While Maquia might be confined to the realm of a long life, she will carry her experiences with her forever – the Iorph are not immortal like Tolkien’s Elves, but Maquia’s interactions with the outside world gives her a much fuller, richer experience than the status quo that she’d lived in previously. To follow one’s heart in a finite life with its sorrows and joys is the path Arwen chooses. By comparison, Tolkien’s Elves are portrayed as being tragic, who have become encumbered with watching life transition to death: Tolkien describes mortality as the “Gift of Men”, that a finite life and the rest following life is not a curse. Despite knowing the sorrow that Aragon’s mortality might bring her, she accepts this. Tolkien briefly touches on this through Arwen, who chooses a mortal life with Aragorn. While immortality (or extended life) is often considered to be a blessing when folks are asked about it, fiction often explores the idea that doing something meaningful with the time that one is given has a greater value than spending an eternity locked in tedium. This is contrary to Racine’s warnings early in the film, and in its presentation, Sayoasa suggests that it is precisely the coexistence of happiness and sorrow that constitute a life well-lived. Maquia learns that outside of her old world, things are constantly changing and do not stand still as she’d previously known: in raising Ariel, Maquia comes to appreciate everything from joy to despair, and that happiness can accompany pain, as well.
Maquia when the promised flower blooms pregnant full#
From happiness to sorrow, Maquia experiences the full spectrum of emotions present in life, a far cry from the static, isolated state of being the Iorph live in. Although initially lacking in experience, and always prone to tears, Maquia is shown to be doing her best. Blessed with a long lifespan, Maquia’s chief, Racine, warns her about the risks of becoming attached to those with a shorter lifespan, but in spite of this warning, Maquia chooses to take in a baby and raise him as a mother would. Works film that was released in February of this year in Japan, marking the first original feature-length title that Mari Okada (who’d previously worked on The Anthem of the Heart) has directed.ĭuring its run, Sayoasa explores notions of familial bonds, love and the passage of time in a high fantasy setting, making use of the Iorph’s longevity to convey the range of experiences that one might encounter in raising a child through Maquia’s perspective. Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana o Kazarō ( Let’s Decorate the Promised Flowers in the Morning of Farewells, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms in English and Sayoasa for brevity) is a P.A. She cries for the pain of the loss, but also feels that there was happiness in equal measure. In his old age, Maquia visits an elderly Ariel, who had lived a full life, and watches as he peacefully dies. Leilia later sees her daughter before flying off with Maquia and the last Renato. Krim confronts Leilia and is shot in the process, bleeding out. During the invasion, Maquia stumbles upon Dita and Ariel’s home, where she helps Dita deliver her child. Ariel marries Dita, while Krim, frustrated by the turn of events, kidnaps Maquia and convinces the other nations to declare war on Mezarte. Struggling with his identity, he rejects Maquia as his mother and joins Mezarte’s armed forces. Their rescue is unsuccessful, and Maquia moves to Dorail, where she takes on a job as a waitress. When Maquia learns of this, she travels to Mezarte with Ariel to try and save Leilia. Meanwhile, Mezarte’s Renato begin dying off, and the king attempts to hold onto power by introducing Iorph blood into their kingdom Leilia is forced into an arranged marriage with the prince of Mezarte. Maquia decides to take the baby in, naming him Ariel, and travels to a village where a woman named Mido takes them in. She crashes into a forest and comes across an ambushed caravan, where she finds a baby in the arms of his mother. Maquia herself is tangled in the Hibiol and hauled into the skies when one of the Mezarte’s flying mounts, Renato, succumbs to disease and goes berserk.
However, the peace is broken when Mezarte, a neighbouring kingdom, attacks: many Iorph are killed, and Maquia’s friend, Leilia, is taken captive. They spend their days weaving Hibiol, cloths that chronicle their history.
Maquia is a member of the Iorph, an ancient race of beings with uncommonly long life. “I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone.” -Arwen