Given Chapter 42 Discussion

ritaft said:
THIS IS A MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER.
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It´s weird how no one has made a discussion about this :')

This chapter was a bit confusing and i´m gonna be honest i don´really understand what Shizu is saying to Ueno however its heartwarming seeing Shizu, finally, being able to verbally say he likes Hiiragi.

Fuyu once again dreaming about Yuki and I´m just sad that we are not getting Ueno and Fuyu moments as a couple and that Ueno, uncounsciously, is drifting away from his boyfriend. I would say that this is the only flaw of this manga but i hope the author turns this around since they are the main couple of this series

MagicPotato98 said:


I think what Shizu is saying is that he doesn't care, as long as he gets to stay by Hiiragi's side, he doesn't care how Hiiragi treats him, even if that means throwing his own life and passions away. He is completely unfazed by being in a relationship with Hiiragi because everything Shizu's ever done his whole life has been for Hiiragi. He's saying that whatever Hiiragi wants, he'll do without question as if being commanded by a God. Shizu doesn't have any emotional attachment to music at all which is the total opposite of Ue and Mafuyu, who use music as a metaphor and source of communication. Both Ue and Mafuyu wants to get a sense of emotional gratification from the music that they create. For Ue, it's because he wants to understand Mafuyu and by composing, he wants his songs to reach Mafuyu's heart. For Mafuyu, through music he wants to use it as a tool to process his grief and express himself more clearly. Which means that when things don't go well in their relationship, it's very risky and can reflect in the music that they create together. While Shizu plays music because it simply is just what he's supposed to do like one would sleep or brush their teeth in order to live (because he sees Hiiragi as a life source), both Mafuyu's and Ue's passion and drive for music comes from within and from each other. So I think that's why it's a lot more complicated. Well this is my interpretation anyway.

But also, why am I feeling this crazy sense of dread when it comes to Shizu? like his confession of "I want to stay by your side until the day I die". Like that's not normal for someone to say. I really hope that Shizu works on his issues of codependency because I feel like we could see a "Yuki repeat" if Hiiragi accidentally says something that makes Shizu feel abandoned....

I agree, my heart is aching for Ue. But I feel like that's what I really love about Given, it's not a typical love story, it's a story about grief and Mafuyu is still processing the loss and trauma of Yuki. I saw that someone pointed out online that most other major characters had a 'breakdown' moment and we haven't received one from Ue, so it is likely that we might see him snapping soon because he's been enduring for so long.

Also can we please appreciate the symbolism in Given? I was revisiting Chapter 14-15 where Ue was carrying the box of Aki's CDs that he lent to Mafuyu and he actually says "I'll endure it". Not sure if I'm reading too much into this but Ue's so strong for trying to be there to help carry some of Mafuyu's burden.