Characters and Story: The story of this movie should honestly be a series. Too many plot points were squished into the tiny time slot of a movie without being able to fully flesh out every aspect. Many plot points felt rushed over and, in the end, made half the movie feel very forgettable. The main societal conflict especially felt in the end lacking in relevancy due to a lack of development. So much was unclear and all over the place that it left a bad taste in my mouth despite my love for many other aspects of the movie.
Being a fantasy movie, there was just not enough time dedicated to fleshing out the world and society. When you bring me to another world I want to feel immersed in the world. In this aspect Maquia falls far short of expectation. Don't get me wrong, as for the world, Okada has amazing ideas, I just feel like she didn't give her own idea the justice it deserved in this case. Thiis could easily have been a 10/10 story.
The parts where the story does shine Is when it focuses on Maquia specifically, as she tries to be a good mother. The relationship between Maquia and Ariel is heart wrenching, I do however still wish that the pace was slown down during some of the development scenes, and again I believe this would have worked much better as a series rather than a movie. In terms of characters, other than Maquia and Ariel, every other character seemed to be left behind.
Okada knows how to hit the emotions just right. Even if you found a hundred flaws in the progression of the story, somehow you will still end up in tears by the end of the movie.
Sound: The music is beautiful. Many of the emotional impact this show has is greatly enhanced by its beautiful soundtrack, and I cannot tell you how many times I listened to the main theme of Maquia.
Art and Animation: The movie looks amazing for the most part. I could be nitpicky here, but overall, I don’t have many complaints. I still wish that it was a series and feel that the high-quality art and animation is not enough to justify this being a movie and not a series.
In the end Maquia is a good film, that could have been an Amazing series. More time needed to be given to flesh out the characters, world, and conflict but the ideas themselves were great.
