Flavors of Youth

As a chinese myself, it is actually quiet surprising when I saw the cities named in the anime are Chinese cities and protagonists are all Chinese (maybe I haven't watched enough anime lol). Even the names of the food and street gave me so much memories.

I'm glad to see such collaboration between the Japanese and Chinese artists, given all the histories between the two and numerous political conflicts. It's simply beautiful to witness such mixture between cultures and I look forward to seeing something similar in the future!

It is also surprising to see how the rating here on IMDB is only 6.6. And I feel this one at least deserves a seven. The stories are a bit cheesy to be quite frank but it's very authentic and realistic to see. And the stories are heartfelt.

So this film is about three short stories. I guess every now and then we forget how life is about the littlest things we do for each other, about the meaning we grew up with (no matter how small they are), and about the love we share with one another.

They are the meanings. The important flavor we grew up with, the love from family and friends, as well as the powerful heart beat we felt being with our loved ones. Youth is everything about that.

A lot of delicate feelings were depicted in this film. You might not feel anything when the restaurant down the street shuts down, but to some people the flavor is the memory of their grandma. Working is rewarding but competitive and being on the top could easily cloud your from seeing how your family and friends are supporting you, guiding you through this muddle. And you would possibly never know what sacrifices your loved ones make for you, even though you're essentially doing the same thing.

I enjoyed all three stories but if I have to pick a favorite I'll say the last one as it was really well developed. It was heart-breaking when Xiao Ming was fast forwarding the tape searching for more messages from Xiao Yu, after she said she will not go for the elite school because of him and he was the one who was too stubborn to listen to the tape she sent her. Part of me feels if the story ends there it would be very VERY sad but at the same time very VERY powerful. But oh well at least they're together now.

But that's just love isn't it. Such passion so strong that you'll do anything for each other, to a degree it becomes too much and it hurts.

Our youth. Just like our memories, it is something we had and it won't come back ever again. It made us who we are but it is also in the past. I guess all we can do is cherish our time here, and be very mindful about the unseen beauty around us.

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 evident all over the world, wherever you are born, you'll never forget the place you are born. And that's the irony of today's gov't all over the world. All the world's gov't is demolishing the memory we have of our child dream homes where we were born. Same here, the gov't demolished our home in the name of development and now all we've left is some vague memory. Sure we will never be able to rewind the past. Such a beautiful past we had. Hats off to the team.