given - on the other hand
ギヴン うらがわの存在 (Given: Uragawa no Sonzai)
- Boys Love
- Drama
- Music
- School
- Episodes
- 1
- Duration
- 22 min
- Aired
- Dec 1, 2021
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
In *given - on the other hand*, life settles into a gentler rhythm for Mafuyu Satou and Ritsuka Uenoyama after the night of *given*’s first live performance. Their connection deepens through the music they share, and the time they spend together only draws them closer.
Even so, the calm doesn’t erase what lies beneath. As they move forward, both Mafuyu and Ritsuka face moments of hesitation and setbacks, each grappling with inner conflicts that test their sense of stability and understanding.
Otaku Consensus
given - on the other hand is best received as a precise emotional supplement to the main Given experience: Akiyo Oohashi’s quiet direction and Yuniko Ayana’s script keep the focus on Mafuyu and Ritsuka’s interior lives rather than manufacturing new melodrama. Fans praise how it preserves the franchise’s blend of first love, grief, band intimacy, and understated comedy timing, while the recurring criticism is that its recap-adjacent structure leaves some viewers wanting more genuinely new material.
Why You Should Watch
Watch given - on the other hand if you want Boys Love that treats romance as emotional literacy, not just confession mechanics. It is for viewers who like the ache of Given’s episode 9 aftermath, the soft relational detail of Doukyuusei, or the music-as-therapy angle of Your Lie in April, but without a grand competitive arc or melodramatic overextension. At one episode, it works less like a sequel event and more like a carefully placed missing page: Mafuyu and Ritsuka’s chemistry is observed through pauses, awkwardness, and the way music gives shape to feelings they cannot easily say aloud. If your favorite Given moments are the quiet ones between songs, this special is built for you.
Key Characters
- MMafuyu Satou(VA: Shougo Yano)
Mafuyu remains compelling because fans read his growth through restraint: every hesitant response, lyric, and silence carries the weight of someone learning how to turn grief into communication.
- RRitsuka Uenoyama(VA: Yuuma Uchida)
Ritsuka’s appeal lies in how openly confused and sincere he can be, making his romance with Mafuyu feel like a process of listening rather than simply taking the lead.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
This is a single-episode Lerche production released on December 1, 2021, which makes its compactness part of its identity: it is designed as a concentrated companion piece rather than a full new season.
- 2
The creative chain stays close to the source: Natsuki Kizu is credited for the original story, Akiyo Oohashi directs, and Yuniko Ayana handles the script, preserving the franchise’s intimate tone across mediums.
- 3
Its reception profile is unusually strong for such a niche-format entry: it holds an 8.13 MAL score from 46,396 votes and an AniList score of 81/100, despite being far less widely sampled than the main TV series.
- 4
Viewer discussion often frames it as recap-adjacent to the Given movie with select added material, turning the same structural choice into both its main limitation and its main draw for completionists.
- 5
AniList’s tag weighting places Boys’ Love at 95%, LGBTQ+ Themes at 88%, and Band at 75%, accurately reflecting that the special foregrounds queer emotional development through the language of music rather than treating the band element as background decoration.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- The special’s Japanese subtitle, Uragawa no Sonzai, is officially rendered in English as given - on the other hand, signaling its role as a perspective-shift companion within the Given anime line.
- Fun fact 2
- Although it has only one episode, it has enough audience traction to register 46,396 votes on MyAnimeList, where it sits at a score of 8.13 and rank #545.
- Fun fact 3
- AniList lists 656 favourites for the special, a notable figure for a one-episode side entry tied to an already niche Boys Love music drama.
- Fun fact 4
- Fan reviews repeatedly connect Given’s appeal to Mafuyu’s character development, the emotional force of the music, and the balance of romance, friendship, comedy timing, and grief.
- Fun fact 5
- The most common viewer complaint is not about the central relationship but about format: several Anime-Planet reactions describe it as too close to a recap, even while acknowledging that the added scenes make it worthwhile for invested fans.
Studios
- Lerche
