Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou

Maquia is a member of a special race called the Iorph—mystical beings who can live for hundreds of years and remain separate from the lives and daily troubles of mankind. However, Maquia has always felt lonely despite being surrounded by her people, as she was orphaned from a young age. She daydreams about the outside world, but dares not travel from her home due to the warnings of the clan's chief.

One day however, the outside world finds her, as the power-hungry kingdom of Mezarte invades her homeland. They already have what is left of the giant dragons, the Renato, under their control, and now their king wishes to add the immortality of the Iorph to his bloodline.

The humans and their Renato ravage the Iorph homeland and kill most of its inhabitants. Caught in the midst of the attack, Maquia is carried off by one of the Renato that has gone berserk. It soon dies, and she is left deserted in a forest far from home, now truly alone save for the cries of a single baby off in the distance. Maquia finds the baby in a destroyed village and decides to raise him as her own, naming him Ariel. Although she knows nothing of the human world, how to raise a child that ages much faster than her, or how to live with the smoldering loneliness inside, she is determined to make it all work somehow.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Maquia Main

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Ariel Main

Irino, Miyu Japanese

Leilia Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Lang Supporting

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Izol Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Krim Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Mido Supporting

Satou, Rina Japanese

Barlow Supporting

Hirata, Hiroaki Japanese

Medmel Supporting

Kuno, Misaki Japanese

Racine Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Horikawa, Kenji Producer, Planning

Takenaka, Nobuhiro Producer

Kyoutani, Tomomi Producer

Endou, Naoko Producer

Reviews

Oct 25, 2025

OrimalDSC

Recommended

Amazing. Simply Amazing. Emotional. Great Characters. Superb Animation. Good Music/OST. Overall, a 10 out of 10 movie.
If this is what you are looking for, then Maquia might be the answer for you. This movie will break and heal your heart.
Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to watch this in theater. Despite that, it does not change the fact that this is an absolute cinema of an anime.

Story 9.5/10:
Maquia has a quite interesting world building despite having similarities with typical fantasy anime. The premise and its ancient legends could’ve been explored a bit more. It is a shame that it was not. The same ... could be said with other countries in its world. But that is not really the main point of the show, it is more about its characters.

Characters 10/10:
While the story might be simple, the emotional impact comes from its characters. In my opinion, the movie really shines when it comes to its characters, particularly our main characters: Maquia and Ariel. The film does an amazing job at showing their relationship right from the start to the end and connecting you to the cast. I love the portrayal of Maquia, specifically her personality, being a mother figure to Ariel. And seeing her progression really hits hard. Maquia’s motherly affection is heartwarming throughout.
The trait of Maquia is similar to Frieren so if you like Frieren you probably will like this. Although, their personality is like day and night.

Development 9.5/10:
Seeing our main cast change throughout the story was a joy to watch. How they fight through their struggles. Especially, Ariel growing up, watching his interactions with Maquia changes. So as the side characters in the series, despite not getting much screen time, the show still shows that they are not static characters.

Atmosphere 10/10:
The second strongest element in this film for me is the atmosphere. The movie manages to make me feel immerse into the world like I am with the character. Part of it is due to the excellent soundtrack in the movie.

Storytelling 8.75/10:
On the other hand, this section is the weakest in the movie. It has a bit of a pacing issue. Some part of the movie felt a bit too quick. When there is a time skip, the movie does not tell you directly. You have to figure it out by looking at the changing details. Nevertheless, the overall storytelling is decent: not too slow or too rushed except for some portions.

Animation 10/10:
Movie level animation is most of the time guarantee to be top quality. And this is no exception for Maquia. The staff at the P.A. Works does an amazing job in animating this movie. It is not as spectacular as those big studios: MAPPA, Ufotable, of course. However, the details in the animation is still top quality. There are some CGI scenes here and there, but not many. The CGI itself does not look bad.

Personal Enjoyment 10/10:
All right, I will admit it, I cried. I am bound to cry if the characters were this enjoyable to watch, and seeing the stuff at the end after what I have seen. That is just good directing. Nothing beats motherly love, it really hits you in the feels. Not to mention the ending song, beautifully sung. This will be in one of my few 10s and potentially my 3x3.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Oct 15, 2025

AlyoshaKora

Mixed Feelings

There’s a lot to be said for the creative concept behind this movie; however, the execution leaves much to be desired.
The script leans heavily on melodrama, and the characters feel shallow, relying on stereotype to force a sense of catharsis that too often misses the mark. Their high-pitched voices, perpetually on the brink of emotional hysterics, make it difficult to relate to any dialogue as genuine. Entire scenes feel cringeworthy and contrived.
Even timings felt off; this was most notable during that awkward bridge scene. It was as if the entire sequence was out of sync, every reaction a heartbeat late, with in the ... middle of chaos moments that felt like people were still drawn to fit a casual Sunday market stroll rather than the actual action scene.
But sometimes there were glimpses of better forces at work, the few scenes that were good had promise, and maybe other attempts might live up to that. Visually the movie looked great with certain shots that were truly remarkable. And towards the end, somehow, the movie succeeded in pulling me in for a moment and had me invested.
Had potential, but ultimately couldn’t make the pieces fit.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Jun 5, 2022

itstaking

Not Recommended

Warning: SPOILERS

I don't think I can write a sincere review without spoiling some parts that irritated me. Yes, I can see why people would cry to this movie, but I'd only expect a handful of people to actually be overcome by emotions. Why? I didn't feel sad while watching this movie because most of the emotional interactions felt forced and botched. Not to mention that there is no depth to any of the characters, which makes their actions in the climax seem forced as well. An example is when Ariel comes home drunk and pushes his mom down. Trust me, there was some weird ass ... tension between them that almost made me think he had a thing for his mom. Not to mention the scene where Leilia tells Krim she can't go with him because she wants to see her fucking daughter? Then Krim dies like an irrelevant mutt on the side of a road? And when Leilia is given a chance to see her daughter, she books it and runs away happily to the dragon? Leilia's daughter who also wanted to see her mom for years, is somehow so mature that she understands what just happened and accepts it? The way this movie unravels is like a huge maze with lots of dead ends, arriving at the one-way ending that they wanted to force from the very beginning. Overall the animation is great, but you'd have to be super emotional if this movie makes you tear up, as the shitty characters and interactions make the movie feel insincere and ruins many moments.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Sayonara no Asa ni Yakusoku no Hana wo Kazarou Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Kisaragi - Feb 24, 2018	336 replies	by Nightwolfi »» Jan 16, 12:50 PM
	Help me understand the point. luksthefool - May 17, 2025	5 replies	by Janethan23 »» Sep 3, 2025 10:08 AM
	Ariel x maquia anyone? ( 1 2 ) Shiyuru99 - Nov 1, 2018	61 replies	by Zarutaku »» Mar 6, 2025 12:45 AM
	Only reason it isn't perfect. Kamikoto_kl - Apr 18, 2022	6 replies	by Glgwn141 »» Jan 26, 2025 11:14 PM
	Question about what happened to Maquia during the time she got "imprisoned" by Krim. aLotQuestion_ - Dec 23, 2018	14 replies	by Blacklotus011 »» Nov 5, 2024 9:41 AM