directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa
Me and anime do not really match. I’ve seen some anime productions in my life and unfortunately, I cannot share the same level of excitement with its fans. There’s something quite annoying in the way those animations are created, so no matter how interesting the story is, I cannot really focus on it because of that. To all anime lovers – I’m sorry, but that’s just the way I am. However, do I appreciate the effort and work people put into making such films? Absolutely yes! Because even if it’s not my cup of tea, it’s still very demanding to produce anime. But recently, I was recommended to see “Blue Giant” and despite my lack of interest in anime, I gave it a try. The story focuses on Dai Miyamoto (Yuki Yamada) who is a young man dreaming of becoming a successful saxophone player. He goes alone to Tokyo to give himself a chance to be noticed by someone. However, as you might be guessing, being an artist is extremely difficult, especially if you play such an instrument like saxophone and you wish to play the music that is generally not the most popular – jazz. We follow the man doing everything to make his dreams come true, which is a horribly difficult path. First, I appreciate this film for showing the struggles that artists have to deal with. It’s not only about money and surviving, but also about the mental pressure that they constantly feel. People telling them they are not enough or that they should try doing something “serious” instead. Keep seeing empty chairs in the audience and still not giving up. That’s something I admire in artists and it’s what I wasn’t able to handle myself. Second, I really enjoy listening to jazz and this film is full of wonderful tunes. Hiromi Uehara did a marvellous job with the soundtrack and even if you don’t like anime but you like damn good music, you must see this film. I have to admit that at some points I was closing my eyes to focus on the music itself and not the animation. Once again, I’m sorry anime fans, but the animation and editing in this production didn’t work well with the soundtrack to me, so in order to appreciate it more, I had to look away from time to time. Personally, I believe that if they remade “Blue Giant” into a live action film, it would be a solid candidate for several Oscars. And the Oscar for music would be given without any voting. Anyway, I’m glad I had a chance to discover this production and I hope you’ll check it out as well. Because jazz is hot and intense, and that’s the way we like it.
My rating: 7/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 