[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS AND DRAWS SOME COMPARISONS WITH GURREN LAGANN AND KILL LA KILL]
Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill are some of Gainax’s and TRIGGER’s finest anime respectively. They have a beginning that feels endearing; as time goes on, they just get better. Each of them may have a goofy and wild cast, but their narrative hearts are placed on them alongside their respectable directions. They have charms that make them more than just dumb fun and if you trade most of that away, you get Promare, one of TRIGGER’s strongest works in terms of art and sound but also one of the weakest when we take story and characters into account. This was one of my most anticipated movies when it got announced and as excited as I was, especially since I liked TTGL and KlK, with the whole movie released, I was both shocked by the production but also disappointed by how it’s constructed.
---
STORY: 5/10
Promare is about an alien race named Burnish that suddenly appears and wreaks havoc ever since they invaded Earth. 30 years later, a group of firefighters, named Burning Rescue, would fight against a new group of aggressive pyromancers, the Mad Burnish. While fighting, the Mad Burnish appear to have a motive as to why they cause chaos. With this happening, who will take the gauntlet, and who will be proven right? Promare’s story is actually interesting, to say the least. A group of firefighters battling against alienesque pyromancers and questioning their goals behind them. This would feel like a refined plot because we get to see two groups battling each other in a court and let the judge decide who will be on the green and who will be on the red, especially when we get to know their motives.
That would be a shockingly good deal until the movie doesn’t bother adding nuance to its otherwise interesting plot at all. Promare’s storytelling in practice is embarrassingly lacking. Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great elements put on the table but as the movie goes on, they are almost left in the basement. From here, all we get is a bunch of mindless fun action alongside some boring interactions. I’m not saying that having a lot of action would negatively affect a story at all. My biggest gripe with the movie, however, is that it’s given little time to explore the main objective and the ideals involved whatsoever. Sure, some interesting things are admittedly present but they aren’t developed properly.
The big reveal isn’t great either. The one thing both TTGL and KlK excel at is a big plot twist. They aren’t groundbreaking with it but they do play with it well. By comparison, Promare’s twist is either cheap or handled poorly. The good society being evil the entire time is really good in theory but how it’s interpreted is lacking and thus, didn’t make any sense at all. The cherry on the top is how the surprise villain is written or developed. It seems to be that the villain felt like he was built as a doomsday device and nothing else. The tragic villains aren’t handled properly too. Yes, your motivations are interesting, but kindly explain more of those. Overall, Promare’s story isn’t bad but it’s mediocre nonetheless.
---
CHARACTERS: 5/10
And now, we move on to the characters. Starting with Galo, the recent member of Burning Rescue, and Lio, the leader of Mad Burnish.
Galo isn’t that endearing of a protagonist, let’s get that straight. He’s pretty much 75% Kamina and 25% Simon but with none of what makes those two good characters in the first place. Both Kamina and Simon not only have complete arcs (even though the former died early in their respective series) but they also have great and distinct dynamics with both each other and the rest of their friends. To compare this, Galo feels like a generic hero and barely has any chemistry outside of his relationship with Lio. And speaking of which, Lio is undeniably the best of the two by default. He has a solid arc, he contributes to the story nicely, and of course, he has an endearing chemistry with Galo. The problem with him though is he could explain his motives further. KlK’s Satsuki does that better since she explains more of her goals and adds nuance to her interactions with any of her series’ cast but regardless, Lio is still good and is the reason why this movie is even remotely engaging.
The side cast isn’t anything to talk about. They have their bit of moments but they just felt like fodders to motivate the 2 main leads. As for the hero turned villain, Kray, he’s probably the worst character in the movie. On paper, he’s a great antagonist considering his desire to erase all of Burnish from existence as well as helping his people. But unfortunately, that concept is thrown into the trash can. As I said earlier, the movie turned him into a morning Saturday maniac with barely any impression (outside of his scary face, of course). All that buildup just to make him a bland villain… I mean… Come on. Anti-Spiral and Ragyo actually get to shine nicely as surprise villains, how come Kray is portrayed as the lonely child in a playground in comparison? The cast has a lot of great things they COULD show but are left in the dust which is sad to think about, especially now that they don’t have much depth.
---
ART: 10/10
Promare arguably has the best art of any TRIGGER anime. The shading is very smooth and colorful, the anime is filled with a very nice flow, and the character designs are over-the-top yet refined at the same time. The fights are great, even though they wouldn’t add anything to the story at all, a logic that can also be said with any other series.
---
SOUND: 9/10
Galo’s theme may be intense but Lio’s is off the charts. Not only is it very dynamic but it truly matches the adrenaline of Lio himself. The voice acting is also really good, though, I’m personally not in the mood to explain further on it.
---
PERSONAL ENJOYMENT: 8/10
In my opinion, if Promare wants to make a good and complete story, it would have to either extend its length just a bit further or try to make a movie series out of itself. As of now, it ends up being yet another popcorn entertainment. But as mediocre as it is, I actually enjoyed the movie for how it played out despite the writing. The choreography is very satisfying to watch and seeing Kray’s downfall feels really good. Overall, Promare is an okay movie with a lot of surface-level fun, but once it’s finished, it’s depressingly nothing to write home about.
OVERALL: 5/10 
