Given Vol. 1

By Natsuki Kizu

TW: Recollections of suicide

Rating: 16+

Length: Series

Vibe: Heavy but also cute

Star rating: 4.5/5 (but I'd give the series as a whole 5/5)

A MUST READ in this genre

OK, just going to stress here that this series is TOTALLY worth the read. However, for reasons I'll get into later in this post (will include spoilers) this is my least favorite volume, but it is a necessary one.

Official Summary:

Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all—with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. Until the day he finds his favorite hidden napping spot occupied by a strange boy cradling a broken-stringed guitar. At first, Uenoyama is nonplussed by Mafuyu Sato and his slightly odd behavior, but when, on a whim, he asks the other boy to sing, the power of Mafuyu’s voice pierces him to the core.

Review:

This is one of my all-time favorite series, as it is one of the first BL stories I read and also watched (since manga can't sing to you lol). This first volume does a great job of already building the huge romantic universe of Given, by introducing you to more than Uenoyama ("Ue") and Mafuyu, which is just good storytelling. We start with Ue and Mafuyu, and begin to see both of them opening up to each other at a time when they both are desperate for it, though we don't have all the reasons as to why yet. Volume 1 ends with a moment that cues up what's in store for Volume 2 nicely, so I'd def buy these three at a time (if you can) if not all at once!

Why isn't this a 5/5? I have a personal grudge (too strong of a word but it's early and my vocab hasn't fully reloaded) against the lovely Mangaka here in terms of Mafuyu, but I will leave that at that till we get further along.

Where to buy:

• Crunchyroll

• Amazon

• Barnes & Noble

Spoilers and full thoughts after the jump:

(Official Anime)

-----------------

Full thoughts (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Overall:

There are still so many things we don't yet know in this first volume, however, we do know that Mafuyu is reeling for something, as Ue tells us that he didn't even know at the time that he was pulling at his (Mafuyu's) "heartstrings". We know that Mafuyu was rumored to be dating a guy who committed suicide and that the guitar he's carrying is likely to be his deceased lover's.

What's nice about Kizu-sensei's (masterful) storytelling here is that we are slowly being introduced to a cast of characters, each with an important role to help us grip the story even if there are parts that have yet to be revealed. We meet Ue's sister, who helps us understand this character that we've just dropped in on, and we have Kaji (hottie alert - sorry, I said it), who seems to have a deep understanding of both Mafuyu and Ue, even though he is slow to reveal the understanding to us readers - we are left with wanting to know more.

Ue & Mafuyu:

THESE TWO. You'll understand as we move along, but even in this first installment, I swooned a bit as these two continued to get closer. Both find each other at a time when they need to be reinvigorated about life. It is an off chance and like many random events in life, one that begins to change both boys immensely.

What I enjoyed the most here is all of Ue's reflections and realizations as he falls deeper in love with Mafuyu. However, his love is still in its infancy and is one so true to one's first (especially at 16): he is jealous that Mafuyu loved another more so than feelings of sorrow for the fact that his loved one is experiencing grief. I still find this irksome, but that's only with the eyes of someone more than ten years Ue's senior at this point.

And I think that's the point, Kizu-sensei is giving us raw and unfiltered experiences from the perspective of Ue to start, and this is only the beginning of his arc, one that I strongly suggest you stick around for.

(via Goodreads)