I don’t have a huge history with Lerche as a studio but boy, this season would be a mess without them.  Sure we’d have Vinland Saga which stands far apart in its own area code, but among the mortals Lerche has my two top picks of the season (and that’s a small group to begin with).  I don’t think it would be a stretch to say Given is a pretty off-model show for them too.  It’s been a while since we’ve really seen a studio “level up” (probably feel.) and it would nice if Lerche is the next one to do so.

All in all this was a pretty low-key episode, but it managed – like last week’s – a sneaky amount of character progression.  Last week that was focused more around the romance side – this time it’s more the music.  I’m a bit torn about the pacing with Given, actually.  I love the relaxed way it’s establishing its story, but we are more than a third through it and things are still very much in the embryonic stages.  As for the matter of getting me invested, though, that’s definitely mission accomplished.

While there were some not-so-subtle clues about Mafuyu’s past dropped last week, this time it’s Ritsuka’s turn.  His sister seems shocked to see him hard at work on something (a song for Mafuyu, as it turns out).  But it’s not that the behavior is out of character – it’s that he seems to be back “like he used to be”.  So what made him stop being like that?  A discussion of musical tastes among the band yields an interesting tidbit too, as Haruka notes that Ritsuka “takes after his dad” in that respect.  Stay tuned for more on that, to be sure.

I spent incalculable hours time-wasting around Shibuya Station when I lived in Tokyo (that’s where my Japanese school was), not to mention roving the Inokashira Line (to Shimokitazawa among other stops), so this ep was old home week for me.  Seeing Ritsuka and Mafuyu wandering the alleys (looking at distortion pedals) brought back fond memories.  And I loved the way Mafuyu’s wonderment at seeing this new world open up before him was depicted.  All those pedals, all those effects – it is a bit bewildering.  My favorite moment of the episode was Mafuyu’s reaction (and Ritsuka’s re-reaction) when Ritsuka told the clerk at the new/used shop that he and Mafuyu were in a band together.

Make no mistake, things are progressing on that front too, in their deliberate fashion.  Ritsuka’s classmate Kasai-san clearly has eyes for him and is none too happy to see Mafuyu monopolizing so much of his time.  There’s a growing physical comfort level between them that she can’t help but notice, too.  It’s a pretty ominous vibe when Kasai’s friend – a middle-school classmate of Mafuyu’s – tells her that there were “rumors” about him in those days.  That has the potential to take the story in an ugly direction, depending on how Kasai chooses to play things.

I’m also kind of intrigued by the vibe between the college students.  It seems Haruki may have feelings for Akihito (who as it turns out plays the violin and other instruments and studies classical music) – though that’s still a bit fuzzy.  And every indication we’ve seen so far indicates that Haruki is a bit of a ladies man – but that may just be a matter of being a magnet, not returning the magnetism.  Given isn’t playing it heavy on the drama relationship-wise, but there’s certainly plenty of potential for it – it’s going to be interesting to see where things go on that score.