#given movie hiiragi mix

[anewdaywilldawn]

Y’ALL THE GIVEN SEQUEL MOVIE DROPPED

And, I’ve translated it 😃 👇👇👇

Take it with a grain of salt since I don’t have that much experience translating from jap

But it should at least allow you to get the gist of what’s happening :’)

Rb if you can, I want this to reach as many Given fan as it can!

[gabbyp09]

[juthemagicalclown]

no cos you don't understand, i am not ready to watch hiiragi mix animated. hiiragi's confession? hiiragi breaking in shizu's home in the middle of the night?? (he had a spare key yeah whatever) hiiragi's inner monologues??? the origami paper scene???? the “you've made me your God with a single sheet of gold origami" quote?????

[beautifulsummersunsets]

syh『パレイド』- Music Video-（Short ver.）

Rise and shine given fandom!! We have a brand new MV!! 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻😍😍😍😍😍😍🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

[magicpotatoobsession]

I was so happy to see you grace my tl again - if only for a few posts. I miss your given metas and would LOVE to hear your take on syh's Straight and Parade and any predictions you might have for Umi e!

Thanks for the ask! It has been a while! I was going to do a proper analysis of the songs once I've seen the mix movie but I thought I might share some initial observations for Straight!

EASTER EGGS in SYH's STRAIGHT

Mafuyu's key in C minor, the relative minor key. The song is in Eb major, the relative major key. It's also what I call the sunshine key (Uenoyama's key) ☀️ which is the same key as all the songs on the Given mini-album release.

Chorus 0:22 has the same chord progression as the first part of Fuyunohanashi, which can indicate that Hiiragi and Shizu are also trying their best to heal from Yuki. Seriously, try singing the chorus of Fuyunohanashi on top of Straight's first chorus, they literally layer perfectly on top of each other!!!

CHORDS ARE SO INTERESTING HERE

Chord progression diverges from Fuyunohanashi in the second part of the chorus 0:41 to go from VI -> VII -> I, which is the same tiers di picardie chordal progression as Kizuato's (Given OP) ending as well as Yorugaakeru!!! This chord progression finishes in major to show that the boys are healing from Yuki and trauma.

Lyrics in that chord progression are super meaningful here

Kizuato "Whatever you left behind has now become my life".

Also Yoorugaakeru lyrics are "Look this Dawn is about to break that's why it'll be ok"

Straight: "I will keep singing until it reaches you"

Doesn't that sound like Hiiragi/Yuki/Uenoyama talking directly to Mafuyu???!! 🥹😭❤️🙏

Guitar Solo by Uenoyama has a delicious easter egg

1:01 same as the lyrics "Time and Time again" in Given's mini album track stagekara kiminisasagu. Meaning that time and time again he'll be here for Mafuyu ❤️😭

I am almost 100% certain that every other part of that solo is a reference to lyrics in Given songs because all the other bits are so I'll have to have another proper listen.

That's it! Hope this made sense coming from a music nerd's ramblings! ____

My Given Metas

[duamin]

tell me i'm not the only one who's currently super frustrated for not being able just to take a fucking flight to japan and buy a ticket to see given's movie in theatre.

i wanna hear syh's song for the first time in the movie so even if it was released i'm containing so hard to listen to it.

[marshmallow-namo]

He said it!! The thing that I wanted to hear from him!

After long 10 years, a decade!!! Masatomo Nakazawa appeared in an anime stage greeting event. In case of an anime movie, it's his first time. But in case of TV anime, it's his second time. It may sound trivial, but this event was significant to him as a voice actor. A comeback is a celebration.

First TV anime stage greeting event was of Dramatical Murder in 2014. And this time was of Given anime. It's second movie is "Given: Hiiragi Mix". In 2024.

He went back home after this event ended, and updated that he'll start YouTube live for a bit, but his fans' emotional words, after event reviews swayed him to hold the live for further one hour.

[afahmara]

went out to see the new movie and the exhibition!

[misticakalamity]

GIVEN y El Mix de Hiiragi

¡Given esta de vuelta!

Y esta vez con un mix lleno de amores en secreto desde la infancia, sentimientos ignorados, malos entendidos y como siempre trauma.

Y es que la hora del adios definitivo ha llegado para los amantes de este anime por lo que... Hablemos del anime, el maga y la primera parte de esta última película.

[sawamochi]

「お前とやってみたいことがあるんだ」 　There is something I want to try out with you. 「あいつのいた季節から遠ざかる前に」 　Before we leave behind the season he was in. 「Given」 Movie: Hiiragi Mix PV - Airing Jan. 27, 2024

[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.

[ljaesch]

The Two Part Given Anime Film Project Reveals the Title and Premiere Window for the Second Film

The official Twitter account for the Given anime has announced that the second film in the two part series, Given The Movie: To the Sea, is scheduled to be premiere in Japan in Fall 2024. The first film, Given: Hiiragi mix, premiered in Japan on January 27, 2024. The series is described as: Somehow, the guitar that he used to love to play and the basketball games that he found so fun just lost…

[ezralva]

I just realized when it popped into my reminder that today is the release of Given movie 2: Hiiragi mix in Japan and I havent even started with Cherry Maho anime yet *sigh hopefully I'll get around to watch these two one day

[aitaikuji]

Akihiko and Haruko from Given The Movie: Hiiragi Mix join the Nendoroid collection thanks to ORANGE ROUGE, be sure to preorder the drum and bass couple!

Release Date: June 2024 Pre-order: on Aitaikuji

[tanenigiri]

Review #2 - Given (Volumes 1, 2, and 3)

Japanese title: ギヴン (given)

Story and art: Natsuki Kizu

English publisher: SuBLime

Number of volumes: 6 in English, 7 (soon-to-be 8) in Japanese (ongoing)

What’s left to say about a series that’s already elicited so many reactions? Well, I add a few hundred words into the Mix.

(This review contains story spoilers.)

Full disclosure: My first exposure to Given was the anime, which was also my first exposure to BL as a whole. These first three volumes cover all 11 episodes of the anime as well as the first few scenes of the movie and OVA, so my review of the manga will definitely be influenced by the show.

And let me begin by saying that watching the show was really an experience for me. I don’t really follow anime, so my initial exposure to it has always been the fantastical, larger-than-life types of shows that I would see gifs and art of online. So to find a show that not only fits into my more preferred genre but also revolves around a healthy depiction of a budding gay relationship - and not to mention its focus on music, its unique blend of tragedy and humor, and its incredible character dynamics - let’s just say it blew my mind.

So it should be no surprise that it was also what convinced me to try out reading manga, since I saw online that there are a lot of things that happen after the events of the movie and OVA. I had reservations about it at first, since Given’s first performance as a four-man band is so central to the story that I didn’t know how the manga would be able to portray that level of emotion with only text and pictures to work with. And while I do think that the anime adds a whole other level of depth to that performance, the manga more than makes up for it by delivering similar depth to the rest of the story.

From the very first panel that introduces the entire series - one that sees Mafuyu looking up at a particular body - you already get the sense as a reader that you’re in for an emotional ride. But I think what makes this plot point impactful is that the story doesn’t dwell on it until it needs to. Sure, it’s always on the back of your mind whenever Mafuyu does something weird, but seeing him develop new friendships, familiarize himself with music and band life, reconnect with his past through Hiiragi, and ultimately fall in love with Uenoyama is what makes the gradual reveal of what happened to Yuki all the more heartbreaking.

And I never felt the sense that all these other plots and dynamics were only there to service the main Yuki plot, or even the Mafuyu-Uenoyama one - they all stood on their own and contributed to the strength of the story as a whole. Uenoyama’s classmates could’ve easily been just devices that advanced the guitarist’s characterization when needed, but Itaya and Ueki also served to give Mafuyu the space to build new connections outside of the band. Waka could’ve just been the instigator of the plot point that Kasai very conveniently reveals to Uenoyama in the latter half of Volume 1, but the fact that it’s her reaction to Mafuyu’s performance that gets the first spotlight in Volume 3 says a lot about how important these characters are to the story as a whole.

I think that’s a good segueway to what really sold me on the series - its characters and the dynamics between them. And I think you can easily guess who I want to focus on for this.

Mafuyu is probably my favorite protagonist out of all the manga I’ve read so far. How he’s initially presented as this jumbled up jigsaw puzzle that you slowly solve after each chapter is very well-done, and it’s made more effective by all of the dynamics he shares with each character. The Mafuyu we see perform on stage might be different from the Mafuyu we see awkwardly asking Uenoyama to fix his guitar, but we couldn’t have reached the former without going through the latter. This development being streamlined into his journey as a band member and songwriter is also really nice, as it gives him something to work toward - which he’s notably been missing ever since Yuki’s passing.

Speaking of which, I cannot stress enough how well-done I find the Mafuyu-Hiiragi dynamic to be in this first arc. Their scenes together were among my favorites in the anime, and I think he’s the perfect character to anchor Mafuyu’s development whenever it involves moving on from Yuki. These two are probably my favorite platonic dynamic of the series, and it’s a major selling point of these first three volumes for me.

I also believe that part of the strength of Mafuyu’s characterization also has a lot to do with how, at least for the first three volumes, majority of the narrative is told through Uenoyama’s perspective. We find out more about Mafuyu in almost the same pace as Uenoyama does, but we’re also treated to the guitarist’s own character development along the way. It’s easy to forget that Uenoyama was stuck in a creative rut right before he runs into Mafuyu in the stairwell, and while that plot point’s resolution gets swept up with his developing feelings, I think it’s still important to note that Uenoyama does experience a similarly important shift in character, although at a much smaller scale. Seeing these characterizations progress in parallel with each other, while at the same time being influenced by one another, makes them eventually getting together a lot more satisfying.

(I have similar amounts of things to say for the other two bandmates as well as for Ugetsu, but I’ll save it for when I review the later volumes when the plot shifts to their own dynamics. I do want to note that I like how we already get glimpses of what’s happening between these three early on, so when the story shifts to that arc it doesn’t feel like it comes out of nowhere.)

Given will always hold a special place in my heart as the series that introduced me to BL, and I feel fortunate to have that introduction be an incredibly deep and moving story. When I was experiencing that high after watching it for the first time, I found solace in reading through three-year-old comments online from people who were lucky enough to watch it when it first aired, and one that really stuck with me is how this series is something that you don’t just easily move on from. And after reading the manga, that comment couldn’t be any truer.

Random thoughts that I couldn’t fit elsewhere:

One thing I do want to commend the anime for is how it fleshes out quite a number of scenes from the manga that make them a lot more impactful. Most notably, it gives a lot more spotlight to Itaya and Ueki, who I do point out above as adding quite a lot to the story even if they’re just minor. I’m also kinda surprised that some of my favorite scenes in the show - Uenoyama trying to convince Mafuyu to join the band in Episode 3, Itaya and Ueki telling Mafuyu their thoughts about the live in Episode 10, Hiiragi and Shizusumi running into Mafuyu in the music store in the same episode - were all anime additions.

I have to talk about that Mafuyu-Yuki beach scene - it felt just as unsettling reading it as when I watched it. But I think it does a really nice job in giving us a glimpse of how Mafuyu was in his past relationship, which adds another layer to how he currently acts. I also think it came to the story at the best point it could’ve - if it were introduced before Mafuyu sang the song, I feel like it would’ve softened the performance’s impact, while if it were introduced later on in the story, I feel like it would’ve been too late since Mafuyu has firmly begun taking the steps to truly move on.

I also wanted to mention how the extras at the end of the volumes are really funny and add some light-hearted depth to a lot of characters. My favorite among the extras in these three volumes is the one where there’s no room for Uenoyama in the elevator - many of these extras show just how in sync Mafuyu and Akihiko are, and I think this one is a really funny take on their dynamic.

Thanks for reading! I have another review lined up for Volumes 4 and 5, but I’ll be posting it later in the month so that I can focus on writing the reviews of other series. Given is one of three series where I’ve watched the anime version, and I’m trying to find a balance between pouring out my thoughts on the manga and integrating my thoughts about the show. I think I’m satisfied with having a healthy mix of both - and yes, I’m definitely going out of my way to use the word “mix” here.