Review of given
In the history of almost every BL anime, there has never been an anime so down-to-earth and modern than this one. Please, before you dismiss it for its "shounen ai" tag, I want to clear up a few things. While the majority of BL has a lot of sexual acts and even harassment, with almost no plot and just flippant fanservice, there are some that are real gems with actual plot. This anime, Given, is such a gem. Trust when I say it is definitely not like typical fujoshi bait shounen ai anime. It's a refreshing take on anime the emotional impact left by thisanime will leave you in tears with its heartbreaking story.
I won't spoil the anime, because honestly even if I tried I could not grasp its beauty with just words alone. You'd have to watch it for yourself to feel the story. I'll give a brief summary though if you want to know how it starts off and will mainly be about. Uenoyama is a sole guitarist in a band with two other people, Haruki and Akihiko. One day, he comes across Mafuyu Sato, who has broken his guitar strings and Uenoyama fixes it for him; thus begins the start of their friendship. Throughout the anime, Uenoyama learns more about Mafuyu and himself, and eventually the groundbreaking truth about Mafuyu's life. The anime centers around not only the relationship but around music as well. Now, here is where the anime shies away from being "just another BL anime".
Mafuyu joins Uenoyama's band where they continue to open up a little more at a time, and break Mafuyu's shell. Mafuyu is a very closed character at first, but with more interactions and learning to face the truth, Uenoyama guides him to break free from it all. The music all plays a huge part in this role, and is what leads Mafuyu to better express himself like he wasn't able to before.
The music will honestly leave you in tears, with its profound intensity and emotional lyrics. It'll give you chills to the bone. Not much anime can have such an impact. The opening is my favorite one so far and I never once skipped it. It's catchy but also heavy with the message in the lyrics. Please, at least check out the lyrics.
Throughout everything, the characters develop more emotionally and this anime will make you feel that, too. There's no "tee hee almost got ya" base flirting like that; this story is about real life issues like learning to trust someone, and not let the past overtake you.
Each episode will always leave you wondering what's going to happen next and make you want more. Its deep message and character developments will leave their imprint on you, and at times make you sad enough to cry. I can see 100% guaranteed that this anime is so much more than just a cheesy love story, too. If you love being shaken to the core with eye-widening heartfelt moments, then I absolutely recommend without a doubt that you watch this beautiful anime, Given.