GKIDS announced via X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that Blue Giant, the new anime film from Mob Psycho 100 and Death Parade director Yuzuru Tachikawa, will screen in select U.S. theaters on Oct. 8 and 9. In a follow-up post, the film distributor also announced that Blue Giant’s North America premiere will be hosted at the Japan Society building in New York City on Oct. 6, with a Q&A with the movie’s composer, Hiromi Uehara, scheduled after the screening.
Based on Shinichi Ishizuka’s drama manga series, Blue Giant tells the story of Dai Miyamoto, a lackadaisical high school student whose world changes after he witnesses a live jazz performance. Profoundly moved by the music, Dai sets out to become a professional jazz saxophonist, in spite of his lack of prior formal training — or demonstrable talent. Determined to move to Tokyo and become a professional player, Dai devotes himself to learning and practicing with all his might in order to break through and achieve his dreams.
Yuzuru Tachikawa is one of the most accomplished anime directors in recent memory, having achieved recognition for his 2013 short film Death Billiards, which spawned the 2015 hit anime Death Parade. He’s been nominated for Best Director twice in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, for his work on Mob Psycho 100 and the 2020 original anime Deca-Dence. Nut, the Japanese animation studio that worked with Tachikawa on Deca-Dence and the dark fantasy isekai anime The Saga of Tanya the Evil, was responsible for animation duties on Blue Giant, with character designs courtesy of Yūichi Takahashi (Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song).
The footage in this trailer looks fantastic, and reviews from the film’s Japanese theatrical premiere earlier this year have been positive, especially in singling out Uehara’s score. As an avowed lover of anime like Cowboy Bebop and Kids on the Slope, I’m excited to see another prominent director aside from Shinichirō Watanabe take on a story that centers jazz music as its focus, especially a creator of Tachikawa’s caliber.
Blue Giant will screen in select U.S. theaters on Oct. 8 and 9. Check the movie’s website for participating theaters.
