Review of given

Ok, first things first, we have to acknowledge that, as happened in the last 10 years or so, short animes (12 eps to 24 eps) are usually done to advertise the manga, game, novel or other source. THAT’S BEING SAID!!! – And this is very important – these kind of animes will almost always give the feeling of “unfinished” or to be continued” at the end. THAT’S THEIR POINT! A lot of people ranks animes lower because of this, but if they don’t let people curious and look out for the source, what would be the point of making an advertising anime? Ad animes are usually low tomedium budget. They have no intention of getting new seasons and the only reason they are being made is for the sake of ADVERTISING THE SOURCE!!!! They have to be short, they must have as much manga content as possible inside as few episodes they can, without catching up the manga to the publishing point, but with enough plot to get the consumer involved. That’s why short animes are often rushed or dragging.
If everything goes well with sales and profits and numbers, we may get a second season or another new content to boost the source again. (So go buy that manga or game or whatever if you can or at least advertise it to more people, like Jojo fans do to the rest of the world *ahem*watch Jojo*cough*)

“Given” is one of those Ad animes (but, lucky we are, we will get a movie right ahead hehe).

At first, I thought Given to be a music anime with romance in it, but it’s more the contrary, a romance anime with music in it. But it is not bad, no, not at all! Actually, the romance is also about music, because besides the romantic love between characters, there’s also their own personal love towards music, what makes the show very enjoyable. Every character shows their love in different ways and I felt it to be so human, so real. I was amazed.

I love light-hearted animes, with the right dose of drama, and Given is just like that. It’s true that everything was a bit toned down compared to the manga, making it overall feel a bit duller, but as I said before: Ad Animes have limitations. Please be considerate of the poor souls who makes them. (As an animator myself, I know the pain).
The anime, being short, is much more subtle than the manga when it’s about the characters inner thoughts and emotions and even plotwise. Overall, it’s still very enjoayble. (I have read the manga only after watching the anime, that’s my strategy. Now I suffer cuz I reached the publishing chapters.)

This does not mean tho the character have no development and are plain. With four protagonists, being two romantic pairs, each episode we are showed a bit of their personal lives, practical goals, motivations, and some backstory that help us add one to one and understand some stuff between the lines. None of them feels more main than the other and love that, that they are equaly displayed, even though the anime focused a bit more in the romance between Ritsuka and Mafuyu that Kaji and Haru (because it happens later in the manga).
For a 11 episode anime, this is a feat!

I think a lot of people avoided this anime as it is tagged “shounen-ai” as there’s A LOT of weird\problematic shounen-ai out there, and by extension “Yaoi” – but “Given” is so wholesome, so cool, please watch it! Give it a try! It IS good! The relationships are displayed in such a very positive, wholesome, down to earth way! (At least between the 4 main characters at this point).

"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"
–84DaysWithout

For an 11 episode anime (that usually are low to medium budget, as I said), the animation was okay. Sometimes we all go trough some really gruesome animation derps in some animes *I’m looking at you DMMD* , but overall Given was above average. Of course, not being an action anime helps, but still. They did their job well. There was some minor 3D invasons but nothing bad to the point of wating to take off my eyes with a spoon *this time I’m looking at you UTAPRI*
The colours and aesthetics tho, those were reaaaaly great. It gave the perfect vibe for the series.

Also, I’m NOT gonna lie, I’m a sucker for fluff content AND my sense of humour is very cheap, so Given really picked me in my weakness in this part. This is EXACTLY the type of romance that gives me butterflies in my tummy, much fluff very comedy.
Also their funny faces, their personalities, I love them so much. THEY NEED TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. They are all disaster gays I love it.

The only downside the anime had for me was… being it an music anime I was expecting more…. music??? Not musical content, you see? You are constantly seeing the characters trainning and getting ready to perform. You see them grow musicaly and all. But maybe because the anime is so short, the OST is very short as well, but for a music anime I honestly I was expecting a bit more. There are like the OP, the ED and 1 insert song. The rest is short instrumentals (before Mafuyu joined the band they had no vocalist) and that’s about it. There’s no more songs for me to cry about!!!!!

Anywayyyyyy….. I gave Given 9.5/10 (having in consideration the points I gave you). I would totally recommend to anyone, be a fan of shounen-ai or not. Also, if you enjoyed the anime, take a look at the manga, it’s really good!