Even though that’s not exactly the easiest thing to do.
Promare, the latest film from the pair behind Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill, is a strange-yet-awesome melding of firefighters, pyrokinetics, and mecha–with a color palette all but designed to make your eyes bleed. In other words, it’s exactly the thing you would expect from the duo.
There’s a lot crammed into its two-hour runtime–so much so that I honestly think it would work better expanded into a full 12-episode series. However, there is actually more Promare anime out there than just the theatrical film.
People who see Promare in the theater are given a small present–a character ID card along with a small piece of paper. On the piece of paper is a three-time use special url and password. Using that information, you can watch the special 10-minute Promare prologue anime Promare -Side Galo-.
Image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
Side Galo follows main character Galo’s first mission as a member of firefighting brigade Burning Rescue–well, a trainee member anyway. The short begins as Burning Rescue rolls up to the scene of a fire. We learn that this fire has been caused by pyrokinetic mutants know as the “Burnish.”
Right away it’s obvious that Burning Rescue isn’t your normal fire department. Their fire engine launches ice missiles and their firefighters where mecha exosuits equipped for heavy lifting or with ice weapons to combat fire and the burnish alike. In the span of a minute and thirty seconds, you are given all you need to know about the basic conflict of Promare.
It’s then that we are introduced to our main character, Galo. While the rest of the team is out fighting the living fire and reusing those trapped in the burning building, Galo is forced to wait in the fire engine. And he is in not happy about it.
Image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
The film flashes back to how Galo joined Burning Rescue. Summoned by well known hero-turned-civic leader Kray Foresight, the leader of Burning Rescue is forced to admit Galo to the team–despite not having the time to train him.
Upon first introduction, Galo appears to be nothing more than an overzealous idiot. Sporting a Matoi–a traditional firefighting flag from feudal Japan–he introduces himself in a form more fit for a Kabuki actor than a firefighter. While rebuffed for his apparent foolishness he explains to everyone (including us in the audience) his backstory. When he was a child he was rescued from a Burnish-caused fire by Kray. Now, he wants nothing more than to be a firefighting hero like the man who rescued him.
Before this information can sink in properly, a fire is reported in the city–the same fire we saw at the start of the short film. Despite the objection of several of the Burning Rescue team, Galo is permitted to come along as long as he doesn’t leave the fire engine.
However, the situation changes when Mad Burnish–a group of terrorist Burnish who can use their powers to create solid fire armor suits, rideable motorcycles, and more–arrive on the scene. With their hands full dealing with the terrorists, the fire, and the people they’re escorting out of the building, the team is unable to help a lone woman trapped in a room filled with flammable items. Thus, with the permission of the burning rescue commander, Galo covers himself in fire-retardant chemicals and charges into the building, using his matoi as grappling hook and weapon against the living fire.
Image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
It’s here we see what kind of person Galo is–that he is far more than simple bluster. He is a man without fear and is competent despite his odd demeanor. He is quick-thinking and has a spirit that burns hotter than any fire. But more than that, the scene also serves to set up a similar event that happens in the main film–and makes said scene seem far less out of left field than it would alone.
However, it’s after he rescues his charge that he learns something shocking. The girl he saved Thyma, is actually a Burnish herself. However, that’s not to say that she started the fire. In fact, it’s the opposite–the stress of the fire has caused her latent powers to activate and go wild. But before Galo and the other Burning Rescue members can neutralize and capture her, she is saved from an unlikely source: the members of Mad Burnish.
Image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
It through this that we see that Mad Burnish are far more than crazy terrorist killers. They deeply care for their own kind, even if they became Burnish only moments ago. Of course, Galo is a bit slow on the uptake and doesn’t grasp the implications of this act. Instead, he proudly announces “be it Mad Burnish or whatever, [he] will put out any fire.”
All in all, Promare -Side Galo- is an excellent introduction to the world of Promare. We learn about how the city, the burnish, and the firefighters all fit together. We also get hints that everything is not as simple as it seems–that the Mad Burnish aren’t the kill-crazy terrorists they’re purported to be.
The only real downsides to Side Galo are in how it is presented. On the technical side is the issue of video quality. While the streaming video is in widescreen, it is still clearly presented in SD. This means things like the psychedelic fire effects and fast-moving action don’t look nearly as clear as they would in HD–which is unfortunate in an anime that is all about its visual style.
Image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
And while it was cool to get a special extra 10 minutes of Promare for seeing it in the theaters, this really should have been put on YouTube for free to promote the film from the start. All the work it does setting up the characters and world is rather pointless if you’ve already seen the film. This is an introduction, not an epilogue and it’s a shame that many will not have had the good fortune to see it and the film in chronological order on their first watch.
Promare -Side Galo- can be seen online using a special code from May 24, 2019 to July 31, 2019. It can also be seen on GYAO in Japan until July 31, 2019. The other 10-minute Promare special episode, Promare -Side Leo- can be seen online using a special code from June 7, 2019 to July 31, 2019.
I just wanted to give out a big thanks to Joshua Ott for sponsoring this review with his Patreon donation. (At the $60 a month tier, you are allowed to pick anything up to an including a 13ish episode series to be reviewed–which is released in addition to the one article a week I normally put out here on BiggestinJapan.com.) So thanks again!
Top image source: 映画『プロメア』大ヒット上映中！ on Twitter
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