Blue Giant (ブルージャイアント) is a 2023 theatrical anime film based on Shinichi Ishizuka’s manga of the same name. The film was adapted by studio NUT, and the staff credits include director Yuzuru Tachikawa, screenplay writer NUMBER 8, character designer Yūichi Takahashi and music composers Hiromi Uehara & Kazuma Jinnouchi. The film theatrically released in Japan on February 2023.
Background:
“Dai Miyamoto’s life changes when he discovers jazz. He picks up a tenor saxophone and practices every day. After leaving his hometown, Sendai, he pursues a music career in Tokyo with help from his friend Shunji. One day, Dai plays passionately from the heart and convinces talented pianist Yukinori to start a band together. Along with Shunji, a beginner drummer, they form the three-piece band, JASS. With each live performance, they get closer and closer to their dream of playing at So Blue, the most famous jazz club in Japan, in hopes of forever changing the world of jazz.”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, March 2025.
What better way to start the post by mentioning that we now have a Jazzy anime for once! Well technically speaking, we have had music themed anime over the years but the idol genre tends to dominate it for the most part. The closest one that I could remember sharing a similar theme for Jazz was Shinichiro Watanabe’s Kids on the Slope which was set in the 1960s. Much like that series, Blue Giant is also based on a manga and I happen to own a few of the volumes (which were released as 2-in-1 omnibus books by Seven Seas), but sadly I had yet to read them, though I am fully aware of how well-received it was by fans and critics alike.
So to see the series being adapted into an anime made complete sense, especially considering the music it represents but to see a 10 volume manga (which also happens to have two sequels) covered in a single film is stretching it a bit. Studio NUT, the same animation studio behind the adaptation for Saga of Tanya the Evil, adapted Blue Giant into a theatrical film and I trust they will nail the core parts of the film – that being the animation and music.
North American distributor GKIDS picked up the theatrical and home video rights for Blue Giant but have decided not to produce an English dub which makes sense in a way given that music themed anime doesn’t always get dubbed but saying that it also reduces the audience reach. Meanwhile UK distributor Anime Limited also picked up the same rights for the United Kingdom but took a lot longer to release the film on home video.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
Blue Giant has a rather unique collector’s edition release this time from Anime Limited, opting for digipacks instead of the usual amaray cases which was more in-line with their much older releases.
This release is presented with a specially sized square “mini-vinyl” rigid case containing a thick digipack using the same design that Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Ultimate Edition vinyl packaging had received. Inside the digipack houses the Blu-ray disc.
Also included with the set we have a 64-page booklet, a sticker sheet and an individually serialised art card. Outside of the box and with the shipping, an A3 sized poster was also included that was wrapped up and not folded. The booklet includes interviews from the Japanese staff crew including the director and producers, and some character designs.
The rigid box artwork is free of any information or BBFC content and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Anime Limited releases. The collector’s edition Blu-ray has 1000 units printed for an SRP of £59.99, with a standard edition Blu-ray available for retailers at an SRP of £19.99.
The film was included as part of their late January 2025 early bird pre-order range on their AllTheAnime online store where I ordered from. The set was on offer for £34.99 + £3.50 postage, with the Anime Unlimited membership lowering the cost down to £32.49 + £3.50 postage (totalling £35.99). I bundled the film with another title to reach the free shipping threshold (£50).
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Specially Sized Square “mini-vinyl” case packaging and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification and BBFC description
- 64-page Booklet
- Sticker Sheet
- Individually Serialised Art Card
- A3 Poster
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 3rd March 2025
The collector’s edition release for Blue Giant contains the film on a single Blu-ray disc. The discs were authored and encoded by GKIDS, via their 2024 release.
The audio option available include Japanese with English subtitles only, plus additional English subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Japanese Dolby Atmos is also included.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the disc is restricted to players set to Region B.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1) Japanese Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1.78:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English, English HOH |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 BD-50 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Q&A with HIROMI (15:56 runtime)
- Trailers & Teasers (04:30 runtime)
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Blue Giant is available to purchase on Blu-ray by Anime Limited in the UK & Ireland.
The collector’s edition Blu-ray release can be bought exclusively through the AllTheAnime Store, while the standard edition Blu-ray is available across different retailers including AllTheAnime Store, Amazon UK, and Anime-on-Line.
(Disclaimer: Amazon links are also included when available. They are affiliated so if you decide to order them, I’ll earn a small percentage if they ship which will help me with any hauls or small bills.)
The Normanic Vault 
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