BLUE GIANT announces release date with a special teaser

In a recent teaser, TOHO Animation officially announced the release date for the BLUE GIANT anime film. Based on Shinichi Ishizuka's jazz-themed manga of the same name, the film will be released in Japan on February 17, 2023.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers.

Shinichi Ishizuka's manga series was serialized in Big Comic from May 10, 2013, to August 25, 2016, followed by a sequel named BLUE GIANT SUPREME, which was also serialized in Big Comic from September 10, 2016, to April 25, 2020.

On May 25, 2020, a third series titled BLUE GIANT EXPLORER began serialization. The anime film adaptation of the first series was announced on October 21, 2021, and was scheduled to be released in 2022 before being postponed.

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BLUE GIANT film to be released in 2023

What to expect from the upcoming jazz-anime film?

The BLUE GIANT teaser features all three main musicians who will form one of the best Japanese jazz bands in the film, Jass. The first is Dai Miyamoto, a high school student who, according to the manga, will attend a live jazz performance and be so moved that he will pick up the tenor sax and try to master it all by himself, with the goal of becoming the world's best saxophone player. Dai will then ask Yukinori Sawabe to join the band as the pianist. Shunji Tamada will finally join them on the drums.

The trio's goal is to perform at So Blue, Japan's premier jazz club, and to revolutionize the Japanese jazz scene. A series about jazz will include intense depictions of performances, which will only be enhanced by actual musical scores.

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BLUE GIANT voice actors, musicians, and other crew members

Yukinori Sawabe (Image via NUT)

Dai Miyamoto, the main character in the BLUE GIANT anime film, will be voiced by Yuki Yamada, Yukinori Sawabe by Shotaro Mamiya, and Shunji Tamada by Amane Okayama. Since it is a jazz-themed film, the music is essential, and the producers have signed up celebrated pianist Hiromi Uehara to compose the music and play the piano for the character Yukinori Sawabe.

Tomoaki Baba, a saxophonist, was auditioned and picked to perform for the protagonist Dai. Finally, Shun Ishiwaka, the drummer for the Millennium Parade band, was selected to play the drums for Tamada.

JASS performing (Image via NUT)

The anime film is being produced by NUT and distributed by TOHO Visual Entertainment. The film is directed by Yuzuru Tachikawa and is based on a script by NUMBER 8, with characters designed by Yuichi Takahashi, the principal animation director.

Here is a list of the people who worked on the film:

• Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
• Screenplay: NUMBER 8
• Music: Hiromi Uehara, Tomoaki Baba, and Shun Ishiwaka
• Character Design: Yuichi Takahashi
• Art Director: Satoru Hirayanagi
• Chief Animation Director: Yuichi Takahashi
• 3D Director: Masato Takahashi
• Director of Photography: Kasumi Togo
• Color design: Yoshinori Horikawa
• Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose
• Live Direction: Hiromatsu Shu, Kiyoshi Hirose, Satoshi Kimura, and Yuzuru Tachikawa
• Main Animator: Takao Maki and Toshiyuki Komaru
• Prop Design: Natsuki Yokoyama and Takao Maki

The BLUE GIANT anime film teaser looks promising, both visually and musically. Given how well-received the manga is, despite its niche status, the film could also do very well.