Promare is a movie as much as an hydrogen bomb is a firecracker.
There’s a time and place for discussing other Trigger’s works, bringing up Darling in the FranXX (not understanding that it doesn’t count for various reasons) or repeating shallow arguments read on the internet in an attempt to feel more cultured and superior to others, but it’s not now. Now we’re talking about Promare, the latest work from visionary, crazy, dynamic animation maniac Hiroyuki Imaishi.
And what is Promare, aside from a movie that made me only say “Huh, very cool” at first, before I realized that I had been thinking about it for two
...
weeks straight, looping the OSTs directly into my brain and re-watching it at least six times?
Promare is a gorgeous, exaggerated, loud, fun spectacle that oozes aesthetics and artistic creativity from every frame.
As Trigger’s (and especially Imaishi’s) first original anime movie, it also feels a bit experimental in its sharp artstyle, vaporwave palette and blend of 2D and 3D animation, and the result is a very clear artistic identity that’s a feast for the eyes.
Now, before you point at stuff like Makoto Shinkai’s movies with indignation in your eyes and foam in your mouths, let’s all be clear: other gorgeous animated movies have clean, wonderful, sometimes better-than-real visuals that just leave you in awe, and that’s a fact.
But Promare is different.
Promare is visually stunning not because of an artistic choice, but because Promare IS the artistic choice. It’s constantly moving, constantly deforming, constantly exploding with colours, shapes, contrasts, screams, roars, in a consistent over-the-top escalating performance that pushes animation (as a medium) to its limits, and then breaks them and keeps going and going and it just. Doesn’t. Stop.
So much of what the movies communicates, it does so with visuals alone: the whole world is divided by a conflict between pink, burning triangles of passion and instincts and blue, cold squares of order and control, and the instrument of resolution has a primarily curved design that ends up incorporating both pink and blue in a new form; the secondary characters (sadly not much focused on, but the runtime was tight) get their characterization more from what they wear, read, do or have in their closets than what they tell to the audience; the giant text inherited from Kill la Kill are now even more integrated in the action, being obscured by objects, blown away by wind (and then exploding, of course), half-freezing after being hit by an ice beam, slamming on the ground after a bad maneuver… and let’s not talk about how a blast of energy beams is used as dynamic lines in an action scene.
Actually no, let’s talk about that: the movie uses its own visuals to exasperate ITS OWN VISUALS. You don’t even realize it’s doing that, you just feel the adrenaline and that that scene is way more dynamic and fast than others, but you don’t notice what the movie is doing and you don’t even have time to process it, because it has already been ingrained into you and your blood is already pumping and your firefighting soul is already burning like a supernova.
That’s aesthetic efficiency, and Promare is FULL of it.
Let me reiterate: Promare is not a movie, it’s an aesthetic choice.
A crazy, exaggerated, ultra-dynamic, unrestrained Imaishi-style aesthetic choice, and that’s what it is most concerned about, and it pays off big time. It’s also familiar in some aspects: some shots are classic Imaishi, some others have an almost old-GAINAX feel to them, and all in all that’s quintessentially Trigger’s root.
But what are visuals without good sounds? Are amazing visuals just as beautiful without music to accompany them?
Of course they are, you nitwit. What are you even thinking?
No, what Promare’s sounds and music do is just kicking the adrenaline motor into overdrive. And by kick I mean literally kicking it so hard it flies into the exosphere and blasts the whole Solar System with the sickest drops in Sawano’s career.
What’s that? Sound doesn’t travel in the vacuum of space? Tell that to the laws of physics rave partying to Inferno and Kakusei over there.
I’d argue that Promare’s soundtrack is one of the best (if not the best) works from Hiroyuki Sawano, and the theme songs performed by Superfly are icing on the flaming cake. I’ve been listening to the OSTs since the album came out, but then I got to listen to them in context watching the movie, and it’s another universe of experience: the tracks improve and elevate the visuals, but the visual themselves give a completely new impact to the tracks. It’s the perfect marriage, really.
On a sidenote regarding sound, the VA performances are great, especially from the main trio of characters. The fact that they’re all basically novices it’s even more amazing: considering how much they were able to scream, stretch and distort their voices in this movie, I can only wish them a successful career from here on.
Now, let’s talk about the story for a bit (yeah, let’s open that can of worms).
Promare’s story is not important.
The end.
Alright, let me elaborate: Promare does have a story, and it’s mostly a neat concept and a decent hook for the audience. The movie has some themes and it delves a bit into them, mostly on its first half. It’s not groundbreaking nor a masterpiece of storytelling, but here’s the thing: it doesn’t need to be.
Heck, it DOESN’T WANT TO BE.
What the movie wants is to be and exciting, colorful, extremely over-the-top fun ride that stretches and pushes the limits of animation, spectacular action and blend of 2D and 3D, with a sprinkle of charming characters (even if with brief appearances) on top.
That’s all Promare (and Imaishi) wants to do.
And I’m not making that up, THE MOVIE ITSELF is telling you this.
It’s one thing if a work has a semblance of plot and tries to maintain and follow it somewhat seriously but sloppily. You can very much argue about execution and plot contrivances all you want there.
But (and I’m going into mild spoiler territory just for the following sentence), when the protagonists end up BY CHANCE into a plot infodump, they SLEEP during the explanation, and Mr. Infodumper goes: “If you didn’t end up here by SHEER LUCK, we would’ve all died. Now take this thing that will resolve the problem, it’s called DEUS (E)X MACHINA.” with them already piloting it before he finishes...
and you’re STILL arguing about “poor plot”, "consistency issues" and whatnot… I’m sorry but you missed the entire point.
The movie looked right at you, stated EXACTLY what the point of it all is IN YOUR FACE, and you completely and utterly missed it.
You can’t argue with red for not being blue.
The movie is completely self-aware of its absurdities and wants to take you on an adrenaline nonsense ride for a couple of hours. It wants to have fun, and wants you to have fun as well.
This movie is FUN, it’s pure entertainment and spectacle, and that’s 100% the only thing it wants to be. From the characters literally ignoring the plot when explained, to them acknowledging that the villain’s plan doesn’t make sense and he’s a big damn idiot for insisting so much on it instead of thinking on another solution, to the movie just ending as soon as the massive hyper-spectacle it wanted to show you is over.
Oh yeah by the way, if it wasn’t clear already, the many trailers for Promare spoiled who the main villain in the movie was months ago. From the beginning, in fact. Just to make even more clear that the plot doesn’t matter and it’s just a pretext to make things burn and explode in a galaxy of hype.
I love worldbuilding, well-devised settings and consistent storytelling, but I also love to just have fun, and I also have a brain to recognize when a movie has enough self-awareness to just say “Yeah, LET’S KICK REASON ASIDE AND LET’S GOOOOO” and tries to just have as much fun as possible with its style, its creators and its audience. I don’t bash it because it’s not being something I EXPECT a movie to be and it should be even if it states that it DOESN'T WANT TO directly in my face.
Forcing “plot holes” or plot inconsistencies or anything like that on a product like this would make me look stupid and pretentious, like if I cannot accept that something can be extremely entertaining on its own without relying on anything else except an amazing artistic identity and crazy attitude.
Do yourself a favor: don’t watch this movie like you want it to be.
Let it guide you and show you what it is. Follow the ride. Scream with the flames. Be in awe at what 2D animation can still achieve.
Have fun.
And shut up.
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Feb 16, 2020
Promare is a movie as much as an hydrogen bomb is a firecracker.
There’s a time and place for discussing other Trigger’s works, bringing up Darling in the FranXX (not understanding that it doesn’t count for various reasons) or repeating shallow arguments read on the internet in an attempt to feel more cultured and superior to others, but it’s not now. Now we’re talking about Promare, the latest work from visionary, crazy, dynamic animation maniac Hiroyuki Imaishi. And what is Promare, aside from a movie that made me only say “Huh, very cool” at first, before I realized that I had been thinking about it for two ... |
