BLUE GIANT

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
10
RELEASE
August 25, 2016
CHAPTERS
80

DESCRIPTION

Dai lived a normal high school life in Sendai: a city of hot summer days and rainy nights. Between basketball, part time jobs, and an uncertain future, something was missing. And that thing was music. With his days in senior year running out, Dai swears a heartfelt vow: “I’m gonna be the best jazz player in the world.”

But what do you need to be the best? Talent? Effort? A lucky break? Or maybe just a deep, pure love for music, and too much stubbornness to know when to quit.

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Notes: Nominated to the 22nd Annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.

CAST

Dai Miyamoto
Yukinori Sawabe
Shunji Tamada

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO BLUE GIANT

MANGA DramaBLUE GIANT SUPREME

MOVIE DramaBLUE GIANT

REVIEWS

morgan
100/100
Blue Giant is a must read for anyone who's a fan of Jazz.
__As of writing this review I'm at chapter 52.__
Blue Giant is a manga that follows the story of a boy named Miyamoto Dai. He wants to grow up to be the greatest jazz musician in the entire world. This manga is such a delight to read that i had caught up to to the translated chapters within a day, and ever since that point I tried to patiently wait for the latest chapter but then i found out that the manga was completed but the translations hadn't caught up fully yet. When I learn that I wanted to use DeepL just to keep reading the manga, but I decided that I should wait patiently so I could read the story without worrying if it had misunderstood a sentence.

When I read the first 10 chapters of the manga I had read them without having any jazz on because i thought it would be distracting, but the second i put on jazz and continued reading the manga i realized that it wasn't distracting but instead added to the enjoyment. I was more immersed in the manga, it was as if i could feel the characters dedication and enjoyment whilst playing jazz.

The Art
The art in the manga fits in so well, especially whenever someone is playing an instrument. The reason why i think it fits in so well is because whenever a character isn't playing an instrument the art looks more refined, but when a character starts playing the instrument the art becomes rougher as if the character was really improvising and the because of that the art just hit different and you started to feel as if you were there.

The Story
The story is very enjoyable because you're actually able to see the character's struggles (especially Shunji Tamada) and their passion for jazz grow. The story is enjoyable and I find it really good but thats my opinion. I don't have alot to add to the story because i've basically used up all my words on the previous paragraphs.

The Conclusion.
If you like jazz and want to read a good manga about music then Blue Giant is perfect for you, especially if you can speak Japanese because then you can also read the sequels.
The story feels very passionate, it made me even want to learn saxophone (even though I suck at music & music theory)
ART 10/10
STORY 10/10
FEELING 10/10
OVERALL 10/10 (I am a bit biased though because i like jazz)

There is one meme that perfectly encapsulates what I felt after catching up to the translated chapters.

Sorry if the review wasn't that easy to read as this was my first time writing a review.

Blue Giant is now receiving an official release done by Seven Seas Entertainment. Now we just have to play the patience game for the translation to be fully completed, and then hope they move onto the sequels too.
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efnazih
80/100
A Tale of young jazz player. When you can hear the music without listening to music
Before I decided to read this manga, I had skeptical thinking about how come a music can be drawn into a manga? Seeing how high the score in this site and the positive review about it, I finally decided to give it a try and fortunately it's beyond my expectation. Blue Giant is a tale about a Highschool boy called Miyamoto Dai who found his passion on jazz music. Through this manga, we can see his whole jouney to become the greatest jazz player in the world. In that very whole journey, there is two major phase that shown in this manga. The first phase is when our main character Miyamoto Dai in his Highschool and the second phase is when he went to tokyo after graduation to reach his dream even further. In the early chapter of the manga, we could see everyday life of Miyamoto Dai as a highschooler. Through all of his hardwork, he met various people who support his dream and with every person he met would led him to made a decision to leave his hometown and become the jazz player in tokyo. After he went to tokyo, he would met another people who support his dream and thus, his journey in tokyo would develop not just his skill at playing sax but as a person growing up.

If we talking about the plot, I would admit that there is nothing special to begin with. It's just a tale about a person who want to reach his dream as in other manga usually made. However, as simple as it is this manga has managed to make me keep on fire seeing how hard the main character work to become the best of him. I myself actually not that familiar with the jazz music itself yet this manga has managed to draw me in to the story. The pacing itself is good, not too dragged and not too rushed, and I could say that there is no useless chapter. Every one of them has their importance to the story

Next, there is the characters. I would say the best trait of Miyamoto Dai is his huge spirit and hardwork to become a person he wanted to be. To be frank, as likeable as he his, Miyamoto Dai still lack of something that could spice up the story because there is no major character development for him in the entire story. Yet, the interesting things is the other characters such as the pianist Sawabe Yukinori and the drummer Tamada Shunji, both of them are got their character development and the person behind their development is none other than Miyamoto Dai himself. Their destined encounter with Miyamoto Dai has led them to be a better person and character. Then, what about the side characters? I would say the side characters are interesting as our main characters. The thing is, this manga shown us the inner dialogue of every side characters like how they feel and think about the main characters performance and how the main characters become somewhat impactful with their life upon their encounter. Not only that, usually the side characters in other manga would be just thrown away after a few chapters or arc yet this manga never done that. Every side characters that linked to the main characters are always pointed out in the manga.

About the art, I would say it's excellent. Of course, some of you would say the character design is plain and not that unique. Yet, the other things such as background and instrument, all of them are very detailed and well-drawn. Especially every time there is jazz performance, the art is really gorgeous and had me goosebumbs every time I see it. In conclusion, the art is very enjoyable.

Overall this manga was great, you don't have to be familiar with jazz to understanding the story becase it's just that simple. Don't hesitate to give it a try and don't set your expectation too high because everyone has their own taste and if you ended up not liking it, it's probably because you're not the target audience or this manga just isn't for you to begin with.
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hsasaki853
100/100
Finding purpose in life within the world of Jazz.
As someone who was originally in Band and Jazz Band during my days in School, never have I come across a work that was an emotional trip such as Blue Giant. Playing music by Norah Jones, glimpses of John Coltrane, & The Dave Brubeck Quartet, it was lovely seeing many Jazz artists being appreciated in a manga along with how Giant approaches playing Jazz. With how beautiful of a read Giant was, it was close enough to convince me to rent a Tenor Saxophone -- a Saxophone I always dreamt of playing even though I've been playing the Alto for the remainder of my school days. Blue Giant introduces Dai Miyamoto, a person who wants to become the best Sax Player in the world. He goes through a Hero's Journey, but revolving around the world of Jazz and the struggle of being in it. Life isn't so easy for Dai despite him having many things that help him progress into being the best Sax Player, though Ishizuka presents the human side of struggling for a dream that is hard yet impossible to obtain. Especially in Modern Day standards due to Jazz not being as popular from the 1920s through the 40s. While hopeless, it doesn't fail at being hopeful in terms of how struggling it can be to reach your music into your audience. No matter how small or big. While Miyamoto is the main highlight of Giant, two new characters would be introduced that would make Miyamoto's journey progress along with themselves. One being a pianist and another being a drummer who is only beginning. They both have similar character arcs with one having their life dedicated to Piano and one finding their own purpose to keep moving forward in life. Their emotional character arcs are what drive the emotional stakes of Blue Giant, along with the many struggles they both endure to keep going along with Miyamoto. A dream to be the best and to redeem themselves. Ishizuka's illustrations are beautifully detailed, especially during the musical moments, which crescendos at a smooth yet fast tempo. It's one of the amazing aspects of the manga along with how it's empowering the more you read into each panel. Like a punch of musical notes grabbing you the more you're immersed. Just like how listening to Jazz can either make the listener feel at ease or elated. We tend to have dreams that are hard to achieve, yet only remain as __dreams__. While failure is enough for our dreams to shatter and lose hope, learning from our failures allows us to improve and reflect on how to approach a certain dream. A dream that's either possible or impossible due to the many stakes of pursuing it, such as having to leave home or the sake of losing happiness for it. But while our dreams may only be a concept, Blue Giant is hopeful in terms of achieving the things we want. A story that even if there's no endpoint of achieving something, we can keep progressing no matter what. >"There musta been so many musicians before me and probably... none of 'em made it to the finish line. So what could be happier than plugging away forever in a world where there ain't no finish line?" Blue Giant is a love letter to Jazz, and how Jazz is still as wonderful in Present Day. A lovely recommendation for Jazz lovers and music players, especially for those who want to get into Jazz.
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