‘Given’ starts off on a light musical note slowly strumming into the dark past of our protagonist Mafuyu. Half of the story is circled around Sato Mafuyu and his character development. Throughout the series, we see how a quiet Mafuyu changes into a person capable of expressing emotions and eradicating his past demons.
Sometimes love can bring you pain, and this is shown in Mafuyu’s story. A person’s relationship doesn’t always need to bring in romantic feelings, but it shouldn’t ever bring in trauma or shadows. Mafuyu unable to escape from his past takes the stormy ride of his musical journey that eventually lands him in a destiny full of happiness.
Related: Which Couple Is Most Shipped In ‘Given’?
Who Is Yuki And What Led Him To Suicide?
Yuki Yoshida is the ex-boyfriend of Sato Mafuyu and an influential character in the series. Though he only appears in the flashbacks, his influence on Mafuyu is crucial. It explains a lot of whys in Mafuyu’s character. Mafuyu, Yuki, Hiiragi, and Shizusumi were childhood friends. They attended the same school and later formed a band excluding Mafuyu.
Mafuyu who was very much attached and dependent on Yuki started becoming distant due to their band practices. These growing rifts became out of control. Yuki always used to say, “I’ll do anything for you”. In anger, Mafuyu yelled at Yuki “Will you die for me then?” This one question spoken out on impulse drew a permanent line between the two.
given is bittersweet. yuki & mafuyus story is so bittersweet. they were special. so warm & so bright but it ended with the worst thing, the thing that permanently marks the death of anything possible. death. theres no after. only whats left..”part longing, part sorrow, part hope” pic.twitter.com/cN9Ui70MFX
— rosie ♡ i only talk about yuki (@ilomiloh) September 30, 2022
Shortly afterward Yuki committed suicide. Mafuyu thought it was because of him and took the whole blame on himself. From the start, Mafuyu had trouble expressing his emotions and Yuki’s death completely broke him. It is debatable why Yuki committed suicide. If you think carefully it shouldn’t have been only because of Mafuyu.
Prior to his attempted suicide, Yuki came home heavily drunk. Undoubtedly he was extremely drunk that night and took the no-turning-back step. It may also have been because of the growing tension between both. After finding out about Mafuyu’s reason for trauma, he heavily attached himself to the latter.
Starting from school to trips, everywhere they were always together. It was also noted that since Mafuyu liked music, Yuki started a band. Unfortunately, the band practices, and the rift ultimately put a red mark on their bonds. Yuki must have been suffering from a mental breakdown or even must have realized the tension between the two. Mixing up them with Mafuyu’s last spoken words, lured him to commit suicide.
In case you missed: What Is Mangekyou Sharingan in ‘Naruto’? How Did Sasuke Get It?
Why Mafuyu Couldn’t Express Emotions In ‘Given’
Mafuyu being unable to express himself can be blamed on his twisted parents. His father had a violent nature and used to scream and throw things at Mafuyu if he even spoke loudly. Having dealt with such violent behaviors since an early age made Mafuyu speak less. You can even say he stopped speaking altogether at one point.
It was shown in the anime that his father got arrested later on, but the damage was already done. Yuki started taking care of Mafuyu and became a shadow to him. Though he still didn’t express his feelings, Mafuyu started getting better. It was not until Yuki committed suicide that Mafuyu broke his guitar strings.
You might also like to read:
