Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms [Sub: Eng]
Trailer
A dramatic-exciting animation movie that recounts a strange story about a young girl named, Maquia. Maquia has a special gift that she inherits from her clan, she doesn't get older after reaching the teenage age. Her fate puts her on the path of a handsome young man called Erial. They enter a love story but things may change when Erial gets older and Maquia stays at her age.
The film embraces its female-centric premise while mostly eschewing traditional romance for its heroine, preferring to focus on passion of another kind, with the movie's rich visuals bringing all of its ideals to breathtaking life.
We don't even notice how deep Okada has driven her storytelling dagger until she pulls it out in the end, and the tears come, adding, to the bitterness and sweetness of this moving and strange little fable, a hefty dose of salt.
'Fantasy' often conjures visions of a Tolkien-esque mix of dragons, elves, quests and big blokes with axes, but Japanese writer-director Mari Okada's animated epic has done something impressively new with the genre.
I could easily find myself dismissing these stories strangely told stories and miss out on a beautiful tale, simply because it's different. If you're not a fan of anime, give it try. Be open and patient.