2023 was a great year for animation with films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Nimona, and The Boy and the Heron, but there was another animated gem that flew under the radar and that’s jazz drama Blue Giant. It’s a pleasure to both the eyes and the ears as Dai Miyamoto blows on his saxophone, adding Hiromi Uehara’s incredible soundtrack and Yūichi Takahashi’s dynamic animation to the high contrast manga visuals, and the way the story unfolds the different avenues of pure passion these three have for jazz is absolutely captivating. Blue Giant is just so well-done that it’s no surprise it garnered a bigger-budgeted encore eight months after its premiere.
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Saxophone player Dai Miyamoto moves from sleepy Sendai to the bustling nightlife of Tokyo to become the greatest sax player, though he must convince the talented pianist Yukinori Sawabe and beginner drummer Shunji Tamada to join his jazz band.
The soundtrack. The visuals did add to the soundtrack, but even just closing your eyes and listening to the jazz is just phenomenal.
Damian Chazelle, who?
