Slow and Boring
Okay so this is another JDRAMA disappointment.I watched the trailer and thought okay so be could interfering but I was extremely disappointed by the 3rd episode i was really bored of it and skipped the last episode altogether so I just couldn't take it anymore.
The main actors seemed okay, accept i did find the second ML really depressing and often frustrating to watch.
The relationship between them was awkwardly enforced to say the least, it wasn't necessarily that these didnt have chemistry, the whole reason for liking the second lead was because he was lonely and had a guitar.
Overall : Given for me was not a good drama to watch, it just was slow and lacked potential with the characters and story line.
Any good JDRAMA recommendations welcomed!!
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Better off watching the anime
Coming from a person who has watched the anime and read the manga, this adaptation does not do the original story justice. The show was extremely rushed and because of that oftentimes it got confusing, and that's coming from someone who is familiar with the plot. So I can imagine someones whos not familiar with it must feel. Also because of the feeling of it being rushed, it does not allow the watcher to even empathize with the characters. If the episodes were at least 45 minutes each or there were at least 10 episodes I feel that could have made this series so much better. Other than at of course I think the story is so heartwarmingly beautiful, and the characters are memorable.I would only recommend those who are familiar with the given series to watch this.
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This review may contain spoilers
A good adaptation, for what it's worth
As a fan of the series, I was excited to know they were making a live-action adaptation. What was a little worrisome and disappointing was the fact that there's only six episodes that are supposed to cover everything from the very beginning of the series until right after the live performance. They did cover that, and for the most part they did surprisingly well with it, but there were still fundamental parts missing that made the series feel somewhat incomplete. I don't know why they skimped out on time- maybe it was a budget thing or something else, but I still feel like they could've afforded to flesh it out just a little bit more.That being said, I'll move onto the praise. The music in this series is great, to start off. The characters and the changes made to the characters were great, too - I liked that they switched things around, added and removed a few things to create a somewhat different feel for the series than the manga and anime go/went for. I feel like the actors filled their shoes very well, and I was surprised by how much I loved Haruki, Akihiko, and especially Hiiragi here. The changes made to their characters made me appreciate them even more somehow, and obviously that's a plus.
With what they had, they did well. It also feels like they almost consciously built up a few things to make it possible for a second season to take place at some point in the future. If there IS none, I'm very confused as to why they even chose to start delving into some plot points, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. For now, with what we have in this live-action adaptation of Given, it's good. Worth a watch, definitely. But it had the potential of being even better.
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9/10 . Was EPIC
would definitely recommend . my only issue is that it's short needs season 2 ASAP to follow on their journeyI didn't expect the live action to be this GOOD.
it avoids romance / not really a focus on it since it's short and all those six episodes fall into Volume 1 of GIVEN the manga
hope they make a season 2 as the whole plot, setting ,actors were chosen carefully as we all can tell on how much they really resemble the characters in the manga , all of this project just feels unique and rememberle
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Soft and Moving
I haven't seen the anime/manga this is based on so my opinion is purely based on only the show and I think I prefer it this way. I'm used to how jdramas are filmed and paced to those who aren't you may not enjoy it as much. But I really liked this drama. I liked the main characters a lot and felt they had good chemistry. The story was also very good and even though I wish it was longer I liked the pacing and how the story slowly unfolds. My only complaint is that for a show focused on music the music wasn't moving. The singing was weird and I wish they made different choices regarding it. But other than that I do recommend others watch it.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch it!
I've tried watching the anime but it didn't stick for me, so finding out there's a live version I got really excited. I don't really understand how one could complain or dislike this show. I found it amazing overall, not even one bad thing about it. Got me to tears at one point too in the last episode. This show to me could've even been just the show itself and not taken from the anime. I understand some people love the live version of their favourite anime or manga but honestly this seemed perfect to me. I'd recommend to watch it all and not be too picky, it's a great show to just quickly watch and finish but also be intrigued throughout it all.Was this review helpful to you?
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I am bawling my eyes out
A lot of people told me to don't watch this drama since I would be disappointed. Did I listen? No. I didn't watch the anime so I won't have to worry about comparing both of them. I liked it so much and the song is just Chef's kiss! It left a bruise inside my heart since I could feel Mafuyu's emotions. I have a huge crush on Jin so every time Uenoyama is on the screen I literally scream af because I like him so much. At first, I wondered why the story wasn't focused on Uenoyama and Mafuyu, but then I realized that it was a story focused on Mafuyu's path toward healing. The end was endearing especially when they both kissed hehe. The singing part made me bawl my eyes out. I can feel that he really set himself free at that moment. I am proud of you Mafuyu.Was this review helpful to you?
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Not What I Thought...and that's a good thing.
So I'm cleaning up my bookmark list - removing bookmarks on everything I've watched - and, lo and behold...now here's something I completely forgot about. Hey, why not give it a watch. If it's not something you're liking you could just stop at any old time and just move on. And that's how I stepped into the world of Uenoyama and Mafuyu. Now, lemme add, all I knew about "Given" was what the synopsis said on MyDramaList, and nothing more. Well ...I was not expecting what I got.First off - it is beautiful. Not in a cosmetic, picturesque way, but in an honest true-to-life manner. As with a lot of recent Japanese dramas (and sometimes comedies too) there is an ever present thread of "alone-ness" that runs throughout - whether it's Hira and Kioyi in "Utsukushii Kare" or Aioki in "Kieta Hatsukoi" or even Adachi in "Cherry Magic!", there's always the sense of watching life pass by from the POV of the outsider, always unwilling or unable to just let go and join in. This time, though, we go to some really dark places. Don't let the High School setting that the series opens with fool you (Oh no! Not that again!), "Given" opens up and reaches into your soul. And, I must say, I really liked the journey. From Mafuyu falling asleep in the studio to Kashima (Mafuyu's friend) reacting to him singing at the concert to the first time Mafuyu sings "lalalala" for Uenoyama - nothing is what I expected. Warning: There will be lumps in throats and there will be wet eyes.
"Given" is awesome, the music is perfect and the actors are sooo real that you knida get lost in their world for a moment. The writing is brilliant and the direction is superb. If there is any criticism to be made is that it could've done with either longer (or maybe a couple more) episodes. I really wanted to spend a little more time with these people. Oh, and by the way, even down to Mafuyu's last line is sheer perfection. Highly recommended.
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I am not a fans of anime or manga, so I don’t really give a damn about the manga/anime version. For me, this show was fantastic!
In the first episode they did actually drive me crazy to fell in love. I do love the idea, the concept, the acting, the story, the music or even the atmosphere. The one and only thing that I hate of this series was the duration. Why did you give us a short time duration in a single episode in every single week? :((((
I really wish that I could see more of them, especially the side story.
Oh my god! the last 2 series that I just finished were pretty amazing!
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A live action remake of a popular anime
So my favorite things in the world: BL, Anime, Manga, Japanese Rock. My kids, political Twitter, and BTS might be in there too, but mostly, just those things, so for obvious reasons Given is one of my favorite Anime and Manga stories. When I saw a live action was coming, I was curious but kept my expectations low.Making an anime come to life is hard, for obvious reasons, Manga characters are not always easily converted into real people. In this case, the casting was not terrible. I thought they cast Uenoyama perfectly, he was also the focus of the LA more than Mafuyu, who got more back story in the Manga and anime. I understood why they cast Mafuyu the way they did, because they wanted to use the actor's voice, but he wasn't quite perfect. Kaji was not well cast, I was so annoyed he was one of my favorite characters. The rest were OK.
The drama follows the manga/anime pretty closely but had to cut out a lot due to being only 6 episodes. So the story goes only up to their first live (episode 9 in the anime, Mafuyu's Song). Because of the compression, Mafuyu doesn't get a lot of back story exposition, there's really not much character development around Haruki and Akihito, it's mostly just Uenoyama and the preparation for the first live.
It's hard for me to judge this as a drama on its own because I already knew the story. I felt like the compression and loss of back story made the final song less dramatic. Also, tbh I just liked the song from the anime better. But overall the drama exceeded my expectations by being well acted and produced and staying pretty true to the story.
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Your past is your best teacher.
At first, I was really confused of what is happening and what will be the story flow. As the story goes, it really showed how our sad past haunt us everyday, like how our decision we make can make a huge impact either it will become good or bad. We often sometimes regret our decision because it causes us a lot of pain and suffering, but somehow it is okay... it only teaches us a lesson that could make us grow in the long run.They say, communication is important in every aspect of life. We always tend to misunderstood actions because sometimes words can deceive us. We often neglect to say what we truly meant or what we truly feel towards a judgment. We are always afraid of words because it can create a million possibilities of answers and feelings after that.
It really pains to see Mafuyu still holds on his past lover but how beautiful it is because your truly love that person no matter what. He still hold on his memories like the person is still there for him. It is somehow a good thing that he met Uenoyoma which help thim to open up and let go all the regrets he made from his past lover. He somehow embrace the truth and choose now to move on while cherishing his memories without any regret and continue what his past lover left for him.
I just felt bad to Uenoyoma that he was somehow rejected by Mafuyu but it's part of life. I still admire him that despite he gave his best to be seen by Mafuyu, he still respect Mafuyu's decision after half-confessing his feelings towards him. I can see that he will support and will be there for Mafuyu from now on.
The story was short but gave me a lot of emotions in a span of 6 episodes. Their story gave me hope to not give up on what we truly want, that we can't force someone to do things for us, that we can be a good support to anyone who is in need, and that we can love freely without asking for anything in return.
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A captivatingly beautiful BL with a pensive quality
Given is a highly underrated, visually beautiful Japanese BL centred around a high school student learning to play the guitar from a fellow schoolmate.Music becomes a key focal point in which relationships are set into motion. For Uenoyama and Mafuyu, it is through the language of music that they discover new vocabulary for speaking to others and each other.
After Uenoyama listened to Mafuyu's voice, something in him was stirred and he knew that his life would never be the same again – composing a song was his way of immortalising that moment. For Mafuyu, the same song bridges his past and future. As he verbalises the lyrics, he engages in a process of healing from a traumatic past, but also acknowledges that he has found someone whom he wishes to co-create music with in the future.
As a relatively short series with only 6 episodes of around 25 minutes each, the pacing is surprisingly slow. However, because every scene is so deliberate and purposeful, some concentration is required to fully appreciate the storytelling.
Read my full review here: https://asianblreviews.wordpress.com/2022/01/02/given-2021/
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