Flavors of Youth

Composed of three, independent short stories, this anime film has beautiful animation. The stories are gentle, nostalgic slice-of-life, filled with childhood memories and regret, but also hope. Little action, just feelings and self-reflection. For some viewers it will seem boring, but for me it was very enjoyable. The shorter length of each story helped me not to lose interest. Rating: 9/10

I loved it but would have loved it so much more if it was three movies of this length which is why I didn't give it an even better rating. It did a really good job at making me feel emotional despite the small length. I felt nostalgia, regret, and Joy. Granted some of the nostalgia could be my own as I also remember tape recorders and the like but it also made me feel nostalgic for things I never experienced in my youth like china, food, and little things like that. That was just how strong the story telling was.

The animation was also beautiful done that made it a joy to watch.

Flavour of Youth has three stories( just like 5cm per second) and it is all based around China. The first one is called "The Rice Noodles" which is about a young man called Xiao Ming (Kendall Gimbi and Crispin Freeman) who had spent most of his time with his Grandmother (Dorothy Fahn) and has a nostalgic of Noodle soup in Beijing. The second chapter "A Little Fashion Show" is focusing on two sisters called Yin Lin (Evan Rachel Wood) and Lu Lu (Jona Xiao), one is a fashion designer and the other one is a modal, this segment mainly focus on Yin Lin and her devotion to protecting her sister and staying on top. The last chapter "Love in Shanghai" focus on three friends Li Mo (Ross Butler), Xiao Yu (Erica Mendez) and Pan (Tony Cavalero), Li Mo had a dream to confess and be with the girl he is in love with (Xiao Yu) and be in a house which all three of them could share but things go differently.

Overall this was a really good slice of life/romance movie, especially if you like Your Name and 5cm Per Second. I would definitely binge it. I am not sure where the sub is available but I watched the dub which I believe is available on Netflix if you would like to check it out.

As I sated on my Big Fish and Begonia review I am generally not a fan of chinese anime but this was again a really good change of pace. Especially because I got exposed to a bit of Chinese culture.

It is, overall, an experience in itself more than a movie. It's something you take in, interpret, analyze through your experiences and filter with your own feelings. It's entirely up to you if this movie is something you digest afterwards for a few hours wondering about your life as a whole or just something you ate popcorn to. In both cases it is extremely good. The lessons that are in it are numerous and varied enough to please everyone and it's auite easy to identify with something from the movie, be it a character, a scenery, a feeling, a phrase, and the list can go on. On purpose it is called flavour(S) in the plural form because to everyone there is something different to be taken out of it. This anime is about love, family, passion, dreams, and everything else that makes us human. It's a nice perspective on life, set in short stories that are pleasant on their own and connect, covering up all the issues someone might face, with characters that are really nice and a good development. It's similar to Life Itself in these aspects. For those who want to just chill out it's great too, the animation is beautiful (not stunning) but well done, the music and scenery is extremely absorbing, good play and twists, quite easy to follow up, and a really well made movie overall that should fill up and afernoon and make you feel good afterwards. So give it a shot no matter what!

"Flavors of Youth" (2018)

To be honest this movie is a slow burn, maybe not even a burn. The movie is split up into three stories with the same theme, childhood. I personally liked the first story the most, but the third story is also wotrh watching. Sit down, drink a cup of tea and relax while watching beautiful animantion tell three sweet stories about the memories of childhood :))

Rating: 7/10.