r/GivenAnime

I binged basically the whole given series today, but it felt really empty. I almost feel like it was more about music and bands than being a BL, and there were almost no couple-y scenes between literally anyone :( I watched:

Given - TV Series

Given - The Movie

Given - On the Other Hand

Given - To the Sea

and I feel like there has to be more to the story. I know that there are other Given movies, but the wiki said they were kind of like side stories. That being said, I keep seeing reels of confessions, date scenes, and love scenes that I didn't even know existed. What else is there to watch?

P.S. Did anyone else feel like there wasn't enough interaction between Sato and Uenoyama? Like I know they're a couple and kissed like twice but from what I've seen they have like no 1-on-1 screen time and barely act like a couple :|

Actually just a couple of minutes ago I finished rewatching given for the second.

And it was amazing maybe even better than the first. The story was amazing just as it was the first time. And compared to the first time I watched it I don't feel as empty now. I actually feel kinda fulfilled.

At the moment it's kinda hard for me to find an anime I actually enjoy but rewatching it didn't disappoint. I watched it all in one go.

Even before rewatching I was thinking about buying the manga. Is the mange worth it 'cause I'd say the music played a major role for given being this good. Does the manga still work well even without the music? I was planning on buying it after finishing my current manga 'cause by then the 10th mix should be released.

i was watching the Given movie Hiiragi Mix, and starting at 18:32 (if im not wrong), i heard the ambience that gave me CHILLS. i decided to search it in every music platform that Michiru is on, but i swear, i listened to all of them, and still haven't found it.

maybe someone has it? or should i just write directly to Michiru on X....

So recently i watched both the show and the first movie, and i feel like for a couple that’s supposed to take the main spotlight, mafuyu and uneoyama’s chemistry in the show and movie is just really lacking. In my opinion, i feel like kaji and harukis relationship really overshadowed the other two’s throughout the story. (im still gonna watch the other movies and ovas so my opinion on this may change)

I like Akihiko and Haruki but calling their situations “adult” in comparison to Mafuyu’s (and by extension the others…especially Hiiragi) is a bit of a stretch.

Mafuyu deals with being beaten as a child for SPEAKING. And the suicide of his best friend/first love, whose hanging body he found. His journey is the spine of Kizu’s story and it’s a classic hero’s journey.

The complexities of his journey create all manner and sort of confusion. He’s an airhead. He’s an introvert. He’s indecisive. He’s not in love with Ritsuka. He never loved Yuki. One could get whiplash from all the hairpin turns in his story.

The thing is none of those things are exactly true about him. The defining elements of Mafuyu’s life at sixteen are grief and abandonment. And they have tamped down his spirit. He’s not an airhead. He proves it over and over. If anything he overthinks a lot of the issues he faces because he’s anxious about giving voice to them.

Speaking was what got him beaten by his father. And speaking was, in his mind, what he did that drove him to say the thing that he blames himself for. He believes his words drove Yuki to suicide.

But Ritsuka, who for all his relative naïveté is a genuinely kind person (Mafuyu even mentions that himself), gave Mafuyu a platform to feel more confident and a forum to express himself with music. And Mafuyu flourishes. Even in the anime (which unfortunately is a bit fragmented in telling the story compared to the manga) underscores the fact that Mafuyu is pretty expressive once he sings the first time and starts finding his voice.

He confesses to Ritsuka, he talks pretty openly about his dead boyfriend, he maintains very deep and expressive friendships (his friendships with Hiiragi, Ugetsu, Akihiko and Shizusumi are very well defined. And, rather ironically, it’s Mafuyu, the youngest character in Given who drives several of his seniors (especially Ugetsu and Akihiko) to greater self reflection and growth.

Sensei has crafted a story that is not merely a “BL”. It’s in many ways a very well told story (far from perfect, but we’ll save that discussion for another day…). It is a slice of life story with BL elements and to some extent I think that is one reason why Given has had such widespread popularity.

There are certainly more traditional BL elements in Given. Akihiko, as the emotionally damaged seme hurting his long suffering uke is a classic BL trope. But right there alongside the traditional elements is, as Kizu says in the chapter title page to chapter 30, the story of once lonely kids on their way to adulthood

i’m thinking of creating an ita bag of mafuyu and uenoyama and i’m curious if anyone has a given-themed ita bag!! please share a pic with me if you do :3 i haven’t seen any online but im sure someone out there has one!!