Do you enjoy anime as much as Given? Or do you enjoy music-themed anime series? Given a shounen-ai manga written and published by Kizu Natsuki in 2013 became so popular that it was adapted into an anime this season. Here, we will learn about the 10 Anime like Given.
Given portrays the story of four friends united by the love of rock music. Initially, Uenoyama meets Mafuyu while he holds a broken guitar. As they get to know each other, he teaches Mafuyu the basics of playing the guitar, but it’s when he hears Mafuyu sing that he decides to take him into the band. Although Mafuyu’s past is complicated, he will be able to forgive himself through music. On the other hand, Uenoyama will soon realize how his friendship with Mafuyu is deepening.
10 Anime like Given:
10. Bakumatsu Rock
The Tokugawa Shogunate is trying to brainwash Japan in Bakumatsu Rock by using songs called Heaven’s Songs. If the Bakumatsu era is characterized by the Shinsengumi and by those opposing it, then Bakumatsu Rock depicts the Tokugawa Shogunate trying to brainwash Japan during the Bakumatsu era. Sakamoto Ryouma and his friends can only play rock because every other kind of music is forbidden. Therefore, if they want to play rock, they are automatically rebels that must be exiled.
From the premises, it appears that Bakumatsu Rock and Given are unconnected. However, we are positive you will enjoy both if you enjoy one. The first reason is that both shows focus on rock music, and in both uses, the music is a means to an end. The second reason is that music becomes a means to complete a task. Give Bakumatsu Rock a shot if you’re a fan of rock music!
9. Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs
The main character in Kogarashi has a supernatural ability and has been possessed by ghosts since he was a child, but now he has learned how to fight them back. Unfortunately, he is now also extremely poor, homeless, and wishes for a more normal high school life. Yuragi Manor, which was formerly a hot springs inn, was introduced to him in his search for housing because it was so cheap because it was haunted by the ghost of a high school student whose corpse was discovered there.
Kogarashi doesn’t think this is going to cause problems for him. The ghost of Yuragi Manor turns out to be a girl named Yuna, whom Kogarashi finds living in his room. Kogarashi has no intention of hurting a ghost girl, so he agrees to help her to accomplish her unfinished business before she turns evil. The other tenants will soon reveal their own secrets when he demonstrates his love for Yuna – his life in Yuragi Manor will be anything but ordinary!
8. Piano no Mori (Piano Forest)
In contrast, Kai Ichinose comes from an impoverished neighborhood and is the son of a prostitute. Shuuei Amamiya, born into a prominent family of pianists, grew up in a prestigious environment. They share their love of music regardless of their different upbringings. Their passion for the piano will lead their paths to cross, and their friendship will blossom.
In many ways, Piano no Mori is similar to Given. The central feature is the blossoming friendship between two young male characters, united by their passion for music. In addition, the characters strive to take care of someone important to them while mastering their abilities. If you enjoy music and touching stories, both shows will appeal to you.
7. Carole & Tuesday
Tuesday is a girl from a wealthy family who dreams to become a musician, just as Carole does. Both girls live in Alba City and work part-time. The fated meeting between Carole and Tuesday will cause both of them to think that they can make it. Carole still feels like there is something missing in life, and Tuesday feels like no one understands her. Their paths will cross, and they will realize they can make it together.
Both Carole & Tuesday and Given are slow-paced dramas which are character-driven. Both main characters in the shows want to grow as people, despite having a lot to learn. As well as their own dreams, they will show their tenacity and determination to realize their musical dreams. If you’re looking for an anime like Given, but with female protagonists, pick Carole & Tuesday!
Also Read: Top 10 Anime Where The Hero Turns Into a Monster
6. Anonymous Noise
This series is about Nino Arisugawa, a young girl wearing a mask who sings to the ocean on a daily basis. Having experienced two sudden, heartbreaking separations as a child, Nino has vowed to sing to the ocean, bound by a promise made with two childhood friends-her first love, Momo Sakaki, and a boy who composed music, Kanade “Yuzu” Yuzuhira.
The boys had never met each other before, but they both vowed that their voices would be the beacon that would reunite them once again if Nino were ever separated from them. The boys never met each other until six years later, when fate finally joined Nino, Momo, and Yuzu at the same high school.
Nino, meanwhile, continues to work toward fulfilling her childhood promise with the boys while Yuzu’s feelings for her from the past reappear, and Momo tries to prevent Nino from reuniting with the boys. Whether or not they can mend their friendship and overcome all of the feelings involved in a complicated love triangle will depend on the music they make together.
5. Kono Oto Tomare! (Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life)
In Takezou Kurata’s high school, he belongs to the Koto club, but the club faces dissolution after the graduation of the senior members. As the club’s last member, Takezou must find new members to keep the club alive. It will be extremely difficult to get the Koto club started, as no one in the school seems interested. Nonetheless, someone will barge into the club room and demand that the club be set up!
As with Given, Kono Oto Tomare focuses on students who are eager to learn music and play it. Like Given, Kono Oto Tomare is a shounen anime that attempts to make music meaningful. You’ll see two teenage boys in both of these shows who are fated to meet at the start of their respective growths as young people and musicians. Try Kono Oto Tomare, if you like Given: you won’t be disappointed.
4. Doukyuusei (Classmates)
As classmates, Rihito Sajou is a serious honor student, while Hikaru Kusakabe plays guitar. Despite their similarities, their personalities are very different. While Sajou is reserved and silent, Kusakabe is outgoing and confident, and he often attracts girls. When Kusakabe and Sajou start practicing together for a chorus festival, they begin harboring feelings for each other, but things don’t go as smoothly as they expect.
Both Doukyuusei and Given take place at a high school, where a romance between two boys is sparked by music. Same as Uenoyama and Mafuyu, Sajou and Kusakabe go on an inner journey of growth and self-discovery. If you enjoyed Given, Doukyuusei would blow you away.
3. Banana Fish
An American soldier named Griff goes insane and starts killing his own platoon during the Vietnam War. After he was subdued, all he could utter was the words, “banana fish”. Griff is cared for as a young man by Ash, whom the mob boss Papa Dino took in after he ran away. Ash was raised to be the Mafia family’s heir as well as a slave. This phrase keeps reappearing in his life mysteriously, and now he is seeking to unravel its mystery.
While both of these stories are shounen-ai with a love story between a distant, unapproachable man and a more vulnerable one, there is a great deal of difference in the tone. In addition, the romance is fleshed out and feels realistic rather than just being your typical overdramatic BL series.
2. Hitorijime My Hero
When a man named Kousuke arrives at Masahiro’s school to take down the neighborhood gangs, the situation is dramatically improved. Years later, when Masahiro enters high school, Kousuke is Masahiro’s teacher.
Rather than the usual shounen-ai series dynamic of watching a relationship develop between an older man and a young girl, this follows more of the rules of an average romance series. Unfortunately, unlike Given, it falls prey to standard tropes.
1. Kids on the Slope
When classical pianist Kaoru Nishimi arrives in Kyushu for his last year of high school, he has lost all hope of fitting in. That all changes when he meets thuggish drummer Sentaro Kawabuchi, who has a desire for jazz to the point of obsession. Kaoru learns through music that music should bring joy to others, not something according to centuries-old techniques.
Children on the Slope is a musical series, but the focus is jazz. It also has an emotional tale to tell about people who follow their passions. There are hints in the series, but they aren’t all boy love stories.
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