Promare doesn’t plan to be left behind in 2019 and forgotten by the anime world. The industry-rocking feature film debut from Studio Trigger made waves in Japan back in May, before coming to America and earning an equally dedicated following of fans that continue to stand behind the hot-blooded firefighter action film to this day. While a sequel or follow-up to Promare probably won’t be happening any time soon, fans in Japan will be able to experience a few brand new minutes of Promare action thanks to two prequel shorts that are being screened in theaters alongside the full film for the first time ever.
Announced on the official website for Studio Trigger and XFLAG’s anime film Promare, a new round of special 4DX screenings are set to hit 55 Japanese theaters this month. Even better, the screenings begin on none other than February 14th, also known as Valentine’s Day, the perfect day to ring in a new screening of Promare with. These special 4DX screenings of the full film will be accompanied by silver-screen debuts of the “Galo-hen” (“Side: Galo”) and “Lio-hen” (“Side: Lio”) prequel anime shorts.
Back during the original film debut of Promare in May of 2019, fans who attended the debut in Japan were given a special URL and passcode that allowed them to watch the “Galo-hen” prequel anime online. Later on, different screenings of the film gave out a code and URL to instead let theater-goers stream the “Lio-hen” anime short online. This will be the first time the two shorts are screened in theaters, though, and likely the first time many fans will be seeing them at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=od76mJt7Kxg
Don’t know what 4DX is? Imagine watching a Godzilla movie and feeling the heat on your skin as the titular nuclear beast unleashes massive nuclear beams. Or imagine seeing Dragon Ball Super: Broly in theaters and feeling your seat shake and the wind howl as Goku and Broly duke it out. 4DX film screenings utilize special real-life gimmicks like mist-spraying, special scents, wind machines, and seat vibrations to take over all of your senses and absolutely immerse you in the movie-going experience. It’s usually reserved for massive, action-packed blockbuster experiences, but the intense anime action of Promare is perfectly suited to a 4DX experience.
Here’s the official synopsis of Promare, according to American film distributor GKIDS:
Thirty years has passed since the appearance of the Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves Mad Burnish appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team Burning Rescue, and Lio Fotia, the leader of Mad Burnish begins.
Promare is a co-production headed by XFLAG and industry icons Studio Trigger. XFLAG is a relatively new company, with most of their credits in the last few years being co-production or cooperations on various anime. Their biggest solo production, Monster Strike The Movie: Sora no Kanata, premiered in Japan back in December of 2016. Studio Trigger, meanwhile, is a much more recognizable name to anime fans. It was founded by former Gainax employees Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Otsuka in August 2011, along with a crew of other ex-Gainax creatives who brought their incredible talents to this new, independent studio. The director of Promare, Hiroyuki Imaishi, previously directed Kill la Kill and Space Patrol Luluco at Studio Trigger. He was also the director of Gurren Lagann, which his new film Promare pays major homage to.
