Given Review: A Boy Who Stopped Playing Guitar Hears Someone Singing and Remembers Why Music Matters
by Natsuki Kizu
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Quick Take
- A BL music manga about grief, music as expression, and the specific kind of connection that happens when someone hears something that was not supposed to be heard
- Natsuki Kizu's art and Mafuyu's story make this one of the finest BL manga ever published — 8 volumes, complete
- The anime adaptation is exceptional; the manga is the complete version
Who Is This Manga For?
- Readers who want BL romance with genuine emotional depth
- Music manga fans who want romance rather than competition
- Anyone who wants completed manga about grief and how music carries what words cannot
- Readers who appreciate the anime and want the full story
Content Warnings & Age Rating
Age Rating: M (Mature) Content Warnings: BL romance between male characters; Mafuyu's backstory involves the suicide of someone he loved; mature romance content in later volumes
The grief content is serious and handled with care; not gratuitous.
Yu's Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Story Depth | ★★★★★ |
| Art Style | ★★★★★ |
| Character Development | ★★★★★ |
| Accessibility for Non-Japanese Readers | ★★★★★ |
| Reread Value | ★★★★★ |
Story Overview
Ritsuka Uenoyama used to love guitar. He stopped caring. He still plays but the passion is gone.
He finds Mafuyu Sato asleep in the stairwell with a broken guitar. He fixes the guitar string. Mafuyu follows him asking to be taught to play. Ritsuka is irritated and reluctantly agrees.
When Mafuyu sings for the first time in Ritsuka's presence — just once, unexpectedly — Ritsuka's passion for music comes back in a way that has nothing to do with technique and everything to do with what Mafuyu's voice carries.
The 8 volumes follow the band they form together, the music they make, and what Mafuyu is carrying from his past.
Characters
Mafuyu Sato — His specific silence is the series' most important element. He carries a grief that he cannot speak directly. When it emerges through his singing, the band's first performance is among manga's most affecting musical sequences.
Ritsuka Uenoyama — His rediscovery of why music matters, through Mafuyu, is the series' primary emotional movement. His feelings for Mafuyu are the last thing he expected and the truest thing in his life.
Haruki and Akihiko — The other band members; their own complicated relationship runs parallel to Mafuyu and Ritsuka's and adds another perspective on what love costs.
Art Style
Kizu's art is distinctive — the character designs are drawn with sparse lines that communicate more than more detailed art would. Mafuyu's expressions are the series' most important visual content: the specific quality of his grief, his occasional moments of lightness, and the moment he finally sings are all communicated through Kizu's restrained art style.
Cultural Context
The BL genre in Japan — boys' love manga published for a female audience — has a long history; Given is considered one of its finest recent works. The music setting is specific to Japan's indie band scene. The grief backstory engages honestly with suicide in a way that Japanese media generally handles carefully.
What I Love About It
The concert. The first time Mafuyu sings in public — when the grief he has been carrying comes out through music in front of an audience — is one of the finest single sequences in any music manga. Kizu uses the pages around the performance to make the reader hear what the audience hears. It is a remarkable piece of manga craft.
What English-Speaking Fans Say
Western readers consistently describe Given as the BL manga they give to people who claim they do not read BL — the emotional content is so genuine that the genre designation becomes secondary. The anime adaptation (also excellent) brought significant Western attention. Mafuyu is cited as one of the most affecting characters in recent manga.
Memorable Scene ⚠️ Spoiler Warning
The chapter that reveals what happened with Mafuyu's previous relationship — the specific weight of what he carries and what the guitar represents — is the series' most significant backstory revelation and the one that makes everything about Mafuyu comprehensible.
Similar Manga
- Bocchi the Rock! — Music, social anxiety, connection through playing
- Nana — Music and love, more complex and darker
- Your Lie in April — Music as emotional expression, grief
- Sweetness and Lightning — Similar gentle emotional craft
Reading Order / Where to Start
Volume 1 — Mafuyu's introduction and the first guitar lesson establish everything.
Official English Translation Status
SuBLime (VIZ's BL imprint) published the complete 8-volume series. All volumes available.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- 8 volumes, complete
- The concert sequence is one of manga's finest single sequences
- Mafuyu is one of recent manga's most affecting characters
- The grief handling is honest and careful
Cons
- M-rated content limits the audience
- The BL genre context may be a barrier for some readers
- The grief backstory requires emotional preparedness
Format Comparison
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| Individual Volumes | SuBLime; standard |
| Digital | Available |
Where to Buy
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Written by
Yu
Manga Enthusiast from Japan
I grew up in Japan and manga literally saved me during a tough time in elementary school. My English isn't perfect, but my love for manga is real — and I want to share it with you.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.