Ritsuka Uenoyama was extremely into music. Like, spending countless hours strumming a guitar (even moreso after his older sister told him he sucked), listening to music, and playing in a band. However, he suddenly became bored. That eventually leaked into other things in his life. The only thing he does now is attend school half-heartedly and nap at a hidden spot in the building.
Well, one day that napping spot is taken by a seemingly passive student with an amazing guitar. Not happy about this, Ritsuka tries to shoo him away, only to instead fix the guitar’s strings and play it. Unknown student loves it, latches onto him and asks him to teach him guitar, which Ritsuka scowls in disgust. After much explanation and chats with his fellow band members though, Ritsuka “eventually” gets him to watch him play music. This does inspire him to improve playing guitar, and also slightly open up about why he insists on playing it. He ends up explaining it’s due to a song that’s in his head, and Uenoyama asks him to sing it.
It’s at that moment where Ritsuka probably falls for this student, Mafuyu Sato, and his voice. And also the moment where both their worlds begin to change.
Natsuki Kizu’s given is a story that sets itself up for elation and heartbreak with music bringing everything together. The music is important in this manga, as it’s not background flavor. You see how these characters get better, whether it’s through part-time jobs getting them better equipment or through lots of practice, with music. While this first volume connects Ritsuka and Mafuyu, future volumes will likely show how the two other band members introduced, drummer Akihiko and bassist Haruki, impact the story. Granted, we already get teasers based on how Haruki reacts to Akihiko’s interactions with a certain girl and one moment when Akihiko falls down on him (however he’s asleep).
But this first volume focuses on Ritsuka and Mafuyu, where a chance meeting turns into so much more. Ritsuka seems like he’s burned out — meanwhile, Mafuyu’s recovering from a significant loss. They both feel like they need each other, but that can’t be expressed quite yet. For starters, Mafuyu’s current personality won’t let Ritsuka in right now. Conversely, there are still a few things we don’t know about Ritsuka that might be important to showcase before he can really know Mafuyu. That said, something happened to him that Ritsuka learns secondhand from Kasai, a girl in his class who likes Ritsuka…enough to potentially twist some things. Combined with a chance meeting with someone that knows Mafuyu and the person he originally loved, this relationship will be tested a ton.
One of the strongest parts of given are these characters, and how quickly they can be identified. Not just our main leads, or the band members, but the secondary ones. Like having Kasai, who might be a good person but wants Ritsuka personally, involved even in small moments (like going to wake him up) makes an impact. Her friend, Waka, with how she’s dressed and what she says makes her feel like a real person, and stands out from generic high school friend C. It might help that the school they’re in seems really open and yet strict to how everyone dresses, but it really does make things memorable.
So you include that in a story with a simple premise — characters express themselves with music in a band — you start finding characters you like. Characters that you worry about what happens to them. Heck, I want to know about Ritsuka’s older sister, Yayoi, whom we first meet looking at her phone while chilling on the couch in her underwear asking him to heat up frozen pizza and later meet again when she’s with Akihito. The art really shines in moments as simple as Ritsuka sluggishly waking up while Kasai reacts to Mayafu being visibly shaken when he meets an old friend, adding to each character’s development.
Then of course, you show how each character has something they have to overcome, and that’s where you get given — a compelling, engaging manga with music and love written all over it. Looking forward to reading more.