Blue Giant

Ever since a fateful encounter with jazz music, Dai Miyamoto has dreamed of becoming the world's best jazz saxophonist. After only three years of playing the instrument, he makes the bold decision to move to Tokyo in order to break into the music scene.

When he meets pianist Yukinori Sawabe at a small music club, Dai believes that he has found a kindred spirit he can form a band with. However, the classically trained Yukinori is reluctant to accept someone who makes such bold claims with so little experience under his belt. Yet, when he hears Dai's undeniable skill, Yukinori is forced to accept the offer.

Along with the even less experienced Shunji Tamada, the trio form JASS, a group with a unique sound that might just be able to shake up the stagnating jazz scene.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Miyamoto, Dai Main

Yamada, Yuuki Japanese

Sawabe, Yukinori Main

Mamiya, Shoutarou Japanese

Tamada, Shunji Main

Okayama, Amane Japanese

Yui ing

Nomura, Kenji Japanese

Akiko ing

Kinoshita, Sayaka Japanese

Amanuma, Kousei ing

Kiuchi, Hidenobu Japanese

Mochizuki ing

Takahashi, Shinya Japanese

Isogai, Masaru ing

Katou, Masayuki Japanese

Uchiyama ing

Shinomiya, Gou Japanese

Kawakita ing

Aoyama, Yutaka Japanese

Tsunoki, Takuya Producer

Tachikawa, Yuzuru Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Zhou, Haosong Episode Director, Storyboard, 2nd Key Animation, Key Animation

Yamamoto, Takayuki Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 23, 2023

BassistUnited0

Recommended

From the perspective of a professional jazz musician,

Jazz has been a part of my life for the better part of 8 years now and no piece of media, art or animation has ever captured the ion nor love that I have for jazz more than this movie. I watched it on the plane ride to Japan …. AND the plane ride back. This was because on the way there I didn't have an adapter for my nicer headphones so I had to use the provided one. Thus, to me, nothing was more logical than watching the movie properly again on the way back. It's that ... good.
This isn't a review from someone who watches anime often. I'm sure there are multiple plot holes, also after reading the manga, this is comparatively rushed, the use of CGI in some of the scenes felt off BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS.

The best part of this movie is thankfully the most important part, the music. One thing of note is that the songs and the type of Jazz that Dai and his trio play is not “pure” or conventional Jazz, it’s unbelievably energetic and ionate and is in a subset of its own in this oversaturated genre. I recently talked to a well established composer about the film and even he said it's unlike anything he's ever heard. Hiromi, the composer for this movie, is someone who I have ired for a long time, and I can’t believe I’m saying this but SHE IS A BETTER COMPOSER THAN SHE IS A PERFORMER … If you understand the magnitude of that statement then I salute you. Our main character Dai is technically a "newbie" to Jazz having started his ion for Saxophone quite late compared to others. Yet it is his ion and personality that allows him to perfectly capture the ethos of Jazz and make him the most "developed" character musically. The movie constantly uses him as a anchor for the other two band to latch onto and grow from. Thus slowly but surely, their sound changes, their feelings and expressions change and the music eventually becomes one big juicy amalgamation of bliss.

The cast of musicians in this film is also brilliant beyond belief. Obviously, Hiromi is on piano and you can hear that in the sheer energy of the piano as with the absence of a bassist, she has to do the role of two musicians not one. The saxophone is done by Tomoaki Baba, who is mostly unknown even among musician circles, heck I didn't even know who he is and that is exactly what makes his sound mind blowing. His sound represents the potential of Jazz, and with Hiromi providing the canvas for his solos, hoooooboy was he absolutely ON FIRE. The drummer, Shun Ishiwaka has to mimic someone who was never exposed to Jazz, however has been completely devoured by it as they can't help but want to play despite their overwhelming lack of experience. It's very endearing to see the drums slowly improving in quality as the movie progresses until the final performance in which things get REAL. Thus the three characters represents musicians at different stages in their journey, with the Pianist Yukinori growing up with music since a young age, Dai at the peak of his determination to succeed and the Drummer Shunji obsessing over his new ion.

When there is no CGI (Thankfully there is not a lot or it's done well in some part), the animation goes unbelievably hard. It's a chaotic, ebbing and flowing, never ending cluster of flashing colour. At some point the saxophone doesn't even look like a saxophone anymore and the music can literally be seen. I wish, and I mean I REALLY wish I saw this on a better screen because god is the animation good during the performances. The way they portray the audiences reactions to the music is exactly the kind of facial expressions I would've liked to have made if I wasn't sitting in economy class next to 5 people.

Anyways I could talk about this for days but I'll leave it here as YOU SHOULD WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN'T. The movie will release internationally at some point hopefully and I'll probably have to watch it... again. You probably won't enjoy it nearly as much as I did, but I really do hope you give it a try as I wish for more people to exposed to proper Jazz. By that I mean music that embodies the fundamentals of Jazz philosophy and thinking, not some cookie cutter standard or Bossa Nova piece. Hope this review helps ;).

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by BassistUnited0 (1)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Apr 16, 2023

HaiKaneDesu

Recommended

Blue Giant has just set the standard for music Anime.

Post high-school, a lot of us feel lost in life, not knowing what to work on or aim for in the future. Many keep studying at Uni even when it's dull and boring because people assure you that 'you'll have a good future'. BG blows this fear and uncertainty away and illustrates an amazing adventure the band JASS advances through to reach for their ultimate goal.

Protagonist Dai in particular is very ambitious and commits himself to become a musician, leaving his hometown Sendai to walk down a treacherous path to make it big at the ... capital of Japan. Because of the fact that it is set after high-school, its always frightening to think that one mistake could end their careers with nothing else as a back-up - a harsh reality of being a musician. His bravery and willpower to keep moving forward is what made him incredibly inspirational, making every moment of Blue Giant so special.

Their stories make you feel so attached like a fanboy - always reassuring to see the character's success and the band striving towards their dreams despite it being so gruelingly hard. This feeling and the dazzling ionate jazz combines to make an thrilling yet elegant performance that makes you be on the edge of your seat!

Animation for the concerts were on par with demon slayer, ignoring the CGI. Never before was there a performance that makes you immersed within the blazing sparks of heated jazz along with the eloquent sakuga blooming the instruments to life. It truly was a magical experience.

Five fantastic music gigs for ten dollars. 100% worth watching.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by HaiKaneDesu (8)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

May 21, 2025

Avinash1999

Not Recommended

I really don’t usually watch this kind of stuff, and I think it’s not my thing at all. I tried to see if I’d like it. Unfortunately, I didn’t.

What did I like about this anime?

The quality of the animation is really high, especially for an anime that focuses on music.
Some of the scenes are visually stunning and great to watch.

What did I dislike about this anime?

The music itself isn’t to my taste — unfortunately, jazz and I just don’t mix.
...
The story pacing is too slow for me, and I’m not a fan of long dialogues. I’d rather read them. The conversations didn’t evoke any emotion in me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Avinash1999 (25)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Ugly Cry Movies

by SleepySteamBun

20 Entries · 23 Restacks

KinboSlice's 50 for the "Ranking Literally Every Single Anime Ever " video

by NaruMembrane

50 Entries · 1 Restacks

The GKIDS Collection Part 2

by bolakabuto666

47 Entries · 44 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for April

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for April. Week 1: April 2 - 8 Anime Releases Black Bullet Complete Collection Blu-ray [2024 Re-re...read more

Apr 2, 2024 12:38 PM by Discuss (1 comment)

Q2 2023 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 6/13]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of anime and manga licensed in the fourth quarter (Apr-Jun) of 2023. Spring 2023 anime which were licensed befo...read more

Mar 29, 2023 5:57 AM by Discuss (11 comments)

	Poll: kayune_ - Feb 17, 2023	71 replies	by »» May 2, 9:13 PM
	MANIKANTA_KJS - May 30, 2024	7 replies	by »» Sep 29, 2024 11:01 AM
	Carisu - Jul 14, 2024	6 replies	by »» Jul 27, 2024 8:16 PM
	NightmareWare - Jun 30, 2024	8 replies	by »» Jul 14, 2024 4:47 AM
	NightmareWare - Jun 30, 2024	3 replies	by »» Jul 13, 2024 9:39 AM