Given, Vol. 3
Ratings9
Average rating4.2
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 one another—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. In contrast to their naive romance, Haruki has been harboring a secret desire for bandmate Akihiko, who’s already entangled in an intense, conflicted relationship with someone else.
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Given (pun fully intended) that I already loved the previous two volumes so much, I had really high expectations going into this one. My expectations were definitely met, but I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the previous two volumes. But I still loved it nonetheless!
I think I became too reliant on having Uenoyama and Mafuyu's arcs carry my enjoyment of this story. Because of this, having their presence be overtaken by the side characters' stories during the later chapters of this volume left me wanting more. It isn't that big of a deal, since this is one of those stories where I am genuinely invested in all the characters—including the side characters.
Speaking of side characters, Akihiko's roommate, Ugetsu is so fascinating. Something about him just makes me get this craving to read more about him. I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but if a plot surrounding him overtook any future volumes then honestly I'd be kind of thrilled.
