Do you like sensitive young men with guitars? If so, you have come to the right place. If not, why not take a look anyways? Who knows, you might change your mind!
I let Karandi do most of the heavy lifting on our ep2 discussion of Given because I was horribly sick on Thursday. Thankfully she was there to keep the post on track and I think we managed to pull out of this one o.k. You can tell me what you thought of it.
But before you do, how about one quick look through the images of the show. It will help you visualize it again!
The first of two stairwell scenes this episode. I’ve just compared it to my Given episode 1 caps and it is actually a bit livelier in colour than last week, which fits in with my theory that the more passionate the boys become about music and in general, the brighter the colours. Also there’s that high out of the widow shot. It’s a good framing, makes Mayufu and Ueno’s world seem smaller and more intimate, that works well for a potentially more romantic setting at some point.
Also a pic of Kaji from the OP. No reason, I just had it…
The quick sequence showing Ueno trying to figure out how he can actually teach guitar to someone else remains my favourite part of the episode. It was yet another very successful character establishing moment and it was just sweet.
Otherwise, I like how at ease all the characters seem, both with each other and with themselves. The character models have relaxed casual poses. Maybe it’s the rounded shoulders that are making them look less stiff than some.
A second stairwell scene, and a second out of the window high shot. However, we only really see Mayu in frame this time. Makes sense, this is one of his pivotal character moments. Ueno has a decent range of facial expressions. I do hope we get to see a few more. Pretty boy shows do tend to only have their characters make pretty faces. It can look rather stiff.
Given is not exactly a visual powerhouse but it works quite well within the context and I like the little touches they put in, here and there.

Kaji’s shot in the intro is so freaking hot!!! >.<
Yes. Like I said it’s the only image I contributed to the post on Ks blog cause I figured more people needed to see it…. And as a present for k
I don’t remember for which show I said this, but I love the commented screenshotting format.
What strikes me is that the show’s really using light and shadow very well. Some of the scenes are almost glaringly lit, and shadows look much different in those (like the greenish one, where they’re sitting around).
I’m still liking given a lot (and I was actually hesitating when clicking play on ep1). I’ll head over to Karandi’s soon.
I was surprised to. The production is modest but they are using the limited visuals wisely in my opinion!