Name: Finding purpose in life within the world of Jazz.
Item: Blue Giant
Rating: 100
Author: hsasaki853

Finding purpose in life within the world of Jazz. · Waifora

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.