The official website of Blue Giant revealed on Feb 9, 2023, that the anime film has collaborated with Brad Pitt’s latest Hollywood flick Babylon.

A new promo video, which is stated to have a musical experience that will resonate across the borders, was revealed as part of the collaboration.

Both films are heavily based on the themes of Jazz Music. The narration in the promo video is done by Yuki Yamada who voices Dai Miyamoto the main character of Blue Giant, and Keno Horiuchi who voices Brad Pitt in the Japanese dub of Babylon.

“The two films are full of passionate scenes that overflow like a flood of music and determination to grasp one’s dream. The music and music, soul and soul, of both works seem to resonate with each other, making for a miraculous collaboration. The collaboration visuals are a dance of the characters’ surging feelings and copying, and the result is a heightened sense of anticipation for the destiny of each character and where their dreams will take them,” the official website wrote.

Blue Giant anime film is releasing in Japan on Feb 17, 2023, whereas Babylon is releasing in Japan on Feb 10, 2023. The latter released in USA on Dec 23, 2022.

Babylon is directed by Damien Chazelle, who is known for helming La La Land. Brad Pitt is accompanied by Margot Robbie, Tobey Maguire and Olivia Wilde in the movie.

Meanwhile the staff working on Blue Giant anime includes:

• Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
• Screenplay: NUMBER 8
• Character Design: Yuichi Takahashi
• Art Director: Satoru Hirayanagi
• Chief Animation Director: Yuichi Takahashi
• 3D Director: Masato Takahashi
• Director of Photography: Kasumi Togo
• Color design: Yoshinori Horikawa
• Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose

Studio Nut is in charge of animating the movie, while TOHO and Shogagukan are producing it.

Hiromi Uehara is handling the music for the anime film, including providing the tunes for the trio “JAZZ”. Uehara also plays the piano for Yukinori Sawabe. Tomoaki Baba will be playing the saxophone for the protagonist Dai, and Millennium Parade band’s drummer, Shun Ishikawa will play drums for Shunji Tamada.

Blue Giant is a Japanese jazz-themed manga series written and illustrated by Shinichi Ishizuka. It was serialized in Shogakukan’s Big Comic from May 2013 to August 2016, with its chapters compiled in ten tankobon volumes.

A sequel, titled Blue Giant Supreme was serialized in Big Comic from September 2016 to April 2020, with its chapters compiled in ten tankōbon. A third series, titled Blue Giant Explorer, began in Big Comic in May 2020.

As of August 2020, the manga has sold 5.8 million copies. In 2017, Blue Giant won the 62nd Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category and the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival Award.

In North America, the manga has been licensed for English release by Seven Seas Entertainment.

MAL describes the plot of Blue Giant as:

The latest great works by Ishizuka Shinichi! A high school 3rd year student, Miyamoto Dai, whose heart was touched by Jazz, continued to play the Saxophone alone in Kawahara, rain or shine, day or night, for many years. “I want to become the world’s best Saxophone player…!!” Effort, talent, faith, environment, luck…which are necessary? A tale of reaching towards his goal recklessly and sincerely begins in Hirosegawa, Sendai.

Source: Official Website