given

“Given” is based on the ongoing manga of the same name by Natsuki Kizu that started in 2013. The popularity of the manga with its two sets of diverse love couples and interesting side characters that surround them have spawned an 11 episode anime and an hour film one year later (all available on Crunchyroll). Ironically, anyone who has read the manga would know the film is the fifth volume of manga word to word; which makes me wonder if a second film is in the works. It would be interesting, but this review will focus on the anime and film that exist.

The manga series and the anime both feature four men at different stages of life and maturity. Two of them are sixteen- years old studying in High School and the remaining two are from the University. Here the sixteen-year-old singer/rhythm guitarist Mafuyu Sato becomes the focus of the anime as opposed to the manga where he shared equal screen time with the other three. It is a clever and attractive way to present the story since he is the most relatable and endearing character of the band. Next is main guitarist Ritsuka Uenoyama, a stoic young man who discovers Sato and brings him into the band. Twenty-year-old drummer Akihiko Kaji who is a Lothario; bassist (with a silent crush on Kaji), twenty-two-year-old bassist Haruki Nakayama who is the eldest member of the gang and acts as their leader, form the rest of the crew. The four go through all the various stages of becoming a true band- starting from the awkward first meeting, underestimating the new talent, having a fall-out over small disagreements, and eventually coming together for a song, this group does it all!

That might sound simplistic but with anime company Lerche(“Assassination Classroom”, “Danganronpa”) at the helm it is anything but exceptional. The anime utilizes color schemes and music patterns to give the manga a second breath of life, based on themes of loss, curiosity, lust, and love. I was really surprised with how well the thirty-minute episodes create different moods based on which of the four is getting attention. If it’s Sato- the colors are somber for his past flashbacks and bright if it is his present times. Ritsuka and Haruki have more normal color schemes for the settings and almost depressing music playing in the background, since even though they are the most mature; the poor guys are still the saddest ones in the band. Kaji’s settings are always dark or too bright to the point of artificial feeling, which sums up his personality.

You won’t feel dizzy, as the anime swiftly switches POVs and slips in and out of, flashbacks with the rapid color changes or soft focus; those are just indicators that these changes are happening. The only inconsistency exists in the presumption that the viewer has already read the manga and knows why the characters are the way they are. Some things are unfortunately lost, as we are relegated to see bits and pieces of Ritsuka’s personal life, but to be honest the focus isn’t on him unless Ritsuka is accompanied by Sato. The shortened portrayals of his sister and their band friend who mentors them don’t show their proper development. The anime itself does feel a bit lopsided, as we watch Ritsuka and Sato falling for each other while Kaji and Haruki dance around their mutual sexual attraction. We as viewers are left with longer than normal glances between the two older members of the band and tongue-in-cheek dialogue which alludes to their real feelings.

So, in the end, I’ll give this anime an 9/10. I loved that a BL manga was adapted to an anime. The episodes were a bit stretched out in my opinion sometimes. I saw parts where I thought that this would be a good part to end the episode with instead of the parts they ended up with. They really hold it strictly towards the original. Also, big respect to the voice actor of Mafuyu as he has an amazing voice.