kweejibo stories, January 2013: Big Man Japan, Dainipponjin 2007, Hitoshi Matsumoto : Director, Producer, Main Actor

Big Man Japan, Dainipponjin 2007, Hitoshi Matsumoto : Director, Producer, Main Actor

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Hitoshi Matsumoto speaks slowly in the film, Big Man Japan. Matsumoto speaks very slowly in this film which brings to mind his origins near Osaka, in Japan, a region known for a slower moving dialect, as testified by my Osakan friend Teppei.

The film shows Matsumoto's character as an ordinary man, living alone with a cat in a messy apartment; he seems slightly depressed, but in the most ordinary unremarkable manner, at first that I wonder where it's all going... a boring single man in his forties, with a child living elsewhere with his ex-wife and no heroic extraordinary hero's life in sight ...

That is until he grows to be ... Dainipponjin!

He grows to an enormous skyscraper size.

He battles nuisibles or harmful organisms, large monsters extra-terrestrial in appearance, who appear from nowhere. At these points, this film turns out to be one of the most singular laugh-out-loud events.

Matsumoto's training as an aspiring manga (Japanese animation) writer, is evident in the film's many animation sequences as Big Man fights a series of nuisibles.

The soundtrack is even funny, also; very spare at some points, noisy and engaging at others, especially the epic battle scenes.

The most significant concept in this film is indifference.

The average Japanese person is completely indifferent as to whether Dainipponjin shows up for work, to battle these seemingly very destructive creatures. Even though he is the sixth generation in a line of heralded, celebrated heroes doing the same work. His ex-wife and his daughter are embarrassed by his work.

Even his agent, yes, he has agent, who sells parts of his body as giant billboard ad space, appears to hilarious effect, bored with the whole thing even when interviewed on television. All this despite the fact she seems to be able to buy a very nice car with her work...

The act of selling ad space on his massive body is a bit of a joke on

Matsumoto's own dislike for wearing words on his body. In a radio interview, he said, "I never wear clothing with words on them. Never. I barely own any with even a mark on them... Why do entertainers wear messages on their chests that someone else wrote? This angers me greatly. Our bodies, the words expressed through our bodies – that's our message. Don't put meaningless words on your bodies."*

Matsumoto's character grows increasingly ineffectual, both in small human size and super-hero size. In one argument with his agent, his human size self shouts "Never on the kidneys (lower back area)!" He is vociferous in his ultimate refusal to permit advertising placement in this spot of the body when in his giant state. In the next scene, his giant body is shown, fighting with increasing lack of force, and with a giant ad for chocolates on the back kidney area.

This is a fascinating statement on the state of tradition versus modernity in Japan as well as an embrace of beloved pop-culture icons, the giant battling animated creature.

*Wikipedia. Matsumoto, Hitoshi, Hōsōshitsu, 2003.

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Big Man Japan, Dainipponjin 2007, Hitoshi Matsumoto : Director, Producer, Main Actor