Today, Crunchyroll announced the dub release of the 2019 boys’ love music anime, Given. As someone who’s been a fan of this anime for years (it has my favorite reaction to a love confession of all time), I’m thrilled about this news.
I’ve spoken about how I grew up with queer anime that rarely (if ever) got dubbed – let alone getting released here in the U.S., so I’m always excited when one gets released and a company feels like putting the effort into a dub track. That being said, with Given being three years old, I didn’t think it would ever get dubbed. I’d HOPED it would, but I kinda assumed the moment had passed. Not only was I wrong about that, but the dub release is coming in just a couple of days!
What is Given about?
Somehow, the guitar that he used to love to play and the basketball games that he found so fun just lost their appeal… that was until Ritsuka Uenoyama randomly met Mafuyu Sato. Ritsuka had started losing his passion for music in his everyday life, but then he hears Mafuyu sing for the first time. The song resonates with his heart and the distance between them starts to change.
Based on the manga by Natsuki Kizu, the series is a breathtaking look at processing grief and the slow steps of allowing yourself to love again. While it very much focuses on the budding relationship between Ritsuka and Mafuyu, it also examines how the characters deal with heartache, guilt, and using creative outlets (in this case, music) to express themselves. As a creator, I very much understand how art can be used to let go of the feelings that have been bottled up inside you, so Given, in a way, provided a much-needed release for me.
The anime also has a really nice response toward a teenage boy who’s trying to make sense of his feelings for another boy. That clip is what got me into the series in the first place as it circulated on Twitter back in 2019. As heavy as Given can get with its themes, there’s always a sense of hope after the storm and a good level of reassurance for its young, queer cast. It’s always nice seeing older characters reassuring younger folks about their sexuality. To that end, it’s not just the teenagers that the series focuses on. There are older characters in the band, too, who have their own issues to deal with. All and all, I highly recommend this series, and it’s one that you can finish in a day if you have the time.
The dub cast and crew
The main cast and crew have been reported by Liam Dempsey over at Crunchyroll.
- Brandon McInnis (Taiga in Sasaki and Miyano) as Mafuyu Satou
- Josh Grelle (Shun in The Stranger by the Shore) as Ritsuka Uenoyama
- Y. Chang (Gonzaburo in Sasaki and Miyano) as Haruki Nakayama
- Jonah Scott (Joe in SK8 the Infinity) as Akihiko Kaji
- ADR Director: David Wald
- ADR Engineer: Peter Hawkinson
- ADR Script Supervisor: David Wald
- ADR Writer: Marissa Lenti, David Wald and Madeleine Morris
- ADR Prep: Jennifer Alyx
- Production Assistant: Shosuke Akamatsu
- Recorded By: Studio Nano
- Producer: Michelle Rojas
Release date
Given’s dub will be available on Crunchyroll on Monday, August 1st, at 2:30 PM (PT). The entire dub will be released on that day so you won’t have to wait weekly to watch dubbed episodes.
(Featured image: Natsuki KIZU, SHINSHOKAN/given committee)
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
