Keep in mind that there'll be spoilers!
The story's titular main character, Maquia is an Iorph -- a clan of individuals that age extremely slowly (whether they're immortal or not, that wasn't clearly explained). As her town was destroyed by a country, ruled by relying on an dwindling ancient power, seeking to incorporate Iorph blood into their royal bloodline, she stumbles upon a recently orphaned baby.
The vast majority of the movie focuses on the relationship between Maquia and her adopted son, Ariel. Despite being a child herself (being 15 years old -- whether that's her chronological age or appearance), she goes through the trials and tribulations of raising a son that will continue to grow, and eventually become older than her. There were a multitude of emotionally charged scenes, like when Maquia becomes frustrated with raising Ariel, to letting Ariel go on his own, to saying goodbye to him as Ariel finally establishes his own life, to holding an elderly Ariel's hand as he passed away, to breaking her promise of not crying and crying when she relives her memories spent with Ariel. In the meanwhile, there are other side stories, such as one of her friends being kidnapped to bear a child for the country, the anguish of a surviving Iorph and the eventual family that Ariel starts. With the first side story, it starkly contrasts with Maquia's, in that Leilia (Maquia's kidnapped friend) gave birth to a child that she's not allowed to see. Despite not being able to see her child, Leilia pines to have a glimpse -- and when she does, she let's go of her attachment and wishes that her daughter forgets about her as well.
Besides motherhood, the movie goes over themes like death and discrimination. For me, it felt like Maquia didn't understand what death was until the scene in which a dog passed away. Immortality is a cruel fate in that you have to witness the death of loved ones who are mortal. As for discrimination, the Iorph are ostracized due to their circumstances. Leilia was used to produce a child, and when it was found out that her daughter didn't seem to exhibit Iorph characteristics, then she was cast aside so that they could find another Iorph girl for the kingdom. Maquia and Ariel had to move constantly, because people were suspicious on Maquia's eternal youth. Though in the end, as cliche as it sounds, love triumphs all.
Artwork is amazing -- perhaps not the best in all scenes but the landscape was beautifully created. Music is nothing particularly special, but it really hits the emotions hard during memorable scenes. With the two hour limit the movie has, I thought pacing was suffice, despite not a lot of character development with the side characters. As Maquia's elder told her to never love a mortal, the titular character has no regrets with the time spent with her son. Motherhood isn't symbolized by blood, but rather due to the bond formed from time spent with one another.
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