Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • FAQ
IMDbPro

Blue Giant

  • 2023
  • 2h
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Blue Giant (2023)
AnimeHand-Drawn AnimationSeinenAnimationDramaMusic

Dai Miyamoto, a student from Sendai, receives a saxophone as a gift from his brother, Masayuki. He starts practicing immediately.Dai Miyamoto, a student from Sendai, receives a saxophone as a gift from his brother, Masayuki. He starts practicing immediately.Dai Miyamoto, a student from Sendai, receives a saxophone as a gift from his brother, Masayuki. He starts practicing immediately.

  • Director
    • Yuzuru Tachikawa
  • Writers
    • Number 8
    • Shin'ichi Ishizuka
  • Stars
    • Junya Abe
    • Yutaka Aoyama
    • Mika Doi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    3.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Yuzuru Tachikawa
    • Writers
      • Number 8
      • Shin'ichi Ishizuka
    • Stars
      • Junya Abe
      • Yutaka Aoyama
      • Mika Doi
    • 19User reviews
    • 31Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 4 nominations total

    Photos18

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 12
    View Poster

    Top cast32

    Edit
    Junya Abe
      Yutaka Aoyama
      • Kawakita
      • (voice)
      Mika Doi
      Mika Doi
        Ryosuke Higa
          Hana Hishikawa
            Ikkyû Jaku
              Misa Kato
                Masayuki Katô
                • Isogai
                • (voice)
                Yasuhiro Kikuchi
                  Sayaka Kinoshita
                  • Akiko
                  • (voice)
                  Hitomi Kitazaki
                    Hidenobu Kiuchi
                    • Amanuma
                    • (voice)
                    Naoto Kobayashi
                      Tatsuki Kobe
                        Yusuke Kondo
                        • Masayuki Miyamoto
                        • (voice)
                        Shôtarô Mamiya
                        Shôtarô Mamiya
                        • Yukinori Sawabe
                        • (voice)
                        Yôhei Matsuoka
                          Karin Nanami
                            • Director
                              • Yuzuru Tachikawa
                            • Writers
                              • Number 8
                              • Shin'ichi Ishizuka
                            • All cast & crew
                            • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

                            User reviews19

                            7.93.1K
                            1
                            2
                            3
                            4
                            5
                            6
                            7
                            8
                            9
                            10

                            Featured reviews

                            7lordgrimmor

                            Is it really good?

                            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.
                            7danield10101

                            Wonderful jazz score on ok story

                            This is a film to see for the music.

                            The film is scored by the amazing jazz pianist and composer Hiromi Uehara, and every musical sequence is wonderful. The animation is also striking, from hyper-realistic depictions of Tokyo to imaginative representations of the musicians' inner worlds as they explore the space of chords and sequences of jazz improvisation.

                            On the other hand, the story is trite and predictable, and the characters are absurdly histrionic (as is typical in conventional animé). It also seems more a bit inappropriate that there's only one significant female character in a film so dependent on the musical ability of a woman performer and composer.
                            9neil-26246

                            Masterpiece.

                            As a film featuring music and focusing on relatively niche genre, the performance and interpretation of jazz would naturally be the attention. Regarding this, the only I can say is impeccable. Every time the tenor saxophone is blowing fiercely with blue fire, I can feel the energy overflowing and penetrating through my skull until the backend so that my hair stands. Wild but sleek graphics, realistic depiction of life of artists, delicate storytelling that tugs at the heartstrings, and last but not the least, the powerful and passionate jass, all add up to not only the climax of the show, but also of the kind.
                            8donmurray29

                            Blue brilliant

                            Giving this an 8/10 rating

                            Animation based on manga from Japan about a college student who forms a three piece jazz band and wants nothing less to be number one, and this film is simply brilliant.

                            You don't have to like jazz, but the music is super, I'll be looking for the soundtrack to this. The colour use is very important in this film, as music and mood are one and the same, each character is dealt with care and fun and we do care about them as the writing is right on and the look works, intense music numbers come, smooth nightclubs and in general, nothing really wrong at all.

                            Director Yuzuru Tachikawa has done a really great job along with writers NUMBER 8 and Shin'ichi Ishizuka. I am familiar with the manga somewhat, but you don't need to be. It's a real joy of a film.
                            9hedgehoggy-56394

                            Beautiful and emotional

                            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.

                            More like this

                            The First Slam Dunk
                            8.0
                            The First Slam Dunk
                            Look Back
                            7.8
                            Look Back
                            Lonely Castle in the Mirror
                            6.9
                            Lonely Castle in the Mirror
                            Inu-Oh
                            7.1
                            Inu-Oh
                            Goodbye, Don Glees!
                            6.7
                            Goodbye, Don Glees!
                            Nayola
                            6.9
                            Nayola
                            On-Gaku: Our Sound
                            7.3
                            On-Gaku: Our Sound
                            Pompo: The Cinéphile
                            7.2
                            Pompo: The Cinéphile
                            In This Corner of the World
                            7.8
                            In This Corner of the World
                            The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
                            7.1
                            The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes
                            Liz and the Blue Bird
                            7.2
                            Liz and the Blue Bird
                            The Boy and the Heron
                            7.4
                            The Boy and the Heron

                            Storyline

                            Edit

                            Did you know

                            Edit
                            • Trivia
                              All entries contain spoilers

                            Top picks

                            Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
                            Sign in

                            FAQ16

                            • How long is Blue Giant?Powered by Alexa

                            Details

                            Edit
                            • Release date
                              • February 17, 2023 (Japan)
                            • Country of origin
                              • Japan
                            • Official sites
                              • Official site
                              • Official Twitter (Japan)
                            • Language
                              • Japanese
                            • Also known as
                              • BLUE GIANT 藍色巨星
                            • Production companies
                              • Nova Media
                              • Nut
                            • See more company credits at IMDbPro

                            Box office

                            Edit
                            • Gross US & Canada
                              • $266,645
                            • Opening weekend US & Canada
                              • $131,380
                              • Oct 8, 2023
                            • Gross worldwide
                              • $6,934,632
                            See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

                            Tech specs

                            Edit
                            • Runtime
                              • 2h(120 min)
                            • Color
                              • Color
                            • Sound mix
                              • Dolby Digital
                              • Dolby Atmos
                            • Aspect ratio
                              • 1.78 : 1

                            Contribute to this page

                            Suggest an edit or add missing content
                            • Learn more about contributing
                            Edit page

                            More to explore

                            Recently viewed

                            Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
                            Get the IMDb App
                            Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
                            Follow IMDb on social
                            Get the IMDb App
                            For Android and iOS
                            Get the IMDb App
                            • Help
                            • Site Index
                            • IMDbPro
                            • Box Office Mojo
                            • License IMDb Data
                            • Press Room
                            • Advertising
                            • Jobs
                            • Conditions of Use
                            • Privacy Policy
                            • Your Ads Privacy Choices
                            IMDb, an Amazon company

                            © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.