Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, directed by Mari Okada, is a breathtakingly emotional anime film that weaves fantasy and motherhood into a deeply moving story. The film centers on Maquia, a member of an ageless race called the Iorph, who becomes separated from her people and finds a human baby she decides to raise as her own. As the years pass, Maquia watches her adopted son, Ariel, grow older while she remains unchanged, a poignant exploration of love, loss and the bittersweet passage of time.
Visually, the movie is stunning. P.A. Works delivers rich, detailed animation filled with ethereal landscapes, glowing cityscapes, and delicate character expressions that amplify the story’s emotional tone. The music, composed by Kenji Kawai, perfectly complements the film’s tender and melancholic atmosphere, adding depth to moments of joy and heartbreak alike. The fantasy elements, dragons, ancient civilizations, and immortal beings, never overwhelm the story, instead serving as a backdrop for very human emotions and experiences.
What makes Maquia stand out is its honest portrayal of motherhood. Maquia’s love for Ariel is both beautiful and painful, showing how raising a child means learning to let go. The film’s pacing is slow and deliberate, giving space for its emotional weight to sink in, and by the end, it leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has experienced love that transcends time or blood. It’s a masterpiece of animation and storytelling, tender, haunting and unforgettable.
It’s not a typical romantic anime movie but a heartwarming story that everyone must see.
Some Quotes from Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
We, who live long lives with little change in our appearance are creature from legends.
Racine
Once you love someone, you’ll truly be alone.
Racine
A loner meets another loner.
Barow
Your kind has wings, and yet why won’t you fly away from here?
Leilia
While your bodies burn from all the pent-up emotions, you’ve ;eft closed-off in your heart.
Leilia
The clan of partings is an existence always struck by separation.
Barow
If he doesn’t want to sleep with me anymore, I should be sent away already.
Leilia
Even the clan that can take flight and flowers that signs at dawn, can’t live in this world.
Leilia
Surely you can resist, to search for the path to leave a legend.
Izor
How could I become more of a mother to him? But I can’t seem to find an answer. Even now, I don’t think I’ll find an answer soon.
Maquia
I wanted to protect her, but I can’t protect her with the way that I am now. Far from that, I’ve hurt her.
Ariel
I won’t let anyone else stain our hibiol any further.
Krim
Thinking of you was the same about thinking myself. When I meet you, I thought you’d cry together with me.
Maquia
When I’m with you, all the sad and painful things, they all subside.
Maquia
It’s destiny for the ancient beings to disappear, at the end let them do what they desire.
Izor
The clan of partings, sees off many departures, sees off things that change, time for them to continues without stopping. And that is why they’ll have encounters again, will meet and will weave.
Maquia
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