Given - Natsuki Kizu

In Given, Natsuki Kizu blends music, grief, romance, and emotional awkwardness into a quietly powerful story about a group of young musicians brought together through chance encounters and unresolved pain. The series follows high school student Ritsuka Uenoyama after he meets the withdrawn Mafuyu Satō, whose haunting singing voice slowly pulls him into the world of a newly formed band. As rehearsals, performances, and friendships deepen, the story gradually uncovers the trauma Mafuyu carries from the death of someone he loved, turning the music itself into a way of processing memory and loss.

What gives Given its weight is how restrained and human the emotions feel. Kizu avoids melodrama in favour of small gestures, silences, nervous conversations, and the strange intimacy that forms between people making music together. The performances become emotional detonations rather than flashy spectacle, especially once buried feelings finally emerge through song lyrics and live shows. Beneath the romance and band dynamics, the series is really about learning how to speak honestly when grief has left language fractured and incomplete.