Promare: Studio Trigger's Fun and Queer Film

In 2019, Studio Trigger released its first feature-length animated work, Promare (Ermac). With director Hiroyuki Imaishi and screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima—the same two who worked on hit anime shows Kill La Kill (2013) and Gurren Lagann (2007) from the same studio—the Japanese film was so popular in the United States that it prompted a second wave of presentations in theatres (Velez). Promare's story is set in a dystopian Earth-like world where half the population suddenly developed a pyrokinetic mutation. These people, called "Burnish," must let their flames burn to survive, but such a dangerous ability leads them to be ostracized by society. The main character, Galo Thymos, is part of a mismatched crew of firefighters—Burning Rescue—whose role is to extinguish Burnish fires in Promepolis. This leads our protagonist to come face to face with the Mad Burnish, a group of terrorists revendicating Burnishs' rights, and their leader, Lio Fotia. Through flashy action scenes more beautifully animated than the other, Galo learns the oppression the Burnish face, and he discovers how the Promepolis government is abducting them to use their power for a space travel experiment. Galo and Lio form a truce, and together, defeat Foresight, the governor of Promepolis. This essay will review Promare using the queer theory to better explore the film's many facets, including the use of geometry in its animation and its infamous kiss scene.

Not only can the discrimination the Burnish experience be read as a metaphor for queer oppression, but the use of geometry in the animation, and its kiss scene all provide evidence that the film is not queerbaiting but is, in fact, queer. Indeed, the movie begins with a pink triangle imprisoned in a square outline (Black). Pink triangles originated from Nazi concentration camps, where gay inmates were forced to wear one on their uniform, and the symbol has now been reclaimed by the queer community (Waxman). In Promare, the pink triangles are animated to represent Burnish fire, whereas the city of Promepolis is designed around square and rectangle shapes. Even the lens flares are rectangles. Lio, during one of his conversations with Galo, expresses how he needs to let his fire burn—the triangles—even if society—the rectangles—discriminate against him for it (Black). The imagery of the triangle stuck inside the square hence becomes a representation of how queer people are oppressed by society, how they are put inside a box (Black).

Of course, the counterargument is that people are "reading too far into it" (Wilson) and that the geometry means nothing. Or does it? Is it not a critic's job to think "about new media's relationship to race, sexuality"? (Ahn 121). In this sense, "we find ourselves returning to Doty's claims that every text—though we might now want to say every medium—is always already (potentially) queer, or at least awaits a queer reading" (Ahn 121). Queer reading is just something people do. It jumpstarts conversations and puts media in a new light, even if that media were not initially queer. In the case of Promare, however, it is queer. And if the pink triangle symbolism was not enough to convince, the other glaring queer aspect of the film comes when Galo kisses Lio to transfer fire inside his body. The caveat: it was for CPR. And yet, after the kiss, Galo is not repulsed he kissed Lio. Instead, he is shocked he lit a fire for the first time. Plus, was Galo forced to kiss Lio? No, he could have transferred the flame any other way, but the animators chose to do it with a kiss (Wilson). After that, there is a huge explosion in the shape of a heart (coincidence? I think not).

In conclusion, Promare is queer and crazy fun. With its beautiful animation that will please Studio Trigger fans and newcomers alike, Promare is yet another success that deserves a watch.

Works Cited:

Ahn, Patty, et al. "In Focus: Queer Approaches to Film, Television, and Digital Media." Cinema Journal, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2014, pp. 117-21.

Black, Rebecca. "The Shape of Queer Liberation: On the Geometry of Promare." Medium, https://medium.com/anigay/the-shape-of-queer-liberation-on-the-geometry-of-promare-cf8b1b47ced4. Accessed 10 April 2022.

Ermac, Raffy. " Promare Is Action-Packed, Queer, & Way Too Fun to Ignore." Pride, https://www.pride.com/geek/2019/12/09/promare-action-packed-queer-way-too-fun-ignore. Accessed 10 April 2022.

Velez, Monti. "Anime Impact: Promare Remains a Visual Masterpiece - But Is It Queerbait?" Gaymingmag, https://gaymingmag.com/2021/05/anime-impact-promare-queerbait/. Accessed 10 April 2022.

Waxman, Olivia B. " How the Nazi Regime's Pink Triangle Symbol Was Repurposed for LGBTQ Pride." Time, https://time.com/5295476/gay-pride-pink-triangle-history/. Accessed 10 April 2022.

Wilson, Angel. "Promare: The Colorful Queer Dystopian Action Drama We Needed." The Geekiary, https://thegeekiary.com/promare-colorful-queer-dystopian-action-drama/71384. Accessed 10 April 2022.