Given

WARNING: I wrote this review 1 month after watching it, so I probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Also, light spoilers.

Let me first put up a big disclaimer that I don’t like Yaoi anime, not because I hate Yaoi, but because I just don’t like watching Yaoi anime. This is the first “Yaoi” anime I’ve watched, but I didn’t pick it up because it was Yaoi.

Here is the context: I had absolutely nothing to do one day, and wanted to watch anime. Given had an interesting description, with pretty good reviews. Seeing as I had absolutely nothing to do, I took the leap and broke my Yaoi cherry (please don’t use this sentence out of context).

Ignoring the Yaoi parts, this was a solid anime about teenage boys doing band things, with enough character development to hook onto the viewer’s emotions. Mafuyu has a talent for angelic singing, but is unable to convey what he truly wants to express through his song - the story took the liberty of explaining his backstory by dropping hints here and there across the story, introducing drama, tension and confusion among the band members. At the climax of the story, he came to terms with it, during a concert no less. The emotional buildup that got released during the climax is also backed with the appropriate plot progression, and realistic character reactions, making the anime surprisingly relatable.

To describe this anime in a phrase: a strange gem, in a otherwise gem field that is this season.

Even if you don’t like the Yaoi genre, do give it a shot. You may like it.

Happy Coding,

CodingIndex