Reviews for Given

Given is a truly amazing story that features great art, a compelling plot, and plenty of emotional moments. All of the protagonists have an amazing amount of depth and complexity that complements the mature themes present in the plot, drawing the reader in and presenting a narrative that feels real and heartfelt. This manga will play your heartstrings like a fiddle (Or perhaps a Gibson hollow body) and take you on an emotional rollercoaster as you follow the ever-shifting feelings of love, pain, desperation, and soul-searching that plague the cast. As a sub-theme to the plot of personal connection and growth, the power of musicas a tool for healing and expression plays a vital role for most of the characters. If you like a fantastic romance story, Given is definitely worth the time.

Many works seem to believe that just mentioning suicide automatically makes the script better. It does not. Especially when it’s not really elaborated upon, just thrown in the mix for some free drama. Unfortunately, some readers will fall for this bait, and proclaim the story deep and dramatic and whatever. So, what is Given actually about? The thing is, I struggle to summarize it. Not because it’s complex, but because what I consider its biggest flaw – it doesn’t have a point. With most of fiction, you can usually grasp what the author is going for. Sometimes it’s to explore deeps though. Sometimes the main pointis just see some cool mecha action or cute girls doing cute things, and that is okay too (when it actually delivers the premise, of course). Given simply feels lacklustre. Now of course, you could make a counterpoint that the point of Given is just to be a BL. You could even paraphrase my previous point and say it’s supposed to be “cute boys doing cute things”. But as lot of yaoi, it can’t help but attempt to seem like it’s more than that.

The central theme is of course boys being gay. But there is also the storyline about them being in band, which isn’t exactly engaging, and is easily topped by works actually focusing on the band aspect, like Beck or Sakamichi no Apollon. There’s the aforementioned suicide, but as mentioned that theme is exploited rather than explored. There is, I guess, some attempt of high school romance drama. Instead of doing good at one point, it attempts many and success at none of these. At least in my experience, this makes Given a confusing read, because I feel like the “goal” is constantly changing with focus all over the place. And not in a good way like some more experimental works, but in a way of unexperienced writer. And of course, it falls in the usual BL trope of “Well wouldn’t you know, pretty much every male character is gay or bi, what are the chances, huh”. I would have liked to say the relationships are realistic and feel natural, but you know how it is. Similar to shippers, the writing of Given just needs two supposedly likeable characters to be around each other to make them into pairing.

The story goes from a start about music to some smutty relationship content – which only dons the appearance of being there for the story, but it’s really just the usual “uwu boys together”, even with the attempts at making it “deep” as mentioned above. It then circles back to the music towards the end, as if remembering that it was supposed to be about music. Some sort of idea of pitting the music and the relationships against each other was appearing, but I wouldn’t consider it well executed. I was going to say the ending was alright, or at least not bad – despite my enjoyment negatively impacted by the fact that the work couldn’t make me care about any of the characters (more about that further down), and that it felt all ultimately meaningless. But the very final page really killed the vibe, what a distasteful and tone-deaf way to end it, huh.

Going back to shipping, I’ve read that Given started as Haikyuu doujinshi. While I haven’t been able to confirm this, it would make sense – a fanfiction doesn’t need to create personalities, it takes them from the original work. But turn the fanfiction into an original work itself and now you can’t just reuse the personalities, for obvious reason. So you’re left with a bunch of characters of little personalities, personalities that readers imagination used to fill with the personalities of the original characters they are based one. It would certainly check out.

The characters are… uninteresting. I can’t actually remember a name of single cast member and I've literally just finished reading the manga. Design-wise Haruki is the only one that stands out, and even that is mostly thanks to his hairstyles. Rest is just Generic Bishounen A, Generic Bishounen B etc. Yes, I still did have to look up his name.

The art is easy the best part of Given. It shines with double page spreads and I especially loved the colored drawings at the start of each volume. Unfortunately, “best part” doesn’t necessarily mean the whole manga is great. In this case, it just means that it’s the only aspect I would call good.

Ultimately, this is definitely among the better BL manga. But as a manga in general, it’s at best slightly over average. So as usual, if you're a fujoshi you'll likely have a grand time, but readers of regular manga will likely be disappointed.

As someone who excessively reads shonen-ai/yaoi manga, I didn't expect much, as I often don't. It only took this manga five chapters to completely blow me away with its brilliance. 'Given' is a totally believable story of how a successful band came to be, of how a strong bond was formed between four men at an integral part of their lives, and how hope can be found as long as you try hard enough to look for it. Pros. - The characterization. It's absolutely top-notch, not just for a shounen-ai manga, but for a story in general. Each one of the main characters has something tooffer, they each have individual voices and unique personalities, and they bounce off each other well. The manga makes an effort to show them spend quality time together, but also shows them living their own lives, and this gives them a depth that lots of stories fail to pull off. Basically, the characters aren't emotionally deprived, friendless virgins waiting for rescue, they feel like real human beings.

- The uniqueness of the storytelling. The story itself isn't that groundbreaking, but there's a great balance between it being plot-driven and character-driven. The four main characters have their own lives, relationships, and affairs, which develop separately from the plot. However, it's still a story about how this band came together and began to perform as a unit.

- The brilliant portrayal of mental illness, particularly in regards to the character of Mafuyu. His depression and sadness are integral to the story, but they don't define him as a person. Through him, you're able to see that a character can be strong in different ways, and his strength was genuinely inspiring. His mental illness is depicted so well, in fact, that hearing him say "I'm no longer scared of the dawn" actually brought me to tears.

- The realistic depiction of romantic relationships. Readers don't usually like seeing a character they root for facing serious competition for their love interest, but Given is pretty gutsy when it comes to that. Mafuyu's previous boyfriend was the love of Mafuyu's life who will always be important to him, but he's a character I do not hesitate to like, even if I'm rooting for Uenoyama. On the other end of the spectrum, you have Akihiko, who's stuck in a toxic relationship that he knows he should escape. Even when he (and we as readers) know that Haruki is the best thing that could ever happen to him, he doesn't overcome the attachment he has for his first love easily, and those parts of the manga hit differently.

- Everything about the character of Akihiko. He's just so self-destructive, so self-loathing and sometimes harmful toward the people around him, yet he's still a good person. He made me feel so many things towards him, from disappointment, to hate, to admiration, that I can't help but say that he's absolutely my favorite part of this manga.

Cons.

- Since Yuki was such a likable and dynamic character, I would've loved to see more depth and backstory from Ugetsu because as a romantic rival, he was just insufferable. I didn't find any redeeming qualities about him and I never understood the reason Akihiko fell in love with him. He was by far the most bland in a story filled with multi-dimensional characters.

CONTAIN SPOILERS!! Ok so...first things first: I really enjoyed it. It may seem like a cliché story, but trust me, it isn't. I liked it how each character has their own personality and the relationship development between Mafuyu and Uenoyama. Mafuyu has his own dark past (all the Yuki shit) and I think that the whole arc about him dealing with a new love and those sad memories was pretty good. Also Uenoyama realizing he's not straight was really relatable, the author represented most of us (LGBT people) in a smooth and delicate way. I really do like Ueno, he's not toxic at all and hasbeen a good person to Mafuyu.

There's also more stuff happening between Akihiko, Ugetsu and Haruki but I think I can just say it's really messy. Ugetsu wanting to forget Akihiko but not knowing how to really deal with it, Akihiko ALSO messing up and Haruki being in love with Akihiko. THAT'S what I call a messy love triangle.

The art's REALLY good and I completely love it.

I'm just dissapointed it is tagged as an "yaoi". Why? Simply because this isn't yaoi, it's more of a romantic story that just happens to be between Ueno and Mafuyu, who are boys (and also there's Haruki and Akihiko). It is too good to be associated to yaoi, such a disgusting "genre" that's basically fetishizing boys relationships and sex JUST because they're boys. So tagging this amazing manga to yaoi made me pissed.

OK that's it.

I remember reading a lot of yaoi when I was younger and discovering my sexuality. I read a lot of trash, like terrible trash, and was very confused as how these authors thought gay people worked. As a bi man who has dated a man before, I fell like I can see past the allure of "oh my goodness, this boy is kissing another boy!1!11!" that most BL relies on. Foremost, I think I should give my opinion on the manga. It is very very okay! Its not bad, but I also don't think that because it doesn't really do much wrong makes it good. itdidn't blow me out of the water, but its not trashy like most BL manga I read when I was a very confused 16 year old. The romance is okay, the characters are very standard, the yaoi curse of everyone being down bad for their male friends is still here. I think the biggest crux of the manga is that it kinda... rushes? Instead of focusing on the romance between 2 characters, it just lets everything happen in a chapter or two then moves on. It tries to be a lot while not being amazing at any of them, feeling more like a collection of sub plots without an overarching narrative. The best thing that exemplifies this is the whole, yknow, suicide thing. Its revealed, doesn't go too in depth, then gets resolved and never really brought up again. Incredible.

I've been pretty negative but honestly what gets me is that its kinda cute at times. The art is good, I'm a bit of a music nerd so the band aesthetic is an easy sell to me, and its not something I constantly roll my eyes at. Its crazy how its just like a straight romance manga but with boys instead of being a weird sex kink for perverts that makes you want to take a long, cold shower after reading it. I just kinda wish there was a bit more to it...

I'm genuinely confused why people love and praise this manga so much. Don't get me wrong its a good manga, but is it amazing? No, totally not. This manga is a solid seven all across the board for me. The art is nice, familiar but pleasant to the eyes. A majority of the main characters are explored semi decently thus far. The story is slow paced but not necessarily in a bad way. Its good, but amazing? Ground breaking? I just don't see it. I wouldn't say to NOT read this manga, but I also wouldn't say your missing out if you don't.

* Minor spoilers for earlier on in the manga Man, where do I begin with Given. I remember picking this up a few years after it was first released and I was absolutely blown away about how much detail and care could go into creating a manga like this. It wasn't as popular as it is now with the anime adaptation, but I was absolutely blown away about the fact that so many people could come together to appreciate a story. Even crazier, a shounen-ai story appriciated as art. Story : 8/10 The thing about Given is that some people might be going into it expecting BLbullshit nonsense, but then hit by a massive dumptruck of emotions surrounding it. Most people don't think of the BL genre as good, just because of the fujoshi/fudanshi fetishizing men for the sake of fetishizing men. Most people aren't okay with that, and I understand. What drives people away from Given is usually the 'Yaoi' tag. But get this. Given is not yaoi.

I think what makes Given memorable is because of the fact that it's about serious soul-searching, moving on from a loved one, even emotional abuse. It takes on the story of those high schoolers as very mature, and handled with care. I can tell almost each and every chapter is written with care. It's able to maintain a mature, romantic, musical, still-kinda-dark atmosphere, while having genuinely uplifting moments. Sometimes, monumental. There were definitely little moments in the story which I'll remember easily. Like the time that Given tackled a subject like sexuality in a shounen-ai anime. It shows Ueno's distress, and Akihiko's a fucking legend for supporting him.

It faces these subjects in a positive light, which I am ever thankful for. LGBT people face so many struggles in regards to who they love. I have immense respect for Kizu to bring these struggles to life, and create a realistic shounen-ai manga that surpassed my expectations by miles. Also, the comedy is some of the best I've seen.

I also loved how she incorporated the topic and passion of music. It's not like some lighthearted stuff you see in K-ON, but it's actual passion for the medium. As a musician myself, I loved to see someone like Mafuyu also being saved by music. Exploring the characters' relationship with music was also a great addition. It's not just how the characters connect with each other in Given. It's how the connect to what they love, their passions, and connecting with themselves. And it's beautiful.

Art : 10/10

Given is my favorite manga in terms of it's art. It never falls short, especially in the later chapters. The art is carefully produced, and in the more emotional panels it got me thinking like 'Holy shit, this is top tier.' Kizu is amazing at showing and bringing out emotions, portraying them, and internalizing them. The drawings of the characters and backgrounds are so detailed, and Kizu has a significant art style that I'd recognize anywhere.

Character : 9/10

Another thing about Given that makes it so loved and special are the characters. I feel like I can feel for them, connect with them, and they're all amazingly written and built up. They all have their moments to shine, and I'm still waiting on Hiiragi/Shizusumi arc. They were written off as kinda background characters in the anime, so I hope they're able to produce a season 2 that might center around them somewhat once there's enough source material.

I hate seeing people bash Ueno's character. He's such a supportive, amazing soul. People write him off as a basic protag, but that's not the case. Even if he's moody most of the time, you can't forget that he brought Mafuyu out of that dark hole after Yuki's death. Not all the way, but he made Mafuyu's path to letting go just a little bit easier. He cares for that boy so much, helped him grow and move on, and you call him basic and replaceable?

The four main characters are all different in the best way, and they're all likeable and they all make mistakes. Given is very human as it acknowledges and presents that people and relationships are not, and never will be perfect. Just as Akihiko made a very huge mistake, he was able to be forgiven and redeemed. Mafuyu and Ueno fight sometimes. Because that's how people and relationships work.

Enjoyment : 8/10

I really enjoy the manga for many, many of the reasons listed above. My only real complaint is how long it takes for them to be consistently released. Given chapters only come out once every couple months, and it's usually only about 10-20 pages. It must take Kizu very long to produce, and I have nothing against her. It's just a bit frustrating when there's only a little bit of material that comes out every two months.

Overall : 9/10

This will continue to be my favorite shounen-ai/music series for a long time, I think. I have seen nothing like this with the label BL slapped on it, and people actually received it very well. I absolutely love the fact that you can enjoy Given regardless of gender, sexuality, and any other factor out there.

An ambitious story that leaves you wanting more I read given trying to feel a little bit of what i felt for the first time, when i was 14 and i watched the new BL anime of the season, but i couldnt find anything. Given is one of my favorite anime of all time. I can tell that the mangaka wanted to go beyond a story that revolved around love as the only motivation, she wanted to create a more ambitious project, and i honestly believe she did, and i hope this set a milestone for others BL. Given is amazing, the story hasthe ability of making you feel brutally connected with each one of the characters, i could feel in each moment what Mayufu and Uenoyama were feeling, my heart would move according what was going on, that particular connetion is what i felt as a 14-year-old teenager watching the anime for the first time and what i felt last week when i re-watched, reasonably is what i expected to feel reading the manga, and even tho my heart was moving as i was reading, my brain wasnt satisfied with the story.

As i said, i liked the ambitous side of the story, but its the same reason why i ended up not liking it. Long story short, very few chapters for too many things going on. On and off, I forgot whose story I was reading. I needed to know more about Mafuyu and Ritsuka, i need to know more about Yuki, i need to know more about them and their musical journey. but they constantly abandoned the story to tell someone else's. It starts with a bang, but fizzles out before you even get a chance to fully grasp it.

I liked it anyway, I won't lie, but I was left wanting more. The anime is better, the anime is thrilling and and I dare say only the first season.

The story is beautiful and also makes you begin to appreciate the music more and more. I love the detail of the author for having researched about music facts, details, instruments, even real places to make the story a little more real. You get attached to the characters, some of them or most of them, but there are a few (huge) things you can't forgive, although it also depends on one's perspective, like Akihiko and Ugetsu situation or the moment that you can see Haruki's heart break in a lot of pieces because of Akihiko. I only forgave Akihiko because he changed, but I won'tforget what he did in the past.

I am ready to receive all the slops for this review. I like Given, but to say it is a masterpiece of realistic BL, I don't think so. These are BL standards and the level is so low and weak that compared to others, Given looks like a masterpiece. But let's start from the beginning. The main couple is fine. Uenoyama is quite okay as a character. I like him, but his boyfriend ... he's such a dull, shallow, and boring character that he's like your typical shounen main character. I will come back to my beloved Akihiko and Haruka after that. In typical yaoi, the author alsomakes such love chemistry that everyone screams that they are a couple and kiss 24/7. In the case of Given, it is somewhat shallow in the sense that it is well between the main couple but they lack some of that love chemistry. But it's good.

The plot cannot be called PWP. We have some common ideas for a music group here. The initial chapters are quite boring, but then the action takes place in a more interesting way. Some chapters are a bit boring, but not bad, it's fun to read. Sometimes there is too much drama, as befits BL.

I don't like the design of the characters because they look quite the same. The only character that stands out from the rest is Akihiko. Others look the same; even the hairstyles are similar, let alone the faces. What I don't like.

For characters, I can give 5, max. 6 out of 10. They are not hysterical, with the emotional development of an elementary school student, and behaving as if they grew somewhere away from people and society in some amoral world like the characters Junjou Romantica or Sekaiichi H. But some really lack that personality and depth. Especially Mafuyu. But it is OK.

And now the problem starts because we have Haruka X Akihiko's reports here. And with this relationship, the series shoots itself in the leg, because it has done what can be called a "classic" BL relationship. And I can already see these screams about how Given is different. But criticism of authorities is also important because remember one simple thing. If something is considered good, or even the best in the eyes of the public, it does not mean that its problematic aspects cannot be questioned or criticized. Yes, we're talking about a sexual assault, a scene that looks a thousand times creepy and rapey in the manga. Hell no. No rape devices, please. And they say it is not romanticized in one of the meanings of the term, yes, but it is not, but it may be about normalization. The term romanticization refers to the fact that something is presented as, for example, normal or even romantic while being bad. The thing yaoi manga writers love even more than I do is the bad boy-good boy thread. In the case of Given, part of the talk may be about normalization. Why? Because Akihiko and Haruki end up together after that. So the series says it's okay to meet the person who attacked you. And this matter is swept under the rug, it is not moved as if nothing happened. Given had potential here, but it blew it with a bang. Akihiko was supposedly a bad guy with problems, but then he realized he was acting badly ?? and he has changed, but this is so stupid and unrealistic. Aki for me personally, as he was an asshole and he was (I invite you to check my given movie review). Haruki, so he's Akihiko's boyfriend, he's fine, I just feel sorry for him because he's too light-hearted and a little naive.

Overall Given is fine, I can recommend it, but somehow I don't consider it a BL masterpiece.

I saw the anime first, and then bought the mangas, and the only thing that I have to say is: it's perfect. It became my favourite anime and manga, the art, the story, everything is just PERFECT. This isn't yaoi, this is a really cute story with no fetichization of gay man. It's literally a masterpiece. I can't wait to read the others volumes. Mafuyu, Uenoyama, Akihiko and Haruki are all well writen characters, the devolepment of Mafuyu is amazing, I just love all about this manga and anime. The art is so cute that I'm considering doing a tattoo with my bestfriend, NewPop (inBrazil) made an excellent work on the manga as well. Just PERFECT, I have no other words to describe this work besides: masterpiece, perfect, amazing.

Thank you, Natsuki Kizu.

(Spanish review below) The truth is that I feel confused as to whether I love Given or if I don't. If you asked me, I would say yes. It's a manga that I've enjoyed a lot, especially in the last re-reading. But I don't think it's perfect either, not even close. It has many errors. However, I think it's above most BL's. You have to ask yourself if that makes Given a good manga or a good BL. My problem is, above all, the first and last volumes of the manga. The author has said that Given was intended as a single volume, then as a two-volumemanga, then as a three-volume manga. It wasn't until the fourth volume that it was considered a more complete and extensive work. And that shows. The first three volumes of the manga are the ones that advance the fastest and it takes away a lot of development from the story. We skip elements that I consider necessary, not only for the development of the relationship between Mafuyu and Uenoyama, but also their relationship with the band and, above all, their relationship with music. In that sense, the anime fill all those gaps. That's why I recommend watching the anime at the same time you read the manga or afterwards (although I don't like the anime's animation at all, but that's another topic).

After this first arc, comes my favorite part of the story: Ugetsu. I mean, Haruki, Kaji and Ugetsu. That plot is being sewn from the first volume, although as a secondary plot, so it does have more development. It's a plot that seems much deeper, much more complex and, unfortunately, more toxic. The scene between Haruki and Kaji is... unfortunate. And the relationship between Ugetsu and Kaji is a relationship full of pain. However, like I said, it's an arc I really enjoy. However, the outcome, even though it's the most romantic and happy for the plot, isn't the one that satisfies me the most.

The last volumes focus on Hiiragi and Shizusumi. As characters, I like them, but not as protagonists. One thing that Given lacks, like many other mangas or books, is wanting to match all of its characters. And, precisely, wanting to match them with each other, when that isn't how it works in the reality and it only makes it look forced. Above all, in BL mangas, it seems that all the characters are homosexual (with the occasional bisexual), when that isn't how it works either (the same thing happens to me with stories where all the characters are heterosexual; in the reality, it's difficult for extremes like that to exist). I would have preferred this arc to focus again on Uenoyama and Maguyu, who have too much on their plate already for anyone else to take the spotlight away from them.

Even though, in a way, the last volume focuses again on Mafuyu, it feels like an eternity since we knew about our protagonist.

I like all the characters. But Mafuyu and Ugetsu steal the focus for me. Both have a relationship with music that goes beyond "I like it" or "I don't like it." The music comes to life when the manga focuses on them. It's like they're both music. Although the manga focuses more on the romantic aspect, having music as a subplot, this is the most interesting point for me. And Mafuyu and Ugetsu make the plot and the readers suddenly remember that the manga is supposed to be about music. Neither of them has a similar relationship with music, but both forms still feel valid and real. In fact, Ugetsu's story is the most painful for me: consciously deciding that you will be alone for the rest of your life because you cannot leave what you are passionate about aside.

The first time I read the manga, I didn't really care about Yuki. It partly makes sense, because the manga forgets about him quickly. However, in this rereading, his death is what hurt me the most. I can't imagine how terrible it must be to go through the experience that Mafuyu went through. And that's why I would like the first two volumes to be longer, to take the time to develop Mafuyu and his growth. But you can't expect much if the same author says that Mafuyu is the character she understands the least...

Returning to Yuki, I would like to know more about him and what happened to make him end up the way he did. However, if what the author wanted was to focus on Mafuyu's experience and not Yuki's death, that's fine with me. The problem is, as I said, the little development that this experience has.

Anyway. Having said all this, it seems that I don't like the manga. In fact, I like it a lot. And because I like it so much, it makes me angry that it doesn't have a more conscious work behind it, that it doesn't have a better development in general. It's a manga that has a lot of potential and remains on the surface. That's what makes me angry. And considering I like that surface so much, I can't even imagine how much I'd like it if I went deeper.

I recommend it? Yeah.

Is it the best manga? No.

The best BL? No, first there is Doukyuusei; example that, in just one volume (the first, for example) the characters and the story can be developed much better.

...

Lo cierto es que me siento confusa en cuanto a si amo a Given o si no lo hago. Si me preguntaran, diría que sí. Es un manga que he disfrutado mucho, sobre todo en la última relectura. Pero tampoco creo que es perfecto, ni de cerca. Tiene muchos errores. Sin embargo, creo que está por encima de la mayoría de BL's. Habría que preguntarse si eso lo hace un buen manga o un buen BL.

Mi problema se haya en los primeros y en los últimos tomos del manga. La misma autora ha dicho que Given estaba pensado como un tomo único, después como un manga de dos tomos, después como uno de tres. Recién a partir del cuarto tomo es que se pensó como una obra más completa y extensa. Y eso SE NOTA. Se nota mucho. Los tres primeros tomos del manga son los que más rápido avanzan y esto le quita muchísimo desarrollo a la historia. Nos saltamos elementos que considero necesarios, no sólo para el desarrollo de la relación entre Mafuyu y Uenoyama, sino también su relación con la banda y, sobre todas las cosas, su relación con la música. En ese sentido, el anime se detiene a llenar todos esos huecos. Eso es por eso que recomiendo que miren el anime a medida que lean el manga o lo vean después (aunque la animación del anime no me gusta nada, pero ese es otro tema).

Pasados este primer arco, entramos a mi parte favorita de la historia: Ugetsu. Digo, Haruki, Kaji y Ugetsu. Esa trama se va cociendo ya desde el primer tomo, aunque como una trama secundaria, por lo que sí tiene más desarrollo. Es una trama que me parece mucho más profunda, mucho más compleja y, por mala suerte, más tóxica. La escena entre Haruki y Kaji es... lamentable. Y la relación entre Ugetsu y Kaji es una relación llena de dolor. Sin embargo, como dije, es un arco que disfruto mucho. Aunque sí es cierto que el desenlace de este, por más que sea el más romántico y feliz para la trama, no es el que me satisface más.

Los últimos tomos se centran en Hiiragi y Shizusumi. Como personajes, me gustan, pero no como protagonistas. Algo de lo que peca Given, como muchos otros mangas o libros, es de querer emparejar a todos sus personajes. Y, precisamente, de querer emparejarlos entre ellos, cuando así no es como funciona en la realidad y sólo hace que se vea forzado. Sobre todo, en los mangas BL, parece que todos los personajes son homosexuales (con algún que otro bisexual), cuando eso tampoco pasa así (lo mismo me pasa con las historias donde todos los personajes son heterosexuales; en la realidad, es difícil que existan extremos así). Hubiese preferido que este arco volviese a centrarse en Uenoyama y Maguyu, que tienen demasiadas cosas entre manos ya como para que alguien más les quite el protagonismo.

Por más de que, en cierto modo, el último tomo vuelve a centrarse en Mafuyu, se siente como una eternidad desde que supimos de nuestro protagonista.

Me gustan todos los personajes. Pero Mafuyu y Ugetsu se roban el foco para mí. Ambos tienen una relación con la música que va más allá de "me gusta" o "no me gusta". La música cobra vida cuando el manga se centra en ellos. Es como si ambos fueran música, de alguna forma. Si bien el manga se centra más en el aspecto romántico, teniendo a la música como una subtrama, este es el punto más interesante para mí. Y Mafuyu y Ugetsu hacen que la trama y los lectores recordemos, de pronto, que se supone que el manga se trata de música. Ninguno de los dos tiene una relación similar con la música, pero aún así ambas formas se sienten válidas y reales. De hecho, la historia de Ugetsu es para mí la más dolorosa: el decidir conscientemente que estarás solo por el resto de tu vida porque no puedes dejar eso que te apasiona de lado.

La primera vez que leí el manga, Yuki me dio completamente igual. Sinceramente, no me importaba en lo más mínimo el personaje. En parte tiene sentido, porque el manga se olvida de él con rapidez. Sin embargo, con esta relectura, su muerte es lo que más me dolía. No me puedo imaginar lo terrible que debe ser pasar por la experiencia que Mafuyu vivió. Y es por eso que me gustaría que los primeros dos tomos fueran más extensos, que se tomen el tiempo de desarrollar a Mafuyu y a su crecimiento. Pero no se puede esperar mucho si la misma autora dice que Mafuyu es el personaje que menos entiende...

Volviendo a Yuki, me gustaría saber más de él y de qué es lo que pasó para que acabase como acabase. Sin embargo, si lo que la autora quería era centrarse en la experiencia de Mafuyu y no en la muerte de Yuki, me parece bien. El problema es, como dije, el poco desarrollo que tiene esta experiencia.

En fin. Habiendo dicho todo esto, parece que el manga no me gusta. De hecho, me gusta mucho. Y porque me gusta tanto, me enoja que no esté mejor pensado, que no tenga un trabajo más consciente detrás, que no tenga un mejor desarrollo en general. Es un manga que tiene muchísimo potencial y se queda en la superficie. Eso es lo que me enoja. Y, teniendo en cuenta que esa superficie me gusta tanto, no me puedo ni imaginar cuánto me gustaría si profundizara más.

¿Lo recomiendo? Sí.

¿Es el mejor manga? No.

¿El mejor BL? No, primero está Doukyuusei; ejemplo de que, en sólo un tomo (el primero, por ejemplo) se puede desarrollar mucho mejor a los personajes y a la historia.

Given is a drama story about a boy-band, their relationship with each other and all the problems that they go through. My first experience with Given was watching the anime, I quickly became a fan of the characters and the story, so I decided to buy some volumes of the manga because i was pretty much interested. And God what knows how it was a good choice. Given offers such a good representation of mourning, the confusion about your own feelings, the issues within a toxic relationship, the feeling that you're not enough, the feeling of loneliness. All of this and more are gathered into thisone and only piece of work called Given presented in an amazing way with characters you start to sympathize the deeper and deeper you get into the story.

Story: 10.

As I just mentioned, the plot involves so many delicated topics with mastery, in a way that actually can make you feel, or at least barely understand what the characters are going through.

writing: 9.

I liked the choice of words in many times. Mainly the parts that include poetic ways to express a feeling, those are the best, making analogies and metaphors with music, voice, heart, turning the moment even more intense.

Characters: 10.

there are very good characters, not talking about my feelings for them, but their construction as a whole. Their background and personality is built and developed so well, and even though there might be some kind of "cliche" personality, they're still well written, deep and human. Their story share everything about them, everything they go through, all of their feelings, why they're like this, why they're like that, it's all so good and i'm so invested in all of them even if it's a character i'm not a huge fan. Mainly the main characters of course, as expected, they have much more development than the others, and even if they do are more deepened, some secondary characters have their moment, and it makes everything better because it doesn't turn into a shallow piece of work that we only get to know about the main characters, it shows us about the other ones that are part of the story, that are not there just because, and it just makes Given even more better.

Art: 10.

i love it. It's so beautiful. The artstyle of the author is simply divine. Of course this is my personal opinion. More broadly speaking, the panels know very well to express characters emotions, the scenes are well put in the dialogues, the background is also well done and it's not very confusing.

Overall: 10.

Do i even have much more to say? I was clear about how much i find Given a masterpiece and I simply love everything about it, the characters, the story, the dialogues, the sad moments, the happy moments, the funny moments, the only art moments, everything!

The manga is sensational and great for those who enjoy a drama, a romance and poetry.

Thanks for reading!

BL is known for sexualizing gay men and unrealistic relationships. This book doesn't do that. The story progression is nice, the characters are very well written, and their is no over-sexualization or over-romanticization of the characters and their relationship in fact it is quite dark and painful at times, but the cute moments are very cute and wholesome. I just want the boys to be happy. It tugs at your heart strings and doesn't let go. And it will hurt to read, there were many times I had to put down the book for the day because it got to intense for me. Anotherthing you should be aware of if you start this series is that it is VERY slow. About one chapter comes out every 2 months and there are around 5 chapters in a volume plus the time they take to translate it means they only get released about once a year. Honestly though, the Mangaka probably has a lot to do and puts a lot of thought in to the characters so it's not that big of a problem for me, quality over quantity. So, if you want an emotional rollercoaster that will make you cry I would definitely recommend this series.

Well... I love this manga, I'm in love with the songs and I had a lot of emotions reading. The characters are interesting, the art is beautiful. At first I had a little trouble recognizing who was who, some seemed to have the same face. Some balloons were also confusing to read, I always get confused when there is no indication of where the speech comes from and all the characters in the scene are with their mouths closed. You have to guess by personality, but I didn't find it that easy to distinguish. 99% of the featured male characters are incredibly gay or bisexual. Ithink it's cool, I love it when there's diversity, but it seemed a little unreal how they all liked another man, especially someone from their own band. It gave a little impression that the author was trying to include all possible romantic tropes of MLM. I was even surprised to see a straight couple having a little focus. Like, amazing how they managed to gather so many men attracted to other men in the same social circle, only one of them wasn't and who knows, he could be bisexual too. It was a surprise whenever a woman showed up, none of them has much prominence either

My biggest annoyance, in fact, was the development of the characters. I started reading more interested in the story of Uenoyama and Mafuyu, especially Mafuyu. The two alone already have too much baggage for a drama that would yield, at least, half of the manga. However, he focused more on the adult characters, especially the two oldest of the band. I love them, I cried too much with Ugetsu's story, in a manga just for them I would have loved it, but it seems that this totally left Mafuyu and Uenoyama aside. Even their friends had their problems resolved before. It seems that the author wanted to develop everything, so that in the end he could focus on the two MCs. It's a choice, but I didn't really like it

I even found it strange how adults had so many problems and everyone was immature and terrible at solving them, while the teenagers of the story knew how to handle things honestly and easily.

After several chapters developing a drama, everything is solved quickly too. The same happens with the main couple, they are put aside for the most part, to in the end rush a conclusion. It looked like it would be a high school manga, but then this part of the story was completely forgotten, some things only came to be mentioned in the last chapters very briefly. That's why I feel a little disappointed with the development of Mafuyu and Uenoyama. From Yuki too, I expected more depth on this theme.

Despite everything, I had the opportunity to read while listening to the songs and it was an INCREDIBLE experience. I cried and got very emotional. Ignoring these points I mentioned before, they are dramas that make us feel a lot, hatred, anger, sadness, impatience, sympathy, etc. It shows several types of love, so I found it interesting.

It's a very good story, beautiful, I just didn't like her planning very much. Perfect script, director not so much.

It's a 9 for me, still, because the reading experience is more important to me and I freaked out a lot reading.

Oh gosh Love is painful in this story and too realistic. I love every character and want only happiness for each and every one of them but the changes in their lives as seasons roll and their past and everything really that makes us human is shown really well in this. Just get ready for all the frustrations and sadness that come with happiness and comfort in this story. Also don't judge the characters too harshly as they are stumbling through their lives but don't expect everything to be fulffy. All in all though this a origin story of a Band and the Bandmates lives and relationships.

Before that, I watched anime and had long planned to start reading manga. And I didn’t regret it one bit. This story combines several themes: music, love and the concept of self. Some will say that there are a lot of predictable moments in this manga, but predictability is not always synonymous with the word bad. Especially if it is written correctly. I like how different characters are shown here and they are all different from each other, from design to story. I also want to note how the main couple (Mafuyu/Uenoyama), spending time together, understand themselves more and more. It touches me how the quiet Mafuyu,unsure of his abilities, slowly opens up thanks to the music, while Uenoyama understands his feelings more by spending time with him.

If you have not watched the anime, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with it so that you can “hear” the pages where there is music.

At the time of writing this review I have finished the main story and I'm just waiting to read the extras. I have to start saying that this manga will always have a special place in my heart. I read most of it during 2020 and followed the releases until the end. But I sadly don't love it anymore as I once did. The main love story was truly amazing and magical for me, it felt so real and simple, it reminded me of what falling in love felt like (I had been in a long term relationship for more than a decade). It seriously was reallynice reading Uenoyama and Mafuyu's story and I love the first arc with all my heart. Akito and Haruki story was a bit harder to read since i'ts a more mature story with complicated and nuanced moments. I could relate to Akito's relationship with Ugetsu so much it was painful, so again, it was a story that felt very real and I also loved it very much and I mostly liked how the conflicts got resolved. Very dramatic, very amazing imo.

But I think that's the point where the manga lost its magic. After Akito and Haruki's story, it was sadly a rapid downward spiral and it was really sad to see a manga I loved so much end in such a low note both in story telling and art syle. I did not enjoy the extreme change in art style at the end. I enjoyed the growth and stylistic changes the mangaka had during the publishing, but the character designs at the very end… I truly dislike it, they look deformed imo.

I just think the ending of the first arc is pure perfection and I'd consider this a masterpiece if that's where it had ended, but it wasn't, so I have to admit, overall this manga is just good, plainly good. It has a lot of good things that are worth reading, but that's it. When taken into account that it includes some very controversial non-con (at best dubious-con) moments, I don't think everyone may enjoy this one. I still consider it a worth read and I hope people enjoy the good parts as much as I did.

I have an absolute problem with overrated style over substance pieces of media, and nothing falls into that category more than the Given manga. Absent of the soundtrack, wonderful music, and fantastic voice acting of the TV ani and films, this story-only form of Given has nearly nothing going for it except a great early arc, a couple of fantastic pages after that, compelling character profiles and its fantastic art. You have to say, this author can design and draw characters. They are proportional, unique from one another, don't have classic anime face, and are all very attractive. She is a wonderful artist. I withheld thisreview until the series officially ended, because I was in fact told by many parties that the "real meat" of the story was coming. It was coming! Haruki's development, Ugetsu's postscript, Ritsuka's work/life balance arc, it's all coming! This is one of the great BL of all time, after all.

Yeah. It never came. Big surprise.

Just remember, before you call this one of the best BLs and/or music manga of all time, that after 50 chapters of calling this work "Given," and an entire Hiiragi Mix of drama separating Uenoyama and Mafuyu specifically over the *very fact of Given's debut*, Given's debut...

...was a montage. A single page montage. What happened around it? What did the meetings about it look like, what did the day feel like, what did the characters think and how did it play out? Dunno. Try and read their facial expressions from the one panel that contained a meeting between them and their manager. Some might have had hope that 10th mix or what came afterwards would have plot and be good writing, but that was the point at which I perfectly understood how many effs she still gave about the series. A shame about those who genuinely looked forward to entire character arcs in the sequel.

In the end, this was neither a story about music, about what it means to logistically be a band, nor, after around chapter 42, even a proper romance drama of any kind. Nor was it an especially effective slice of life established relationship fiction, either, as the characters who had gotten together had little to no progression in their relationships. As someone who was in love with the TV anime, and the early arcs of this manga, and many of these characters, I can only express my disappointment that the author simply cannot write plots past thirty or so chapters.

I would never recommend this story to anybody whose emotions I care about. The characters have fantastic personality profiles and endless potential, yet, in the end, almost none of it was fulfilled. Which might be worse than a manga who shows its mediocre hand from the start. If you're reading for the found family or band aspect of the band, "Given," better give up while you're ahead. Unless you're satisfied with a handful of cute panels of the four of them looking up at the sky together or sitting in a break room exchange filler dialogue; which is basically all you'll get after the first twenty or so chapters.

I'm not a person given to much regret in my life. But the one thing I would do if I had a time machine is go back in time and stop myself from investing emotionally in this manga. What a mistake it was. These were all lovely characters with fantastic potential, from Ritsuka, to Haruki, to Ugetsu, and she wasted all three of them, and a couple others, besides. If you care about yourself, and you haven't read this manga yet, don't. It'll lead you to one of the most disappointing denouements and endings you can imagine.

This review contains a spoiler but it's also a trigger warning. The first arc was cute with realistic elements. Haruki, Ugetsu and Akihiko's arc showcases sexual assault which is forgiven instantly without the other party apologizing nearly enough but also gives us the best character so far, Ugetsu. Hiiragi and Shizumi's arc so far is enjoyable. All characters are easy to differenciate because they are all very different in regards of personality, desire and relationship with music. The art is good enough. The narrative is at times poetic which makes it nostalgic but also has funny moments. The story is driven by feelings rather than plot. Notthe best BL out there - most manhwas and danmei novels are far ahead but it's still a nice one. Only bad thing is that since the sexual assault happened I don't know what else could happen and be forbidden in the story.

Destacable: Mafuyu and Ugetsu's relatioship with music.

Trigger warnings: a few panels of sexual asssault and almost rape; mentions and vague images of suicide.