Thoughts on the final Given chapter
I got my copy of Cheri+ so these are just some thoughts after using my basic Japanese and piecing together the panels with Keru's wonderful twitter translation.
-- SPOILERS AHEAD --
I was hoping for a cover illustration of Mafuyu AND Ue together but I'm okay with solo Mafuyu too. This was ultimately the story of his grief, discovery, and growth, so to see him smiling at the end of it all is so beautiful. He's surrounded by cherry blossoms, which symbolize change and a new season, and is set against the ocean, which holds special meaning in both of his relationships. I cry.
The fold out poster (pictured above) is so cool!! I really want to cut it out of the magazine and display it somewhere but I'm afraid I'll mess it up...
Given debuted, rejoice!
It's really nice that Kasai wasn't just cast aside as "that jealous girl" competing with Mafuyu for Ue (although she never stood a chance lol) and grew to become kind of a confidant and supporter for him. They may not fully understand each other, but they share a mutual respect and provide little bits of unexpected encouragement for each other and it's so wholesome.
Hiiragi being a menace but also sparkly, usual stuff. It's so funny because Hiiragi and Ue don't get along on the surface (two ore-sama types am I right), but they totally jive as artists, which is why Ue will continue playing support - and "ONLY SUPPORT" says a very bitter Mafuyu - for SYH.
I'm surprised at how little Haruki and Akihiko showed up in the chapter, but we did get crumbs that Haruki is apartment hunting~ They are so stable, just get married already.
When Keru initially tweeted that a significant portion of the chapter covers something she was hoping would happen but wasn't sure if it would, my mind immediately went to the gutter and assumed it was RitsuMafu sex lolol. It wasn't just me, right???
Anyways, they went to the BEACH. Mafuyu has gone to the beach with Yuki, but they went during the biting cold of winter and weren't "officially dating" so they didn't really do date-y stuff. His experience with Ue was totally different. There's several pages of them just eating and having fun, and they look like they can't get enough of each other.
Ugetsu calling Mafuyu out of the blue to thank him for the CD was really sweet. When I initially watched and read the series up to the end of the AkiHaru arc, I wasn't too big on Ugetsu and I actually thought that he was romantically interested in Mafuyu and would stir things up or cause trouble. Clearly I was wrong, and I'm glad. Their friendship is so valuable for both of them as two musical geniuses who are a bit socially awkward, and they've taken turns being there for the other when they needed a push, whether it was to say goodbye to an unhealthy relationship or to take a step towards love and music.
Ugetsu's wish to Mafuyu back when Yoru ga Akeru was in the works - about hoping that despite everything that's happened between him and Akihiko, if at least the music could remain - ends up being the driving point of this chapter and the end of the series. Mafuyu tells Ugetsu that he believes that Ugetsu remains in music, and so does Yuki, even if he can never see him again. When Ue comes back and kisses Mafuyu before offering him a drink, Mafuyu muses that someday, he'll probably forget this moment too, and that's why he wants to keep making music. It ties back to his last time at the beach with Yuki, because Yuki insisted that Mafuyu would eventually forget that day, but now with Fuyu no Hanashi and Umi e, these moments are able to live on.
The kiss had me squealing! It's nothing big or grand, but Ue is kneeling and he looks up at Mafuyu for a moment before going in for the kiss. This is such huge growth for Ue~ Their first kiss was a result of his overwhelming emotions after the live, and he didn't even remember it later! When they shared the classroom kiss after their fight, Ue wanted to take initiative but got shy and so it was ultimately Mafuyu who made the move. Now Ue has kissed Mafuyu on his own, in public!!! and with full intent and absolute love and affection. When he pulls away, the look in his eyes is like Mafuyu is the most amazing being in the world and he can't believe he's his. Ughhhhhh.
There is a full blank page of just text that says, "If only everything could stay like this forever." This is what Mafuyu is thinking as they ride the train back from the beach. I found it a weird thought to highlight because obviously, things WILL and SHOULD change.
As they get up to leave the train, Mafuyu (blushing slightly) calls out to Ue and says, "When we get back, should we do it?" to which Ue responds with "EHHHHHHHH?!" A little unexpected as the final panel of the final chapter but it's a nice callback to when Yuki asked Mafuyu the same question. MAH BOY UE IS FINALLY GRADUATING! I knew Mafuyu was going to have to take the lead, hehe.
MINOR GRIPES AND FINAL THOUGHTS
I've had two months to deal with the series ending and I had already tempered my expectations knowing the ending was going to be rushed, so honestly as long as Kizu-sensei didn't like, spontaneously kill off a character or break up a couple, I was pretty okay with anything the chapter was going to give us. I do still have some some gripes and things I just wish had been explored more.
My biggest complaint is in regards to the treatment of Ue as an individual and his relationship with Mafuyu. If we recall, Given actually starts off from Ue's point of view. He had been in a musical slump until Mafuyu came along and rocked his world. He had to come to terms with his unfamiliar feelings, and then he also had to deal with the fact that he knows almost nothing about the boy he likes. Even after they started dating, Mafuyu really didn't share anything about Yuki with him, so whatever he knew was very vague and second-hand knowledge. THEN in addition to that, he's tasked with finishing the demo of a piece that Yuki had obviously intended as a love song for Mafuyu. And ironically, he works on this song at the expense of his relationship with Mafuyu. He had brief moments of vulnerability, once when Aki called him out for his feelings toward Mafuyu (this is one of my favorite scenes in the anime), and again when Mafuyu rejected his invitation to SYH's debut concert. But then we never really see him working through these complicated feelings. My boy's been through so much and he is strong, but I wanted to see more growth and development from him. After all, he's just a teenage boy who fell in love for the first time and is trying to balance that with music, school, a part-time job, etc.
As for Ue and Mafuyu as a couple, they are my endgame, my OTP, so while I enjoy the arcs that focus on AkiHaru and ShizuRagi, I was never as invested in them. I was okay reading 20+ chapters of them because I always assumed that the series would circle back around to have a final arc focused on Ue and Mafuyu. I also found the resolution to their problems in the hiiragi_mix arc to be very rushed. They had MAJOR communication issues, which is completely understandable for two young guys. Ue was trying so hard to finish the song as a gift for Mafuyu, but Mafuyu pulled away because he saw a repeat of what happened with Yuki coming again and got scared. The root of the issue is that they've never talked about Mafuyu's relationship with Yuki and Yuki's death.
At SYH's debut live, Mafuyu hears Umi e, instantly recognizes that the song came from Yuki, and then is so moved and inspired that he basically proposes to Ue that he wants to make music with him for the rest of his life. And then the final chapter just cuts forward after this declaration to Given debuting. This resolution is too fast and unrealistic. I would have preferred at LEAST one whole long chapter dedicated to Ue and Mafuyu after the live debriefing and talking. In an even more ideal world, they would have also done it after the talking. I never expected anything explicit but I would have at least liked to see the lead up, because it would have been the truest form of intimacy they could share, and Ue coming to terms with his sexuality and what exactly he wanted to "do to Mafuyu" was such a big part of the series early on.
Regardless, Kizu-sensei wrapped everything up nicely, brought back every character for at least a cameo, and ended things on a happy, meaningful note. I've seen that many people are unsatisfied with it but I mean, I watched Game of Thrones, so I know a bad ending and this was just fine. Although I didn't get everything on my Given wish list, I am glad that I got to see the end. I prefer that over it getting cancelled at some point for whatever reason and being left unfinished. And we still have more to look forward to! I'll be hoping for some extra manga content with the volume 9 release and waiting to hear Umi e in the anime.
Just like Mafuyu says, Given and the music will remain with us. It touched my heart and will always have a special place there. Thank you for everything, Given!