Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms is a 2018 anime film written and directed by Mari Okada and produced by P.A. Works.
Separated from the world of ordinary men, the long-lived Iolph spend their days weaving cloth, and weaving their histories and emotions into their personal "hibiol" cloths. Then the outside world comes to force them to join it. Maquia is separated from the other Iolph, finds a newborn baby orphaned in a bandit attack, and (despite being only 15 years old herself) names him Erial and resolves to raise him as her own. Thus begins a story that explores the question "what happens when a small group of people have vastly longer lifespans than everyone else?"
This is a character-driven small-scale fantasy-style speculative-fiction story; the plot is nearly incidental.
The movie runs 115 minutes. As of early-December 2019, it had a 100% "fresh" rating with 27 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Big No: Maquia's reaction to realizing the Renato that attacked her village brought her very far away.
- Country of Hats: The Iolph are long-lived weavers.
- Driven to Suicide: Subverted. After finally meeting her daughter, Leilia jumps off the castle, only to be caught mid-air by Maquia riding the last Renato.
- Go Out with a Smile: On his deathbed, Erial smiles when Maquia takes his hand.
- I Will Definitely Protect You: Maquia's promise to the infant Erial, and Erial's promise to Maquia once he becomes an adult.
- If I Can't Have You: During the invasion of Mezarte, Leilia refuses to leave with Krim and rejects him (only her daughter matters to her). Krim then burns the carpet on the floor, wanting to die with her, but is shot by Leilia's guard and leaves, fatally wounded.
- Instant Illness: The effects of Red Eye act very fast if a Renato is in action.
- Last of His Kind: By the end of the film, only one Renato remains.
- Mayfly-December Romance: Played with in that the love is parental rather than romantic, otherwise played straight.
- Our Dragons Are Different: The Renato are the film's version of dragons.
- Really Seven Hundred Years Old: The Iorph people look young, but can live much longer than humans.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Leilia's words to her husband when confronting him are scathing, saying she was deprived of her freedom and her daughter because of her forced marriage.
- Spontaneous Combustion: A Renato with Red Eye will have its body burst in flames before dying.
- Time Compression Montage: The upbringing of Erial is shown that way.
- Time Skip: Used throughout the film.