The anime ‘Given’ doesn’t only focus on only one pair but equally gives importance to the secondary leads. In fact, they released a whole movie focused on them as fans went crazy to know more. It’s safe to say that our male leads give off the vibe of school romance, whereas, the secondary leads exude an aura of maturity.
We know well enough, that with maturity comes responsibility and complexities. Just like our main leads had to fight against their past to move into the present, Haruki and Akihiko, our secondary male leads prioritize new beginnings and let go of the past. The movie unfolds an emotional journey that ultimately stops at the station of happiness.
Read More: What Was The Significance Of The Guitar In ‘Given’? How Did It Connect Mafuyu And Uenoyama?
Why Did Haruki Have Long Hair?
Haruki Nakayama didn’t always have long hair. He first met Akihiko Kaji at his university. Haruki fell in love with him at first site. Though he never went up to speak with Akihiko, he was curious about him and wanted to know him better.
Suddenly one day he found Akihiko seated beside him in class. The first interaction signaled their relationship start off, journeying from friends to band member to partner. Haruki is a cheerful and kind person who looks out for others naturally.
He quickly became friends with the latter and started growing his hair as a form of wish. He prayed for Akihiko to fall in love with him and be together with him. He vowed to not cut his hair till then and started maintaining it ever since.
Read More: Why Was Fixing The Guitar Strings Important in ‘Given’? What Does It Symbolize?
Why Was Haruki And Akihiko’s Relationship So Complicated?
While Haruki wished for their relationship, Akihiko was in love with someone else. Akihiko was a violin student. Ugetsu Murata, a violin genius, was Akihiko’s crush and also roommate. Their love story triangle took a worse turn, as Akihiko and Ugetsu complicated matters further.
Both of them were in a sort of relationship and not at the same time. Sometimes they drew closer while at times Ugetsu used music as a means to run away from Akihiko. Although all these hide and seek were useless in the end, as both were unable to let go of the other. More accurate to say would be, they didn’t know how to do it. All these processes hurt Haruki and in the end broke him to pieces.
Read More: ‘Given’: Why Did Yuki Attempt Suicide? Why Was Mafuyu Unable To Express Emotions?
