty years later, human evolution has led to these types of individuals growing and hence being dubbed as “The Burnish,” who hold the capabilities to control fire at their own will. The Burnish will serve as the prime source of oppression within this film – this is initially unbeknownst to us as the viewers.

Provoking destruction throughout the city of “Promepolis”, a branch of these people who are referred to as the terrorist group the “Mad Burnish” go on to set numerous buildings alight on a regular basis. Galo Thymos, an optimistic and brash member of the firefighter organisation “Burning Rescue,” sets about on priding himself on saving people – rescuing those who happen to be involved in these incidents. In an exciting free-for-all that grows into an enthralling scene with explosions of ice and fire, we are introduced to the leader of the Mad Burnish, Lio Fotia; who is consequently caught and arrested after being defeated by Galo. The two protagonists are presented to immediately complement one another; with Lio’s desire to watch the burnish thrive and Galo’s desire to save everybody.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

It’s after this scene that we discover that, in actuality, the Burnish are frowned upon by society and are not even considered to be human; the leader of “Freeze Force,” a means of law enforcement that has strict connections to the government, takes Lio as well as his henchmen away into captivity with multiple others. We see the Burnish gathered together in a contained cell in poor condition – some being bandaged and frail, and some even on the verge of death or already passed away from the severity of their wounds. From this point onwards, the case only worsens.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

Soon after, we are shown the governor of the city, “Kray Foresight”, who saved Galo from a blitz of fire when he was a young boy – since, Galo has held an unwavering admiration for Kray as well as his leadership, viewing him as a great hero and role model. He firmly believes that his position as a firefighter as well as his life is fundamentally owed to him.

Burning Rescue’s outing at a pizzeria is suddenly interrupted by Freeze Force – marching into the restaurant with a military team of officers and demanding no one to move, despite Galo’s protest, the man who had cooked the well-praised pizzas revealed himself as a Burnish and was inevitably caught and taken into custody. Additionally, the manager who attempts to reason with the officers is also reprehended for sheltering a Burnish fugitive. Those who were at the pizzeria instantly begin to ridicule and object in disgust upon realising that their food was cooked by a Burnish individual. The dictatorial nature of Promare’s society is exhibited to us through this scene alone.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

If you were to sympathise with the Burnish, you would accordingly be seen to be just as bad as they are, in essence. This befits as an allegory for the nauseous circumstances during World War II and as to how oppression is still a prominent issue to this day – taking into account that the world of Promare is certainly set in the future. The film comments on this issue still remaining mostly unresolved; with heavy-handed powers asserting their belief in a superior race or demographic of people; particularly with the ongoing situation between Ukraine and Russia, this matter in question is still as relevant as ever.

In a brief scene between Galo and Lio, in accordance to Lio breaking free and managing to escape the facility along with the captured Burnish, we as an audience are told that the Burnish are human too; Galo, as a character, is blissfully unaware of the details surrounding the oppression of the Burnish, but slowly develops to want to gain an understanding of the situation through his need to help people. The depiction of political corruption is evident enough to observe through the film.

It’s quite possible that the majority of the audience for this film will not consist of minorities – being a movie made in Japan and predominantly for Japan, a vastly homogenous country, it soon becomes evident as to why Galo, who believes that he is fighting for the sake of enforcing good, needs to go on to then relearn who the enemies truly are, over Lio, the repressed and maltreated minority. In other words, Trigger sets out to combat and propose issues that are typically not depicted in a wide array of Japanese media; taking this into account, Promare attempts to succeed in this aspect by using animation to convey realistic troubles that are most commonly cowered away from.

We are informed through Lio after the passing of one of their own that the Burnish are being experimented upon – in order to, through Kray’s own words, “save humanity.” The fact that Kray puts it as bluntly as this only reinforces the principle that the general populace does not deem the Burnish as human. Upon meeting with Kray to seek out whether or not this is the truth, Kray states that the world’s magma levels are rising catastrophically and will erupt ensuing the consistent Burnish activity. Kray aims to use the Burnish’s power as a source of energy that will fuel a ship that will abandon the earth entirely for the sake of moving to a different yet identical planet to earth; boarding a total of ten-thousand people onboard. Trigger bestows this metaphor upon the audience of the government conceptually taking advantage of minorities for their own beneficial use – in this case, sacrificing the Burnish for the sake of those who are placed on a pedestal above them. This can be applied to our current society and the state of affairs that we find ourselves in; with there being evident humanitarian issues with the plan he has concocted. Yet, much like both Galo and Lio, there is not much that we can do about the problem due to our position on the societal ladder. We can only continue to challenge these ideals by doing what we can in our own power to stand up against brutal forces.

In contrast to our prevalent concerns, Promare takes a turn with this motif and instead applies the empowering themes and riveting combat sequences that Trigger are generally known for.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

Amidst the climax of the movie, Galo and Lio band together to overthrow Kray and to save the planet from guaranteed destruction. Galo’s nature develops into the want to protect the Burnish as well as the rest of the population; when he sees the Burnish suffering, he wants to do what he can in order to make a stand. Galo puts it well himself, with his confrontation against Kray - “I’ll save him, save earth, and even save you.” Thereafter, he sees and recognises Lio’s passion and his own burning soul within him. In turn, Lio acknowledges Galo’s unbridled courage and strength and entrusts him with his Burnish flame – shortly after being taken to be used as the main source of fuel for the spaceship’s engine.

Promare primarily makes capital of using symbolism to convey this message – the pink triangle, as an example, is a symbol that is well-known for constituting for numerous LGTBQ identities. Originating from concentration camps, the triangle was used as a badge to distinguish certain prisoners for being identified by authorities as gay men. Overtime, the triangle has morphed into a symbol of protest against homophobia and ultimately a positive token for the most of the community. Notably, this is a predominant source of imagery through the film and exclusively follows the Burnish. The triangle inordinately evolves into a mass number of colours in the duration of the runtime – with the key colour being, of course, pink.

Inherently, Galo and Lio’s intentions eventually mould into one for the sake of saving mankind; Lio’s wish to watch the Burnish thrive for who they are, along with Galo’s determination to protect everyone. Galo takes the Burnish flame that Lio endowed upon him and gives it back to Lio through the means that save his life – through a kiss. The flame pouring out from Galo to Lio and thus regenerating his body is figurative of the fact that the both of their flames have become one. Whilst there has been widespread discussion about whether this could be perceived as queerbaiting since the film’s release; but undoubtedly, the outcome of the movie would not have been achieved without one or the other. Galo and Lio form into a force that is able to engulf the world in flames from the inside-out – an enormous flame shaped like a heart swelling from the two of them. For the most part, the LGBT community have moreover taken a liking to Promare especially due to the queer connotations as well as the dynamic between Galo and Lio. Whilst this remains up to interpretation, it’s important to factor in the major lack of LGBT characters in media, along with the still-apparent stigma surrounding the LGBT community within Japan; substantially in contrast to western countries. Therefore, in our present time, this could be recognised by some as a step forward in representation.

Studio Trigger’s ‘Promare.’ Image © 2019 Studio Trigger.

Whilst this surely lays a foundation for setting these issues forth to a widespread audience, this does still remain as only the beginning and to this capacity, Promare does still leave more being wanted in the long term. A consensus agreed by many is that, much like Trigger’s other productions, the movie decides to prioritise its elaborate illustrations and fluent animation over the key narrative. Due to this, despite the idea appearing to be engaging and shedding some sort of light onto the day-to-day struggles minorities have and may face, this has yet to be expanded upon to a higher degree; having around a two-hour run-time, it does feel as though Promare could have developed on not only the moralities suggested, but also the additional cast of characters and the setting. Chiefly, this could surely come down to the medium and the limitations that it unfortunately brings. Hypothetically, in another case, if the film had been provided with the opportunity to perhaps have a show similar to other Trigger works, then this very well could have been achievable.

By the end of the movie, the power of the Burnish has been burnt out and hence so has the contrived pillars of society that had long been implemented – quite frankly, there was no longer a persecutor or a persecuted. Promare flaunts an idealistic ending as to where the world along with the people were given another opportunity to re-build civilisation and to treat everyone as, simply put, equals. If provided with the chance, do you think humankind in reality would try to overcome the source of oppression and start over? Promare makes a solid effort to address this question and to tell a matter-of-fact story about minorities and corruption through an assemble of fresh, imaginative means.

Promare is available to purchase either digitally or physically – through digital download, on demand, Blu-Ray or DVD, as well as other limited editions.

Tia McGrew is an investigative writer and journalist; being a long-time anime fan, she thrives on exploring how real-world concepts can be applied to fictional settings and characters.