PRIDE: given: Music, Loss and Love

Given tells the story of what happens after grief, loss, and the loneliness of losing the person you love. The themes of Given are profound: remembering the person you used to be with a person you lost while trying to find yourself again. The anime anchors you to a band that is filled with complex characters, each one that has its own story that it carries. The primary focus, however, is between Mafuyu Sato and Ritsuka Uenoyama, two high schoolers who meet by chance in a stairwell.

Ritsuka is a guitarist for The Seasons. He seems to be buried in being the perfectionist for his band, losing himself and his love of music. However, when he meets Mafuyu, he slowly starts to remember why he enjoyed music and why it had been important to him. Meanwhile, Mafuyu is buried with grief and the loss of his boyfriend due to suicide. He meets Ritsuka by chance in the stairwell, where he is holding a guitar. We learn that Mafuyu doesn’t play the guitar and belongs to his late boyfriend. However, he asks Ritsuka to help him play the guitar. Something that Ritsuka begrudgingly agrees to.

The anime pulls you into how the music captures the person and pulls them forward instead of keeping them in place. While cute and has many funny moments, the anime still shows the underlying grief Mafuyu holds and how he cannot let go of something so tragic. The world around you becomes dull, unable to understand what is happening. The characters here play their part in seeing this when Mafuyu is tasked with writing their first song. Each one gave him advice, each trying to ease him out of the shell he had created. Each character is played with their own potential of bringing Mafuyu out of his grief. Giving him the chance to see what music can do for him. He explores the world that Ritsuka introduces him to. This centers around them, how they deal with their issues, and how to move forward.

It really comes to a head during a band concert when tensions are high, and the stress gets to Ritsuka and Mafuyu. It can sometimes come to a head when things don’t go your way or get too much. Yet, they still pull themselves together to try and break the wall together and to come out on the side of it.

Given is really a touching anime. It gives you insight into love and loss. The fact that it touches on suicide and its aftermath really pulls you into the story of how to move forward. The characters are incredible, too; they put themselves forward to see everything from their perspective. The anime has only 11 episodes, but three movies are attached. I recommend watching it after you finish the series first. This dives deeper into the relationship between the drummer, Akihiko Kaji, and the bassist, Haruki Nakayama. They have their own complicated relationship that dives deeper into those emotions between them.