Monster movies are just as quintessential to Japanese cinema history as the samurai films and quiet character pieces of Akira Kurosawa and others like him. "Big Man Japan" is billed as a monster movie parody, and while it does still have plenty of that, it also has many elements of minimalist character-based narrative. While the wacky comedic action and the more down-to-earth documentary/mockumentary-style sections work independently, there are times when the movie does not mesh the two well. However, the sheer uniqueness, oddity and excellent writing and acting do mostly make up for the jarring contrasts.
"Big Man Japan" opens up with Masaru Daisato (played by Hitoshi Matsumoto, also the film's writer and director), the current Big Man Japan, a government-approved superhero who fights the giant monsters that love to invade Japan, being interviewed for a documentary. Daisato is a 40-something man with long hair that somewhat obscures his face. The interviewer asks mostly simple, mundane questions about the weather, what he likes to eat, etc. What this section of the movie does brilliantly is emphasize just how ordinary and monotonous Daisato's life is even though he's a superhero. His utterly defeated demeanor is portrayed very well. Many films from the west that attempt to be smaller, character/dialogue driven pieces are too caught up in forcing witty words and verbose banter. This portion of "Big Man Japan" is a great example of how the Japanese do this style of film making best. It's more about what's not said than what is. The characters in this movie talk like real people talk so the audience is more likely to identify and sympathize with them. While these mockumentary scenes are light on plot, which might bore some viewers, Masari Daisato becomes one of the best-developed characters of any movie. Period. He is a thoroughly sad figure and it's almost painful at times to watch how depressing his life is, from the public not appreciating him to the strained relationship with his estranged wife and daughter to his turmoil-filled childhood.
The role of Big Man Japan is a hereditary one. Daisato is the 6th man in his family to take on the role. But while his predecessors were worshipped as celebrities, the people of Japan have turned against Daisato, blaming him more than the monsters for property and environmental damage. Throughout the movie his shabby house gets more and more vandalized because of this. Much of the comedy in this movie does come from when he "suits up" as Big Man Japan. Following a ridiculously over-the-top and unnecessary Shinto ritual, Daisato crawls into gigantic undies and is shot through with electricity which causes him to grow into a chubby sumo wrestler-like giant with Dragonball Z hair. The scenes with Big Man Japan fighting monsters feature intentionally bad CGI to amp up the cheese factor. However, many of the monsters are genuinlly creepy, thanks to many having human faces, as well as being goofy (one has a comb over and one has a extendable/retractable eye where it's penis should be). Godzilla and Mothra these are not.
Daisato's life is made worse when he runs away from a surprise attack by a devil-like monster. His agent is worried about his plummeting TV ratings and losing sponsors (who have ad space on Big Man Japan's giant body a la Captain Amazing in "Mystery Men"). His heart is clearly not in it anymore and some unethical moves later by various people in his life force a confrontation between him and the devil monster. This is where the movie gives up on the plot it has built up in favor of a hilarious but unexpected parody of cheap '60s-style Japanese TV film making with no CGI, cardboard sets, a Power Rangers-like gaudy superteam, Big Man Japan in a rubber suit and the monster in what looks like a sports team mascot reject outfit made of felt. While this ending does emphasize that this movie is indeed a comedy, the negative side is that it disrespects the excellent character development and the social commentary about hero worship, exploitive government and the pervasiveness of capitalism. "Big Man Japan" is both silly and serious but can't decide which one it wants to be most.
