Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms
07-29-2018, 09:29 AM (This post was last modified: 07-29-2018, 09:37 AM by robkelk.)
07-29-2018, 09:29 AM (This post was last modified: 07-29-2018, 09:37 AM by robkelk.)
Epsilon and I saw Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms yesterday.
It has a 100% "fresh" rating with 20 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes the last time I looked, a few days ago. It deserves that rating.
The movie isn't an action flick or a traditional rom-com - a nice change from the usual crop of summer releases. It's small-scale fantasy-style SF that explores the question "what happens when a small group of people have vastly longer lifespans than everyone else?" It's very much character driven, and the major characters - especially Maquia herself - get believable character development over the course of the movie.
Highly recommended, assuming you don't mind subtitled releases.
There are some Big Names in Anime involved in this movie: It was written and directed by Mari Okada, and the music is by by Kenji Kawai. Miyu Irino is the voice actor of the lead male character (whose name is spelled "Ariel" in the subtitles and "Erial" in Anime News Network's review); he previously played Syaoran in Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and Sena in Eyeshield 21. I had not previously heard of Manaka Iwami, Maquia's voice actress, but I'll be watching for her name in the credits from now on.
It's still playing today and Monday in Ontario, CA; Santa Clara CA; Baltimore, MA; Raleigh, NC; and most large Canadian cities. It'll also be playing September 5 and September 9 in Lowell, MA; Revere, MA; Edgewater, NJ; Farmingdale, NY; and Providence, RI.
(Dartz, you don't need to feel left out; Anime Limited has the license for Ireland and the UK, so you should get to see this movie eventually.)
It has a 100% "fresh" rating with 20 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes the last time I looked, a few days ago. It deserves that rating.
The movie isn't an action flick or a traditional rom-com - a nice change from the usual crop of summer releases. It's small-scale fantasy-style SF that explores the question "what happens when a small group of people have vastly longer lifespans than everyone else?" It's very much character driven, and the major characters - especially Maquia herself - get believable character development over the course of the movie.
Highly recommended, assuming you don't mind subtitled releases.
There are some Big Names in Anime involved in this movie: It was written and directed by Mari Okada, and the music is by by Kenji Kawai. Miyu Irino is the voice actor of the lead male character (whose name is spelled "Ariel" in the subtitles and "Erial" in Anime News Network's review); he previously played Syaoran in Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE and Sena in Eyeshield 21. I had not previously heard of Manaka Iwami, Maquia's voice actress, but I'll be watching for her name in the credits from now on.
It's still playing today and Monday in Ontario, CA; Santa Clara CA; Baltimore, MA; Raleigh, NC; and most large Canadian cities. It'll also be playing September 5 and September 9 in Lowell, MA; Revere, MA; Edgewater, NJ; Farmingdale, NY; and Providence, RI.
(Dartz, you don't need to feel left out; Anime Limited has the license for Ireland and the UK, so you should get to see this movie eventually.)
--
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown
Rob Kelk
Sticks and stones can break your bones,
But words can break your heart.
- unknown