Given + Beat & Motion

Given: 8/10

Given is a yaoi manga about a band that discovers their love of music (and each other) through overcoming loss and motivating each other. This is the first yaoi that I've read front to back and I'm glad it was. I have read many yuri before this that I enjoyed greatly, so I wanted to read a yaoi to compare the stylistic differences. I know that yaoi and yuri are typically written to reach different audiences with different expectations. I was honestly somewhat hesitant going in due to the previous yaoi that I'd partially read having quite a bit of sex scenes and nsfw content which is not what I really look for when I read manga. Most of the time, this content was put in for the sake of having nsfw content rather than furthering any story element which in most cases hurt the stories in my opinion. Given has some suggestive . Anyway, Given is an amazing manga. The characters are all really interesting and the story is really good. There are many inspiring moments throughout that come at just the right time. This is to say that the pacing is very good. The manga has really made me appreciate the power that music has to heal and impact everyone. I mean I already knew this, but this manga helps fully rationalize those complex feelings you receive when you listen to a song that really stands out to you personally. There are some very serious topics covered in the manga like SA and suicide; however, the story is about overcoming and powering through these experiences through the medium of music. I'd recommend giving it a read. Its not very long (Only like 50ish chapters)

Beat & Motion: 6.5/10

Beat & Motion is a shonen manga about an animator/former band member who forgot what it was like to be highly motivated and passionate about something and a rising music artist who has that motivation. They become acquainted and story ensues. First of all, the pacing and story set up is really bad. The author just kind of skipped much of the set up to get to the main sequence of events which is very jarring. For the first like 6 chapters I thought in my head many times "Man this set up really sucks ass". The pacing of the story moves at break neck speed most of the time. This kind of reduces the impact of many of the big and impactful moments. If the story was slowed down to about half the speed of what it is now, the emotional impact of many of these big moments would benefit significantly. There are some moments where the pacing is well done and important aspects of the story are given the proper time needed for readers to process the information and connect it to the characters and story around it. Nevertheless, the manga is still entertaining and has some inspiring and wholesome moments. It is also very easy to imagine in motion (as either real life, anime, or whatever video media). I'd recommend giving it a read if you dont have much else to reach currently since there are only 39 chapters out at the moment.