This review is about Fuyunohanashi (Winter’s Story) in the anime and manga Given. This review has the themes of suicide and depression. This is a trigger warning to anyone who may have problems or is struggling with these themes. The suicide hotline is 800-273-8255. Please reach out if you need help.
Fuyunohanashi is a beautiful song insert track performed by the band Given in episode 9 of the anime adaptation of Kizu Natsuki’s manga Given. It has been included in the bands own CD that was released a few months ago along with other breathtaking instrumental songs. In this review I will be going into depth about the song lyrics and meaning while showing comparative songs or scenes that make me feel deep emotion with this song. Reviews from people who hear the song describe it as heartfelt, beautiful and how the song makes them very emotional. Some comments from the review section of this song are, “This is a beautiful and heartbreaking song”, “This makes me cry because Mafuyu (the singer of the song) was finally able to express himself. He was able to cry and the voice actor did a really good job on expressing this.”
Given is an anime adaptation of Given manga and was given positive reviews for its soundtrack. An anime critic, Steve Jones, called the series “one of the seasons most emotionally resonant offerings.” The anime is about a young boy, Ritsuka, who had such passion for music but the passion has slowly died inside him. Then one day at school he meets Mafuyu, a boy with a heartbreaking past trying to learn how to play guitar and how to cope with loss.
The song is in Japanese, but its English translates to Winter Story and is about Mafuyu not being able to say goodbye or get rid of his loss. The song beautifully portrays how deep in sorrow Mafuyu is in after not properly coping with his loss. Even with no background of watching the 12-episode anime, listeners can still sense how dreadful the singer is. I highly recommend watching the Given anime in its entirety to truly understand the song but anyone with loss or deep regret can easily relate to this song and how it could help them move on, even if they didn’t get to say goodbye.
***This paragraph contains heavy spoilers for the series and if you plan on watching it, I encourage you to do so. This paragraph will be the only one that contains spoilers as it gives a background to the song and story being spoken about. Read at your own discretion** In the anime Given, we learn fairly early on that Mafuyu had a boyfriend named Yuki. They were remarkably close, and we see that their relationship started very early when they were kids as Yuki called the cops on Mafuyu’s abusive father. The connection is only shown through flashbacks and we then are told that Yuki had killed himself in winter and because of this Mayufu did not get the closure he needed and blames himself for Yuki’s death. This causes him to lack in expressing his emotions and running away from people who care for him. Mayufu carries around a bass guitar that was given to him by Yuki’s mother and he was wanting to learn it to get closer with Yuki’s spirit but then he met Ritsuka and their relationship started off as merely friends but soon Ritsuka develops feelings for Mafuyu and invites Mafuyu to join his band as a leader singer. Mafuyu agrees and we see in episode 9 that he wrote a song about his lost loves death that happened in winter and how he can’t bear to hold everything in anymore.
Here is the link to watch the song with subtitles. Enjoy. Fuyu no Hanashi (Given EP 9 Mafuyu’s Song)
Lyrics to Fuyunohanashi (English translation)
Just like
snow that hasn’t completely melted
in the shade
I continue on with these feelings inside of me
Please tell me how I’m supposed to close the door on this love?
Your everything has lost its tomorrow
And is now wandering around eternally along with me
Who was unable to say goodbye or move on
Just like
a spell that still won’t break
Or some kind of curse
I’m still holding on some heavy baggage
hey what kind tomorrow
am I supposed to look for in this town?
The cold tears that fall
freeze under the sky
they pretend to be kind
and around the time they fall down my face
two people who were always together are torn apart
that’s all there is to this story
Even if your everything loses its shape one day
you’ll always be here within me
as I try to move forwards again even though I couldn’t say goodbye
you’ll always be here with me.
Centimillimental was in charge of production of the updated anime song Fuyunohanshi and was feeling overwhelmed with how much he was doing, as he was only supposed to produce the song but then he began a relationship with the anime. Then the CD drama after the same title was released and Centimillimental wanted to keep the name but make it his own without having to paint a replica of the ‘winter story’ that already exists. He released a statement vis Twitter on the song and his thoughts. “I’m sorry if there are any fans who feel uncomfortable. Excuse me. In order to make my own new “Fuyunohanashi”, I read the original, listened to the drama CD version “Fuyunohanashi” many times, and then the best thing I can do as a new anime version “Fuyunohanashi” I made it with all my strength. I’m not asking you to accept it. However, I would appreciate it if you could understand that I am sorry and that I worked diligently with all my heart. “
This song is hauntingly beautiful and if we are being honest, I cry to this song when I need to let everything out. I have lost someone and was not able to say goodbye, so listening to this song opened my heart to start to understand that even though I didn’t get to say goodbye, doesn’t mean that I need to live on with the guilt and regret I have.
