Given Episode 3 Discussion

THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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I'm glad we're learning more about Mafuyu and having his character fleshed out more. Interesting to see some of the reasons he's been so apprehensive about joining the band. The entire second half of the episode was really well done imo.

Also it's very brief but there's a bit of an after-credits scene.

Oh how I just love it when they talk communication. It always seems so easy, but it really is a challange. It reminds me a bit of "Awkward silence."
Also, can't we get real lyrics now? Pretty please?
On one hand I'd like it to progress a bit faster, but on the other, it's so freakin cute right now. You have to appreciate how they are taking the time for things to develop.
Already waiting for the next ep!

You can do it, Uecchi. I believe in you.

This show knows how to make me feel all fluffy and sad on the inside, Mafuyu's past is a sad one and I'm all prepared for when it'll come in the coming episodes.

But I have to say I still can't get over how much I like Mafuyu's, voice its just so lovely.

I feel really bad for Mafuyu, he wants to do things but is being pulled back by his past. I liked the episode a lot, LOL at Ritsu googling how to ask someone out again after being rejected. He is so awkward and it is so funny to see him try to communicate.

I think at this point we can agree Ritsu is in love.

Holy shit, what an episode.

I love the comedic timing in this show, the first half never failed to make me giggle and smile with the lighthearted comedy.

It's super slow but it works IMO, the chill vibe around a band the show's giving me is great.

Expressing yourself through music will probably be the major theme now, it will help Mafuyu get over what happened in his past. Seeing a person that's probably very related to his past really triggered him.

I love where this is going.

Ahhh, my fujoshi soul shooketh when Mafuyu sang for Uecchi 😍

I have a feeling Mafuyu is gonna have a hella sad backstory and i'm not emotionally ready to see my precious soft boi hurt!

I cannot express how much i freakin' love this anime already... 24 mins per episode is NOT ENOUGH!!!



I could not agree with u more! I think the comedy is brilliant, especially the way it's used to flesh out the secondary characters.

I also agree with you that the slow pace works well because i think it's giving us enough time to really understand and treasure the characters so that we'll care about them a lot

Mod Edit: Merged duplicated posts; please use the edit button.

it's been such a sweet anime so far. i'm glad it's not rushing anything.

Woah never realized the ED was sung by the band until now. Mafuyu does indeed have a nice singing voice lel

the development of both Mafuyu and the lead nice...I am really enjoying it

Pretty good but the gayness will take some used to.

I really like that this is first and foremost a drama show with a focus on music and the relationship develops organically and gradually. A rarity in BL unfortunately. Uenoyama's outburst was a bit out of the blue and insensitive I would say especially if Sato's condition is rooted on a trauma those words can be really hurtful even if they're well-intentioned. I'm really interested in exploration of Sato's character. I think the proper word for it is Alexithymia. He was talking about loneliness so I presume an incident that led to their parents' death has caused the disorder or something along those lines. Can't wait for the next episode.

So not only does this show have Kageyama, Hinata, Tsukki and Asahi, but there's also Akaashi and Kenma? :O I mean, that guy approaching the black-blond guy (Kenma?) at the end was clearly Akaashi >:O

Uenoyama dealing with Satou's "rejection" was so funny. xD The poor guy, he couldn't believe it. First he burned his sister with that question, then tried to rely on an online guide. It was precious, even though it felt like he was being avoided at first, I'm glad Haruki told him that it wasn't the case. Poor Satou just thought that he wasn't good enough because that's what people made him believe. But Uenoyama got mad since he was clearly good enough to shook his core with his voice. It was beautiful, I loved the way the scene was framed, and the "Mafuyu... Sing for me, I like that song too", followed by Uenoyama's thoughts was so good! He knows that he is a mess right now, but I guess it's only because he was never drawn to someone like this, and I'm loving it.

Haruki seemed jealous of Kaji back on their campus too. But on the more somber side of things, Mafuyu seems to be dealing with a lot. As far as I can tell someone close to him died leaving only that guitar behind, and the pain or whatever happened before, during or after this person's passing is still enough to make him run away at the sight of a known face. And that guy seemed a bit unsettled too. I know well the feeling of wanting to run away, but it won't solve anything. Here's hoping he will be able to open himself up to Uenoyama so that he can move on from whatever happened. Uenoyama didn't like to see him like that after all, I'm sure he is going to give him all of his support.

I'm watching only 2 anime this season (which is a lot, seeing that I didn't follow anything for years now) and the difference between the two... One has like 10 things going on at once and this one has this one thing but it's really fleshing it out. I'm not saying the other one's bad though. This one is just so nice because it's slow but you enjoy the pacing and the slowly but gradually growing characters.

It'll probably still be a few episodes, but I'm looking forward to the four of them performing as a band.

This anime is quickly becoming the only one this season I'm genuinely looking forward to each week. Really like how they give out information, not too much, almost subtle, but just enough to keep interested.

Mafuyu is such an airhead, I can relate to Uenoyama with how worried about him he is but it's nice to see that Mafuyu is actually very self-aware. And the communication problem is actually addressed, which is good.

There are some fun moments too and the song is indeed impressive and touching even if it's just la-la-la at this point.

It's because they adapt only one chapter that I am really loving this, but I am also scared they won't cover enough of the manga. (Though, that is still better than covering too much of the manga.)

Last week, I ended up reading the manga because I just couldn't wait for another episode. Some of the panels of the manga were slightly hard to understand. I think the anime makes them more clear.

The manga makes it look like Mafuyu has a really beautiful voice, but anime Mafuyu only has a good voice. Hope the final song sounds as good as the manga makes it sound in our heads.

We're slowly learning more about Mafuyu, but there's still a lot that we don't know. That blonde guy we saw will likely show up again, and hopefully, we'll learn who this "Yuki" guy is.

Okay, 3 episodes in, I'm officially onboard with this show!
This episode was fantastic, from Uenoyama's struggle to his revelation and Mafuyu's decision!

I gotta say though, I don't know exactly how the romance will unfold later on, but there's already pretty solid and well-stablished base for it. I hope it'll be as great as the musical aspect.

Speaking of music, Uenoyama went straight into composition, or so it seems. If that's the case, great! I wanna see what he'll come up with.
Musically, this show has been outstanding for me, music style is right up my alley.

5/5, holy shit award.

For me the characters come across way better here than the source.
It's probably because of the slower more methodical approach, which doesn't work for all anime.
La la part is too awkward though I can't listen to it lol.

This was actually a little bit dramatic, I wish I knew what happened between Sato and this Yuki guy! Can't wait for the full story.

I really loved this ep, especially the beginning and just how the anime is handling mafuyu's grief. It's definitely slower paced which I love because tbh, as much as I love the manga(I've reread all the available chapters tons of times) the anime is definitely making certain scenes make more sense/feel easier to understand. Side note, I hope they continue to add more anime only scenes, it seriously makes the world feel more fleshed out/a bit more impactful than the manga ^^

This episode was just so complete, the commedy and drama proportions were pretty good. But what I liked the most is how the director is trying to make the anime better than the original. There were many scenes in this episode that aren't in the manga, and all of them worked so well to me, I'm really glad the director is making a real effort in this anime

Interesting episode overall. Now, I'm really interested in knowing more about Mafuyu's past. I wonder what his connection with that Yuki guy might be...

Looks like Uenoyama has a serious job in inviting the airhead Mafuyu into the club. However that involves a lot of "studying" into his heart, which is still in the process.

Mafuyu hit a stumbling block, and a very interesting one indeed. The moment he ran away from someone he knows, is everything said about his personality and perceived thinking.

Agree that the anime adds upon the manga source, and for the better understanding. Seriously impressive.

The scenes in which Mafuyu was singing "lalala" in this and the previous episode were cringy af and made me almost laugh, and I am sure that is not the kind of emotional impact the screenwriter had originaly intended to create in those moments. The voice director clearly botched the instruction of the "singing" parts.

I felt bad about laughing at the singing and came here to see if anyone else felt the same way about how cringy it was. Clearly I'm not alone!

The episode has fair shares of sweet and sad moments. I'm really eager to know Mafuyu's backstory and what made him expressionless and stuck in the past.
I cried during the flashbacks showing how Mafuyu can't move on from his loss.


And lol I've been restraining myself from saying this but I totally agree that Mafuyu's Lalala sounds weird.
But this comment:


gives me hope that it's gonna get better. The ED is so great tho.

This is the kind of episode that I would enjoy more if I were binging a series than if I'm watching it weekly like I'm doing with this show. There's nothing wrong with the episode, but it's mostly set up for the next and so It has more of an effect on a binge when you can see the results right away. Still solid set up episode. This series is giving me all I need (pun totally intended)

Akihiko: "Well, I definitely didn't expect YAOI" lolz!
5/5.

My favourite show this season, I loved this episode !

I really like the bond between Uenoyama and Satou and how it's slowly building up
It was interesting to see some of Satou's past, and now I'm curious to know what happened to him in the past

Can't wait for the next episode !

I think the reason why the 'LALALA' sounded cringey is because the 'la' sounds 'weird' in some way (I can't really express it in words). It's probably because the Japanese (or at least some of them) aren't really accustomed to pronouncing the L.

I see.. it's probably indeed how he pronounce the "LALALA" that makes it kind of cringey. Maybe if he just sort of hummed it instead of the lalala, it could be different. But anyway, the way he sings the ED song is good so I'm not that worried.

This anime is really a big surprise for me (and something that I really look forward every week) because the adaptation is really better compared to the manga source. And yes, I like how the slow pace of the story is really fleshing out the characters.

I am so looking forward to Mafuyu's singing with lyrics already!

Mafuyu joined the band.
I'm really curious about what happened in the past.

Kaji's heartbreaker personality makes me want to conquer him!

Uenoyama's yell was...wow. I'm speechless.

This so cute and sad ;-;

I'm really loving this anime more than the manga.

The anime moving kinda slow... Pick up the pace!

This isn't even as gay as some non-BL sport anime yet.

Why doe these 22 minutes go by so fast!! This is the kinda show that I would love to binge in an entire weekend.

When Mafuyu walked away at the cross walked - I lol'ed sooooooo loud. That was purest and most comedic form of aloofness I've witnessed in a very long time. Deep down I think I may be Mafuyu when it comes to social cues. It's interesting because Mafuyu even know he has difficult time being "normal" - I hope we get to see his growth. Uenoyama's determination is paying off! It feels good to see him care about the band but deep down really care Mafuyu.

So does Haurki have the hots for Akihiko?? I can see why he does, I mean damn!! I:m surprised Haruki is the eldest between the two of them, but I think they did make mention of their ages last episode. Akihiko is breaking women and men's hearts alike.

Good comedy and drama. I liked how they resolved the situation with Mafuyu joining the band. Nothing was melodramatic, and I'm interested to see who this Yuki guy is. My first instinct was a brother.

Someone he loved died and suddenly all the people of his past come out of the woodwork. Glad he decided to join the band

I agree with everyone, the backstory of Mafuyu will be very tragic. The first couple of scenes already gave a hint. He was "abandoned", all that is left is the guitar and then this guy who recognised him and mentioned this Yuki. Mmmmh. Anyway, really like the show so far. It is a bit of a slow-burner but that is okay with me.

After this episode, i feel sad for people who said bad thing about mafuyu personality without try to know why. Ohhh... my poor child 😭 to think bad about him self, i dont prepare for his backstory.

This episode is nice, i really enjoy the small detail. Excited with the next episode.

Another Amazing episode, really curious to know more about Sato's past.

Nice, we're getting some of Mafuyu's backstory. I love the character chemistry between him and Ritsuka. I just noticed that Mafuyu wears boots. Totally insignificant detail, but whatever. Also, yay~ Mafuyu joined the band.

Ah, I love the Arctic Monkeys references.

It’s sad that this show has such a low rating. Everyone who watches it REALLY loves it. I think people give it a low score just because it’s shounen ai.

That's the part that stings the most. If Given were a slice of life anime about a girl and guy, robot and human, or demon and human finding love through music - it would be nicely reviewed and a top 5 mash. I can get not liking something because the story is bad, or the visuals or voice acting are bad. However, just to dislike something because it has gay story line is sad in this day and age.

I best take away is the people who the show is made for is loving it! Also a few people who may have not watched this show - are actually liking it and will likely stay for the long haul.

Overall with smaller audience pull - the show is still in the top 20 of the current anime showing, at #15. [url]https://myanimelist.net/topanime.php?type=airing[/url]

So as long as we're loving it and we keep watching - we'll hopefully get more stories that reflect love in all its various shape, sizes. colors, and preferences.