In celebration of the recent international release of Given: The Movie (2020) on streaming service Crunchyroll*, it felt time to finally sit down and watch the anime series adaptation of Natsuki Kizu's popular romantic-drama manga.
Given made waves in 2019 as the first shōnen-ai (BL) series to air on Fuji TV's prime anime slot, Noitamina. Praise for the 11-episode drama stretched beyond Japan, with Crunchyroll contributor Adam Wescott identifying it as an underrated gem and, "the best show you aren't watching". Meanwhile Anime News Network's Steve Jones described it as one of the Summer 2019 season's strongest offerings. Despite its positive critical reception however, Given was snubbed from nominations in any major categories at Crunchyroll's 2020 Anime Awards. Rather fittingly to this reception therefore, Given's strong opening leaves its audience with great exceptions, and while it meets these to a certain extent; it is not without its share of bum notes.
The series, which follows the first of Natsuki Kizu's two-arc manga, concerns the blossoming relationship between high-schoolers Ritsuka Uenoyama and Mafuyu Satō. Given largely centres around the suppressed feelings and hidden pasts of the four-man amateur band, Seasons (later renamed Given, hence the series' title). The core arc sees teen musical prodigy Ritsuka stumble across a sleeping Mafuyu in their school's back stairway, cradling a guitar as if a lifeline, despite having no idea how to play it.
Despite his reserved nature, Mafuyu is persistent in his attempts to have Ritsuka teach him how to play the guitar, and intrigued, the latter agrees. The pair's bonding eventually leads Mafuyu to joining Ritsuka's band alongside collage students Akihiko and Haruki, and together the three of them take the naturally talented Mafuyu under their wing. In this sense, Given is somewhat of a slice-of-life drama. Its leading plot line- that being Mafuyu's journey writing a song to finally express his grief- isn't particularly overbearing. We are only offered just enough information about Mafuyu's past throughout each episode; his lonely childhood as a latchkey kid, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend Yuki, and Yuki's eventual suicide. Given never overwhelms its audience with dramatic reveals or high-intensity scenes. Rather, it moves as a delicate pace much like Ritsuka and Mafuyu's own relationship.
Given is about release, something Ritsuka offers Mafuyu through music. While there are incidences in which the love-struck Ritsuka struggles with jealousy that Mafuyu's attention (and thus, affection) is taken by the late Yuki, he never truly doubts Mafuyu's potential or downplays his trauma. Ritsuka and the band offer a safe-space for Mafuyu to explore his grief through music; introducing him to a vocation that Yuki had also loved, and something Mafuyu thus grows to love himself.
In this regard, Given is aware it peaks at the band's first live performance in episode 9 (A Winter Story). By its very nature, the series was always leading up to Mafuyu's song (Fuyu no Hanashi) and his lyrics are at once the audience's questions and answers. It makes sense therefore, that during the heart-wrenching performance, Given's animation is at its strongest. The performance scene makes use of some particularly well-realised rotoscoping, which is neither jarring nor distracting, a testament to Lerche studio's animation team.
On the topic of Given's in-narrative music however, there is surprisingly, somewhat of a lack of it. Praise for the series' opening episode (Boys in the Band) is well-founded, considering that too offers a strong performance scene which sees Mafuyu is first introduced to the band. Yet, as the series progresses we seem to see little of the boys' serious rehearsals or jam sessions. Instead, these are often cut-aways or conclude at the opening of a scene. Immediately this can be pinned upon budget and time restraints, both of which the anime medium is notorious for facing.
Further time-conserving animation techniques can be seen throughout Given, such as extreme close-ups to mask lip movement during dialogue-heavy scenes, and still-frame montages. The latter of these is particularly off-putting, reminiscent of a powerpoint presentation that tends to disrupt the flow of the narrative. One strong and recurring aspect of Given's animation however, is its use of lighting, which frequently elevates the emotional weight of scenes that may have otherwise been flat. Set pieces feel richer because of it, warmer or colder depending on the mood of the scene.
In terms of its characters however, while Mafuyu and Ritsuka's arc is immensely enjoyable, and their personalities well-defined, the same cannot entirely be said for Given's supporting characters. Comparatively, the likes of Mafuyu and Ritsuka's high school peers, Mafuyu's childhood friends, and even Ritsuka's sister Yayoi, are rather hollow. Their presence within the narrative is never entirely earned because their personal arcs not well-realised. Many of these characters are unmemorable, appearing to have a single personality trait that does little but function to push Mafuyu and Ritsuka's own relationship along.
Though in spite of its weak supporting characters, Given does offer a very sophisticated and entertaining sub-narrative concerning Haruki and Akihiko, the Seasons' bassist and drummer. Early in the series it is established that Haruki has a long-lived crush on Akihiko, who is relentlessly flirtatious in his gentlemanly charm. Beneath this care-free demeanour however, it is revealed that Akihiko is struggling with his own internal conflict. Living in a studio apartment with his ex-boyfriend Ugetsu, a professional violinist, the pair have an unhealthy on-and-off relationship, simultaneously loving and bringing out the worst in one another. Ultimately their relationship is framed as one of toxic codependency. Akihiko is depicted as often feeling inferior to Ugetsu, giving up violin and allowing Ugetsu to belittle his own amateur music accomplishments. Meanwhile, Ugetsu feels his music is suppressed when his attention is focused on Akihiko, and tries to distance himself by having causal relationships with other men. Ultimately however, the pair remain insistent on staying with one another, despite the unhappiness it causes them.
Akihiko and Haruki's character arcs were surprising, and undoubtably Given's most intriguing. The series never offers any closure in regards to Ahikio and his ex, nor his and Haruki's potential for a relationship; instead remaining open-ended in anticipation for the movie, which is focused on the manga's second arc (in which they are the protagonists).
Given's approach to queer relationships is a strong one. Themes of internalised homophobia and forced outing are brushed upon, though these are never core to the character's narrative arcs. Instead Given chooses to focus upon the sometimes difficult parts of relationships and unrequited love. It is a mature and refreshing take on queer relationships unlike many preexisting within the anime sphere, and indeed reflects the progress being made towards normalising LGBT+ characters and offering them move diverse narratives within the medium.
In the age of LGBT+ series such as Yuri!!! on Ice (2016) and the anime adaptation of 1980s manga, Banana Fish (2018), Given stands out as a nuanced and grounded romantic drama. It manages to combat heavy themes such as suicide, grief, and toxic relationships without ever becoming melodramatic. Its pacing is at times awkward, mainly due to protagonist Mafuyu's withdrawn personality, which leads to repetitive dialogue and excessively drawn out narrative beats. However, Given largely makes up for this and simultaneously offers its audience much-needed relief with some great comedic timing. Stand out amongst these moments is Ritsuka's dumbfounded reaction to Mafuyu professing his feelings for him in the series finale, which was very-well performed by voice-actor Yuma Uchida.
It is by no means a perfect mini-series, yet Given is in a binge-worthy romantic drama worthy of the attention it and its original source material has garnered. Should the Given: The Movie maintain the series' strengths, and hopefully fine-tune some of its weaknesses, it has great potential to be a staple entry in the catalogue of shōnen-ai animation.
* Given: The Movie received a delayed Japanese theatrical release on August 15th 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, though was released internationally on February 2nd 2021, exclusively on Crunchyroll.
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