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Jun 24, 2025
As disappointing as the previous movie was, this movie is that much more impressive.
With this movie, Given returns to its roots by exploring themes like healing, trauma, and connection through music — the very things it does best. At its core, Given has always been about Mafuyu’s journey toward healing.
This movie begins with our main character at one of his lowest points. Haunted by the loss of his late boyfriend, Mafuyu is afraid to pursue music, uncertain about his future, and terrified of being abandoned. He feels as if everyone’s moving forward and he’s being left behind — a feeling that’s painfully relatable, especially if
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you’ve ever been a teenager. However, with the support of his friends and through his own inner growth, he finds the courage to take a leap of faith.
The emotional payoff in this movie hits especially hard. Uenoyama’s desire to help Mafuyu find his voice again gives their relationship so much weight. It’s not about rescuing someone from their pain, it’s about walking alongside them through it. And the new song feels like a turning point. Not just a performance, but a release of everything Mafuyu has carried. And the sea imagery throughout adds so much melancholy. It captures that feeling of floating between who you were and who you’re becoming.
The moral of the story is that despite the hardships, it will be okay. You may not feel ready to move on, but you still have to. It will be different, but it will be okay. Mafuyu’s journey is quite a realistic one and this final installment of the series feels very satisfying. Each character seems to have arrived at a place of emotional peace.
This has always been a comfort series for me and I'm very satisfied with the conclusion of it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 18, 2024
What a disappointing sequel.
Everything that made "given" a good anime in the first season and the first movie? This movie does the opposite of that.
Given, in my opinion, had the perfect balance between wholesome and dramatic when it came to same-sex relationships. The two main couples weren't too wholesome to the point where it was boring, but they also weren't too toxic to the point where it was disturbing. Even when that scene happened in the first movie with the second couple, the aftermath was handled super well. But this movie does the complete opposite of that.
Forget about the slowburn innocent love of Mafuyu and
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Ritsuka. Forget about the carefully developed mature love of Akihiko and Haruki. Hiiragi and Shizusumi’s relationship is, at most, a cringy Wattpad fic written by a 13-year-old straight girl. Why dedicate a whole movie to the side side couple that is not only irrelevant to the main plot but also falls short in every way compared to the other couples? I wasn’t against the idea of them being together, but this was such a lackluster pairing from start to finish. It comes almost out of nowhere, it relies solely on miscommunication and other toxic tropes, and in the end, those issues aren’t even really resolved. The constant back-and-forth, the vague angst, the lack of any real communication... It all feels cheap. Half the time, you just want to grab these characters and tell them to have a normal, honest conversation instead of tiptoeing around every single emotion.
This arc feels like an afterthought to the author, who had no idea how to conclude it — so she just made them… have sex. And suddenly, all their problems were solved. No emotional groundwork, no proper resolution, just a rushed ending masked as something meaningful. Character development? Consent? Nowhere to be found. And for a story that was once centered around the importance of communication, it’s kind of hilarious how none of these characters seem capable of basic conversation. Honestly, even their problems felt forced, like an attempt to make their arc feel meaningful by slapping Yuki’s name on it. It also doesn't help that Shizusumi as a character is so insufferable and static that I don't see any redeeming qualities for him, unlike other flawed Given characters.
The only reason I gave this movie a 6 is because I still love the other plotlines and the main 4 characters. That's it. I can't believe this is the same author who wrote the previous arcs.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 3, 2021
First of all, I'm caught up with the manga, so I've already seen this arc in the manga. Secondly, I'm a gay boy, so I seriously treasure this adaptation since this is the only realistic anime with proper gay relationships that I can enjoy.
Given is the best Shounen Ai anime in my own opinion and I'm so thankful for this continuation. I'm pretty sure the staff and the mangaka worked hard on this movie, because it shows. It must have been hard to fit this WHOLE arc into 59 minutes, but I think they did a great job. Did it feel rushed sometimes? Yes. Would
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I love to see more Mafuyama scenes? YES. But other than those, they did justice to the manga as much as they could with the time they got. The soundtracks were amazing. Yoru ga Akeru is such a great song. They also released a mini album just for this movie! The animation and the art were fine as usual. It wasn't better or worse than the first season. Overall, the movie was enough for the audience to grasp this arc and the characters. My only regret is that... I wish they showed more of Akihiko's development. In the manga, we saw more of his progress. But anyways, it's understandable with the amount of time they got.
Also, it must not be hard to guess why they had to make a movie with this arc. The first season was about Mafuyu and Uenoyama's wholesome relationship and their band journey. Overall, it was cute. This arc tho? This was deep. This was much more serious. I remember reading this arc right after finishing the anime, and I thought to myself "WOW. I have never thought Given could get better, but kudos to the manga." She truly outdid herself with this arc in the manga, because EVERYTHING was so realistic and well written. Everything. Every single detail. It was such a well thought out and executed arc. However, it wasn't cute like the previous one. This would be hard to watch for other viewers expecting to see Mafuyu and Uenoyama's relationship progress etc. This movie also had lots of more serious and more mature scenes, like some sexual scenes. So I'm not surprised the staff decided to make a movie. This is like a side project for Given "fans" who wanted more. And I'm sure there will be a second season. I felt it while watching the movie. They almost cut out all the Mafuyama scenes, which means only one thing, they are saving them for the second season! It's a clever move to be honest. They are going to be like "Hey! Here's a second season, let's continue from where we left off! Mafuyu and Uenoyama! Oh, there's also a movie but it's pretty short and it's not about Mafuyu and Uenoyama haha so it's not that necessary."
I would give this movie a 9 out of 10. It wasn't masterpiece, obviously, but they did their best with 59 minutes and I'm satisfied with the adaptation of this arc. It was good enough to understand Akihiko's relationships with Haruki and Ugetsu, their developments, and their backstories. However, if you feel like it wasn't enough for you, you should definitely read the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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