Review of given

I am well aware, as a queer woman, that I am not the target demographic for this anime, but nonetheless, I liked it. Some characters are kinda bland and it’s cheesy/dumb at times, but it managed to keep me invested. It’s genuinely pretty funny. Haruki’s reactions to stuff and what I can only describe as Ritsuka’s very relatable gay-panic were my favorite and made me laugh quite a lot. But even so, it actually made me cry twice, having struggled with suicide as a teen, that whole backstory really hit hard. (watch out my anger is showing) Some of the negative reviews I’ve read have criticized the factthat almost every character is “just gay for like zero reasons at all” or they're disappointed that the anime doesn't "address how hard it is to be gay in a bigoted world".

First of all, there’s never a reason for someone being queer (just ask my mother) and queer people hang out with other queer people just cuz.

Next, the “lack” of gay-bashing or serious conversations about homophobia is really refreshing, because I try to find media about people I can relate to and constantly have to trudge through a bunch of sad porn for straight people. So having an anime full of queer people with no homophobia, no “forbidden romance “, or fear, is really fucking great in my opinion.

Soooo anyway… good show. It’s not like ground-breaking or gonna leave you on the edge of your seat, it’s just a positive show that left a good impression on me.