Anime Like given The Movie: Hiiragi Mix
This is the one that stops being about Mafuyu and turns the camera on the kid who has been holding himself together with jokes since Yuki died. Hiiragi Kashima gets his reckoning here, and Shizusumi Yagi stands right next to him the whole time saying almost nothing, which is somehow louder. Given losing the Shibuya festival audition is the setup, not the story. The story is Hiiragi asking Ritsuka to sub in on guitar for syh's debut and having to admit out loud that he needs someone. The animation still respects the instruments, fingers on actual frets, actual chord shapes, so the performances land as playing instead of posing. If you cried at Mafuyu's first song, this one gets you a different way. Quieter, meaner, aimed at the friend who was left behind and never got to say it.
SYNOPSIS
Two bands sit at a crossroads, each chasing the same dream from different angles. Given has momentum but not yet victory, having fallen short of the Shibuya festival spotlight despite growing recognition. Meanwhile, Mafuyu's childhood friends Shizusumi and Hiiragi are launching their own project, "syh," ready to make their mark on the music scene. When syh suddenly loses their guitarist, Hiiragi extends an unexpected offer to Ritsuka: join them for a crucial performance. Ritsuka faces a genuine dilemma. His loyalty to Given runs deep, but the opportunity in front of him is real and time-sensitive. The film balances the emotional stakes of friendship against artistic ambition, asking what happens when two paths forward can't coexist. As both bands prepare for their moment, old bonds and new possibilities collide. The result is a story about making choices that matter, about the people we commit to, and about music as the space where those competing loyalties ultimately meet.
