The directorial debut feature from comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto, the satirical mockumentary Big Man Japan (Dai-Nipponjin) has already been hailed as an "instant cult masterpiece" by Dread Central and by Eye Weekly as "the Godzilla movie Christopher Guest (A Mighty Wind; Best In Show) never made."

Most famous for being one half (alongside partner Masatoshi Hamada) of the phenomenally popular Japanese comedy duo Dauntaun (Downtown), Matsumoto brings his considerable comic talents to the fore not only as director, but also as co-writer and star of this surreal action-comedy about a middle-aged nobody with remarkable powers.

Masaru Daisato (Matsumoto), aka Dai-Nipponjin, lives alone with his cat in a dilapidated apartment in the suburbs of Tokyo, but with a small reality TV crew documenting the boring minutiae of his drab existence. Through candid interviews with Daisato, it is soon revealed that this unassuming character's job is to be on call 24 hours a day as Japan's first line of defence against attacks from a seemingly never-ending parade of bizarre monsters capable of reducing Tokyo to rubble.

In the event of such an attack, Daisato is summoned to a nearby power plant where he is subjected to large doses of electricity, which transform him into a 30-foot warrior dressed only in shorts and armed with a stick. But rather than being hailed as a hero in the manner of his monster-slaying predecessors from whom he inherited his super powers and position, Daisato is treated with scorn and derision by the general public for being too noisy and destructive. As if that wasn't enough, in between protecting the nation he also has to deal with an unsupportive family embarrassed by his exploits, an overbearing talent agent intent on branding him with sponsor logos and an Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather with similar super powers.

Wacky, weird and wonderful, with a deep vein of inventive satirical comedy, and an extraordinary line-up of mutant monsters and creatures that make Godzilla seem like nothing more than a troublesome reptile, Big Man Japan is a superhero movie like no other.

Big Man Japan will be released on UK DVD by Revolver Entertainment on 21st September 2009 at the RRP of £12.99. No extras have been announced.