The Burnish are those capable of freeform manipulation of fire. The ones shown in the film are typically human. Due to the destructive, and some times uncontrollable, nature of the Burnish's abilities, they are widely ostracized and persecuted by mainstream society.
Noteworthy Members[]
See Category:Burnish for all.
History[]
Thirty years prior to the events of Promare, random people worldwide erupted into flame in a global catastrophe known as the Great World Blaze.
During the events of the film, the Burnish are primarily in hiding after years of deliberate and systematic oppression by government-sponsored groups like the Freeze Force. The majority of Burnish activity seen by commonfolk comes in the form of attacks by an organization known as Mad Burnish. The remainder of the Burnish people elected to hide themselves away in areas close to high thermal activity in order to escape the thermal sensors used to track them. Researchers such as Deus concluded that every day stress is a common trigger for their turnings.
Biology[]
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Burnish humans appear almost completely identical to other non-Burnish humans. However, all Burnish are bonded to a portion of the Promare: this allows them to take control of and manipulate all sources of fire, as well as creating flames from their own internal flame. Sparks that are shades of pink are able to harm others while teal is "not hot at all" as stated by Galo and other non-Burnish. This symbiosis also makes Burnish nearly invulnerable to any physical damage as well as capable of regenerating their bodies should they suffer any wounds. More powerful Burnish are capable of creating armors or prosthetics for themselves. Factors such as age are not affected by the regeneration. This is evidenced by characters such as the Elderly Burnish, who continues to age.
Burnish hideout
However, despite their increased resistance to damage and restorative abilities, the Burnish are by no means immortal. Should a Burnish's flame be extinguished through any means, natural death or having their energy completely drained, their body will begin to turn to ash before they eventually completely disintegrate. Furthermore, Kray's insistence on the Burnish being mutants is false. This is due to them not being born as such and the Promare only infusing from high synchronization with the person in situations such as stress. Stress is not the only factor for said synchronization though[1].
A technique does exist to stave off premature Burnish death: akin to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), a Burnish can forcibly rekindle an expiring individual's internal flame by breathing their own flame into the subject. This is shown twice in the film. Staff claims this technique is fairly difficult and has a low success rate due to the high energy needed. Lio is left exhausted in the aftermath of his attempt[1]. At Fennel Volcano, a dog can be seen with a pink symbol. This, along with a page in the Memorial Art Book that includes a fire-breathing lizard, indicates other animals besides humans can also become Burnish.
Trivia[]
- For their armors, the horns indicate how powerful a Burnish is. For example, Lio's features three while Gueira and Meis are adorned in two and one respectively[2].
- They also bear a similar appearance to the EVAs in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some staff members were previously a part of Gainax, making this likely intentional.
- Interviews reveal the Burnish to be represented by triangles with the Foundation being of square. This is due to the former being a halved square. Thus, this makes it act as a symbol of rebellion[3].
Story Concepts[]
- Their original name in the first drafts was エンジン or "engine." This was a pun on combining the Japanese kanji for fire and person together (炎人)[4].
- This may of been referenced in later scripts by Kray's usage of the Promatech engine.
- The flames themselves featured a rabbit appearance and dragon form in concept art. They were called Mera and Dolabra respectively. Both were supposed to be Lio and Galo’s companions.
- Interestingly, the word for Burnish (バーニッシュ) somewhat resembles the borrowed term for bunny (バニー).
- In original drafts, Lio and other Burnish were planned to be humanoid flames instead. This was scrapped by Koyama[2].
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