‘Given’ is not only an anime based on the music genre but delves further into complicated relationship stuff, including a foreshadowed death. The people who are still stuck in the past get to recover from the painful memories. They embrace the present as they hold hands with music.
In the anime, music becomes the very source that liberates all the bonds, showing them the true colors of love and friendship. Characters start to forgive themselves and hold hands towards a bright sunrise. Our favorite protagonist Sato Mafuyu is one of the characters who finds himself up on a bright stage filled with love and support from all people.
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Why Was Fixing The Guitar Strings Given Importance?
In the series Given, fixing the broken cord is shown twice. The first one at the very beginning and the last one nearly at the end of the anime. Let’s discuss the meaning behind both incidents.
Ritsuka Uenoyama and Sato Mafuyu are the main protagonists of the story. Ritsuka meets Sato during their lunch break when the latter occupied Ritsuka’s napping spot. Starting from an awkward conversation Ritsuka notes that Sato’s guitar strings are broken and he should fix them.
his sense of urgency is actually kind of heartbreaking when you think about the fact that the guitar has been broken for so long and mafuyu finally realizes that he has the opportunity to get it back to the state it was in when yuuki owned it pic.twitter.com/uFhknhOPCR
— kayla 🎁 MAFUYU NENDO (@mafuyuukis) July 11, 2019
To his surprise, Sato excitedly pulls his collar and asks him to fix it. The guitar string was broken when Mafuyu faced Yuki’s death. He snapped the strings off after looking at Yuki’s body. Once Ritsuka finished mending the broken string, Mafuyu started pestering him to teach playing the guitar.
The Gibson ES-330 guitar was actually Yuki’s. After his death, his mother gave it to Mafuyu. He wanted to repair and play the very guitar left behind by his beloved one, but another reason lay with Ritsuka. Sato Mafuyu was attracted to Ritsuka because of his playing style.
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What Did Guitar String Symbolize?
They both started growing closer as romantic relationships became only a matter of time. The second time the guitar strings broke meant a completely new thing. Ritsuka was afraid of what Mafuyu will sing and urges him to stop trying and just play his guitar.
Mafuyu took it as Ritsuka not trusting his skills. This complicated the whole situation where he once again snapped the guitar strings off. Haruki held the reins and told Ritsuka that “When a string breaks, you just have to fix it.”
broken guitar string – mafuyu being broken. a broken guitar string can also be a symbol for the joy of love suddenly being replaced by sadness.
— AZE ⚠︎ (@gayysukuna) August 25, 2020
ue fixing it – ue not fixing but helping mafuyu be happy again pic.twitter.com/TKkvZqMBE6
Mending the string once again, and replacing it with a new one, can be taken as giving yourself the opportunity to move away from the past. Yuki was always there for Sato but now, Sato got surrounded by new friends.
Most importantly a new person he can love and move on with. Carried by his astonishing signing, Mafuyu, at last, had the courage to embrace the present and keep the past in the precious books of memory.
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