Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

officially abbreviated as Sayoas is a 2018 Japanese animated film written and directed by Mari Okada and produced by P.A.Works, featuring character designs by Yuriko Ishii adapted from Akihiko Yoshida's original designs and music by Kenji Kawai. The film serves as Okada's directorial debut and the first standalone feature-length, theatrically-released production of P.A.Works. It premiered in Japan on February 24, 2018 as a general release and premiered outside Japan on March 4, 2018 at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Plot
The people of Iorph live far away from the lands of men, weaving the happenings of each day into a fabric called Hibiol. They live for centuries while maintaining their youthful appearance. Maquia, an orphaned Iorph girl, lives in an oasis surrounded by friends, yet somehow feels alone. But the tranquil lives of the Iorph are shattered in an instant when the Mezarte army invades their territory on a dragon fleet, seeking the blood that grants the Iorph longevity.

Maquia manages to escape, but loses her friends and her home in the chaos. She then encounters an orphaned baby who is also alone. Maquia raises this boy, Ariel, with the help of some new friends. But as the era changes, the bond between Maquia and Ariel changes too, amidst a backdrop of racial tensions between the Iorph and the Mezarte. This is a story of irreplaceable time, woven by two lonely people who can only find solace in each other.