Blue Giant (2023) - Review
A musical journey that blends equal parts jazz and emotion.
“Jazz is super intense and rough. Jazz is the music of emotions.” These are the words Blue Giant protagonist Dai Miyamoto uses to describe why he loves jazz.
Blue Giant follows the journey of 18-year-old Dai Miyamoto from Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture, who moves to Tokyo to pursue his dream of becoming the world’s top jazz player. He plays tenor saxophone and moves to the big city right after high school, balancing his passion for jazz with part-time jobs. Dai is a guy who lives and breathes jazz, to the point where he knows what pieces are appropriate for different weather conditions.
In Tokyo, he meets Yukinori Sawabe, an 18-year-old piano player and college student. Yukinori believes jazz needs a revamp and aims to introduce it in a new way, albeit through brutal honesty. Dai has only been playing for three years, while Yukinori has been playing since he was four. Jazz, as Yukinori sees it, is a genre in recession, on the verge of death. He focuses on technique and talent, while Dai believes in the power of music to move people and the passion behind playing it.
The band finds their drummer in Shunji Tamada, a friend of Dai’s with whom he’s staying in Tokyo. Afraid of getting kicked out as he hasn’t found his own place, Dai recruits the novice Tamada to the band, much to Yukinori’s chagrin. This unlikely trio of a jazz band forms with a complete novice, an overly zealous player, and an expert pianist in the making.
Blue Giant, directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa of Mob Psycho 100 fame, handles the emotional storytelling of the subject matter with finesse. The film explores the role of young people in music and the changes a new generation of musicians can bring to a genre. The band starts from humble beginnings and strives to make it into a niche circle of artists, overcoming obstacles like venue organisers, agencies, and behind-the-scenes politics with passion and dedication to their craft. Their obsession with jazz brings them together, and they become more than just bandmates — they become great friends who genuinely support each other. The film also packs a lot of drama, with unexpected twists that tug at your heartstrings as you grow to care for the characters over the two-hour runtime.
Jazz composer and pianist Hiromi Uehara provides the film’s music composition. The musical pieces start amateurish, reflecting the new musicians’ early efforts, and gradually improve, capturing the rough yet evolving nature of their music.
Performance scenes use 3D CGI animation, which can often times stick out. While it makes the animation fluid and smooth, hand-drawn 2D animation would have been a wonderful addition to this otherwise good-looking movie.
The film can feel a bit long and slows down in the middle, but it picks up pace in the second half, ending with an explosive, emotional performance.
Blue Giant teaches even the untrained ear the importance of every role in a musical band. In a jazz band, the tenor player must stay within a framework set by the piano player’s notes, but they still need a drummer for the rhythm section. The drummer’s role is crucial, as their playing speed sets the tone for the band’s music. It’s fascinating how the various roles complement each other and work in sync, which is shown wonderfully in Blue Giant.
The Verdict
Speaking emotionally through the music, Blue Giant shows the trials and tribulations of musicians, how they make ends meet through their passion, and captures real moments like first earnings, moving from dingy bars to larger venues, discord between band members, and becoming the jazz of tomorrow. Despite the sometimes jarring 3D animation during musical performances, Blue Giant offers beautiful jazz music and a heartwarming tale of friendship and love for music.
Blue Giant Review
