‘Kill la Kill’ Creators’ New Protagonist Is “Stupid” With a Strong Heart

At last year’s Anime Expo, Studio Trigger wowed fans when it announced a new anime project called Promare — and dropped a key visual.

The upcoming anime, a collaboration between Studio Trigger and X-FLAG Studio, is already being compared to the former’s previous projects like the much-beloved Kill la Kill and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann series. For a year, fans have patiently waited for more news on the highly anticipated project. This year, Studio Trigger finally delivered at their recent Anime Expo panel and FANDOM was there to catch the news.

Fans got a first look at Promare‘s main character and background designs along with an exclusive trailer. The team also dropped plenty of hints that will surely lead to wild theories and speculation. Here’s everything we know about Promare so far.

Flashy Action in a Different Setting

The trailer for Promare showed off the same flashy style of animation that we’ve come to expect from Studio Trigger. Fans can expect action-packed sequences featuring stylish characters and catchy music. The familiarity is comforting and inviting, but we needed to see more. After all, Studio Trigger is known for taking risks, and its audience loves to watch them payoff.

Fortunately, the studio isn’t playing it completely safe. During the panel, the creators gleefully showed off Promare‘s background designs, which feature a more American aesthetic. One location, in particular, seemed to draw inspiration from New York City. It contained tall, ad-strewn buildings and even had a 6th Ave sign.

Each location was quite graphic, more closely resembling a 3D video game image than an anime. The look marks a huge departure from the 2D style of the studio’s previous series. Perhaps this means Promare will be set in the future or even in a parallel universe of our current world.

If the creators are to be believed, then the series gets its name from the term “proto-nightmare,” which could mean “first” or “original” nightmare. However, this conflicts with the anime’s modern setting, as nightmares have been around forever. Of course, time travel could bridge this potential gap. Regardless, whatever is going on, Studio Trigger is clearly taking us somewhere we’ve never gone before.

Pointy Hair Is Always in Season

Fans in attendance were the first to see Promare’ pointy-blue-haired protagonist, Galo. The shirtless Galo works on a rescue team, and like many of Atsushi Nishigori’s characters (*cough* Kamina), his hair defies gravity. But, of course, Galo can’t be perfect. In fact, the creators insist that Galo is “quite stupid.” Luckily (for us), like most unintelligent anime protagonists, he also possesses a strong will and heart.

But Galo wasn’t the only thing Studio Trigger showed off. Fans also got a sneak peek at the super cute mecha, Matoi-Tech. It isn’t clear what the mecha’s purpose will be in the game, but the team mentioned during the panel that Japanese firefighters used a matoi (a type of flag) long ago (during the Edo period) to fight fires.

Further research revealed that the matoi’s purpose was to draw other firefighters to a blaze to assist in extinguishing it. Perhaps, we’ll get to see Galo and his rescue team work together to fight fires or alert each other to emergency situations using their matoi mechas.

Clues Galore

The matoi wasn’t the only fire-related clue the studio dropped in the panel. The shirtless Galo appears to wear firefighter pants as a part of his character design. In addition, studio members made fire-related jokes throughout the panel, which included a promotional video where a Studio Trigger employee randomly walked on-screen with a fire ax.

It isn’t yet clear how firefighting will be incorporated into the anime, but it’s clearly a theme — and we can’t wait to hear more about it. Luckily, we won’t have to wait too long. According to Studio Trigger, fans can expect to hear more details about Promare this fall.