Given (The Anime): Review

As a long time BL reader I had awareness of the Given series for some time. I left it on a high shelf like a tasty snack I wanted to hold out for as long as possible. I’m a binger by nature, and the waiting game feels that much more tolerable when there’s a finished season to consume in one take. And finally, consume I did. And oh it was delicious-

-and still it’s given me the dokis

So let’s jump right into the disclaimers: I’m going to try to keep this as spoiler-lite as possible, but there will be certain important facts disclosed here which I will mark accordingly. And as a hefty number of BLs out there require some manner of trigger warning (seriously, it can be dangerous terrain to traverse) Given will be coming with the lightest rating on the Mochi’s patented phallacy mushroom meter:

One little mushy cap is safe to eat but by six you’re starring in your own sex pollen fanfic

OUR STORY BEGINS

We open on our main protagonists Mafuyu (Sato) and Ritsuka (Uenoyama) meeting and “bonding” over Mafuyu’s old Gibson guitar. I say bonding, but in their initial meeting it’s clear that Ritsuka is put off by Mafuyu’s quiet yet puppy-like attachment. Mafuyu is determined that Ritsuka teaches him more about guitar, and through meeting Ritsuka’s bandmates, secondary protagonists Haruki (Nakayama) and Akihiko (Kaji), he begins to pursue music in earnest.

I love these boys with the ferocity of a thousand suns…

Ritsuka is a bored boy-genius, specializing in guitar and going from zero to eleven as soon as something breaks through the ennui. He’s passionate to a fault, and that makes him really good at saying some things and really bad at saying others. He hardly realizes how he’s been stagnating until Mayufu appears and forces him into motion again.

Akihiko and Haruki are college students, the drummer and bassist of Given née The Seasons respectively.

Akihiko is our blonde-haired pierced badboy, complete with motorcycle and a spate of short-lived romances behind him. Though he can be selfish he’s well equipped to be a voice of reason during rising tensions, and he’s quick to encourage his bandmates when they need a push in the right direction.

Haruki, with the fabulous ponytail, is the oldest in the band, and the one who can quickly be recognised as the momma bird for the others. He’s carefree and relaxed but kind to a fault, often being the one who’s relied on for support and leadership. But he can be a pushover, and this especially obvious with Akihiko, whom he’s harbored a long-suffering crush on (this secondary pairing becomes the main focus of the Given movie, which I’ll touch on later).

And Finally Mafuyu is our baby. He's the audience’s stand-in when it comes to the new world of making music, but also a source of the first series main mystery. He appears stunted yet hopeful, wide-eyed and innocent yet strangely made ancient by something yet unspoken. At least until he finds his voice. Mafuyu is invited to sing for the band, but he will first need to come up with his lyrics.

And boy howdy when he does you’d better fetch the tissues...

Which brings us to the music. While I’ve read the manga now, this is definitely one series that doesn’t shy away from the subject matter only to forget it and hone in on the drama, and hearing the story unfold is almost as good as watching it. From crunchy riffs, to acapella melodies, to complete tracks, this series will reward music-lovers as much as romance-lovers and for me they go hand in hand. The music is as much a part of the characters' self-discovery and their relationships to each other, if not inextricably intertwined.

In fact it is by episode 5 that we learn ‘The Reason’ for Mafuyu’s single minded determination to learn the guitar, and for this I will need to flag both our Spoiler and TW’s I mentioned earlier…

<<Mafuyu’s Gibson guitar was given to him by his late boyfriend Yuki. Yuki, in a depressive episode after a fight with Mafuyu had partaken of some uncharacteristic drinking and hung himself inside his bedroom>>

While it is heavy stuff, this is all dealt with very sensitively. Yuki is never demonized for this act, nor is Mafuyu disrespected for the role he may have played in how it all went down. It doesn’t glorify the suicide, not does it fail to look directly at it. We’re simply dealing with the grief and the aftershocks that Yuki left in his wake.

With only 11 episodes you go through a spectrum of emotions, but all of them are genuine and not strictly for the yaoi fangirls. There’s a lot of sweet tension, and heartache, as well as so good old plain bromance. I can still manage a heart squeeze just reminiscing on some of the scenes. Both pairings serve up a good slice of will-they-won't-they, but most importantly it doesn’t force the tired “but he’s a guy!” trope that I cannot stand. The sexualities of the characters are never really put under great scrutiny. Akihiko himself openly speaks of his bisexuality, and while Ritsuka may be a newbie at the whole romance thing, Mafuyu and Haruki are not shown to be ashamed of being involved or interested in the same-sex. It’s refreshing considering how conservative Japanese culture can be.

Of course all that isn’t to say that there is no lightheartedness. There’s plenty of silliness, each character becoming the butt of their own joke or teasing another. The animation will gladly throw in a reaction face or exaggerated expression that the talented voice cast carries to giddying heights (I liked both the Japanese and English audio).

The first season ends just after Mafuyu’s first concert with the band, but the climax of that song is whew, it really hits home. If you’re not interested in the anime then I would recommend at least giving this track a listen for the sheer raw emotion that is produced (but also watch it, watch it please).

While that huge moment happens in Episode 9 this is to save time for all that sweet slice-of-life confession stuff that’s been simmering since the concert. Ritsuka has left a lot of things unsaid, but Mafuyu’s pretty clear on where his feelings lie. It’s not quite the sweet moment you might envision… in fact it’s really, really goofy, but that just goes to prove how much this series is about music as it is about romance. It’s slice-of-life!

Ritsuka enjoying his best meltdown

I’m only going to briefly touch on the movie because frankly it probably deserves an entry all on its own. As this focuses on the older Haruki and Akihiko the subject matter is decidedly more adult and there’s a scene of sexual nature without consent. As far as BL offenses go, this isn’t a deal breaker, but it is a heart breaker. Akihiko starts really going through it with his ex and roommate Ugetsu, and all his worst habits come into play, challenging Haruki’s feelings for him. We learn more about his old ambition for the violin, Haruki gets an important haircut (RIP beautiful long locks) and we get Given’s second vocal song in concert, which is almost as much of a banger as the first.

Since this was a movie, I felt like the pacing between the climactic concert and the final scenes was a little more appropriate, if only because they jammed a lot into a narrated montage.

Still room for goofiness of course! Because real love is messy~

And finally the most recent albeit short OVA offered a little more Ritsuka where he wasn’t so present in the movie.

All things considered, this would definitely be the BL I recommend to first timers (though Sasaki to Miyano and Keita Hatsukoi would be manga series contenders). And with the sequel movie and OVA made between 2020 and 2021 I’m looking forward to more Given being brought to the screen soon.

FINAL SCORE

10/10 would lock these boys up, all of them

Animation, Score, Voice Cast, it all gives me the feels

I typed this with tears on my face and my fingers are bleeding

and if you're still not sure, just look at this face one more time