As we all know CoMix Wave Films is famed for the international hit Your Name. known as the highestgrossing anime film of all time. Having loved that film I was naturally drawn in by the trailer of Flavours of Youth which sort of gave off similar vibes it felt nostalgic poignant and looked damn good. I was however very...VERY disappointed. Im going to divide this film a lot and talk about its separate parts since its very inconsistent with its quality. Minor spoilers ahead beware 800https://d1xfgk3mh635yx.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/styles/original/public/image/featured/1046824netflixunveilsnewtrailerposterflavorsyouth.jpg?itok=ypeD8jc Story: 3.0 This films broken up into 3 parts. Fun fact: this was also used in 5 Centimetres per Second a film also by CoMix Wave Films. Difference is that each one focuses on a separate character and their stories...and its a bit more boring. Part 1 1/10 : To put it bluntly the first 15 minutes or so was nothing but straightup food porn. Its attempt at depicting a fond recollection of past times failed in every sense to give off a strong tangible sense of nostalgia. Its hopeful conclusion had nothing to back it up...you know why? Well get this theres no plot Absolutely nothing happened. It was just one shitty flashback the whole movie is a flashback but this one is just especially bad. On top of that the narration was unnecessary and the overall execution was a mess and plain weak not that the concept was anything new. But god DAMN...those were the prettiest fucking noodles Ive ever seen. Part 2 2/10 : I guess this was an improvement from the first mostly because there was a plot this time. This story centres around a once seemingly talentless woman now a modelling sensation hailed at the top. It more or less felt like a shitty teen movie some nice pretty brunette is the most popular and beloved girl at her school...until some blondehaired bitch comes in and steals her thunder in this case pink hair...gotta love anime. After that its all about her little sister and how she wants to support her and protect her and all that lovely generic jazz...to be honest I dont remember what happened at all this was very forgettable. Part 3 6/10 : Hooray Weve hit the only decent part of this movie It has plot It has emotions Oh my Unfortunately this was pretty much a copyandpaste of the whole plot from 5 Centimetres per Second except with a much different ending HINT: Makoto Shinkai doesnt direct this film. What a sad man.. That being said this was fine. This time the story revolves around man whos reminded of a forgotten wouldbe love along with him telling of his following regrets. As the best portion of the film it actually gives off some sense of nostalgia something that the first part horribly failed to do. I genuinely felt bad for the main character even though Ive seen similar instances in other better anime many times before. In general its a good example of how a recycled plot can be executed fairly well through decent character work and direction. All in all the story was bad. If the film had been more consistent with the first half being as good as the second then I wouldve definitely seen this film in a different and much more positive light. At least Part 3 was something that was even slightly worth watching. Just barely. Visuals: 9.0 HOLY SHIT. THE NOODLES. 800https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/857/4317353700435749573e5z.jpg OK. Its common knowledge that CoMix Wave makes some prettyass films and this movie is certainly no exception. The first 15 minutes would make any foodie climax. BUT...why does everything have to look way nicer than it needs to be? I mean...Im all for good animation but this is just getting out of hand I get the feeling that its trying way too hard putting more effort into the animation than the rest of the movie. Not every scene needs a blurry border or countless lens flares I dont need to look at some pixelperfect water droplet magnificently plopping into a house sink Just give me some plot I want to see something happen 800https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1776/42082699120d9bc448c9dz.jpg In all seriousness this movie is visually absolutely stunning. Just put some more meaning into the pretty landscapes next time Audio: 8.0 Again as usual with CoMix Wave Films theyve got some great background music. For some reason I found the credits song to be especially good I was jammin to that shit I dunno why. However it feels as if they think that music is the only way to convey any sort of emotion. As I said earlier with the animation more effort is put into background music than the actual plot itself and hopefully this doesnt become commonplace within future films made by them. While the sound effects ambience and music was great throughout the whole film using the OST to strengthen a scenes impact will only work under an wellestablished foundation along with good context. Unfortunately this was nowhere to be seen in Part 1 and the second parts attempt was lacklustre. I think youve got the point by now that the third is better than the other two in every way possible. Character: 2.0 260https://www.goombastomp.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/07/dd13625cf6e4a522ff3e04054ffb87661024x544.png 250http://oyster.igns.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2018/07/model720x405.jpg 250https://assets1.igns.com/2018/07/11/flavorsofyouth15313523477181280w.jpg There really isnt much to these characters at all. The first character wasnt exactly relatable due to the plot being so messy. The woman in Part 2 is the typical overlyconfident big sister type of gal. The third guy despite having the best plot wasnt anything special either as well as his friends. Youve probably noticed that I havent mentioned their names at all and for good reason I dont remember. Nothing memorable about them. I cant say theyre realistic either since other than some of their life experiences which may be plausible their personalities are so bland that its hard to believe. Enjoyment: 4.0 To be completely honest the first two parts were incredibly boring. I mean it doesnt really help that nothing happened for the first 15 minutes. Once the second part hit I was half asleep not that this transition became anything exciting either. This is definitely up there as one of the dullest 45 minutes of any movie Ive ever seen and Ive watched some pretty shitty movies. The only enjoyment I received during the time was the sexyass food and laughing at how extra the visuals were at times. As for the rest of the movie I liked it...but to an extent. The second half was the only part that triggered some sort of reaction in me ranging from a soft and sudden oh to a slightly louder oh shit. 800https://readysteadycut.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/07/Shanghaibamensha0132567.png Final Verdict With all into consideration this film was meh at best. I couldnt say that this had much potential either when its solely powered by gorgeous animation beautiful music and not much else. Its cast is bland and forgettable. Its plot in Part 1 and 2 is weak and sloppy and Part 3 doesnt add much more as a mere copyandpaste of a movie thats only decent. Its attempt at emitting a similarbutdifferent emotional prowess as Your Name. terribly failed for the majority but at least did a better job towards the end. Even though it scored a 52/100 D on a 110 scale Id give Flavours of Youth a 4/10 Subpar. If you liked 5 Centimetres per Second youll like the second half Part 3 of this film. The first half Part 1/2 isnt worth watching for anybody at all. Except for the food. That was glorious. Fuck I cant stop thinking about it... 4/10 SUBPAR === NOT RECOMMENDED ===