Preface I love Jazz. I was born with Jazz as daily consumption through my family. While some say it's a bit of an old taste and unmatching for my still relatively young age, I still stand by it. Even though I can barely play any musical instrument (only confident in drums), the joy of just listening and fully immersed in Jazz is something that I can truly be proud of.

My passion for anime is also strong. So when the trailer for this movie drops, I know I’m 100% in for it. After evaluating all of my watches in 2023, surprisingly, this has come on top. We’ve had Oshi no Ko, Pluto, Hyakkano, etc. Yet this has come as my number one pick for 2023. In honor of that, this movie deserves a review.

Story & Plot Well, the story follows the usual format of zero to hero. While I know it's cliched, there's truly only one goal in this movie that is brought up by the MC, to be the best Jazz player in the world. That's a big claim. Yet, he himself set his main target as "to perform in SoBlue Tokyo", not exactly a world stage but definitely the number one stage in Japan for Jazz (based on Blue Note Tokyo IRL). Gathering mates, practicing, doing lives, expanding the fan base, more lives, more practice, falling out, skill block, it's all there. A 2 hour screenplay that couldn't possibly manage to fit everything in perfectly, yet it still did it impressively well.

I haven't read the manga, and I get the feeling that there are so many more untold stories left in the manga. But this isn't a manga, it's a movie. With actual animation and MUSIC in it, which should be its main selling point. And it did focus on that. Overall, a good enough screenplay adaptation with music as its main selling point.

Characters The three main leads, Dai, Yukinori, and Shunji, are all musicians with different backgrounds. Yukinori is a pianist from a young age, trained on the basis of discipline and rules. Shunji was barely a musician as he only played just after the movie started. But his drive to be able to catch up to the rest of the band pushes him forward, improving his drumming and sense of music. Whilst Dai, trained by trial and error, had natural born talent and passion that he perfected in mere three years.

While the story shows the skill disparity between the three different leads, it doesn’t overcomplicate it for a 2 hour screenplay. Yes, there was a rift between the leads, but it didn’t over exaggerate it to the point of it being the main topic. As to why? Well, for more Jazz screentime of course. I bet the screenplay writer can fit in a more intricate and deep plot for a more dramatic and truer story, but it was swept aside for more Jazz screentime. A decision that is, to me, well worth it. More on that in the music section.

Animation & Visuals I was afraid when the tag showed CGI. We all know how plagued a title is when it has CGI in it. But in this movie, it was for a better cause. First off, the scenery and background was well done. Tokyo was vibrant with the sort of “blue” that showed life and progress. The aesthetics fit really well. Everyday life scene was vibrant and passionate. And when the live show starts, it turns itself into one of the best expressions of Jazz, visually. It quite reminds me of Pixar’s Soul way of visualizing Jazz. The two is actually a pretty similar IP, revolving around Jazz.

Now to the CGI. Well yes, it’s still jarring visually, but the hand animation for every instrument was true to its note. Particularly in the solo drum scene, where I could imaginatively hear what Shunji was going through. That slow-fast movement between the crash and ride was amazingly well done, true to life.

Music & Score This is the meat of this movie. Uehara Hiromi, notably known as Hiromi on stage, did an amazing job with the scores. The original piece, truly liquid gold. Oozing out from the refinery, finest, purest liquid gold in the form of Jazz. It follows 50s-60s standards well enough, but it also fuses in modern Japanese Jazz in between. Such bold arrangement, one that tickles the listener to effortlessly listen to it. Enamoured by its rough and intense play, one that truly captures your attention by the first bar. Again, liquid gold was exhibited in this movie. I can’t stop jamming when the music starts, simulating ride and crash hits in between. It’s not just fun to watch, but also fun to go along and jam with.

Never have I been this excited about Jazz in TV/Movie media. The only other Jazz anime to compare is Sakamichi no Apollon, but that title leans more heavily on the coming of age aspect, less on the Jazz. Another is Pixar’s Soul, but Jazz is only the set environment, and not the main goal. With this, it’s all about Jazz, and I couldn’t agree more with it.

Ending Remark You know, this is a biased review, a review from someone who enjoys Jazz. This movie may not be a cup for everyone, but for the Jazz enthusiast, I can surely recommend this. Heck, even if someone isn’t into anime, this is still a good watch for them. I know that, because my Dad also loves it the second the first bar drops, even if he doesn’t watch anime. Because the common language is not the media type, it’s the music, the Jazz that’s in it that brings forth viewers with minds alike.

Overall, this is a phenomenal movie, one that deserves my Anime of The Year 2023. If you love Jazz, no doubt you’ll love this. Be it avid anime watchers, or even someone who doesn’t watch one. It will still be able to entrance you with its Jazz, by the first bar.