#given manga spoilers

[oasisdew]

~~Given sequel and what we've got so far~~

We've gotten only two(2) chapters of the sequel so far and I personally think, the stage for the next arc is already set.

Given does follow a pattern in story-telling if you pay attention to it. And it does address one issue a couple (the main two couples) at a time meticulously.

The first arc was about RitsuMafu, and the plot was Mafuyu falling in love with Ritsuka and being forced to face his trauma from his ex's suicide and doing whatever was needed to move on from it, taking first steps towards healing.

Likewise the second arc was about AkiHaru, and the plot was Akihiko realising the extent of his feelings for Haruki and being forced to face his trauma of being in a longterm abusive relationship and doing whatever was needed to break free from the toxic cycle he was stuck in.

The third arc got a bit complicated with Hiiragi being mixed in the equation of RitsuMafu. Hiiragi introduced the problem that RitsuMafu were to face and got a subplot of his own (that's also still ongoing).

But essentially the third arc can be seen as divided in two parts the two parts that the two movies are covering. 1) 'Hiiragi_mix' as in the first part where Hiiragi (and Shizusumi) successfully did recreate the traumatic experience for Mafuyu again to face knowingly or unknowingly. And 2) 'to the sea' where RitsuMafu had to face that situation and prove the strength of their love and mettle of their characters to overcome the challenge.

But more importantly the main objective of that arc was Mafuyu getting full closure, not only from Yuki, but from the effects of trauma and grieving and the guilt that comes with it. As well as having to face the issues that traumatic experience gave him, as in his doubts about expressing himself, his doubts about his own worth as opposed to what he brings to table musically for Ritsuka, his hesitation of letting go of Yuki fully etc. These were all the issues that his previous relationship gave him. The unsurity of it all and the persistent feeling of fear of doing something wrong again with the everpresent feeling of perpetual shame and guilt for forgetting a person who for sure for a period of time he thought of as essential for his own existence. There's also been hints of his complex regarding Hiiragi specifically. Hiiragi is always being described as charismatic. Everyone thinks so. He has 'star quality' which Mafuyu probably fears(feared) he lacks. Yuki forming a band with Hiiragi wasn't easy for Mafuyu to take. Not in a toxic way, but in a deeply insecure way. We see him reacting oddly to Ritsuka praising Hiiragi in any capacity. Trying to not feel pressured by it, wanting more of Ritsuka's attention to himself. Literally fidgeting.

Then the same Hiiragi's band won CAC against 'given' and right after that Ritsuka joined 'syh'.

To Mafuyu it probably felt like Ritsuka leaving the loser band and vocalist Mafuyu for the winner Hiiragi. Ritsuka admitted it himself, Hiiragi was cooler than he imagined. Hiiragi successfully intrigued Ritsuka too. And Ritsuka was won over by him because Mafuyu wasn't enough. He needed to sing, and he couldn't.

(And then they metaphorically did throw him in the sea too. It was awful but I digress 😑)

But anyway, all these issues, insecurities, the culmination of it ALL as well as all the stages of grieving for Mafuyu, they were all masterfully handled in the last arc. Or second RitsuMafu arc.

Now that brings us to the second AkiHaru arc and like it or not, just like how Mafuyu had to grieve properly and find closure from all his remnant issues from his previous relationship and childhood, Akihiko will also have to face the issues he is still carrying from his last relationship. The gaslighting that he endured, the misplaced guilt that he probably still feels, the fear of doing something wrong again to fuck it all up for himself and Haruki and probably the band too.

And believe it or not, we have already seen the seeds of it. Also, I personally think Ritsuka will be the catalyst of Akihiko's arc this time and we are gonna get the Ritsuka arc either mixed with Akihiko's one this time or right after.

Now let's see what we got thus far.

1) AkiHaru LDR. Akihiko's ring and them living separately even in Tokyo as well as Akihiko's little show of flirtation to get Haruki flustered.

All of these point to something that I'm sure most of the fandom is vaguely aware of but can't put their finger on surely.

I personally think these point to the issues Akihiko brought from his experience of being the victim in an abusive relationship.

LDR is simply him choosing to not sacrifice his music for the sake of his relationship. He learnt from his previous relationship that that's not the way he gets to retain himself much less his relationship.

The ring is the symbol of his clinginess, or his innate urge to belong. To belong to someone. But with that also comes his fear of binding Haruki unfairly to himself. His need to be clingy to Haruki is constantly at odds with his fear of somehow being codependent or worse still, making Haruki codependent on him. So he himself is donning a ring and showing it off but he doesn't want Haruki to, especially if Haruki doesn't by his own accord. Haruki didn't show him his own need to belong to Akihiko, he simply asked, (with a strange look on his face too if I may add) if he should also wear a ring, and Akihiko declined. No matter how dramatic he tried to make himself sound to Mafuyu that's the root cause of it.

Akihiko living separately even when in Tokyo too also probably comes from the same fear and deep rooted issues. He was at the receiving end of such a relationship once and it was excruciatingly painful for him. His ex leaving the country for months and then coming back to only have sex for a few days with him(and then kicking him out but he had been gaslighted to think all of those as his faults so we no talk about it yet) while he was stuck in a place full of memories and yearning for those times to come back again and feel the love and happiness...he doesn't want any of those to happen to Haruki. He knows living alone is better than living with memories.

So on one hand he is desperate to bind himself to Haruki, donning the ring, going broke just to see Haruki every week, still bringing Haruki coffee, on the other hand, he is trying to set Haruki as free as he possibly can. Living separately, not making him wear the ring.

He is also still an insecure jealous mess when it comes to Haruki. It started with the second chapter of given and it's still going on. Akihiko wants Haruki's attention to himself all the time. He also needs to know that he still is desirable to Haruki and that comes from his abandonment issues. His parents as far as he is concerned didn't want him the moment he became a liability and don't even let me start on his ex. So being able to make Haruki flustered still is important to him. the assurance that he is still needed and desired and it's not all been just a whim on Haruki's part, or if it were indeed a whim, it's still there as strong as it was the first day, Akihiko needs to be reassured of it from time to time.

In contrast, I know that most of the fandom will disagree with me but, Haruki's issues are nonconsequential at this point. Is he probably sad to see Aki go? He obviously is. He also is possessive with his 'insect repellent' comment and seeing Akihiko instantly changes his whole demeanor. But Haruki is essentially in his essence this chapter. Thinking and planning and working. Missing Akihiko is inevitable but I don't think it's death sentence for Haruki. A large part of what Haruki possibly feels in this situation we see from Ritsuka's POV which is a trick Kizu uses frequently to mislead readers. Ritsuka is projecting high key. He and Haruki are fundamentally different. So he should be treated as an unreliable narrator here.

I think the difference between how Ritsuka and Haruki work is that Ritsuka can be at ease knowing that Mafuyu is at home safe and he himself has Mafuyu to come back to while he goes work outside forgetting everything in the world.

But for Haruki, he considers himself to be the home and can wait for Akihiko to come back to him indefinitely as long as there's a promise of him coming back.

Which brings us to the issues of RitsuMafu or more specifically Ritsuka that's been shown in this chapter.

So the issue with 2) Ritsuka is that he has no issues. I know there are many fans who want Ritsuka to breakdown or cry etc but the truth is that Ritsuka has no problem except for his own tyrant king workaholic self.

In previous arc we did get some covers that made us question about Ritsuka's mental state. 👇🏼 The main one being the left one but the right one too.

It's more been the words written on the left cover that were vaguely worrying. For the first time we saw him thinking about Yuki and the fact that he had been a big part of Mafuyu's life. And I understand some fans being disappointed that we didn't see him ponder on it again.

But the truth is, Ritsuka is 1) too healthy an individual by nature and by nurture to constantly be worrying about things that he can't control. He'll always find a way to cope healthily whatever the outside world throws at him and he did find a way to get closure from Yuki the last arc, it was to help everyone Yuki left behind get closure from him. 2) If he really indeed has to confront Yuki then it'll come after he has worked on his own issues so we'll have to wait and see if that happens ever.

Now that being said Ritsuka also does have to confront and control his own self. As they say, even the best things can be too much. And Ritsuka always had been and right now (after ten years period) especially is under the danger of being too much. For himself and for others.

To put it simply, he is too good. Thinking of everyone and how to make them reach their full potential and thus pressuring himself and occasionally others especially the ones he loves.

This started ten years ago though. The inferiority complex of 'given' being thought of as inferior to 'syh', the guilt he felt leaving his own band to play for the rival band.

As well as his need to commit himself fully to things that he has committed once and his continuous need to challenge himself which doesn't let him go easy on himself a bit. His need to fix everything, every situation and his ability to do so ends up making him cornered more and more and it's been piling up.

There's also this thing that he is biased about 'given'. He considers it his 'own' band, while he feels responsible for 'syh' and isn't one to shrink from his responsibilities. He gives his 100% to make Hiiragi shine, he specifically does so because he knows Hiiragi's potential.

But that doesn't stop him from feeling guilt towards his own band and especially mafuyu.

Now here's the thing, Hiiragi is syh's vocalist while Mafuyu is Given's. And syh's style is populist style, it's not about quality, it's about taste and syh and Hiiragi appeals to public taste more.

In Ritsuka's own words, they are 'flashier' than 'given'.

And here comes the conflict for Ritsuka. He has truly no one else to blame for but himself. He has made Hiiragi a star and now he wants the same fame for his beloved aka Mafuyu. That's what they were arguing about.

He wants Mafuyu and 'given' to become even more popular. It's literally the conflict of interest and he is fighting himself on both sides.

Which brings us to Mafuyu at last. Mafuyu isn't buying this. And that's deeply satisfying and comforting. Mafuyu who once was scared of Hiiragi 'stealing' Ritsuka's attention, or being too charismatic now wants no part in competing with him. He isn't scared of Hiiragi's brightness anymore and is deeply secured in Ritsuka's affection to the point where he actively is fighting with Ritsuka about music and says that he doesn't need to stand out simply because it's not Given's style. It'll sound fake and fabricated he says. And I agree.

I think this is what Ritsuka's arc is gonna be about, at least for now. He's been putting himself on spot too much, he once had this realisation that just because something is popular with masses, it doesn't mean it sucks contrary to pretentious intellectual beliefs. All because of syh and Hiiragi.

He'll have to come back to his senses now and realise that on the other hand popularity isn't and can never be the criteria on how you create art. Given's style is simply different from what appeals to mass but that's what makes given unique.

[radiodread]

So the Given manga ended today, and I felt like airing out my opinions on the last chapter and the series as a whole. Spoilers galore, possibly controversial opinions, and other stuff in a long essay below the cut.

Starting with what I thought of the last chapter: weakly executed but highly unsurprising that it was. A lot of things were left unsaid and unresolved, most of them issues pertaining to one of the main characters, Ritsuka. Remember back in one of the early chapters when Yayoi told Akihiko that “Ritsuka hasn’t been eating or sleeping properly, he’s just absorbed in his music”, a scene that was also kept in the anime’s fourth episode? Yeah, that. It’s been hinted at since then that he still doesn’t sleep well (like when he showed up at Hiiragi and Shizusumi’s school having finished the demo, heavily implying that he’d stayed up all night given the erratic look and vibe he gave off.

Then there’s his insecurities re: himself, Mafuyu, and his relationship with Mafuyu that were seemingly blown away once again by music. Music will always be there to save the day! Absolve all of these people of their responsibility to sort things out like normal people do, instead they just play some music and all is well again. Like magic! Wow. (This was sarcasm, by the way.)

Speaking of which, Mafuyu still never told Ritsuka anything about Yuki. Absolutely nothing. All this time, I felt like he had a responsibility to do so since Ritsuka was dragged into this mess first by Mafuyu who naïvely seemed to think that starting to date someone new would make him magically get over Yuki, yet it seemed to only make it worse and thus it made Ritsuka have to suffer. Then Ritsuka was dragged deeper into it by Hiiragi and Shizusumi who told him a few things about Yuki that Mafuyu should’ve been the one to tell Ritsuka, not Mafuyu’s childhood friends who didn’t know Ritsuka and also weren’t as close to Yuki as Mafuyu was.

The icing on the goddamn cake was the end of the chapter, was Mafuyu saying to Ritsuka “when we get back, let’s do it”. And it only just now hit me that this was the exact same thing Yuki told Mafuyu on the beach. Minus the bathroom bit.

First of all, weird callback. Second of all, cheap way to end it all off. I’ve felt since a long time ago that Kizu has gotten tired of the series and that’s why the story quality has dwindled drastically. But this just felt like her shrugging and saying “let’s just get this shit over with”. Which is a bit of an insult to the people who followed this series religiously either from the start or decided to tag along somewhere during its run.

One thing that also really irked me was the whole bit that happened after Hiiragi and Shizusumi came into Given’s room after their live performance post-debut. How Hiiragi says that Ritsuka “sometimes belongs to SYH” and how Ritsuka obviously didn’t even know this was a thing (isn’t this also a bit of a red flag, where his management goes behind his back and approves something in his stead?), and wasn’t gung-ho about it once it sunk in but agreed to do it anyway because he’s such a good fucking boy and I’m so upset on his behalf that it kind of paves the way for people to take advantage of him now that he’s a professional musician. Mafuyu and Ritsuka still clearly have things to sort out given how Mafuyu was jealous and aggravated when Hiiragi yapped about stealing Ritsuka from them and how Given had to do better to steal their man back. Unsurprisingly, communication is still lacking in the Given manga overall, and that’s where it’s also left unresolved at the very end. 

(Remember when Haruki said that music was [all about] communication?)

(Yeah, me too.)

((Yes, I absolutely scrambled across the floor like a deranged crab to get the first volume out of my bookshelf to find this exact page. Dedication™))

There’s not much for me to say about the other characters in the series since they got their so-called “happy endings”. I’m very glad for Ugetsu that he got his happy ending, that he seems happy, like he’s moved on. In the promo art for the last chapter, there’s a mystery person standing next to Ugetsu, and while nothing is obviously confirmed- maybe he has a new love in his life? 

In any case, he certainly looked happy in the last chapter and in previous chapters where he’s appeared since his breakup with Akihiko, and he arguably got the best ‘ending’ out of all of them. Haruki and Akihiko are moving in together which felt like a logical next step for them, and I’m glad things worked out for them. As for Shizusumi and Hiiragi... who the hell knows. Their entire arc was a mess, the way they got together screamed non-con and BL tropes galore. Holy cow. Yeah. Anyway!

As for the series overall, I’m struggling nowadays to form a single, coherent opinion. I really loved it up until chapter 19 when Akihiko sexually assaulted Haruki (that was basically where Kizu started picking up those BL tropes that at least I thought she would steer clear of... silly me) but then I still loved how he redeemed himself and how that arc ended. Then after chapter 28, things just went downhill for me and I haven’t liked the series as much at all since.

I heavily disliked the Hiiragi arc because of how it introduced things and then glossed them over, that so-called “sex scene” between Hiiragi and Shizusumi that I personally would call something else, the way Ritsuka’s entire character was shoved into the nearest bin (it seriously made me think that Kizu is the first mangaka I’ve stumbled upon who really hates the main character of her manga so much that she takes everything out on him as a result - whew!) and how he then just never got any sort of proper resolution to his story. I liked the first half of the manga, I guess, so in the end my opinion stays pretty wobbly. I’ve never shied away from admitting that I’m heavily Ritsuka-biased and I’ll stay that way. The boy deserved so much better than what he got and that’s one of my major takeaways, unfortunately. For a series that I once really liked, this certainly feels like a disappointing end.

[mikajihiko]

Ugetsu's emergence: manga and booklet comparison summary!!

Sensei really took her time on this chapter- the message is extremely clear now we love to see 😋 I know not everyone has access to the first version of Ugetsu's emergence as it was a special for Given Movie dvd only; Ive received my vol 8 today so I'll share some major changes!

On manga the comic has a more darker vibe. Initially I thought it was the printing cause the paper is a different type from the movie booklet, but that wasnt it! The lines are much sharper, bold, and various items have been colored (ie. stove top) and rendered (ie. clothes)

The element of smoke/water and cigarettes are also more apparent with sensei adding and replacing objects; how he's essentially drowning himself in it

Other objects added would be a suitcase indicating he has arrived/ is in another country. The unkept suitcase could also indicate that he's flighty with his residence, which corresponds with how he canonically is jumping from hotel to hotel while in new york

And additional panels! Sensei adding an extra panel as well as redrawing the panel below it. It now features Ugetsu's eyes brightly redrawn (top) as he wakes up after dreaming of Akihiko

Another addition is a panel of him taking notice of a new notification on his phone, bending down to see who the message was from

A redraw (top) of this panel which now shows a small smile forming on his lip rather than the pensive look from the movie booklet (bottom)

An additional panel of him afterwards, now fully smiling

Lastly, a redraw (right) of this panel, much more detailed than the one from the movie booklet (left)

Thats all that Ive noticed at first glance! I'll share again if ever I notice something👁 Please buy the manga if you have the means to! The difference between cheri and manga releases is that the panels are more polished in the manga, things change and 🥳 VOL 7 ENG ON JAN 10, THANK YOU FOR READING!! Share your thoughts in the comments or by reblogging~ I love seeing everyones thoughts 🫶🏼!!

[pixiefms]

unserious candidate

[red-in-every-sense-of-the-word]

A night that will change everything... is going to begin.

[tobibi]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀satoru gojo layouts anime + manga

- extra: given and aot headers

￤fav/reblog if you save :)

[gikii]

[lady-tortilla-chip]

I saw a rant about how the back and forth between Fyodor and Dazai is ridiculous at this point and like. I think that’s the point. The point is that one is not actually superior to the other in regards to intellect so they are ALWAYS going to be stuck in this cycle of ‘well I thought of/planned/predicted that!’.

The difference is in their connections and what those connections are made of. I find it fascinating actually that Fyodor thinks he’s won because he STOLE gravity away from Dazai and claimed Dazai didn’t even know how to use it when he had it! The thing is though, Chuuya doesn’t seem to be under Fyodor’s control anymore and he hasn’t ever chosen the people who try to use him like an object over Dazai. And despite the four years of separation (which was longer than their time together) he always came when Dazai expected him to.

And I’m thinking he expects him to now which would ultimately be what tips the scale in Dazai’s favor. Because where Fyodor sees a tool Dazai sees his partner. I’m also thinking Chuuya isn’t the only key to success here and that was why he chose Sigma too (if the points where he thinks about the ADA not using each other is any sort of foreshadowing).

[chiizuburger]

since both episodes are now out, i just want to share my favorite details about spyfam episodes 24 and 26.

In the manga, the yor-just-got-shot-in-the-butt episode came waaaay before the whole fiona arc where it accumulated to loid having to reassure yor that she will not be replaced.

Loid made several attempts to make yor “happy again” in the shot-in-the-butt chapter and, from his perspective, yor cheered up after drinking her cocktail.

I love how, several chapters later when loid wanted to talk to yor about fiona, he chose to invite her to a bar because he fully acknowledged that booze helps yor relax.

On top of that detail, my absolute favorite progress between these two chapters is how much loid and yor are becoming more open with each other, specifically loid with yor.

Between them, yor has always been the one more “open.” She expresses her honest, sincere feelings and thoughts to loid more than loid does with her.

Still, that scene where yor was looking over the fairgrounds from the hill and she tells loid how she rarely had fun growing up because she spent most of it taking care of yuri?

Even for readers, it was a first to hear yor acknowledge that part of her past. And it was absolutely a tender moment when she hoped loid would invite her out again.

Chapters later, when loid and yor talked about fiona, it delivered the first moment loid spoke from his most honest and sincere self: twilight remembering his mother.

In the context of the manga, I truly appreciate how loid and yor are slowly but surely confiding to each other? Or are opening up to each other?

Twilight could have used any other example that didn’t relate his own past to reassure yor, but he actually talked about the one thing he had held dearly. My absolute favorite twiyor moment to date!

More than the romance, for me, what I love most about their relationship is how they gradually allow the other to see their vulnerable side and trust the other with it.

And that’s why i love these two chapters / episodes a lot.

[exilepurify]

The narrative climax of the REIGEN spin-off manga is so unexpectedly somber and tragic. Bones needs to animate it so so bad bc could you even imagine the redraws and edits and amvs that would come from it? Tome crying in fear and Reigen hugging her to transfer the curse to himself and die in place of her. Reigen walking out into the middle of the forest, rapidly declining, expecting to die alone, his only hope being Mob who he isn’t sure will arrive in time or even show up to help him at all. A weak and half-dead Reigen being yanked off the ground by his suit lapels by a vision of Mob who tells Reigen that he’s come to save him, that he knows the way out, that everything’s going to be okay. And Reigen knows it isn’t the real Mob, but he doesn’t run or try to save himself and calls it by Mob’s name anyway. An angst-lover’s paradise.

[oasisdew]

CONTEXTUALISING 'EMERGENCE' (VOL 8)

This chapter, the whole theme of Ugetsu's dream/nightmare was 'emergence', but not his own emergence. It's been Akihiko's emergence from Ugetsu's POV.

The chapter starts off with Ugetsu's dream. Or subconscious. And he dreams of him and Akihiko having sex, and the thought associated with it is, the legs of the larva coming apart.

Legs are the symbol of mobility, they help us move. So without the legs the larva is unable to move. And him maintaining sexual relationship with Akihiko was the reason Akihiko was unable to move on from their relationship. Sex being used to shame and guilt and confuse people to stay in toxic relationship is a very realistic depiction.

And then he dreams of Akihiko being bright on stage playing violin. And the thought associated with it is that, the larva has eventually gained beautiful wings.

Yes its legs were crushed when it was inside the chrysalis but it didn't stay there or wait for the legs to grow again, it grew WINGS instead, and from being unable to move, it now is flying beautifully. It's the 'emergence'. And as the picture suggests, it's solely Akihiko's emergence. Not Ugetsu's.

Then he wakes up with a jolt, and makes a pained face.

till now it's been his subconscious showing him what he thinks or fears/anticipates the future would be like, from now on it's his conscious thought. And his conscious thought includes himself as having wings as he knows Akihiko has subconsciously.

But again, it's him trying to project & include himself, but ultimately he goes back to thinking of Akihiko alone again.

And what he thinks about Akihiko is, Before the chrysalis, before the basement happened, even when Ugetsu hugged him for the first time, under his own fingers, Aki's wings had always been there.

It seemed like the wings were crushed, but they weren't actually, because they are a part of who Akihiko is.

[getousatoruu]

And that’s why I will forever remain fucking mad about Gojo’s death because what do you mean Sukuna wasn’t even trying but Gojo pulled up everything in his arsenal (chants, simple domains, black flashes, RCT to regrow limbs, changing his domain rules and size, doing continuous domain expansions, 200% hollow purple, tanking his own hollow purple, surviving in sukuna’s domain, destroying Sukuna’s domain, killing Agito a ten shadows beast in just one move) all that and he STILL fucking got off screened by a slash that shouldn’t have the power to invade his infinity.

[hamliet]

Toga Should Be Fine

Ah yes, a teen girl sacrificing herself to save another teen girl (hero, but still a TEENAGE GIRL) and saying she's doing so because she'd prefer death over life in prison. Meanwhile all of society, including heroes, are just gonna watch like this is the Hunger Games: Tokyo Drift and totally not do anything.

Sounds good! Sounds like a society worth protecting! Sounds reasonable!

slash s. I'm being sarcastic.

Listen, Hori has his flaws as a writer. However, the reality is that one of these main flaws is that Hori writes for his detractors. He probably is a person who genuinely cares and so tries to address everyone's concerns. The problem is that this leads to thematic inconsistency and whiplash framing, which I've spoken about before.

Why am I going on a tangent about this? Because to me this reads like Hori trying to directly address the prison concern for endgame. Even if they survive they'll all end up in prison! Meanwhile Tartarus is Guantanamo Bay complete with torture and inhuman evil, but that wasn't enough to convince fans, so now he's addressing it directly.

The villains aren't ending up in prison.

Nor are they dying.

A redemption arc typically does require a sacrifice, hence the "sacrificial death" trope. However, oftentimes, when the villain is particularly sympathetic and it's more thematically or character-ly interesting to leave them alive, they survive said sacrifice.

Considering a large portion of Toga's hate for heroes was based in Twice's death and Toga is literally a child saving another child who saved her because the adult heroes were too busy not caring about kids so a child hero had to do their work for them (it's a theme), it only makes sense that an adult hero (probably Hawks) will swoop in and save her.

[redbluenight]

ᵍⁱᵛᵉⁿ ᵐⁱˣ ²⁰

[adventureofthedancinggirl]

WHO IS NEXT TO OCHAKO?

WHERE THE HELL IS TOGA??

IS THAT ACTUALLY OCHAKO???

IS THAT ACTUALLY TSUYU????