Given BL Manga Gets Anime Adaptation

Natsuki Kizu’s boys-love manga Given has inspired an anime adaptation from NoitaminA. It will be the first anime based on a BL manga to air on NoitaminA.

The news was announced at the Fuji TV Anime Lineup Press Conference 2019, which was held on Thursday. Given will air on Fuji TV’s NoitaminA programming block starting in July. Hikaru Yamaguchi will direct the anime at studio Lerche. Yuniko Ayana will oversee the series’ scripts.

Director Hikaru Yamaguchi:

When I got the director’s story, I read a few pages of the original, and I was surprised that my brain was trying to make an image before accepting, saying, “What kind of layout is this scene, what should I do?” It was my first experience where the body complained that “I want to do this” by skipping various processes.

Music, friends, friends, favorite people, joy, sadness, jealousy, jealousy. I would like to deliver all these things, an emotionally mixed youthful group drama. In the diverse world of today, with the wish that as many people as you want to see.

*Please note that these are translated comments from the Given official website.

Given is a “youth band story” and follows Ritsuka, a young man who plays guitar but is no longer interested in playing. But then he meets another young man, Mafuyu, holding a broken guitar. Ritsuka unwillingly begins to teach Mafuyu how to play the guitar, but everything begins to change as soon as he hears Mafuyu sing.

Check out the promo below:

The anime stars Shougo Yano as Mafuyu Sato (guitarist and vocalist), Yūma Uchida as Ritsuka Uenoyama (guitarist), Masatomo Nakazawa as Haruki Nakayama (bassist), and Takuya Eguchi as Akihiko Kaji (drummer).

The manga runs in Shinshokan’s Cheri+ magazine. Shinshokan published the fourth volume in December 2017. The fifth volume is due out April 1.

I’m not familiar with the source material but I’m optimistic. I’m a fan of some of NoitaminA’s other properties, and while BL in general can be problematic, I’ve heard very good things about Given from fans online who are excited about the adaptation. I can’t wait to check it out in July!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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