GKIDS continues its 15th anniversary year with another intriguing anime import, announcing today it will bring Blue Giant to select theaters nationwide for event showings on October 8 & 9 only. The film is directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100, Death Parade, DECA-DENCE, Detective Conan: The Black Iron Submarine).
Tickets are on sale now at BlueGiantMovie.com. Prior to its theatrical release, the film will have a special North American premiere on October 6 at Japan Society in New York City, featuring a Q&A with composer Hiromi Uehara — ticket are available now on their website.
Synopsis: 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?
Blue Giant is adapted from the manga of the same name, written by manga artist Shinichi Ishizuka. The series won the Japan Media Arts Festival Award and the Shogakukan Manga Award, and was nominated for the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize and as “Comic of the Year” at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. NUMBER 8, the editor of the original manga, joined the film production to write the script.
Virtuoso pianist Uehara composed the in-story original music played by Miyamoto and his jazz trio JASS, and additionally plays for the character Yukinori Sawabe. Drummer Shun Ishikawa, of the global hit band Millennium Parade, and saxophonist Tomoaki Baba join Hiromi Uehara in playing for the characters Shunji Tamada and Dai Miyamoto, respectively.
Blue Giant opened domestically in Japan on February 17, and earned over 1 billion yen (approx. $7.5 million) at the Japanese box office throughout its run in Japanese theaters. The film previously played as a sneak preview screening at the 2023 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
