The main conflict for the majority of the film is between Maquia and her adopted son, Ariel.Īs Ariel ages and Maquia remains perpetually the same, Ariel’s attitude toward his “mother” changes in ways that are never actually that clear. It is a story of motherhood, of adoptive families trying to make sense of their family dynamic. It is very much the love story that the trailers made it out to be, but not one of romance as suggested by the marketing. Maquia isn’t what I thought it was going to be. On the spot, Maquia takes up the child, beginning her new life as a mother. Miles away from her home with no direction, Maquia is about to give up hope when she finds a child in the arms of its dead mother. Things escalate when a condition called red eye infects one of the creatures, causing it to go berserk and carry Maquia off into the night. They arrive suddenly in the night atop large dragon-like creatures. Things rapidly change for Maquia when a warlike nation attacks their home. The idea being that no loneliness could ever be worse than watching your loved ones wither and die while you remain youthful long past them.
The Iorph, also called the clan of the separated, have lived away from the rest of the world, told that their greatest sin would be to fall in love with an outsider. Maquia is the story of a young girl born into a clan of immortal cloth weavers.
And with that, I have to issue a warning: this review will contain spoilers. Written by Okada, Maquia is her directorial debut. Thus, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms was born. With her many years of experience, the next logical step in her career was without a doubt directing. She’s been working for years as a screenwriter, writing on titles like Anohana, the Toradora! anime adaption, and the fantastic film Anthem of the Heart. Mari Okada has established quite a name for herself in the Anime community.