“given” Double Feature Will Hit US Screens in One Night Only Event

Announced today, Crunchyroll will bring the second and third films in the given franchise to theaters in the United States in a one-night only premiere event – given: The Double Album.

In a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Crunchyroll will screen both given The Movie: Hiiragi Mix (the second film of the series) and given The Movie: To the Sea (the third film of the series) for just one night only in the US. June 16 is the only day you can see this double feature, so you don’t want to miss out!

given is the story of Ritsuka Uenoyama, who plays guitar in a band with Akihiko Kaji and Haruki Nakayama. One day his secret nap spot is taken by Mafuyu Sato, who is clutching a guitar with broken strings. As soon as Ritsuka hears Mafuyu sing, he insists that he has to join his band. The anime series, which consists of 11 episodes and aired in 2019 on Crunchyroll, followed Ritsuka and Mafuyu as they stumbled their way into a relationship.

given The Movie, which hit theaters in Japan in 2020, was the first film in the series. It continued where the anime left off and focused on older band members Akihiko and Haruki. Haruki tries to get over his feelings for Akihiko, while Akihiko works on bettering himself so that he can be more deserving of Haruki.

given The Movie: Hiiragi Mix, the second film in the franchise, released in 2024. It continues the story but focuses on Mafuyu’s childhood friends, Shizusumi Yagi and Hiiragi Kashima, who are about to debut with their band “syh”. But when they lose their guitarist, Hiiragi asks Ritsuka to fill the spot.

The synopsis for given The Movie: To the Sea is as follows:

After a chance encounter with the singer Mafuyu Sato, Ritsuka Uenoyama’s passion for music was reignited. Their band, Given, is on the path to greatness just as Mafuyu begins to question if he should be the group’s singer. After declining Ritsuka’s invitation to a concert in Shibuya, Mafuyu runs into an old friend. Could this be the sign Mafuyu needs to step up to the microphone once more?

The June 16 double feature event will serve as the US theatrical premiere for the third film, which makes its streaming debut on Crunchyroll at the end of the month. The first and second films are both currently available to stream.

When the series premiered in 2019, I became obsessed. I watched the anime, I read the manga, the amount of money I have spent on merchandise is ridiculous. But with my anime break, I haven’t even seen the second film. So I’m actually really glad that they’re doing this double feature, because it will give me an opportunity to finally see it. I’m looking forward to falling back into this world, because these characters were so important to me. given was one of my earliest introductions into the world of BL. (And look how that turned out.)

(There is also a live action, which I also have yet to see. Maybe I should get on that. There’s just too many things to watch and not enough hours in the day!)

Tickets for given: The Double Album are currently on sale here.

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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