User reviews

This is a high fantasy film set among a people with very long lifespans. At the beginning of the movie, the Elder tells Maquia that if she ever meets someone from the outside, she must never fall in love, otherwise she will learn true pain. (Due to the difference in lifespan)

It pretty much seems like a set up for a tale of forbidden romance. She will probably meet a man from the outside. Instead, after their home is attacked (and presumably destroyed), she escapes and finds a baby whose parents were killed. She takes the baby in and decides to raise it. The movie is about her struggle trying to be a mother. Eventually, as her adopted son out-ages her, it creates heartbreaking friction between them.

It was a different choice from the movie to focus on a parent-child relationship in this context. Sure, a star crossed romance would have been Romantically tragic, but shifting the focus to a story where you have a child and you know you are going to outlive the child by a lot ... that is its own kind of heartbreak that we don't often see be the heart of such stories.

We often have so many question in our life and reality isn't as easy as it seems , and that is what Mari okada tried to depict through gorgeous animation, soundtrack, although there are flaws in the plot, a lot of things which left untold. character developments were lacking, the pacing was bit off and second half can be bit surprising. Despite of that, it's still a thought provoking movie.

What is like to be a mother?what is love?what is like to live forever?is there any limit to human's greed?How far will you go for the love one?and what is it to die?

PLOT Literally, the whole movie is like a roller coaster ride, here our little immortal maquia is a loner, leaving her kingdom after invasion by the king men, how will she fetch with a new born baby she just found?being a mother to her, the consequences to be followed, how the relation between them will turn out as the mortal kid grows up. The pacing is bit inconsistent tho.

CHARACTERS There are lot of characters who can have their own back stories, with different motives, the reason for their action and when I said they lack development, it's mainly because of the so little time frame to fit in.

ANIMATION Top tier animation, no doubt about that. 10/10 for that, you can set wallpaper for each frame.

This film is really so underrated, hope for more people watches and appreciate it :)

A-plot 10/10, B-plot 10/10, Characterization 10/10, Pacing 7/10, World Building 7/10, Voice Acting 9/10, Soundtrack 8/10, Animation 10/10,

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms is one of the best anime films to release in the last few years. Almost everything about this film is perfect, from the well defined characters and the compelling plot to the beautiful animation and soundtrack. The only problems I had with this film are for things that didn't really matter like the minimal world building and a few unnecessary characters. Although one real problem I think the film had was the pacing especially in the first half. There are several time jumps in the film which skips over quite a bit of time and several moments that are hinted at but skipped over that I would have liked to have seen and I think would have made the ending more impactful. Because of this I think this story would have also worked really well as a 8-12 episode series. Despite these problems, the plot and characters were more than enough to keep me invested. I highly recommend you take any opportunity you have to check out this film.

I saw this movie during its limited theatre release in Australia. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms is the directorial debut by Mari Okada. She also wrote the film. The writing, voice acting and animation is great. The main characters Maquia and Erial are realistic and convey the relationships between Children and their parents. The film also explores themes of motherhood. The film however is dragged down by some of the side characters and several flashback scenes which I thought were unnecessary. Overall I thought this was a great movie and it was only held back by some minor flaws.

I ended up finding this on a random anime website and thought the art style was pretty so I decided to look it up. I barely read anything about the movie though since I didn't want spoilers, so I went in pretty much blind tonight watching this. Because I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone else looking to watch this, I won't go into too much detail. I just felt the need to review this as soon as I finished watching because I was in tears the entire time!! This movie has such a bittersweet ending, but at the same time closes the story off in such a perfect way (again, don't want to spoil, so I won't say why/how). Please just watch this for yourself! Everything's amazing about this: the plot, the pacing, the artstyle, the music, the character development. I wish this was hyped up just as much as Your Name or A Silent Voice because if I hadn't found this movie on that website, I would've never had the chance to watch this. Again, please watch this if you have the chance. You won't regret it!!!! I'm editing this because I just found out this was Mari Okada's directorial debut??? BLESS THIS WOMAN.

Plot: a very beautiful story. It has a lot of deep messages and scenes. And there is also that magic that only Japanese can manage this well... Probably it would makes you cry (like I did).

Animation: perfect, smooth.

Drawings: particular, they have their fingerprints and it is a very good one.

Soundtrack: another very good thing. It is very enjoyable and pleasing.

Conclusions: an amazing, deep work that I can surely recommend to everyone. Especially for moms or who have doubts about being one.

A masterful creation of what is a mother's love. This movie carries action and drama from the viewpoints of struggling people. Time flies by quickly in the plot, but the ends justifies everything, so on that note, yes, it has a complete ending that fullfills satisfaction. Definitely a good classic or child-memory lane movie to watch. Good artwork and music, with only one bad CGI (within anime?) scene.

Now to the negatives, which should not be a deterrent to watching, but understand why it's not the best: 1. Theme of the movie is motherhood, but what you ended up with is teen pregnancy... yeah. What some people strongly feel is not empathy but pity. 2. A lot of character brush-offs. Each character development is very limited, scenes are spread to multiple characters, meaning there is no main character focus on. 3. Lots of unknown background. The story has a strong history, which is the action and adventure side, but what the movie focused on is the side-story of Maquila. 4. Action and drama not a good mix. Action fans want a little drama, but drama fans won't appreciate action... wierd huh?

Final note: 7/10 - it's like a Shakespeare's play/book. You "can" or "have to" emphasize on each and every action in order to enjoy the work... like a painted art. If you watch it, you didn't waste your time. If you didn't watch it, you're not missing out on anything.

This should be definitely a must-watch for everyone! As a matter of fact, this particular story of a girl who actually dared to raise another child perfectly demonstrates how sincere and bold single mothers could be! Undoubtedly, it was flawlessly narrated, incredibly expressed and excellently depicted!! Highly recommended! 10/10! What's more, its storyline and plot were unbelievably enthralling that a viewer could be submerged in the whole atmosphere of fighting, love and compassion between heroes! I was petrified and speechless! Hats off!

Nice story, nice soundtrack but dragons are really bad!

I had the pleasure to see a preview of Maquia without any previous knowledge of it. This is something that I recommend. That being said, Maquia start off quite dense with different warring factions and odd bits of vocabulary. No worries though, because even though every detail is not fully explained the word building and slow pacing eases you into the story. And it IS quite detailed, both story vise and visually. The protagonist Maquia from the title, is born in village where the inhabitants record and keep history by weaving long tapestries. Her people are a legendary elf-like lot who can live for hundreds of years and stop aging in their teens. Now, this trope could easily turn quite nasty, but Maquia steers tastefully far from most potential threats. In all, Maquia is a story about family and relations. It's poignant and serious in an oddly down-to-earth way regardless of it's fantasy setting.The animations are a high-budget marvel to see. My only gripe is that the movie kind of ends multiple times, and the last 30 minutes or so feels like one ending after another. Apart from that it also made me cry quite profusely. So, go see it.

To preface, I rarely trust reviews that have 10/10, just because usually people who do them are biased towards genre, theme, actor, etc. in the way that they are fans of those and it automatically bumps up the score of a film for them to a few points above what it really deserves. It might be the case for me here too, although I must say that I am not a huge fun of anime in general. I like certain titles a lot, but I'm not really following the genre. So yesterday I felt like watching anime on a big screen, and in the city I currently reside at this anime was the only one out there. So I said to myself why not, the trailer seemed neat, and so I went. To say that I was astounded by it is not to give it a fare credit. I was expecting sort of typical 'goofiness' that we all see in anime pretty often, but there was none. It was a serious film, with a philosophical connotation, beautiful visuals, on lock dialogs. Like all the check boxes for a great anime were checked for me. In the end I was really close to shedding a few tears. To give you a frame of reference, the only time I did it watching a movie was thanks to Hachiko. Just go and watch it, there is a high chance you'll like it.

If anime as a genre brings to mind fanservice, childish boob-humour and a bizarre obsession with characters that have a single emotion they express every time they open their mouths, then leave it to this film to add some variety to the pallet.

While anime has examples of all styles and genres of film housed within its animated shelves, there aren't a lot of films that bring a serious tone, thoughtful plays on philosophy and stunning animation, while avoiding the cliche's of anime. This is one of them.

Beginning strong, the film immediately sets out gorgeous visuals with a high-key pallet and beautifully envisioned world. The attention to detail in architecture and environments will encourage the use of the pause button, while the complexity of background animation is at such a level that the sheer number of moving characters approaches that of a live action film. This level of work is rarely seen in animation and is worth applause on its own, not to mention the beautifully coordinated combat late in the film.

Characters are written to be fairly simple, but in complex circumstances. This dedication to simplicity, at times, struggles to progress the characters despite time moving fairly quickly at times. Ariel, in particular, is barely developed in spite of the story's scope containing his entire life. Other characters are deeply wounded by their circumstances and have decisions to make regarding the road they will follow afterward. At times these wounds are gut wrenching but sadly aren't utilized to their fullest extent in developing the characters involved.

If watching the english subtitled version, there are some things lost in translation, that could result in some confusion. The jumps in time are also not the easiest to follow, which doesn't help the pacing. In the end, however, they successfully blend a heart-felt story of love and maturity and family together with a fantastical setting with hints of deep lore and history that satisfies on a higher level than the vast majority of big-budget films being released in current days. The animation is spectacular, the story is thought-provoking and the world is entrancing.

Mari Okada have already mastered the storytelling technique. Every words every name in this movie is so meaningful. I hope that the English version can translate at least 80% of the word's meaning.

Thematically rich and complex yet narratively unsatisfying, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms will eschew structure and simple logic in favor of emotionally manipulating its audience with thematic emotional depth and beautiful visuals as expected of Mari Okada and P. A. Works. It's a high fantasy drama that you will either love or hate starring its underdeveloped characters with the exception of the main lead herself who shines and carries the whole movie that meanders around sloppily before suddenly hitting you out of nowhere with an emotional gut punch in its flawed and messy yet emotional story.

Emotional storytelling is Mari Okada's specialty, and this film is no exception. The ensemble is filled with the tale, setting, characters, and subplots, which gives the audience a sense of living and learning alongside the characters. With a blend of strong action, poignant moments, and ordinary life arranged in a unique narrative style, the tale is well-rounded. The relationship between a mother and her child is the central theme, a topic that is rarely explored in depth. A novel and well-rounded picture, it tackles this subject matter from a number of perspectives and depths.

Renowned character designer Akihiko Yoshida from Final Fantasy and Granblue Fantasy has produced a wide variety of characters with different origins. His creative, varied, and fashionable clothing designs are clear examples of his influence. The chara's round faces and basic shape make them both adorable and disturbing. Renowned animators at PA Works have produced amazing backdrops, offering a vibrant universe to explore. Overall, the CGI is well-executed and integrated, with a few unusual sequences striking out without substantially detracting from the overall visual experience. The CGI is striking and well-done overall.

You can clearly recognize Kenji Kawai as a composer from this piece thanks to the familiar sound and instruments employed. However, the soundtrack is incredibly creative and features recurring motifs that significantly influence the mood and narrative of the film. Very nicely used and paced as well.

Be warned-it is a tearjerker, and by the end of both instances, the entire room was in tears. In case it isn't obvious enough already, this is an adult-oriented film with some themes and elements that are very dark and mature. It is not a family film.

No matter how you love or how you hate anime, you must watch this anime movie. Why? Because you can take a lesson or maybe some lessons of life in this anime. The plot is so good and this story has their own uniqueness. Furthermore the animation is so good and fantastic.

I didn't know much about this film when I found it at Walmart and just bought it on impulse, and boy am I glad I did. This has to be one of the best films I've seen recently as well as one of the best anime films I've ever seen period.

Beautifully animated with a well crafted story that made a 24 year old man cry. I highly recommend watching it.

If I was gonna complain about something, the CGI can at times be a little spotty but that doesn't effect my enjoyment of the film.

OMG I was like, "Please, when is this going to end already? Please end!" It's very sappy. Incredibly corny. Certain themes were repeated over and over and over, like motherhood and not crying. Flat characters. I didn't care about any of the characters. Characters getting SO worked up over nothing, as if the writer is just DESPERATE to get a reaction out of the audience. FORCING it upon us with no actual substance. Emotional manipulation without even succeeding! I'm actual a really emotional person but I felt nothing except wonder at how the writing could be so bad. But anyway... The animation was often very nice. Good use of sunlight, creative backdrops with details. That's the only reason I'm voting a 2 instead of a 1.

Watch it, cry, but omg its one of those movies that'll hit the heart and eyes with beautiful animation, characters, and topics that makes you think. 💖