Given, Vol. 7: Volume 7

A bit shorter than the other volumes, read it in one go. I hope we get to see more of the three couples in the next ones, especially Mafuyu and Uenoyama which were put on the side lately. Natsuki Kizu still is my favourite mangaka, I'll follow them where they go.

I started reading the Given manga after watching the anime, which corresponds roughly to the first four volumes, and the movie to the 5th.By the 6th volume, most of the focus of the stort has shifted to tertiary characters that are part of Mayufu’s past, and unfortunately that continues on this 7th volume.Instead of exploring more about the main relationship of Mafuyu and Ritsuka, or Ritsuka’s own acceptance of being attracted to a man, or the band dynamics upon going pro, or anything of real relation to what was presented to readers initially, the author continues branching out to other characters that not only add little to the main plot, but unfortunately border toxic relationships. It almost feels as if the author doesn’t know where to go with the story or just stretching it for stretching sake.While the story continues, I’ve lost interest in finding out how any of this will end.

Well-written, the artwork is as good as in previous volumes, and the emotions run high, but this volume didn't grip me as much as previous volumes have. This one's almost entirely about Hiragi, who has to come to terms with how he felt about Yuki, how he feels about Shizu, and what their music means to him. Hiragi and Shizu are two good characters, but I'm just not as interested in them as in the four members of "Given," who are given considerably fewer pages here. Mafuyu (my favorite character) barely appears at all.I love this series, but I hope the next volume focuses more on the main characters again!

I have been super excited about this volume for quite a long time now! I have wanted to know more about Kashima and Shizu for awhile so it is so nice seeing this part of the story with them. I hope to know more about them before the story ends.