Ever wonder how superheroes still fit in their clothes when they grow larger? This film answers that question and a few more about the lives of superheroes. Hitoshi Matsumoto co-wrote, directed and starred in this deadpan spoof of Japanese monster movies. No hero or monster, not even Godzilla and Ultraman are safe.
Daisoto is the main subject of a documentary. He lives alone with his cats and people spray paint obscenities on his house and break the windows. It's tough being a superhero nowadays. Daisoto is a descendent of other Japanese protectors who grow to enormous sizes by charging themselves up at power plants. The government calls on them when a monster is spotted. The battles between the Big Man Japan and the monsters are televised, but Daisoto's fights are on at 2 am, instead of the primetime slots his grandfather saw. People are tired of Big Man Japan destroying cities and using up so much electricity.
Even the monsters that Daisoto has to fight aren't Mothra for sure. The Strangling Monster throws his rubber band like looped arms around buildings to knock them down as his comb over flops back and forth. The Leaping Monster is just a giant head on a giant foot. The Evil Stare Monster has a giant eye on a stretchy band between its legs that it throws as its enemies. When the eyeball gets dirty, the monster has to wash it out in the river. The Stink Monster, which ironically looks like a flower, smells up the city. Big Man Japan gets caught up in its mating drama. And let's not bring up the Child Monster or the mysterious devil-like creature.
Being a superhero is rough on your personal life. Daisoto is divorced and only gets to see his little girl once a month. He's like a doctor, always on call, but he only wishes that he could make $5000 a month for his services. Despite the fact that her client lives in a rundown house, his manager Kobori (Ua) seems to be doing pretty well for herself. She definitely puts Big Man Japan's career before his own personal wellbeing. She sells ad space on his body.
With a deliberate pace that mirrors docs more than monster movies, Matsumoto follows the twisted logic of his characters and world to the bitter end. But he also knows his genre and knows how the story has to end. It's one of the most unexpected and wacked conclusions in any film you might ever see. It's also a brilliant satirical touch. BIG MAN JAPAN is like DESTROY ALL MONSTERS mixed with A MIGHTY WIND of monster movie spoofs.
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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
