Review of given

I finished given a while ago and now that the film is going to be released here is my review Story: 10/10 The story covers some very heavy subjects such as suicide, abuse and loss as well first love. They are all portrayed in a very respectful manner and in a way that is as less triggering as possible. The author has not hesitated to talk about how heavy it is to lose someone so dear to you and to have kept it all inside. Episode 9 spoke very close to me since I myself am very bad with expressing myself. It gave me goosebumps asdid all of the anime (and the manga even more)

Art: 10/10

There is not much to explain with this other than both the illustrator and the animation studio have done an incredible job with the animation and art for this anime. The colours are very fitting and each scene gives off the vibe you expect it to give. The guitar/drums animation was very good as well

Sound: 10/10

Centimillimental's Kizuato and Marutsuke which are the opening and ending them respectively gave the mood the anime is going for. The opening is more energetic and flashy while the ending has that sense of nostalgia. The song in episode 9, fuyu no hanashi, is very heavy when you watch the scene and read the lyrics but also very enjoyable to listen by itself.

Characters: 9/10

The characters in Given tend to break the cliche roles that are usually encountered in shounen ai anime. Uenoyama isn't a big protective seme type and Mafuyu isnt a small helpless uke type. All characters are complex and experience both strong and weak moments. Another thing that I personally found refreshing was that none of the characters was sexualised and their appearance didn't immediately correlate to some stereotypes (eg: Akihiko and his more punk image).

Enjoyment: 10/10

I've rewatched the anime countless of times and I'm eagerly awaiting the manga next release as well as the film. This anime has a very healthy approach to some content that is considered taboo (being gay, abuse, suicide, etc.) and for that reason it has made me, an lgbt+ individual feel nice.

Overall: 10/10

As an anime it breaks a stereotype that used to be prominent in shounen ai/yaoi anime, that gay relationships are inherently sexual, that the seme can push the uke into doing it and that the seme must be older or at least more experienced. Given shows a very refreshing side of two teenagers trying to figure out how to be themselves and how to cope with loss. Definitely watch this anime but keep in mind that suicide is mentioned so tread carefully.