Promare
Plot. During a calamity known as the Great World Blaze, fires from mass spontaneous human combustions killed half the world's population. Certain humans developed pyrokinetic abilities during and subsequent to the event, and become known as the Burnish. Thirty years later, Galo Thymos is a member of the firefighting group Burning Rescue living in the city of Promepolis. The team responds to incidents involving Mad Burnish, a group of radical Burnish accused of being terrorists. As Galo succeeds in the mission of taking down the Mad Burnish, including their leader, Lio Fotia, they are sent to prison by  Freeze Force, a police force owned by the city governor, Kray Foresight. However, Lio and the other Burnish prisoners break themselves free, and escape to a cave near a frozen lake, where Galo just happens to be nearby. He sees Lio failing to revive a mortally injured Burnish using a mouth-to-mouth flame transfer technique. Before they escape, Lio tells Galo that Kray is capturing Burnish for human experiments, shocking Galo, having worshipped Kray after he saved his life several years ago. After confronting Kray on Lio's claims, Kray informs Galo that the Earth will soon be destroyed  by an uncontrollable surge of magma from the earth's core. He reveals that the abilities of the Burnish can be used to create a warp drive, which he intends to use to flee Earth with a select portion of humanity. Galo objects to this plan, causing Kray to show his true colors and throw him in jail for "treason". Meanwhile, Freeze Force manage to track down and recapture all of the Burnish population but Lio, who is thrown into a nearby volcano by his companions. Infuriated by the abuse done toward his people, Lio unleashes all his hatred, turning  into a giant flame dragon, burning down the city with the intention of confronting Kray. Galo breaks out of jail, and with the help of Burning Rescue, intervenes in the conflict, restraining and cooling him down enough, as Aina drops them off back at the frozen lake. The flames melt the ice and reveal a laboratory run by a holographic projection of Deus Prometh, a scientist killed by Kray. Deus explains that the Burnish can communicate with the Promare, a race of inter-dimensional flame beings that reside in Earth's core after a dimension rift opened shortly before the  Great World Blaze. The Promare naturally desire to burn, an instinct inherited by the Burnish. The surging magma is a side effect of subjecting the Promare to pain, and Kray's experiments on the Burnish using incomplete, stolen technology are accelerating its growth. He proceeds to reveal the collective agony caused by the Promare-powered warp drive will cause the Earth's immediate destruction. In a mecha of Deus' design, known as the Deus X Machina, Galo and Lio return to the city to confront Kray. After seemingly destroying the ship and warp drive during their battle, Kray reveals that  he is a Burnish, and was also the one who indirectly started the fire he "saved" Galo from, using it as the start of his political uprising, and only recommending Galo to join Burning Rescue to let him die. Kray seemingly kills Galo and takes Lio to use him to power the warp drive. However, Lio's flame had managed to save Galo, and using a drill designed by Prometh, makes it to the core of the ship in time. Using Lio's flame, he defeats Kray, and while Lio is nearly killed due to the warp drive, Galo revives  him using the mouth-to-mouth technique. Having fused with the Earth's core, Lio convinces Galo to combine the drive with the mecha to protect life on Earth while allowing the Promare to envelop the surface, causing the Promare to burn completely and harmlessly, satisfying their natural urge and allowing the rift in the core to close. The Burnish become normal humans, and Galo and Lio resolve to rebuild the world together. Music. The film's theme songs, and , are performed by Superfly. The soundtrack is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano, with the album published by Aniplex on May 24 , 2019. Production. The film was announced at Anime Expo on July 2, 2017 as an original anime project co-produced by Studio Trigger and XFLAG that has been in production for over four years, later revealed to be a film in October 2018. Hiroyuki Imaishi and Kazuki Nakashima worked together previously on "Gurren Lagann" and "Kill la Kill". Nakashima and Trigger are credited for the original work, with Shigeto Koyama providing the character and mechanical designs, Sanzigen animating the 3DCG sequences and Hiroyuki Sawano composing the music. The film's logo is designed by Saishi Ichiko and Tomotaka Kubo is  serving as art director. Sushio, who designed the characters and served as chief animation director on "Kill la Kill", is involved as one of the film's animators. Release. The film premiered in Japan on May 24, 2019. On June 13, 2019, GKIDS acquired the film for North American distribution, with showings occurring on September 17 and 19, 2019. It was dubbed into English by NYAV Post. The film was later released again with showings on December 8, 10, and 11, 2019, where it also aired a short prequel film "Side: Galo". Another showing of the film in North America  was expected to re-air April 7 and 8, 2020 with the two prequel films "Side: Galo" and "Side: Lio", and a message from Imaishi. However, the third screening in North America was postponed during COVID-19 pandemic. It was later rescheduled to September 16 and 19, 2021, along with Takashi Yamazaki's "". To promote the upcoming European release, Trigger partnered with Goodsmile Racing and Black Falcon team to field a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with "Promare" livery in the 2019 Spa 24 Hours endurance race. The car started on pole position and finished 3rd. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Anime  Limited acquired the film, and premiered it at Scotland Loves Anime in Glasgow on October 13, 2019, and a special screening in Edinburgh on October 19, 2019 with director Hiroyuki Imaishi, creative producer Hiromi Wakabayashi, and character designer Shigeto Koyama. In Australia and New Zealand Madman Entertainment premiered the film at Madman Anime Festival Melbourne on September 14, 2019. Home media. The film was released in Japan on Blu-ray and DVD on February 5, 2020. Originally set for a May 5, 2020 digital home media release in North America, the film was released by GKIDS and Shout! Factory digitally  on April 21, 2020. A Blu-ray and DVD release followed on May 19, 2020. Reception. Box office. The film ranked at number 8 in the Japanese box office on an opening weekend, grossing in its first three days. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number 10, grossing and a cumulative total of . In its third weekend, the film dropped out of the top 10 and accumulated . As of September 20, 2019, the film had grossed over (). The film went on to gross () in Japan, becoming the 23rd highest-grossing Japanese film of 2019. It has also grossed  $2,313,186 in the United States and Canada, and $914,234 in other territories, for a worldwide total of . Critical response. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that of critics have given the film a positive review based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads, "Visually dazzling and narratively exhilarating, "Promare" is a colorful thrill ride that should entertain adult anime enthusiasts as well as the teens in its target audience." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews ." Matt Schley of "The Japan Times" gave the film 4 stars out of 5, praising the storytelling but having some criticism for elements of the transition between 2D and 3D animation. Writing for Anime News Network, Kim Morrissy gave "Promare" a Grade A. Comparing it to previous works by Gainax and Trigger such as "Gurren Lagann" and "Kill la Kill". Morrissy claimed that: ""Promare" is a refinement of the Trigger formula to the point where I honestly believe it has outdone the classics that inspired it." "Gadget Tsūshin" listed "Annihilation Beam", a phrase from the film, in their 2019 anime  buzzwords list.