Promare

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1. ›'Promare' by Hiroyuki Imaishi Review: A psychedelic fever dream of animation@namiks1361d

   

   I have no idea how Promare managed to stay hidden from me for so many years. An animation film that came from the very much present Studio Trigger in 2019. Of course more frequent fans of animation and anime itself being aware of its existence and production, though I can't seem to understand just how I managed to go several years without hearing a single thing about this film until I myself stumbled across it while browsing for new things to watch on MyAnimeList. Coming across the film, I noticed it had a decent review score, and truthfully with little else to watch and a mood for anime, I went ahead and watched it, having not looked at the synopsis nor having even heard of the film prior. A total blindness and completely unexpecting of what was to come.

   The easiest way to describe Studio Trigger's Promare would be to make the claim that it is the very famous Redline anime movie but turned to eleven, as if the animators had seen it, taken inspiration, but also a whole lot of psychedelics in regards to its utterly insane visuals. I found the film to be incredibly profound in its pursuit of a more original story, one that resembled something you would typically find from western animation studios -- perhaps when they themselves had some soul still. That is to say that Promare is very theatrical. A film that was certainly destined to be viewed on a big, wide screen with the best sound system money can buy. Unfortunately, I have neither, but my viewing experience remained immense.

   Promare, with its excellence in many areas of filmmaking, is a film that I feel will be hard to really review and ensure it receives the praise it deserves. It is a film that was clearly made by not only heavily ambitious individuals, but individuals that poured incredible hours and skills into to craft it as close to the highest possible standard they had. To call it a success is still not enough. To call it a masterpiece would be an insult, too. Somewhere between the two sits Promare, in a strange league of its own.

   Promare

   

   Despite being a film that is heavily reliant on the visuals, Promare is a film that takes the time to establish its narrative that it explores throughout its two hour runtime. A narrative that follows a team of firefighters that hold a plethora of advanced technology within a world in which a race of mutants are capable of yielding the power of the flame; to no surprise this world does not take too kindly to this race, ultimately hunting them down as races clash and the fire creates destruction upon the Earth. Mobing into the future, these firefighters specifically handle cases related to these individuals, of which results in a much bigger series of events and plots that look deeper into the race and the greed that follows with the obtaining of new abilities.

   The film does not dive into the idea of exposition in order to set up this narrative, however. The film starts, and it starts very rapidly. Throwing a series of visuals and action and unique animated perspectives directly into your eyeballs in a sequence of vibrance and sheer destruction. I believe this action sequence lasted around twenty minutes as the film introduced its main cast and their abilities and technological characteristics, all each in an incredibly stylish manner that showed them in their greatest feats while a few frames that stopped, outlined their bodies, and detailed their names, before continuing on with the absolute carnage of colour and violence that ensued as the team approached, and 'dealt' with a fire outbreak. Though to say that the sheer amount of damage after they were done was due to the fire would certainly be a lie.

   I absolutely loved this introduction. The film dived into the chaos and the style, introducing characters to us that instantly made them stand out and be seen in an engaging manner. The team fighting a terrorist group formed with their abilities to utilise the power of the flame; though as the narrative after this sequence begins to explore, we see that this organisation is in fact attempting to save and destroy a series of evil acts by the government to utilise their power and seek out their own agendas, turning individuals from this 'Burnish' race into mere resource slaves.

   It is worth noting that despite that incredibly flashy action sequence that established the film and allowed it to take up off its feet, the following 'exposition' certainly did not feel as such. With an overload of senses, the pacing taking a slower approach felt right, and allowed us to breathe and begin to see more of the world outside of the action. And it still did not feel slow as if the film was quickly trying to tell a story as an excuse to make up for the action we had little context to prior. The slower pacing felt inevitable for sure, but was far from a bore as if the film pulled in your attention and then just threw it away. It instead held onto it tightly, revealing some very beautiful art and simplistic approaches to the designs, allowing us to really see and appreciate the effort in both the fast-paced and the slow song approach.

   With twenty minutes of action to begin with, I'm really happy they did slow things down a bit, to tell us more of the narrative and its characters, to allow us to see them within this world and establish more worldbuilding through the environments both in the city and outside within the nature. Interestingly, it seemed as if there was a lot of influence from French animation styles within the way the city was constructed. Often simple, bright, full of life but clinging to a French style. Particularly in how the style of the animation would sometimes shift from hard edges to rounded faces. It was almost as if it was done by different studios. But beautifully done and allowing us to see the world as this very diverse (not in people) manner that showed character. Also allowing our main characters to stand out more as if they were a group of superheroes, of which they definitely were not.

   Within the narrative is a heavy influence from mecha shows as well, which comes to no surprise given the studio's history around mecha anime; though it is done quite well where they are seen as tools rather than just giant weapons. It uses each of these abilities and tools in a way that feels fair and far from exhausting, not teasing anything and giving plenty to please the audience. More evident in the film's latter half in which everything picks up as expected and the animation goes mad. I really do not want to spoil this narrative, so I will refrain from speaking too much about it.

   A vibrant fever dream

   

   The animation in this film was incredibly beautiful, a complete surprise that oozed with soul. I found myself incapable of taking my eyes away for even a moment as I appreaciate that techniques and insane amount of skill that utilised multiple styles of art. Some reflecting French animation, some reflecting a more vintage western genre approach to backgrounds, and the ways in which colours blended together to create what felt like a fever dream in parts. Sometimes the animation going as simple as it could by displaying the pencil scratches, other moments going full vibrance and detail as action went mad. Sometimes the backgrounds and foregrounds felt as if they merged together, where we saw more shapes than anything else. Evident in how the film handles things such as explosions, a combination of either ice or fire. Pixelated ice being fired across the screen in rapid succession; the transformation of a character going into a mechanised body; a plethora of unique perspectives that utilised foreshortening and a clear understanding of not just animation, but drawing.

   I had moments where I sat there just appreciating that something like this existed. Seeing how unique it was to the broader industry, both eastern and western. I saw the reliance on the craft and how easily the studio could have created more reliance on CG in many, many scenes, yet refrained from doing so to give these scenes the most beauty and attention they could get. I sat there and imagined the sheer pain any animator must have felt creating this film, and wondered how they thought in regards to it. Perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime creation to them, perhaps something they hated. But what I did know was that each scene had some genuine blood and sweat thrown in.

   Thrown within this insane animation and dedication is an original narrative that explores a simple idea between hot and cold, red and blue. But pulls on your heart as it portrays the manipulation of the many innocent, promoting a feeling of empathy and good as our firefighter characters find themselves caught up in something much bigger than them, to which is already hard to imagine given that introduction. This film was all style and substance, a rare instance in which the two came together wonderfully. I don't think we'll see anything quite like it for a while.

   A love for animation

   

   It is evident that this film took heavy influence from the animation industry itself, for the art and love it all. With many similar looking designs that certainly are pointing some light at some of the greatest and most famous creations within the Japanese animation industry. I found myself frequently noticing designs and making connections to others. I noticed this the most in the directing and choreography of its action sequences, which each seemed slightly different to the last. Bringing in a mecha, or showing flaming hair flowing. Designs in backgrounds that reflected a very indepdendent and European style, while still going all-out with hand drawn art and colour. It seems to attempt to touch up on so many different styles and techniques that it is hard to not make the assumption that it is a very grand love letter to the world of art and animation itself.

   To add to this is the fact that it still manages to stand out, very much so. I can't recall a time where I watched something animated that tried and succeeded in so many things all at once. While there are some designs from other big franchises that hold resemblance, I struggled to find examples of the styles of the animation themselves that had I seen before; only really knowing that I had seen them before elsewhere in other creations. It seems instead of being a general homage, Promare insists on showing us how different the world of art itself can be, and hopes that it inspires many to follow through in creating their own, perhaps influenced by the many styles present.

   Promare, with such a wide range of styles, shows us the talent at the studio itself as well. The many ways in which its animators can create different styles within one story, not just utilising them in backgrounds, but even in diverse styles of animation that amplify the movement and ways of life. It surprised me to see it so carefully thoughtout and used to convey emotion and context to the worldbuilding, and not just shifting around styles whenever. Instead, these styles were used appropriately and not once did I feel that it did not work or fit in with the events unfolding on the screen. How these animators managed to not only draw all of these styles, but give them accurate and beautiful colouring too is something that will forever surprise me as I myself attempt to dive into the clearly incredible world of art creation. Perhaps that was their intention all along: to inspire, give thanks, and to test their own abilities. Not caring for what people might think, but giving it a go and accepting the risks. That itself is what art is about.

   

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