Flavors of Youth is a 2018 drama anthology Japanese animated film directed by Li Haoling, Jiaoshou Yi Xiaoxing, and Yoshitaka Takeuchi, including voices from Taito Ban, Crispin Freeman, Minako Kotobuki, Evan Rachel Wood, Takeo Otsuka, and Ross Butler.  Three different stories of youth set in different cities of China.

Plot:  The movie is split into three segment (The Rice Noodles, A Little Fashion Show, and Love in Shanghai), each segment exploring themes about love and the simple joys of life.  A Little Fashion Show is by far my favorite with Love in Shanghai coming up as a close second.  The first is The Rice Noodles which focuses on the feeling of nostalgia, while the second, A Little Fashion Show, focuses on accepting the downsides of modeling as well as this relationship between these two sisters.  The third story Love in Shanghai focuses on the lost of a childhood friendship.  The stories are actually really compelling and do offer a bit of character development. (4 out of 5)

Characters:  The characters are likable, well-written, and quite relatable.  Each of the main characters have these moments where they’re accepting something from their childhood that has changed in their adulthood or over time.  Despite the short stories, there’s a lot to the characters and their actions and this is proof of great storytelling.  Establishing good characters in a short amount of time.  Xiao Ming is the protagonist of The Rice Noodles, Yi Lin is the protagonist of A Little Fashion Show, and Limo is the protagonist of Love in Shanghai.  I liked the relationship between Yi Lin and her sister, Lulu.  They were very likable characters.  I also appreciated this great dynamic between Limo and Xiao Yu.  They’re these friends who’ve become estranged and have this great romance between them.  (5 out of 5)

Cast:  The voice performances are topnotch, both in English and Japanese.  The Japanese voice acting includes Taito Ban (Xiao Ming), Mariya Ise, Minako Kotobuki (Yi Lin), Haruka Shiraishi, Hiroki Yasumoto, Takeo Otsuka (Limo), and Ikumi Hasegawa.  The English voice acting includes Crispin Freeman (Xiao Ming), Kendall Gimbi, Evan Rachel Wood (Yi Lin), Jona Xiao, George Ackles, Ross Butler (Limo), and Erica Mendez. The supporting performances include Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Matt Fowler, Ikumi Hasegawa, Tara Sands, and Christina Valenzuela.  (5 out of 5)

Visuals:  The animation style is really good.  There’s definitely a high production value and it looks absolutely stunning.  The coloring looks great from the character models to the lighting effects and urban scenery. (3 out of 5)

Score/Music:  The music is exceptionally well done with thanks to the efforts of Sakai Asuka, Yuma Yamaguchi, Rei Ishihara, and Saori.  Loved the musical ques and how they emphasize the dramatic and emotional moments.  (4 out of 5)

Writing:   The writing is pretty good and the direction diverse yet focused. There are three directors (presumably one for each segment) including Li Haoling, Jiaoshou Yi Xiaoxing, Yoshitaka Takeuchi, and I love their different methods to storytelling. There’s almost a poetic flare about the narrative and its presentation.  I like the underlining themes of loss and acceptance, growth and change, not being content but being joyful.  Utilizing very simple concepts and a pretty lighthearted approach, the stories actually address these themes with a rich level of complexity. The dialogue is actually pretty good, especially when it comes to scenes with self reflection or internal thought.  Really appreciated the writing.  (3 out of 5)

The Verdict:  In the end, Flavors of Youth is a really good and deeply appealing art.  It manages to touch relatable issues of everyday people and makes it thought provoking.  There’s a lot to appreciate about this film; it features relatable characters, rich stories, appealing music, and a great animation style.  Flavors of Youth gets 4 out of 5.