A Real Jazz Movie Blue Giant is one of the few works of jazz media actually about jazz. If youre a jazz musician then this movie will strike all of the right chords for you. Otherwise it might fall a little flat if you cant relate to the musicians struggle or if you just arent into the music. Other contemporary films like La La Land and Whiplash also appear to be about jazz however its clear that theyre movies that just use jazz to create a setting. In contrast Blue Giant is only about jazz even to its detriment. Story Characters Blue Giant doesnt give much in the way of a grandiose plot or deep characters. The movie is about a trio of young musicians trying to climb their way up into jazz stardom. Dai Miyamoto wants to be the greatest saxophonist ever. Shunji Tamada is driven by the desire to improve through his hard work. Yukinori Sawabe wants to make it in the jazz industry and land a gig at the movies fictional version Blue Note Tokyo. Theres barely any backstory given to Miyamoto and Tamada and Sawabes isnt significant enough to make a difference to his overall characterization or the movies plot. For the purpose of a movie this actually works out just fine. These three goals drive the entirety of the movies plot and theres no time given for any detours. Typically this focus would lead to a movie without breadth but made up with depth. In the case of Blue Giant there actually isnt much depth to be found. Sawabes ego gets in the way of his progress however even this doesnt lead to more than a minor road bump. The lack of depth to the characters and plot definitely can be seen as a sour spot but leaving the bulk of the focus on the jazz performances more than makes up. The biggest issue offender is actually Miyamoto who comes across as very flat for a main character. He doesnt have any deep issues nor does he undergo a huge conflict. Instead hes mostly a vehicle for the performance scenes. Its refreshing to see a film that takes jazz seriously without bringing up its internal conflicts fusion hiphop jazz etc. or its external conflict with pop music. The obligatory jazz is dying point is mentioned however it doesnt really end up being a huge part of the plot. Blue Giant really is just about jazz musicians making great music. Animation Music The performance scenes are really where this movie shines. Its immediately evident that Yuzuru Tachikawahttps://anilist.co/staff/113371/YuzuruTachikawa director of Mob Psycho 100 is at the head of this movie. The fight performance scenes start grounded but very quickly become colorful vibrant and abstract. Miyamotos view of jazz as creative emotional and artistic expression clearly comes through in the animation of his playing. At times he appears to undergo a Gokuesque power up and other times were taken on a visual journey. Tamada being far less experienced than his bandmates is mostly shown without the abstract flair that Miyamoto receives. Instead the animators took great care to accurately animate the drumming. At times the performance scenes fall back on CGI for wide shots. Its jarring the first few times it happens but the major climax moments of the performances are always well animated. Hiromis score for Blue Giant is exactly what one would expect when thinking of modern jazz. The movie doesnt use recognizable jazz standards and instead relies on all original tunes. Minamotos playing style is reminiscent of John Coltrane one of the all time greatest jazz saxophonists however he also has a remarkable amount of his own musical identity. The tunes are exciting flashy energetic and abstract enough to match the energy of the associated animation. Blue Giants music isnt nearly as memorable when compared to shows like Sound Euphonium and Bocchi The Rock. This isnt actually problematic though as the songs give off the same feelings as seeing a live jazz concert. Youre not supposed to remember the music because jazz is experiential and every performance is unique. In this sense Hiromis score does a wonderful job at complementing the animation and plot of the movie. Concluding Thoughts Its nice to see a piece of media that actually understands jazz and the musicians behind it. Blue Giant lacks a deep narrative and instead focuses far more on giving its audience a wonderful visual and musical experience. Blue Giant put a huge smile on my face and it brought me back to my high school and college days when I was a pianist in jazz combos. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie however if you dont have an experience to relate to and wanted a more complex story Blue Giant might just come across as a little lackluster. I was happy to find out that Blue Giants manga has 3 sequels that take Miyamoto on a journey across the world. Each of these could reasonably be adapted into movies of their own making up for his lackluster characterization. Modern Jazz The movie came to American theaters at a contentious time for the jazz community. Laufey an upandcoming artist has been widely recognized as the savior of jazz by everyone except the jazz community itself. Jazz festivals are being headlined by nonjazz artists and even Blue Note has booked artists like Snoop Dogg. Laufey and La La Land are wonderful but theyre not jazzhttps://youtu.be/68zOvCLwcL8. Blue Giant is jazz. If you loved Blue Giant and you want to dip your toes into the jazz world Emmet Cohens recurring livestreams are a wonderful starting place. Patrick Bartley is one of his regulars and stylistically shares a lot with Dai Miyamoto. His playing on After Youve Gonehttps://youtu.be/984ksjle4YA and Ugetsuhttps://www..com/watch?v=IZi5OqD2ISQ is phenomenal. I wouldnt be surprised to see him in the credits for Blue Giant sequels seeing as hes a huge anime fan and recently moved to Japan. If you want even more then consider going out to your local jazz club and giving a listen to whoevers playing in the jam session. Youll see young high school and college aged musicians and learn that jazz isnt dying. Its alive and kicking.