Natsuki Kizu

Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music—and to each other—always brings them back together again. Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all—with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. That is, 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 Mafuyu to sing, the power of that song pierces him to the core.

Given

earl

Ritsuka Uenoyama is bored with it all—with school, with his basketball club, and even with his one true passion: playing guitar. That is, 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 Mafuyu to sing, the power of that song pierces him to the core. -- VIZ Media

Given, Vol. 1 (Yaoi Manga)

Patricia Macías García

Me vi el anime el año pasado y vi que mi hermano tenía el primer tomo en casa y se lo robé. Es raro no escuchar la música, pero he descubierto que Uenoyama es leo y que Mafuyu tiene incluso más cara de empanao aquí en el manga y me encanta. No sé, lo he disfrutado un montón a pesar de ya conocer la historia. No le doy las 5 estrellas porque soy tonta.

Francis Buggey

what a great manga! the initial reason behind me picking this up was because it was labeled as a queer/gay manga, which is something that i don’t read a lot of, but something i wanted to start doing this year. this definitely didn’t disappoint! at first i wasn’t sure what was gonna happen with the story, and if it was going to be a one-sided romance, but the story is so much more complex than that and provides a lot of info in so few pages. you immediately feel the tension between the love interests and get a better idea of what might happen! there’s also some obvious background stuff that is very 👀. i marathoned the anime series on crunchyroll right after reading this but i will definitely be continuing the manga once i get my hands on them!

Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music—and to each other—always brings them back together again. As the band races toward their first live concert, Mafuyu struggles to write lyrics for their new song, unable to find words that express the emotions burning within him. Meanwhile, Uenoyama hears rumors about Mafuyu’s past and is bewildered by his own feelings. The tension builds until the night of the show when the band gives a raging, life-changing performance.

Given, Vol. 2

4.25 stars! 

i may be impartial to this bc i marathoned the anime and i knew what was gonna happen, but i do think the ending of this is better in the anime since you can hear the song!! i love this tho, the story is still just as great and its SO GAY i can’t. we get the tea on a potential couple, a flashback that explains some things, and some low key hints at something else brewing 👀

Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music—and to each other—always brings them back together again. As the band focuses on preparing for music festival tryouts and creating new songs, Haruki grows more and more intimidated by the talents of younger members Mafuyu and Uenoyama. Worried that he’s holding them back, he accepts his ex-girlfriend’s request to play in her band. Meanwhile, Akihiko realizes that Haruki has fallen in love with him, setting the stage for a major blowup between them.

Given, Vol. 4

Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music—and to each other—always brings them back together again. The final round of the music festival tryout is about to begin, but that’s not the only source of tension in the band. Mafuyu, who’s been spending a lot of time at Ugetsu and Akihiko’s place, learns about the complicated history between the two and realizes that Haruki’s heartbreak is part of that romantic tangle. Things come to a head during the band’s performance, where the emotions unleashed by Mafuyu’s new song will change the course of their lives forever.

Given, Vol. 5

god i love this series so much i can’t wait for the rest of the volumes to come out!!!

Gabriel Noel 

ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review
Very cute! Loved the musical styles and the art! This is a really good story about coming into yourself and your personality!

Very excited to see how the story progresses and if it will be the same as the anime.

Ashling Brown

I LOVE THIS MANGA WITH MY ENTIRE HEART!!

"A story of a certain summer. A story of a certain night."

Can we talk about how brilliant Vol.1 is for a moment? Like honestly, my heart shattered, but I still want more. I honestly didn't expect to love a manga this much, but here I am, screaming because I'm waiting for the rest of the series to arrive in the mail. 

I've already watched the anime and film because I couldn't help myself, and hell, my heart burst from my chest, and I swear I cried for an hour straight.

The plot is beautiful, the characters are incredible, The music is perfect, and everyone is just...wonderful. I love how the manga describes music as a lifeline, away from even the darkest of times. I find it truly incredible! Of course, the manga does have many darker themes interwind with the story, and they are heartbreaking, but they are told in such a sensitive and beautiful way.

Barbara Rosas

This volume broke me in so many painful yet beautiful ways

Caellum

Read the whole series in a few days. It's easy to digest and it steers off once or twice into unexpected by welcome directions. It's the kind of mature romance writing from someone who's lived a life and knows these complicated feelings. It's also got a lot to say about music and talent. There are worse ways to spend you time but I will admit its not the sort of story that sticks with you in detail. I can't for the life of me remember anyone's names!

Belle Ellrich

This was a really great first volume! I loved the art style, and I think the mangaka author did a great job of developing the characters. It was really interesting how we got to learn about each of them, and I also liked how the pacing of the manga fit the story. Though, I will say there was just a bit of a disconnect for me with this volume, mainly because I felt like it did drag in a few areas.

Sometimes a song can save your life. Love of music unites the four members of the band Given: hotheaded guitarist Uenoyama, playboy drummer Akihiko, gentle bassist Haruki, and Mafuyu, a singer gifted with great talent and burdened by past tragedy. Their struggles and conflicts may drive them apart, but their bond to the music—and to each other—always brings them back together again. Uenoyama realizes he’s in love with Mafuyu and steals a kiss from him backstage at their first live performance. But now he’s even more confused—he hasn’t shared his feelings with Mafuyu and has no idea how Mafuyu feels about him. Meanwhile, Haruki has been harboring a secret desire for bandmate Akihiko, who’s already entangled in an intense, conflicted relationship with someone else.

Given, Vol. 3

Julia Moran 

Cyril

Now that Given has an offer to record their debut album, each of the band’s members must decide whether to get serious about trying to go pro. Though Ritsuka doesn’t have a single doubt in his mind, Mafuyu isn’t ready to commit. Frustrated by Mafuyu’s indecisiveness, Ritsuka shifts his focus to playing in the band of his formal rival Hiragi, but Hiragi is having his own troubles with bandmate Shizusumi. -- VIZ Media

Given, Vol. 6 (Yaoi Manga)

Justin Á

The final round of the music festival tryout is about to begin, but that’s not the only source of tension in the band. Mafuyu, who’s been spending a lot of time at Ugetsu and Akihiko’s place, learns about the complicated history between the two and realizes that Haruki’s heartbreak is part of that romantic tangle. Things come to a head during the band’s performance, where the emotions unleashed by Mafuyu’s new song will change the course of their lives forever. -- VIZ Media

Given

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