At long last, Dai finally forms his own band. After months of practicing alone in Tokyo, Dai meets a brilliant pianist named Yukinori. In some ways, the two of them couldn’t be more different: Dai’s all about passion and inspiration, while Yukinori values perfect technique. It’ll take some adjusting for Dai to appreciate Yukinori’s feelings about music…and to find a third man for their group. The award-winning story of a young man’s journey into the soul of jazz continues!
Ever since I found most manga online for free, I really stopped buying any. But Blue Giant is the exception. I found this gem a couple of years ago and was slowly reading it as it was only getting 1 chapter translated a month at its most frequent. This isn't even really my usual genre that I read but it is just so good. I've become enthralled and it has easily become my most anticipated manga.
Once I saw the first 8 volumes available on Amazon . . . I just had to get them. I had to have this story on my book shelf. I'm not a music person and this series, being focused on jazz, doesn't really do lyrics or anything that gives you a notion of what it sounds like . . . but the emotion is carried on through the artwork anyway. You feel the passion and the weight of the music. The author/illustrator do this very well. In fact, some of the best chapters have no dialogue at all.
For me, this is a masterpiece and I hope that the sequel Blue Giant Supreme gets translated soon.
I am growing more and more attached to Dai as a main character. Each volume really highlights what makes Dai such a great friend, rival, and jazz player. I cannot get over how much emotions I am feeling with each characters' growth. Dai's friend joining them on the drums, and feeling left behind. The piano friend being a complete perfectionist. Such a unique music manga.
🎷✨ Hoy os traigo una pequeña joya: ¡la continuación de Blue Giant! 📖💙
No sé muy bien qué contaros sin destripar nada de las entregas anteriores, pero lo intentaré.
Dai ahora se encuentra en Tokio, decidido a perseguir su gran sueño. Allí conoce a un pianista que parece estar a su altura, y juntos intentarán luchar por hacerse un hueco en el mundo del jazz. 🎹🎶
Seguimos viendo la determinación inquebrantable de Dai en cada una de sus acciones, dispuesto a darlo todo para labrarse un nombre en la música. Pero no solo eso, sino que también demuestra el enorme corazón que tiene al mirar a su alrededor y dar oportunidades a otros, permitiéndoles acompañarlo en su viaje hacia la fama.
La verdad es que, con cada tomo que leo, me enamoro más de esta historia. Es una maravilla, en serio. Si aún no habéis descubierto Blue Giant, os lo recomiendo muchísimo. ¡No os arrepentiréis! 🎵📚
En este tomo se da un salto importante en lo que respecta al foco del manga, que se abre para no centrarse tan primordialmente en Dai y añadir una suerte de co-protagonistas. Esto va al servicio de la evolución musical de nuestro protagonista central, que se junta con un pianista más rodado y un baterista improvisado para formar una banda de jazz underground. Esta apertura de miras resulta refrescante y funciona para presentar distintos caminos hacia la pasión por un instrumento. Aunque hay que decir que, si ya lo de Dai es algo milagroso y excepcional, lo del tipo que aprende a ser competente con la batería en 15 días parece ya un poco de coña. Lo que no cambia es la vertiginosidad de lectura, que de alguna manera consigue fusionarse con el virtuosismo musical que desprenden las páginas para crear una sensación muy especial.
Continúan las aventuras de Dai Miyamoto en su afán por convertirse en un gigante del jazz.
Quizá el tomo que menos he disfrutado, veo la historia algo estancada y falta algo de profundidad en los personajes. Espero que de aquí hasta el final el viaje sea más profundo.
Las referencias a la teoría musical siguen siendo un tanto superficiales para mi gusto, al tratarse de jazz.
Pero el dibujo es cada vez más impresionante, qué gran capacidad de transmitir interpretación musical sin poder escucharla!
At first, I hated Sawabe. He's so mean and obnoxious. But then I came to like him as a foil for the gentle and idealistic Dai. I love it when Sawabe pushes Dai and Dai stands his ground.
But really this volume is Tamada's story. He's trying so hard and just failing, failing, failing. What a legend!
Yukinori pisses me off but he certainly pushes Dai further as a saxophonist. I love Dai, he just LOVES jazz and really tries. It is rare to see a charterer fail like Dai does (early on) and just keep pushing. The bonus features showing is that Dai becomes THE BLUE GIANT is always entertaining. Tamada is where Dai was in the first collection… I hope he sticks with the drums
I ended up flying through the remainder of the Blue Giant series after reading Vols. 3-4, so I'll keep it short (see my review of Vols. 9-10 if you want the slightly broader reflection).
My favorite part of this collection was getting to see Yukinori's character uninhibited. His dialogue really nails the whole "I'm a pretentious musician who thinks that people who aren't god-tier at their instrument don't deserve to be musicians and should't perform for other people". He's the perfect foil for Dai's rose-colored lens approach to music. It's a treat to see the dynamics (no pun intended) between the main characters shift through this omnibus. Good stuff.