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EP. REVIEW: Given


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padmeswardrobe



Joined: 20 Jul 2019
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Agree with everything Steven said in his review and also want to give him a huge MCFREAKIN' THANK YOU for picking up this show to review as it originally didn't make the cut until he made room for it. Thanks, dude. This is one of the shows I was most excited about this season, and am even more so following its first and second episodes. Glad I'll have a weekly ANN recap/review to follow along with after each ep. Great review, man! See you next week Smile
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Samiamiam



Joined: 31 Jan 2017
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 6:47 pm Reply with quote
Great review! I'm so hyped for this as a manga reader, certain scenes in particular. Seeing them elevate and flesh out the volume 1 material (they adapted 3 chapters in 2 episodes which is pretty slow in my uneducated opinion) really gets me excited for when they take on the heavier stuff. Hearing the music really helps it a lot imo instead of only reading it in manga form. We can't hear Uenoyamas inner monologues, which are both cute and funny, but I think its a good trade off.
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SonicFanA



Joined: 12 Jul 2017
Posts: 159
PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 7:42 pm Reply with quote
I also want to say thank you Steven for reviewing Given. I look forward to reading your reviews every week. I think this will be one of the top anime of the summer. I hope it becomes popular enough to get a dub in the future.

I am really loving the relationships between the characters. I don't know how to describe it. Calm and soothing maybe?
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Color2413



Joined: 08 Jul 2014
Posts: 49
PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 8:11 pm Reply with quote
I'm liking this so far, although I had some problems with Mafuyu's behavior in EP 1, which was basically stalking and made the character less believable to me--how clueless would a real person have to be to take things this far? But things took a turn for the better in EP 2, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the character development goes from here.

A slight disagreement I have with the review regards the "garage band" description. The band's playing in EP 1 was extremely accomplished -- basically virtuoso-level. While some garage bands may eventually get this good, few do. I really liked this music; it operates at a significantly higher level than the usual formulaic J-Pop found in anime.

(I might mention that I am a big Gackt fan, and the music reminded me a bit of his work, ca. 2001, in the "Requiem et Reminiscence" DVD.)
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 12:29 am Reply with quote
Quote:
I noticed some hubbub leading up to the anime's release calling Given the first Noitamina show based on a BL manga. I think whether you'd call it Noitamina's first BL anime depends foremost on how strictly you'd categorize No. 6, Banana Fish, and Sarazanmai,

Yeah, I guess if you go by where the bookstores put the manga/novels, but content wise, it's far from the first. I'd add Antique Bakery and Battery to that list, and there have been several others with bait-y relationships (Kids on the Slope, tsuritama, Samurai Flamenco), so it's not like Noitamina has been avoiding the topic.

Anyway, excellent review of an excellent series (so far). I have to wonder just how Mafu earned his bandages in the first ep, when in the second he didn't know a single chord, and thought you only needed to tune it once (so he wasn't obsessively tuning it until his fingers bled). I like all the characters, especially the bandmates who feel very real to me. Neither paragons of acceptance nor idiotic goofballs, but a nice blend of easy-going caring with a sense of humor.
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Samiamiam



Joined: 31 Jan 2017
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:35 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Quote:
I noticed some hubbub leading up to the anime's release calling Given the first Noitamina show based on a BL manga. I think whether you'd call it Noitamina's first BL anime depends foremost on how strictly you'd categorize No. 6, Banana Fish, and Sarazanmai,

Yeah, I guess if you go by where the bookstores put the manga/novels, but content wise, it's far from the first. I'd add Antique Bakery and Battery to that list, and there have been several others with bait-y relationships (Kids on the Slope, tsuritama, Samurai Flamenco), so it's not like Noitamina has been avoiding the topic.

Anyway, excellent review of an excellent series (so far). I have to wonder just how Mafu earned his bandages in the first ep, when in the second he didn't know a single chord, and thought you only needed to tune it once (so he wasn't obsessively tuning it until his fingers bled). I like all the characters, especially the bandmates who feel very real to me. Neither paragons of acceptance nor idiotic goofballs, but a nice blend of easy-going caring with a sense of humor.


For better or for worse, the definition in the west many people seem to have settled on for BL is either "published in a BL magazine" or "called BL by its creators/marketing team". Sarazanmai is interesting because it does have a spin off in a BL magazine but people are very hesitant to associate the main series with the term. BL has a pretty negative stigma in the west (and probably Japan too if I were to hazard a guess) so its not surprising people don't want the label anywhere near their favorite anime.
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Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:23 am Reply with quote
Nice review! I've been enjoying this show so far, though i gotta admit that Mafuyu's extreme cluelesness is pretty irritating. I get that he's been traumatized but that can't be the reason for not knowing...well, basically everything?! When he mentioned that he doesn't have a dad, i briefly pondered the possbility that he might have been raised by wolves, that would explain some things at least...so yeah, i'm eagerly looking forward to learning more about him (and the other boys too, of course).

Last edited by Merida on Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:45 pm; edited 1 time in total
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daisicles



Joined: 23 Apr 2019
Posts: 28
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 1:29 pm Reply with quote
Samiamiam wrote:
For better or for worse, the definition in the west many people seem to have settled on for BL is either "published in a BL magazine" or "called BL by its creators/marketing team". Sarazanmai is interesting because it does have a spin off in a BL magazine but people are very hesitant to associate the main series with the term. BL has a pretty negative stigma in the west (and probably Japan too if I were to hazard a guess) so its not surprising people don't want the label anywhere near their favorite anime.


Honestly, that definition is probably the better way to go about it both because, as the review pointed out, bl as a label covers a whole lot of territory, and also because you can have gay characters/themes/etc in stories that aren't bl. Antique Bakery, Banana Fish, No 6, and Sarazanmai aren't different (less gay, more gay, better, worse, whatever) than Given for the lack of the label and it's easier to just draw one line than to have fifteen different arguments that boil down to "the arguer has a particular idea of what bl is in mind and it's different from their opponent's idea".

The way Given has been marketed as noitamina's first adaptation of a bl manga is an interesting choice to me not bc it's the first one to have those themes but bc it's laying all the cards on the table with "here, this is definitely what you're gonna get from this music anime".

Anyway, I'm also curious about how Mafuyu is gonna develop as a character. I find his airheadedness interesting bc I'm not quite sure how to take it yet, like maybe he's the sort of person who just processes things very differently from other people? The dynamic between him and the other guys could shape up very interestingly.
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NeedMoreCats
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Joined: 06 Oct 2018
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 2:59 pm Reply with quote
I, too, just wanna say a big thank you to Steve for stepping up to review this. I’m a big fan of Noitamina’s shows and I hated the idea of this one missing the cut. Also, really really loved Steve’s Mob reviews, so I’m looking forward to what he has to say about Given. Very happy camper right now.
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54bubbles
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Joined: 09 Jan 2018
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 8:47 pm Reply with quote
Beautiful review! By the end, there's no doubt Steve will be glad he chose to follow this one.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 1:50 pm Reply with quote
The bit with the coffee was interesting for the reasons Steve mentioned, but also because it reinforced Ritsuka's clumsiness with communication. I mean, it's nice to treat someone, but normally you'd ask them what they want (or if you're really dense, just buy two of what you want) instead of just picking something at random.

I have to admit, I cringe when Mafu sings. I think it's the slow "la la la" that's bugging me, because I'd rather he just hummed or used more natural sounding syllables or something. It's not like he can't sing though, since he does the ED and that sounds fine.
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Aayuo



Joined: 13 Jan 2018
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 9:25 pm Reply with quote
Mafuyu's "la la la" somehow buggs me too. Is a decently powerful voice, but somehow does not have the impact it should have to give me the impression Ritsuka is supposedly feeling.

And that "la la la" melody Mafuyu is singing, is the melody from the ED song, isn't it?

It sounds a bit too tame in the ED version though.
While the dog is cute and all, I'm not sure it goes well with the song, haha.
Is Mafuyu supposed to be this cute puppy dog?!?
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daisicles



Joined: 23 Apr 2019
Posts: 28
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2019 10:27 pm Reply with quote
I don't care for the singing either. I want to be blown away like I'm apparently supposed to be! It's definitely not a voice issue for me (though I didn't pay close enough attention to the ED to have a real opinion) and I don't exactly mind all the la la la stuff, but I need more full-on singing with proper lyrics before I can be all "ah, yes, Uenoyama is definitely hearing a very promising voice and isn't letting his crush on Mafuyu color all of his feelings".
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rizuchan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 11 Mar 2007
Posts: 974
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:17 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
I mean, it's nice to treat someone, but normally you'd ask them what they want (or if you're really dense, just buy two of what you want) instead of just picking something at random.


I don't know if this is a Japanese thing or an anime thing, but this happens in anime all the dang time. It kind of makes sense if you're buying a variety for a large group, but it always seemed weird to me that if you're treating another person you wouldn't just ask. I think Ritsuka's only real faux pas here was not choosing a more innocuous beverage, like orange juice (disliking carbonated beverages isn't uncommon in Japan), and most people would also be inclined to just drink the drink even if it was a flavor they didn't care for, barring physical discomfort, like, well, carbonation.

Gina Szanboti wrote:
I have to admit, I cringe when Mafu sings. I think it's the slow "la la la" that's bugging me, because I'd rather he just hummed or used more natural sounding syllables or something. It's not like he can't sing though, since he does the ED and that sounds fine.

This is another thing I've seen in a lot of music anime, and it's just a thing that never translates from print to voice acting. It's real easy to read, "he has the most beautiful voice I ever heard" and be able to imagine it in your head. But belting out random acapella "la la la"s in public is never not going to be cringey, no matter how beautiful a person's singing voice is. At least Mafuyu sounds reasonably pleasant... I seem to remember Anonymous Noise having some scenes like that that were downright painful.
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Aayuo



Joined: 13 Jan 2018
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:34 am Reply with quote
rizuchan wrote:
I don't know if this is a Japanese thing or an anime thing, but this happens in anime all the dang time.


I think this is a Japanese thing.

If you were to ask first, what kind of drink a person would like, you are implying on that person. And they will most likely say "please don't buy me a drink", which defeats the purpose of a gift drink. Japanese people always feel the need to return a gift they receive, so many would rather not receive anything in the first place.
Yet if you ask first, and they then tell you not to buy a drink, and you still go ahead and buy one, chances are you achieve the opposite of your intended gift - the person will most likely be upset. Upset to be forced to buy you a gift in return.

But once a drink had been pulled from a vending machine, it is too late, and that way Japanese people are more likely OK with receiving a gift as "mottainai" ("it would be a waste") is also a very common theme. One which can overrule the idea of not wanting to receive a gift in the first place. If a cold drink becomes warm it would be considered a waste.

So I do belive that contrary to other countries, it is normal in Japan to not first ask if someone wants a drink, but instead buy and offer the drink right away. Unasked for.

Also Japanese people like to be "mind read". They prefer not to have to explicitly tell and explain everything. They prefer it if people can "read the air" ("kuuki wo yomu") and act on their own to the benefit of another. With no words expressed.
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