Maquia is a quiet teen, living amongst her people, the Clan of the Separated, also known as the Iolph, a mystical, ageless people who spend their days weaving Hibiol, a cloth which marks their days. When they are invaded one day by a neighbouring kingdom, Maquia manages to escape, and stumbles upon a baby, the sole survivor of an attack. She decides to raise the baby as her own, but will her near-immortal state and ties to the Iolph make it an impossibility…?
This anime drew me in from the very beginning, with fantastically realised visuals and a gorgeous soundtrack. I wanted to know more about the Iolph and their way of life immediately, and I enjoyed it even more when the storyline opened up to a wider fantasy setting. With lush, verdant farming fields, picturesque stone houses, rowdy taverns, and of course, vast palatial interiors, every scene paints a vivid tale of a stunning fantasy world, so if you’re a fan of fantasy stories or JRPGs, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here. Whilst the medium of animation was definitely used to showcase some impressive landscapes, the anime adopts a fairly realistic and naturalistic style, and is ‘shot’ in such a way that at points I felt like I was watching a live action movie, which was an enjoyable change of pace from anime that takes bigger flights of fancy.
Maquia and the bond she forms with the baby, who she names Ariel, are the heart of this film. Their relationship is interesting to watch, particularly as it becomes more complicated once Ariel becomes old enough to realise Maquia isn’t his birth mother, and that she doesn’t age, which also means they have to occasionally move from town to town before people start asking too many questions. Given that at the start of the film, the Elder of the Iolph makes a comment to her to not fall in love as she will only become lonely, I fully expected Ariel to become her love interest when he came of age. However, the film doesn’t take this path, and is all the more interesting for it, not only for avoiding a predictable plot choice, but also for affirming that love comes to us in many ways, and familial love is just as complex, rewarding, painful and life-affirming as romantic love.
Despite the high fantasy setting, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms also artfully depicts the messy, difficult realities of single motherhood, with Maquia struggling at points to find work to put food on the table, and to deal with Ariel’s journey from boisterous child to stubborn teenager. Maquia vocalises repeatedly that she doesn’t know what it means to be a mother or if she’s any good at being one, and the journey the two go on trying to understand and define their relationship works as a simpler thread against the fantastical elements of the story (giant dragons, anyone?).
There is also a subplot with Leilia, another Iorph who was taken during the attack on the Iolph. Whilst I don’t want to spoil her character arc here, I will say it’s a fascinating juxtaposition to Maquia’s situation and I wish we could have seen more of it. One of Leilia’s scenes for me was one of the most emotionally moving of the film and if more screentime had been afforded to her story it could have taken this anime from ‘very, very good’ to ‘outstanding’.
My only complaint about this film is I wanted more! I wanted to know more about the Iolph, the conflicts between the kingdoms, and the characters and their relationships. This film would have worked even better as an episodic short series so we could have had a few more hours to learn even more about this amazing world. However, what we do get is still an incredible piece of work that really makes the most of the fantasy genre and anime medium to tell a moving tale that will definitely have you in tears at the end.
If you’re looking for a re-watchable anime film I highly recommend this one, especially if you love fantasy stories. Just make sure you have some tissues on hand…
Otaku Brit (^.^) 
[…] In spite of some clumsily executed conceits, Maboroshi overflows with vitality as it asserts that love propels and transcends time and is the force that creates meaning and joy in our lives. I’m interested to see what Mari Okada does next and I highly recommend her other work, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. […]