Review of given

I'm having a hard time figuring out what to start this review with, simply because even days after its conclusion I still have so many thoughts and feelings swirling around about it. Perhaps saying "nevermind the genre categories" is a good start. Sure, they give clues as to what to expect, but expectations are dangerous. Many of those words that describe genre have way too many negative connotations, which inevitably influence one's decision to watch or avoid a certain anime. And even without those connotations, I'm sure "shounen ai" is something many people avoid on principle. Well, here's a great reason why you should not.A great reason why you should ignore genres.

And yet, at the same time, I can't help being overjoyed for what given brings to those genres, because it is all of those - done exceptionally well and with such a level of grace and dignity across the board that it really is just absolutely wholesome. It does not give in to bad tropes, it does not give in to twisted concepts, it does not give in to fanservice. Heck, the characters themselves aren't what one would usually call "bishounen" or "ikemen": the teens' proportions are more awkward than generally "anime pretty", and the adults have enough dorkiness in their personalities to fall off that scale. It simply tells a story of one teen's overcoming of a trauma in his life, of his finding a path to walk on, of his making friends and finding love. Much, if not most of that is actually subtle instead of in-your-face: things just happen instead of getting drawn out and overanalysed for the sake of shock value or "dramatic effect". I'm sure everyone can find at least one character and/or one situation that's very relatable on a personal level: we've all been "there", we've all been "that guy". It's also sprinkled with a few laughs here and there to ease the serious parts, in a very organic way that's actually natural and doesn't stand out. And, of course, with music, not only of the audio kind but also the visual as well: the close-ups on different instruments and equipment are so detailed and such high quality that even those alone would be worth watching the series for.

I really wish there was more anime like this: a story of life, with real characters and situations, without all the bad "frills". Forget what preconceptions you have of any of its listed genres and give this a chance, because given is all those genres as they should be done - it's all those genres done right.