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'Maquia' Anime Film's Trailer Focuses on Mother/Son Relationship

The official Twitter account for P.A. Works, Showgate, and Mari Okada's Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana o Kazarō (Let Us Adorn the Morning of Farewells With Promised Flowers) anime film began streaming a promotional video on Wednesday. The video focuses on the relationship between the main characters Maquia and Erial. It features the ending theme song "Viātor," performed by rionos (Children of the Whales).

The film premiered in Japan on February 24.

U.K. anime distributor Anime Limited will premiere the film in the U.K. and Ireland on March 4 under the title Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms. Anime Limited's screening will be part of the Glasgow Film Festival, and it will be the film's international premiere. The company is planning a wider theatrical release for the U.K. and Ireland in March.

Anime Limited describes the story:

The people of Iolph have a lifespan of hundreds of years and maintain their teenage appearances for life, but when the peace of this town is shattered by those who want the secret to their longevity for themselves, a young girl named Maquia is forced to escape. Wandering the land alone, upon finding an orphaned baby she chooses to raise him, but as this boy grows up so the difference in their lifespans is thrown into ever-sharper relief.

The cast includes:

Manaka Iwami as Maquia

Miyu Irino as Erial

Ai Kayano as Leilia

Yūki Kaji as Clear

Miyuki Sawashiro as Rashine

Yoshimasa Hosoya as Lang

Rina Satō as Mido

Yōko Hikasa as Tita

Misaki Kuno as Medmel

Tomokazu Sugita as Isol

Hiroaki Hirata as Baro

The film is the directorial debut of anime screenwriter Okada (The Anthem of the Heart, anohana). She wrote the film's scripts at P.A. Works.

Akihiko Yoshida (NieR:Automata, Bravely Default, Final Fantasy XIV games) is credited with the original character designs. Toshiya Shinohara (A Lull in the Sea, Red Data Girl) was chief director. Yuriko Ishii (Kuromukuro, Another) designed the characters for animation and was chief animation director. Kazuki Higashiji (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG, A Lull in the Sea) was art director, and Tomoaki Okada (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, Blast of Tempest) was in charge of art design and concept design. Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru) composed the music, and Kazuhiro Wakabayashi (Ghost in the Shell, Bungo Stray Dogs) was sound director.

[Via Ota-suke]