Blue Giant

I very nearly didn't make the 30-mile schlep to my local Cineworld to watch this film but I'm really glad I did. It's not about a whale, no. It's about the aspirational saxophonist "Dai" who heads to Tokyo with dreams of taking over the world. He arrives, unannounced, on the doorstep of his friend "Tamada" looking for a bed for a few days. Needless to say, that few days turns out to be a bit longer and their friendship starts to strain a bit (the visitor snores!). "Dai" visits a small bar and meets the jazz-loving owner "Akiko" who sends him to a live venue where he encounters the pianist "Sawabe" whom he tries to convince to form a band. They are both eighteen but the latter man has been playing for about fourteen years longer than his new friend, so is a little sceptical! That doesn't last long once he hears him play and they soon decide they need a drummer to keep both from straying into the uncontrollable territory that can be improv jazz! Well, it turns out that his "landlord" isn't half bad at beating time with a stick on a Coke can - but can he up his game and turn this duo into a trio good enough to play at the city's most prestigious club - "So Blue"? The story itself is a bit predicable, with a few temper tantrums, frustrations and fallings out but it does illustrate well just how athletic these musicians must be to perform. Hands are covered in calluses and bruises, the sax takes quite a toll on the breathing and at times it's touch and go as to whether they can make it out of the starting block. There's nothing easy about the task they have set themselves nor the dedication and sacrifices it will take to achieve (or not) their goal. The animation itself it a little hit and miss, the CGI works much less well that the hand drawn scenes, but what really works here is the synchronisation with the musicians and that can be really immersive at times. If you are a fan of this genre of music, then you are in for a treat of Coltrane, Stitt et al. The saxophone (Tomoaki Baba), piano (Hiromi Uehara) and drums (Shun Ishiwaka) are unafraid to start off timidly and (especially the drummer) very rough around the edges, but as the story develops and they improve and become more confident, so do their performances until a tragedy tinged denouement that really does get the toes tapping. I'd have to say - there is no point in watching this is if this style of rambling, meandering and frankly rather musically self-indulgent performance doesn't appeal to you, but the powerful mix of frenetically syncopated animation and music I found really quite compelling. Sure, it's a bit long - but it's well worth a watch.

This film is amazing from start to finish, and it only gets better.

Not only is the story great, but the music, animation, and sound are all top-tier. I love when films show how sound looks, which this film does several times in very creative ways.

Yes, the CGI on the characters may look a little out of place, but I think they chose that approach to best show how the characters are playing the instruments. You can see all the details and movements that go into such an art.

The music in this is absolutely mind-changing, and you'll leave feeling inspired-not just musically. I really can't describe the music in words, so go listen and see it for yourself.

9.2/10 absolutely recommend this for any musician.

I usually don't write review. But after watching this film, I want to talk about it. For some people, this movie maybe good, average, or bad. I don't know that. But for me it's life changing. This film talks about passion in a art form, blending of incredible music, and lovable characters is most catchy thing about this film. I am also musician but I do not play jazz. Movie was soo beautifull too watch. In each frame there is something to talk about. Animators really put their sweats in it. Anyone who was passionate about anything in their life, must watch this film at once in their lifetime. Also loved the way they show, when our jass is gone into another world while playing music, they just jammed and feels the wind of emotions. It makes us as a audience more attentive. Reactions of the listeners also makes us attentive to the performance. Hope these types of films made more.

It was one of the anime that I really expected because it had the main theme of jazz. But it made me very disappointed in the meat. Ordinary storytelling has only superficial jazziness to the story. Anime about piano in the forest, although it's not jazz, it's more jazz than this one. What I'm trying to say is that it's alive, it's jazzy, this story has it in a sparse and dull way.

I'm reminded of a scene in this story where the main pianist is taught that his playing is shallow. Play within the frame Playing in a safe zone. I sat and laughed in my head as to whether they were cursing the script or not because the screenplay is ordinary and trying to be a safe zone like other anime.

I was disappointed with the choice of jazz as the theme of the story, but the narrative uses a young boy who is passionate. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's nothing new about the script. It's like choosing a child as the main character of an anime. Other stories are very dull in the anime world. I can only assume that they don't want to change at all? Because young men sell more than middle-aged people?

The era of anime in Japan has been considered to be in the dark ages for a long time. Many people did not dare to take the risk of doing anything new or artistic. Everyone made commercial anime. Because it sells more than anime that has a complex script and has different and outstanding art.

Ultimately, Blue Giant is just an average anime in terms of script. The visuals are almost good, but their 3D animation is terrible. The jazz music is great but it doesn't help the anime's script. 7/10.

I absolutely loved this movie. The music was catchy and fun to listen to. The animation was stunning. Even when the animation was less detailed, it was still easy on the eyes and not distracting. The only animation feature I didn't like was the drumming techniques. The stick grips were a bit off, with the drummer holding them in a fist instead of a more refined grip. Other than this, the movie was wonderfully pleasing to my eyes and ears. I especially liked the group's final performance of the movie, since it showed growth for all the characters, allowing them to prove that they'd adapted and worked hard to become better musicians.