Given - Reviews

Given was my first BL anime and ultimately I'm glad that I gave it a chance. I think it's a rather good anime and I can see why it means something to a lot of people. 

~ Story  ~ 

The story of Given is a rather solid emotional story about two teenagers becoming closer and falling in love. The story clever uses music to bridge the gap between the characters. However, it's not as straightforward as them merely falling in love and getting together. The two have their own insecurities and pasts they must overcome before they can truly be together.

I think that the story executing its story rather well. I haven't read the manga so I'm not sure if the ending (which I recall feeling somewhat abrupt?) is the same as in the manga, or unique to the anime. Even so, I think it managed to tell a competent story within a single eleven episode series. I haven't watched the movies yet, so this is based on the series alone.

My issue with the story stems more from that I've seen quite a few stories like this one. I won't spoil anything here, but it was pretty easy to determine the direction it was taking. That's probably why it didn't resonate with me as much. Although the themes are important to me, they just didn't hit as hard for me here as in other stories.

I think this is just because I've read and watched romances and dramas like this one before that made it feel a bit predictable to me. But I do think it was handled pretty well here. My other issue had more to do with some pacing issues. 

~ Animation & Sound ~ 

The animation isn't the best in my opinion. I don't have the best eye for it but it does look a little off sometimes. Especially with the random smoke effect that happens sometimes. I was very confused whenever that happened. I'm not sure if that was also in the manga or they added it in for the anime, but it wasn't executed well regardless. 

I haven't watched much BL anime yet but the ones I have seen don't seem to have the best animation? I'm not sure if it stems from a bias against them that they don't receive the best treatment or what. It's certainly noticeable when compared to other anime, though.

The sound in the anime is rather good, though. The voice acting was generally pretty good. I watched parts in both sub and dub and, from what I could tell, both JP and ENG casts were good. I personally also like both the OP and ED songs which are both catchy (OP) and adorable (ED) in their own rights. I really love that the ED song was sung by Mafuyu's VA; that's a super adorable touch. 

I can't find the OST online so I can't really comment on the background music since I don't really remember. 

~ Characters ~

The characters in this anime are generally rather charming. Both the leads are sympathetic and flawed, yet adorable, in their own ways. Their romance was sweet although I'm still a bit confused by the development of their romance. I wish the progression had been handled with more care. The suddeness of Uenoyama's feelings hitting him all at once was lovely. I just would've liked to spend more time with them as a couple so they could've developed a more natural chemistry. 

The secondary characters were rather sweet. I liked Akihiko and Haruki as portrayed here. They were well-done adult figures in the main characters' lives, while still struggling with their own issues.

I... honestly can't remember much about the other side characters. Other than that one girl being annoying (not talking about Uenoyama's sister; she was hilarious). 

~ Overall ~

This was a solid BL anime and I'm glad that I ended up watching it. I do plan on watching the movies eventually, maybe sometime later in 2024 inbetween some longer watches. I would like to spend more time with these characters and see how they continue to grow and develop. 

I think the anime definitely has its flaws which kept me from getting entirely invested. However, I did enjoy these characters so I hope the movies deliver. This is a well-regarded anime for a reason and anyone who enjoys BL anime focused on interpersonal relationships should at least give it a chance. 

Given strikes the rare balance of being openly gay - none of that maybe he is, maybe he isn’t crap - while not indulging in over the top eroticism to pander to a niche viewership. This is a vanilla, realistic, down to earth romance that can be watched by anyone open minded to love that exceeds conventional desire.

It is fairly unconventional for a single cour romance to have convincing characterization...yet Given makes this a strong point. Each of the band mates are given practical goals, motivations and fleshed out backstories that are sprinkled into the narrative as the episodes progress rather than forcefully crammed read more

Art -
They are doing a really good job at translating the story from book to screen. The direction, shot compositions and the lighting are so noticeably good, it's honestly so impressive. It's not just "animated" manga panels - they really put a lot of thought into the pacing and flow of the scenes. The character animation is also pretty good (which is usually notoriously bad when it comes to BL anime). This is a music anime too, so I was a little worried about the performance scenes, but (holy crap) the instruments' look (and sound!) were rendered so well and the CG for the performances were actually impressive! Not to mention, even the background art for scenes are very detailed and beautifully done too. I for one love the character designs. They managed to keep the same feel/personality of the characters from the manga, while also adding their personal take on them.

Sound -
The sound design for this anime is so damn impressive (I can't believe how blessed we are) especially for scenes with instruments in them. The strumming of an unplugged electric guitar by a complete newbie... the sound effects of the amps and other equipment... it is incorporated so well, you can believe that the sounds truly come from those moving pictures. And I'm not even talking about the band's actual performance scenes yet! That being said, the actual musical performance on episode 1 is SO good - it truly fit the image I had of the band while reading the manga. The background music is also really nice and makes use of band instruments so I thought that was really cool. Plus the OP and ED are really good. The ED reminds me how perfect Shougo-san is for the role of Mafuyu - both in speaking and singing. This is a truly blessed anime adaptation.

Given is that anime gem that nobody asked for but got instead AND IT WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED IN BL IN 2019 (like every man, coz most stories of BL suck and are really full of redflags). The story is so good. It legit broke all the tropes that most BL series had. It's consenual, refreshing, a nice change of scenery.

The common BL story tropes that we all know is the romanticizing of harrassment, mentally undressing the character and non-consensual angry sex (that we loved). Dokyuusei is one of the gems that actually do not follow the trope like this. The songs are really good and I just hope that I would be able to watch the movie already so I can share my thoughts about Akihiko and Haruki's relationship.

I really love anime shows with realistic stories and surprisingly Given touched on a subject that even people are uncomfortable about talking: Mental Health.

OMG this anime really struck me real hard💓 This is literally "The most beautiful anime that you haven't watch" . I'm totally wreck right now, especially on episode 9, it really brought me in tears when Sato sang expressing his feeling😭 I can't wait to watch the Movie♡ I really hope that Kaji and Haruki will have a more deeper relationship. Overall I really love The story, the characters, the plot and especially the SONGS. I highly recommend this anime😊💓 If only I can give 100 stars I would literally give it to Given♡ I really really really love this ANIMEEEEE💓. More power and more seasons to come!!!! WHOOOOOO💓 GIVEN FOREVAAAAA💛

Majority of us know this as another sad anime. My friend recommended it to me so I watched it because of that and I was expecting and ready to cry for days. The story itself was quite lacking, very simple with little progress in storyline and mainly focusing on character development and arcs. While its not the sadest anime I watched, I did cry at one main specific part (vague for spoiler reasons). The soundtrack is beautiful, I give major props for that. The timing could be better, felt like they rushed the important parts while dragging out the events that had little impact and ruined the flow of the story more than just a few times. Overall, I would be willing to re-watch it in time with a friend who's never seen it, not by myself just for the heck of it though.