History Film / BigManJapan

Sadly, this inherited superpower is no longer treated with the same public appreciation as it once was. Daisatô's senile grandfather is spending his last days alone in a retirement home, and Daisatô himself has been forced to have his fights televised and judged by the unpleasable populace while he lives alone in a rather decrepit house. He rarely gets to see his daughter and it seems he's a target of green activists and others for the collateral damage he tends to cause. Of course, he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter and by the end of the film, it seems his time has come at the hands of a particularly dangerous monster.

The final product has received mixed reactions, but many were at least overjoyed with the surreal comic touch of the film, if not perhaps so with the near [[{{Dramedy}} dramatic elements]]. Fans of Matsumoto's may be able to see recurring themes re-emerging here, as well as being able to see the faces of some of his occasional collaborators.

* AffectionateParody: Matsumoto is an avowed fan of {{Toku}}/{{Kaiju}} movies and shows and the film [[DeconstructiveParody deconstructs]] and parody many tropes within the genre.
* AmericaSavesTheDay: [[spoiler: The Super Justice Team ganging up to defeat the devil monster.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Daisato still has his stresses in life and got the tar beaten out of him by the devil monster whilst being outshine by another superhero force. But he does have some friends in the Super Justice Team who treat him to dinner afterwards.]]

* CurbStompBattle: Big Man Japan versus [[spoiler: the devil monster]], as well as [[spoiler: said monster versus The Super Justice Team]].
* CursedWithAwesome: Daisato and his family.
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: When all seems lost for Daisato at the end, the Super Justice Team pops out of nowhere to defeat the Devil Monster.]]
* {{Dramedy}}
* {{Eagleland}}: [[spoiler: The Super Justice Team]] is type 1.

* {{Expy}}: [[spoiler:The Super Justice Team]] are basically the [[Franchise/UltraSeries Ultra Brothers]] with a {{Eagleland}} flavor.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: Daisatô is inundated with criticism, from insulting graffiti outside his house to a candlelit vigil for one of the monsters.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The opinion of just about everyone in Japan when it comes to Big Man Japan.
* {{Kaiju}}: A tribute/[[AffectionateParody par]][[DeconstructiveParody ody]].

* LonersAreFreaks: In a more literal way than normal.
* MagicPants: [[DefiedTrope Defied]]. Big Man Japan's purple pants are really that huge, meaning before growing he has to stand inside them while they're stretched out by tall poles.
* MindScrew: Perhaps unintentionally at times, but [[spoiler: the ending]] takes it to a more comedic extreme.
%%%%* {{Mockumentary}}

* StylisticSuck: [[spoiler:When the Super Justice Team arrives to save the day, the special effects gets a deliberate and obvious downgrade.]]
* ThinkOfTheChildren : Big Man Japan [[spoiler: accidentally kills a baby monster]]. People go apeshit.

The final product has recieved mixed reactions, but many were at least overjoyed with the surreal comic touch of the film, if not perhaps so with the near [[{{Dramedy}} dramatic elements]]. Fans of Matsumoto's may be able to see recurring themes re-emerging here, as well as being able to see the faces of some of his occasional collaborators.

* KnightOfCerebus: The Devil Monster is the only serious monster of the film that is a genuine threat to Daisato's life and the tone becomes intense when it enters the scene.

* BreatheOnTheFan: Daisatô's grandfather does it, while giant, with an airplane's propeller.

The story follows Daisatô, an almost-ordinary middle-aged man, and a documentary being made about his life. Why is such a seemingly non-descript man deserving of the effort? Because he is able to take in great electrical surges to become a gigantic warrior whose purpose is to defend Japan from some truly bizarre monsters, that's why.

* CombinationAttack: The Super Justice Team invite Big Man Japan to join hands with them in order to fire a beam at a monster he couldn't beat. BMJ moves his hand away briefly and notes that the beam isn't any weaker without him.

%%%%* PokemonSpeak: The leaping monster. ''SEI!!!''

%%%* ChildrenAreInnocent:

%%%%%* CurbStompBattle: Big Man Japan versus [[spoiler: the devil monster]], as well as [[spoiler: said monster versus The Super Justice Team]].
%%%%* CursedWithAwesome: Daisatô.
%%%* {{Dramedy}}
%%%* {{Eagleland}}: [[spoiler: The Super Justice Team]] is type 1.

%%%%%* HeWhoFightsMonsters: The opinion of just about everyone in Japan when it comes to Big Man Japan.

%%%%* MindScrew: Perhaps unintentionally at times, but [[spoiler: the ending]] takes it to a more comedic extreme.

%%%%%%** The public's reaction to [[{{Squick}} two monsters mating on TV.]]

* FallenHero: Daisatô/Big Man Japan. One scene uses mock-archive footage from the World War II era to show respected his family (and their ability to fight monsters) once was.

* WomenAreWiser: A husband and wife monster duo attack midway through the film. The wife is an lazy but intelligent DeadpanSnarker, the husband an energetic {{Keet}} who does not speak.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

The final product has recieved mixed reactions, but many were at least overjoyed with the surreal comic touch of the film (if not perhaps so with the near [[{{Dramedy}} dramatic elements]]. Fans of Matsumoto's may be able to see recurring themes re-emerging here, as well as being able to see the faces of some of his occasional collaborators.

''Dai-Nihonjin'', released internationally as ''Big Man Japan'' is a 2007 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto (of the [[Series/GakiNoTsukaiYaArahende Downtown comedy duo]] fame), who also stars as the somewhat-eponymous protagonist. The film utilises a number of styles including {{Mockumentary}}, {{Kaiju}} and mild satire to build its laughs.

* AffectionateParody / DeconstructiveParody: Matsumoto is an avowed fan of {{Toku}}/{{Kaiju}} movies and shows and the film deconstructs and parody many tropes within the genre.

* BadassGrandpa: Daisatô's grandfather turns into a rather odd variant of the trope towards the end.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: {{Pixellation}} and voice distortion are necessary in one particularly humourous examination of this trope.

* CompanionCube: A cultural example with Daisatô's umbrella.
* CorporateSponsoredSuperhero / ProductPlacement: In-universe, Daisatô is forced to have adverts plastered all over Big Man Japan to gain revenue. He's even told by his agent to be careful when fighting a monster so as ''not to have an advert obstructed''.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Daisatô to a degree, though he's really more willfully ignorant because he's TheWoobie.
* CurbStompBattle: Big Man Japan versus [[spoiler: the devil monster]], as well as [[spoiler: said monster versus The Super Justice Team]].
* CursedWithAwesome: Daisatô.
* {{Dramedy}}
* {{Eagleland}}: [[spoiler: The Super Justice Team]] is type 1.
* EvilSmellsBad: One of the monsters.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters / NotSoDifferent: The opinion of just about everyone in Japan when it comes to Big Man Japan.

* MindScrew: Perhaps unintentionally at times, but [[spoiler: the ending]] takes it to a more comedic extreme.
* {{Mockumentary}}

* PokemonSpeak: The leaping monster. ''SEI!!!''
* StylisticSuck: [[spoiler: The ending.]]

** The public's reaction to [[{{Squick}} two monsters mating on TV.]]
* WingedSoulFliesOffAtDeath: Happens after each monster's death. ''In a live-action film.''

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Daisatô to a degree, though he's really more willfully ignorant because he's TheWoobie.

* AffectionateParody / DeconstructiveParody: Matsumoto is an avowed fan of {{Toku}}/{{Kaiju}} genre and the film deconstructs and parody many tropes within the genre.