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If Okada’s melancholy storytelling is the main highlight of Maquia, the production by anime studio P.A. Years elapse in the blink of an eye and with no indication other than sudden age increases and changes in normal humans, giving the audience a fleeting feeling of what life may be like as an Iorph. It’s not that the story is told out of order or in any particularly quirky way time just casually passes. As a result of the unique makeup of the Iorph people, Okada plays around with time a lot in the structure of Maquia. Can Erial really consider Maquia his mother? Can Maquia ever live a routine existence, especially in the presence of opportunities to help her people and potentially return to the land from whence she came? The pain is as palpable as all of the lingering threads of hope strung along from beginning to end. Their relationship creates interesting rifts, showcasing the different perspectives Iorphs have when compared to your average human. Thus, the crux of Maquia: When the Promised Flower Bloomsbecomes about their relationship over the years, as Erial grows at a normal human rate and Maquia continues to look like a girl in her early teens. This gives her the opportunity to attempt to live a normal life in disguise while she raises the boy, who she named Erial. She has to put her loom skills to work to get by, but thankfully she finds people she can trust along the way. Getting along in our world doesn’t come naturally to Maquia. She ends up stumbling upon an orphaned infant, who she decides to take to raise as her child in human society. Maquia manages to escape on her own, but now she finds herself thrust into an unfamiliar world. Instead they come away with a consolation prize, a young and beautiful Iorph named Leilia. They swoop in on massive dragons and wreak havoc, frantically searching for the secret to immortality. That sharp turn comes about when the Mezart army invades the tranquil land of the Iorph people. This is their fate, and it carries over to Maquia, an orphaned Iorph whose life takes an unexpected turn in writer Mari Okada’s stunning directorial debut, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. They’re well-versed in saying goodbye to people, highlighting one of the oft-overlooked disadvantages of an extremely long life: Loneliness. The Iorph spend their time using looms to weave the happenings of each day into a fabric called Hibiol. With hair so blonde it’s practically platinum and lives that span hundreds of years, they have come to be known as The Clan of the Separated. The Iorph are a unique people who live far away from humanity in their own idyllic space.