Nakedyouth

The first thing worth noting about nakedyouth are the visuals which are impressive. Not being an anime expert, my initial hunch was that real backgrounds were filmed and traced over but in fact, everything is the result of masterful computer animation.

The natural scenes - birds flying across the sky, rays of sunlight filtering through trees - are stunningly beautiful and rich in detail. While the movements of the human body are animated realistically as well, the characters themselves look overly two-dimensional compared to the scenery, which creates an interesting contrastive effect. In short, the visuals are reason enough to watch this.

That said, nakedyouth is an ... art film, and will therefore not appeal to everybody. Slow pacing, unresolved tension, repetition and lack of dialogue resulting from the fact it relies on the images to tell the story will leave some frustrated; others will turn away at the the same-sex attraction theme.

If neither of those things scare you, you will be rewarded by a beautifully animated short tale of teenage (homo-)sexual frustration, in which feelings aren't conveyed by words, but subtle glances, awkward situations, and finally, actions.

Nakedyouth is one of those short films that should be rated a few days/weeks after watching. I made the mistake of rating this a 6 when I finished it without putting some more thought into it. This film will be received differently by many but I can assume that people struggling with their sexuality may see this film in a different perspective.

It is known that the short film centers around two nameless characters who have some sort of difficulty with their feelings for eachother. One aspect that I see that some may find annoying would be the showering scene with was repeated multiple times ... in the ten minute film. At first glance I was annoyed by this too but after viewing it later I find this crucial. Sexuality is such a confusing topic to many and scenarios that revolve around a sexual reawakening hold importance. These two characters shared a life changing event in that shower scene as revealed at the end of the short film. Choosing to repeat this scene numerous times just shows how important this scene between the two was.

One cannot tell what exactly each character is going through but in a world where loving the same sex is taboo, what occured in the showers was an event where many people in the world die for. Of course, this film is not perfect but I feel like many people disregard the deeper meaning and tend to overlook the crucial points made such as the shower scene.

This film does not need to be watched by people who are questioning their sexuality or deviate from the social norm but I believe that it will hold a deeper meaning to those.

Rate a 5
Art film (no vocals)

Story
While it is true that nothing is spoke a story was told. This story is like in real life, subliminal. Mentioned but not always acknowledge or grasped. The topic being sexual but not the idea couple. The taboo kind in some people's eyes (not mine, I say to each his/her own). While there is a lot of rewinding per-say the artist/director i can imagine was trying to say that this feared non bible 'taboo' nature is not nature when actually it is in fact nature. Love is not always red, nor black or white or even blue. Why should anything ... else about it be any different?

The characters who seem to be reliving a ground hog day predicament (reference to an American movie) are actually slowly growing. From stealing glances to making actions.

Art
-characters are clearly drawn. Not of great quality but okay.
-background is almost perfect in realism. Like they were traced over from real shots.
-some art like signed were blurry.
-character moments were off light they were a result of poor animation from a computer.
-yes, there was a tendency of looping back to a particular scene. While the actions taken may seem to be the same there are slight intended changes. Therefore had a purpose.

Sound
-issues with volume levels
-some minor misuse in sound choice
-some missed opportunity for sound effects like the boxing.

Overall: While the art needs some work and subtitles for certain portions couldn't hurt this short piece has nothing to frown on. As long you have an open mind like one should you should have no problem embracing this kind message. For frankly in my eyes this 'love' is not much different than the struggles one had adapting the school life.

This anime talks about how being gay was a taboo and having to understand yourself. It explores sexuality as well as having to to find love in secret. This is probably one of the most accurate gay animes I have watched. I suggest people who love analyzing things take a watch at this. I know some people found the shower scene repetitive but it was very important to the symbolism of vulnerable.


This anime talks about how being gay was a taboo and having to understand yourself. It explores sexuality as well as having to to find love in secret. This is probably one of ... the most accurate gay animes I have watched. I suggest people who love analyzing things take a watch at this. I know some people found the shower scene repetitive but it was very important to the symbolism of vulnerable.

The thoughts which ran though my head the entire 9 minutes were "the visuals in this are bloody amazing" and "It's like you can feel their confusion and pain".

Being someone who identifies as both Lesbian and Trans, this film brought me back into the uncomfortable memories of thinking things like "this isn't normal" and "why do I feel like this? Why can't I be normal?". Something I feel the vast majority of people in our community have felt.

On top of this the film offers a fascinating snapshot into Japanese attitudes towards and the feelings amongst Queer people at the time. Japan is generally a rather ... conservative nation and the pain these young men felt is universal, but also in that time compared to now, potentially more dangerous.

To those reading this review:
Don't be put off by the semi-decent average score this film has like I was at first. It's only 9 minutes long, and is well worth a shot.
If you're Queer, give it a watch. It might make you uncomfortable, sure, but it's something we've all experienced, and to see it in film damn near brought a tear to my eye.
If you're straight or cis, give it a watch. It might make you uncomfortable, but it's something that almost all of those in our community have gone through. And hey, you might just learn something new.

I actually really kind of enjoyed this silent film, contrary to popular belief. Yeah it definitely was kinda repetitive at some points especially the shower scene that for the most part appeared like three particularly times in this 9 minute film but the overall message was very powerful in a subtle way. Films covering topics particularly such as sexuality should always really be watched because of the important topics they for all intents and purposes cover so if you really are reading this I suggest just giving it a try, its only 9 minutes and I literally am really sure it will generally leave an ... impact on you in a definitely major way.