What a disappointing sequel. Everything that made "given" a good anime in the first season and the first movie? This movie does the opposite of that. Given, in my opinion, had the perfect balance between wholesome and dramatic when it came to same-sex relationships. The two main couples weren't too wholesome to the point where it was boring, but they also weren't too toxic to the point where it was disturbing. Even when that scene happened in the first movie with the second couple, the aftermath was handled super well. But this movie does the complete opposite of that. Forget about the slowburn innocent love of Mafuyu andRitsuka. Forget about the carefully developed mature love of Akihiko and Haruki. Hiiragi and Shizusumi’s relationship is, at most, a cringy Wattpad fic written by a 13-year-old straight girl. Why dedicate a whole movie to the side side couple that is not only irrelevant to the main plot but also falls short in every way compared to the other couples? I wasn’t against the idea of them being together, but this was such a lackluster pairing from start to finish. It comes almost out of nowhere, it relies solely on miscommunication and other toxic tropes, and in the end, those issues aren’t even really resolved. The constant back-and-forth, the vague angst, the lack of any real communication... It all feels cheap. Half the time, you just want to grab these characters and tell them to have a normal, honest conversation instead of tiptoeing around every single emotion.

This arc feels like an afterthought to the author, who had no idea how to conclude it — so she just made them… have sex. And suddenly, all their problems were solved. No emotional groundwork, no proper resolution, just a rushed ending masked as something meaningful. Character development? Consent? Nowhere to be found. Honestly, even their problems felt forced, like an attempt to make their arc feel meaningful by slapping Yuki’s name on it. It also doesn't help that Shizusumi as a character is so insufferable and static that I don't see any redeeming qualities for him, unlike other flawed Given characters.

The only reason I gave this movie a 6 is because I still love the other plotlines and the main 4 characters. That's it. I can't believe this is the same author who wrote the previous arcs.