Given is a 2013 Manga series created by Natsuki Kizu. This series broke a lot of barriers for the boys love category and still have a large fanbase to this day. It took a couple of years but Given has finally reached it's conclusion. Between this time fans have been blessed with many goodies such as a live action drama, audio CDs, an anime and an anime film. I will say with the upmost confidence that Given's anime has some of the best band theme music since maybe Nana......
Honestly, Given doesn't have a complicated story...... What's a bit complicated is the relationships that take place between the characters. Music is the central theme as the story is told in arks that highlight each relationship. We mostly get boys with emotional baggage trying to start a band, which doesn't sound interesting however, Kizu weaves emotions into music very well.
Given isn't overly sexual like some other boys love series. There's a sensual theme of sex but never in a fetish sort of way. You know like sometimes gay men are seen as sex machines when that's not all gay men's realities or experience. You as the reader instead get a simple yet emotional story about guys trying to find their way in life. Also, while struggling to communicate their feelings to the one they love. That's where music comes in, of course. I enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster that was this series. It was like you ride through the different character emotions as the seasons change around you. All the characters are relatable in this way as well.
I'm huge on musical themed anime that have to do with the building of a specific sound. Both this anime and Nana have some of the most emotionally themed music I have ever heard from an anime production. I actually cried when watching the anime film during the performance scene because you can feel Mafuyu's desire to reach someone with his singing. It was just a such a powerful scene. The live action does a good job too.... From what I can remember.
Let's hope that North America also gets the continuation called Given Final Mix. Japan already has it so we should also be getting an English release soon. Check out this series if you're a music lover or a Yaoi fan. Enjoy some of the music below!
