By Eu
ギヴン(5) | Given (5)
Mangaka: Kizu Natsuki (キヅナツキ)
Status: Ongoing
Summary:
With the upcoming fest, the band is ever busy creating their music. Mafuyu still stumped in writing the lyrics, Uenoyama struggles with his unnamed feelings about his and Mafuyu’s relationship, Haruki tries to move on, and Akihiko coming in terms with his love. How will these tangled emotions affect their music?
Have you guys seen the anime!?!?!?!
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..
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I haven’t yet. LOL
May contain spoilers so proceed with caution!
Story
Positive ♡(｡- ω -)
Volume 5 is a follow-up book to the issues raised and relationships built in the previous volumes.
The story this time is about the tangled relationship and emotions of the main characters and how it ties to their music creation. So we get instead a multi-POV volume that focuses on each of them and their feelings on their various circumstances.
This volume is also a continuation of sorts to the triangle of Akihiko, Haruki, and Ugetsu and their story took at least the last quarter of the book. In this one, Kizu Natsuki shows how they cope up with their failed (or failing) love and how they slowly pick up themselves.
Though I wonder, now that the story of the characters has been resolved, for now at least, how Kizu Natsuki would go forward with this.
Also, I’ve just belatedly realized that Given is like discovering the answer to the question, what happens on your second love. The idea of first love is something that we all hold dear in our hearts. But what happens when you fall in love again? Would it be less than stellar to the first love? Or would it be just as important because it is the time when you fall in love again?
Characters
Positive ♡(｡- ω -)
AkiHaru still takes the center stage in this volume. But I think the one who takes the spotlight is Ugetsu, in all of his pain, musical prowess, and complexities. I hated to admit at first how much his character enthralls me. He is the kind of character I never wanted to like, I didn’t even understand him that much. But that also makes me eager to learn more about him and to see how he acts.
But this volume also makes me love AkiHaru’s take on their relationship, how much adorable dorks they are and how foolish they can be for love. Akihiko for one seems like an indifferent person but he actually feels emotions, maybe as deep as that of Ugetsu (though not as skilled as Ugetsu in expressing those emotions through his music. At least not yet.)
Somehow, though, I get the feeling that Mafuyu and Uenoyama’s “like” are not on the same level yet. I’m not saying Mafuyu is still in love with Yuuki. Most likely he is. Yuuki plays a big part in his life and I get that you don’t stop loving someone just because they are gone. But with his current relationship with Uenoyama, there’s just something lacking that makes Uenoyama insecure (of some sort).
Art
Neutral (¯ . ¯٥)
There’s nothing more I can say about the art that I haven’t talked about yet in the previous volumes. Just that in this volume, there’s not really a panel that really stood out to me.
Enjoyment (✯◡✯)
I’m still frustrated that we can’t hear Mafuyu’s music (maybe in the anime!) because I feel like I’m missing the impact of his music so I feel detached whenever the song resonates with the rest of the cast. It’s like seeing everyone laughing at a joke you can’t relate to. You know it’s funny but you can’t tell where the punch line is.
Yet for me, this is a pretty okay volume which is saved by the AkiHaru scene in the last chapter. What happened is something that you should check out yourself.
I’m excited about the next volume now that they’ve entered the spring season – the season of change. It’s also the moving on season. The boys are ready for a fresh start both personally and musically and I can’t wait to see them grow.
✭ Highlights ✭
- That Aki Haru scene in the last chapter. I lived for that moment.
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