Blue Giant (2023)
Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa Run Time: 120 min. Rating: NR Release Year: 2023 Language: Japanese
Starring: Amane Okayama, Shotaro Mamiya, Yuki Yamada
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
About the film:
Dai Miyamoto’s life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks up a saxophone and begins practicing day and night, determined to become one of the greatest of all time. He leaves his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, but soon finds the life of a professional musician is not for the faint of heart.
His passion eventually wins over the cocky but talented pianist Yukinori, and after Dai convinces his friend Shunji to learn the drums, they launch a new jazz trio whose rough sound contains a raw energy that quickly wins attention from local audiences. But what does it take to truly be great?
Based on the award-winning manga, Blue Giant (2023) is a moving ode to the power of music and the artist, featuring electric performances and a stunning jazz soundtrack from celebrated jazz pianist Hiromi Uehara.
About the filmmaker:
Yuzuru Tachikawa is an accomplished anime director who started his career at animation studio Madhouse. He is known for directing the award-winning anime series Death Parade (2015), the highly acclaimed Mob Psycho 100 (2016–2022), and Deca-Dence (2020). He was a storyboard artist and episode director for anime including MapleStory (2008), Bleach (2010–2012), and Sword Art Online (2012). He was an assistant director on Bleach: Hell Verse (2010) and directed the short film Death Billiards (2013), and feature films Case Closed: Zero the Enforcer (2018), Blue Giant (2023), and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine (2023). He’s been nominated for Best Director twice in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
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