given - on the other hand

After the band given's first real performance, the world seems to change key for Mafuyu Sato. Not long ago, music was a locked room for him, echoing with the loss of Yuki; now it becomes a way to breathe and to say what cannot be put into words. Beside him is Ritsuka Uenoyama, a guitarist who had once grown tired of his own instrument but felt the fire return the moment he heard Mafuyu's voice. Their relationship has moved beyond shy attraction, yet just when the hardest part seems behind them, a new fragility appears. Set on the other side of the events of the film, this OVA follows Mafuyu and Ritsuka as they try to understand what being together means in ordinary days between rehearsals, school hallways and unsent messages.

Ritsuka loves music directly: if a string wavers, tune it; if a sound will not come out, play it again. Mafuyu is different, carrying his past like a shadow that falls over every new feeling. Ritsuka wants to be needed and to understand him, and finds himself jealous of Mafuyu's inner world and the losses that shaped him before they met. For Mafuyu, music remains the only language strong enough to bear his feelings, and as he works on a new song, Ritsuka slowly learns not to demand immediate answers.