An Anime Review 'Given'

Given is an anime based on the manga by Kizu Natsuki about a group of guys in a band. The show is produced by Studio Lerche (Kanata no Astra, Classroom of the Elite), and was distributed via streaming through Crunchyroll. The director is Yamaguchi Hiraku, with the series composition handled by Ayana Yuniko (Bakuman., Nanatsu no Taizai). The leads are comprised of Mafuyumand Uenoyama, played by Yano Shougo (Mob psycho 100, Nanatsu no Taizai) and Uchida Yuuma (ReLIFE, Tokyo Ghoul:re) respectively. The music was composed by Michiru (7 Seeds, Bem). So far the show consists of 11 episodes with a film planned with the same crew, estimated to be released in 2020.

This is an anime that revolves around two high school boys, Uenoyama and Mafuyu. The two of them happen to meet by chance one day at school and become friends. Uenoyama is a talented guitarist that likes to play basketball with his friends, and Mafuyu is a boy that carries around a guitar that he cannot play. They meet as a result of Mafuyu sleeping on the spot that Uenoyama usually sleeps at, and it was the guitar that strikes up a conversation in the first place. From then on Mafuyu meets Uenoyama's bandmates, is taught how to play the guitar, and is asked to join the band after hearing him sing.

What I was expecting from this anime is a simply anime about guys playing music and hoping to make it big. To my surprise, much of the show is dedicated to the emotions and the internal turmoil that the characters go through. This is not a music anime that happens to have romantic elements in it, this is a romance anime that happens to have music in it, and a very good one at that. It is without a doubt a slow build, as it is not a show that has a traditional heterosexual relationships on the line; in fact all the band members are either gay or bisexual. The show goes so far as to address how awkward someone would feel when the characters are experiencing these emotions towards one of the same sex rather than the opposite, and the subject matter is treated in a wonderfully tasteful manner where it is the emotions that are in the spotlight. Romance is, at the end of the day, romance, regardless of the sex of the partner, and the fact that the show addresses this in such a matter-of-fact way is refreshing to see.

The four leads, the members of the band, are all very distinct from each other. There is a loud and confident one, the shy one, the prudent one, and the emotionally available one. The four interact with each other in a very entertaining way that is a joy to watch. That being said, they are just as compelling individually. The longer the series goes on, the more three-dimensional they become, and the earnestness of their emotions was so well portrayed that even as a boringly straight university student, their experience with love is incredibly touching. So much so that when they finally play their first gig, it is such a cathartic moment because of the sheer intensity of the vocals, and the meaning it holds for the characters.

Visually the look of the anime was fantastic, as is usually the case when it comes to a studio Lerche anime. There is a high level of polish to the show that makes it incredibly pleasing to look at on an aesthetic level. There are warm colours in nearly every frame that radiate positive emotion. The characters look distinct from each other which only goes to add to the distinction in personality. The jam session in the opening episode was fantastic to watch, however this high standard was bafflingly stiff when it comes to the movement of the 3D models, to the point that the characters fail to retain even a fraction of the energy when it came to the climactic moment when the band performs on stage for the first time. There is a rigidity to the characters which creates a dissonance with the passion of the vocals and the intensity of the music that actually took me out of the show whenever there was a wide shot with all the band members in shot. This definitely hindered the full impact of the episode and the emotional catharsis behind it.

The music is well-crafted and fits into the setting of the anime like a glove. In fact I have actually been listening to the track "Fuyu no Hanashi" on loop for the past couple of days. What is great is that the show spends a lot of time building up the song, taking multiple episodes from the song's inception in the conceptual stage, the composition, and finally the performance of it. The fact that the show takes the time to show the laborious process is great to see, and the moment of it being performed is all the more satisfying to witness. I feel this is the reason why I was able to enjoy the band's performance, despite the fact that the visuals definitely held it back. At the end of the day, to use the modern vernacular, it is in fact, a ‘banging tune.’

I would like to pose that the reason why I may have been left disappointed by the final performance could be because it came after I had witnessed the fantastic animation that went into the performances of Carole and Tuesday, and anything less would come as a disappointment. That being said, after having watched the first episode performance again, it was definitely better in all aspects.

Ultimately would this be a show I recommend? I would say yes, as long as you go into it as a slice of life, coming of age romance, that happens to have a music theme to it rather than vice versa. The show is available to watch on Crunchyroll.