given: a less problematic but still problematic fave
>>disclaimers: given is honestly one of my favorite anime and i recognize that it does so much better than a lot of other BL with the usual problematic material. however, there are still some things in given that i just innately have taken issue with that i haven't seen verbalized on a lot of fora, so here's my inexpert take on it; i'm not one to speculate on details, especially for mental illness, but i have a lot of doubts that both mafuyu and yuuki are/were completely neurotypical and functional teenagers
* effective and artistic presentation of trauma and grief - regardless of what mafuyu was like as a person before yuuki's death, his socially atypical and reserved behavior seemed acceptably accurate for someone processing their trauma. (note- i've never experienced nor witnessed trauma and/or grief of this magnitude, but i'm inclined to believe that mafuyu's demeanor falls within the /wide/ range of outward responses to traumatic events.) following this line of logic, i also think:
* semi-realistic staggered reveal of context (for the audience as outsiders) was well-executed. overcoming learned and long-term emotional suppression doesn't happen all at once, so it makes complete sense that the audience, as parties unfamiliar with the situation, learn about yuuki's death and his relationship with mafuyu in bits and pieces out of order.
* the splintering of their friendgroup following yuuki's death. checks out. (see divorce rates after death of a child; i think this can be likened)
cons- portrayal and resolution
* dependency - mafuyu and yuuki/ mafuyu on yuuki:
* manipulation - controversial take, but i read yuuki and mafuyu's relationship as a bit manipulative, especially since yuuki was presented as the dominant one even from their childhood, and while that's technically an acceptable relationship norm, we should remember that mafuyu was and has been made vulnerable from experiences in his early childhood, which i would further argue lends itself well to the previously mentioned idea of (co-)dependency. their relationship may have been perfectly fine, but even hiiragi, who grew up with them, took note of how unusual their dynamic was, and who's to say yuuki was wholly benevolent and neurotypical and sane (without further detail from Kizu). you could also argue mafuyu and yuuki's Very Intense and Passionate argument provoked yuuki into acting VERY RASHLY. of course, they were adolescents, so neither can be held fully accountable for the consequences the way adults in the same situation might be. At the same time, i don't think it's a stretch to say that mafuyu and yuuki should have been the best people to understand each other, so if mafuyu knew yuuki was, by off chance, unstable, then he shouldn't have brought up dying for mafuyu; conversely, (and this is bad reasoning because people who commit suicide from irresolvable mental health situations are never "selfish") yuuki probably would have been able to predict how affected mafuyu would be by his actions if he (yuuki) were at all stable and capable of rational thought and been able to avoid doing anything irreversible. it just seems very odd, potentially almost petty, that yuuki would end his own life that way in particular, not having made amends with mafuyu. it almost makes mafuyu look like the bad guy, especially with the last question he posed in their argument, but i'm not about to make that claim because mafuyu clearly regrets it. anyways i'm just very suspicious and wary of the fact that, without more information for Kizu, yuuki might be made out to be a lot better of a character than he is as we view him through mafuyu's eyes. call me a projecting cynic but that's just my take.
* flawed portrayal/lacking explanation of suicide and mental illness (more on this below w "passive"
* overly simplified recovery - mafuyu should 1000% be in professional therapy there's no way he's going to be fine and dandy even with uenoyama and learning how to express himself. yes certain activities and passions and definitely healthy relations can help people recover and heal, but they can't do everything.
* toxic - akihito. knows exactly what he's doing and has made no move to stop. probably the most straightforward and obvious problematic behavior second only to ugetsu the other instigator
* pining - haruki. you can do so much better bb. (like really. take-chan's right there)
* passive - hiiragi- but what could he have done or said to change anything about yuuki's death? theoretically, not very much if yuuki was severely depressed or otherwise mentally ill, which it's not made very clear that he is, which is somewhat problematic because depression is long-term? so if we try to pin his suicide on depression, we're basically grasping at straws because Kizu-sensei hasn't clarified. i acknowledge that mental illness is often invisible BUT that may not be as common knowledge in cultures where talking about mental is stigmatized cough japan and representation is as much about education as it is art so yuuki committing suicide mere days after an intense argument leaves much explaining to be desired imo
* basically a lot is handled poorly by characters in-universe (which can be argued as realistic, i agree, BUT). this is problematic for a number of reasons, all already mentioned, but for de facto mental health education (okay sue me it's admittedly not the role of anime and entertainment but i think that if you're going to include heavy topics in slice of life anime then you should at least have characters explicitly deal with them properly and as realistically as possible) and healthy representation, given could do better.
also, updates from reading the manga+watching the movie:
* haruki sweet spring bb PLEASE turn on your brain and rational thinking capacity you literally KNOW what's going on and people do NOT change that fast also akihiko slow the fuck down
* yuki's mom what the fuck you're an ADULT there is no place for you to be selfish and impose your will on a child who is just as affected by yuki's death as you are and even YOU knew it left mafuyu all alone im SCREAMING
* okay also shizu getting in hiiragi's personal space in 38 rubbed me the wrong way kyoya and haruhi style. you know what i mean. i just finished the manga so i can't even process it
* that is all thank you for reading
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