ANI-MOVIES, *Flavors Of Youth

Donghua is to China what anime is to Japan. Much of the anime produced of the anime gets outsourced to China, so it's about time that a crossover of donghua and anime was finally made. Not only that, but that the feature was done by Haoliners Animation League from China and none other than the anime studio of Comix Wave Films who took the world literally by storm with Makoto Shinkai films like Your Name and Weathering With You. Shinkai isn't involved in this production at all, but the combined project titled Flavors Of Youth shows traces of his influence. This is also a rarity among anime as it's an anthology film which haven't had much exposure in the 21st Century with titles like Short Peace. The movie is broken up into three segments that show their connection at the beginning and post-credits ending as all the characters from each segment converge at an airport, everyone going on their own chosen path. All three stories take place in China and show how life there isn't too different from any other highly populated parts of the world, in fact if they didn't mention it was China-based then most international viewers would probably think it all happens in Japan.

The Rice Noodles opens up with Xiao Ming remembering his youth when his grandmother was living with his family and usually takes care of the him as the parents are off working. Xiao Ming has fond memories about the noodle shop near his family home that he loved the food from. The rest of the story has the lad growing up and moving around sampling noodles from different parts of China that never seem to have the same delicious taste he did when he was a boy. Xiao Ming is eventually called back to his old home as his grandmother passes away and is happy to find that the old noodle shop is still there and recalls his golden days.

The second part is A Little Fashion Show is slightly forgettable as it deals with a tall model named Yu Lin who is left to take care of her younger sister Lulu after their parents die. Yu Lin became a model to stand out for Lulu and provide a living for her, but she now begins to question if she isn't getting too old for her profession as a young upstart rival starts making things rocky for her. Lulu makes things easier for her as she starts designing her own line of clothes that she made specifically for her big sister.

The final chapter is Love In Shanghai that flashes back between 1999 and a few years later with Li Mo carrying on a more than friendly relationship with his classmate Xiao Yu. The two of them confess their feelings for each other in the teenage days over a shared audio tape they use as a sort of dating journal. Xiao Yu says she's planning on going to a school for academic achievers while Li Mo would probably go to a regular nearby school. Li Mo secretly tries to enter this advanced school which he actually manages to get accepted to, but Xiao Yu fails to enter it much to the violent disapproval of her parents. Li Mo decides to be stubborn in his decision to go forward and becomes an architect who designs his own hotel that Xaio Yu visits him when they're both adults to rekindle their friendship.

Flavors Of Youth is a major boost for the slice-of-life genre with no supernatural or sci-fi elements that anime normally inhabits. Even though it takes place in China, there isn't much emphasis on living or growing up in that specific nation, so despite the sharp imagery of Chinese landmarks, it doesn't become a pretentious travel guide. Each of the stories is significant as they all recall the characters' own pasts and the sense of nostalgia that those bring about. The dub is fair with Jona Xiao and Crispin Freeman standing out, but Ross Butler was totally miscast as Li Mo who has as much range as voice actor as a mute frog. There is no physical release of this anthology as it is streaming exclusively on Netflix, even though it is worth a watch if you're already a subscriber.