Given is a highly underrated, visually beautiful Japanese BL centred around a high school student learning to play the guitar from a fellow schoolmate.

Music becomes a key focal point in which relationships are set into motion. For Uenoyama and Mafuyu, it is through the language of music that they discover new vocabulary for speaking to others and each other.

After Uenoyama listened to Mafuyu's voice, something in him was stirred and he knew that his life would never be the same again – composing a song was his way of immortalising that moment. For Mafuyu, the same song bridges his past and future. As he verbalises the lyrics, he engages in a process of healing from a traumatic past, but also acknowledges that he has found someone whom he wishes to co-create music with in the future.

As a relatively short series with only 6 episodes of around 25 minutes each, the pacing is surprisingly slow. However, because every scene is so deliberate and purposeful, some concentration is required to fully appreciate the storytelling.

Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/02/given-2021/