Yohei Miyawaki Pays Homage To Astro-Boy, Kimba, And Toho's Classic Sci Fi With "Great Space Monster Darkmatton"

Written By: Ken Hulsey
Sources: Yohei Miyawaki / Avery Guerra

The influences for Japanese film maker Yohei Miyawaki's animated short, "Great Space Monster Darkmatton" should be very obvious to anyone who has even a very limited knowledge of that nations widely varying pop-culture.

With "Darkmatton", Miyawki is paying a very honourable homage to the work of pioneer Japanese animaters, Osamu Tezuka and Mitsuteru Yokoyama, who's creations, "Kimba the White Lion", "Astro Boy" (Tezuka) and "Tetsujin 28-gō" (Yokoyama) have enjoyed a huge following, not only in the island nation, but worldwide, for decades.

Miyawki's tribute doesn't end there, as the film acts as an homage to the work of master Japanese film makers Ishiro Honda Tomoyuki Tanaka and Eiji Tsuburaya, who's fantasy and monster films, most notably, "Godzilla", "Rodan" and "Mothra", have become synonymous with innovative film craftsmanship and special effects.

Miyawaki , a 23-year-old student at Tokyo's Tama Art University, created the short as a way to experiment with different animation techniques and create his own giant monster film. Though the young film maker had been a fan of the giant monster and anime genres since he was small, he didn't want to create something cliche, opting to steer clear of monstrous reptiles, insects and scantily clad females with swords.

Indeed, Darkmatton, is a unique creation consisting of pure dark matter, which makes it impervious to man-made weapons.

Here is the films synopsis:

An orbiting international space station is mysteriously destroyed. The army asks Dr Kawanaka, an expert in astronomy, to undertake an investigation to ascertain the cause. The doctor tries to find the cause, under the scrutiny of the army. Suddenly a black globe appears in the sky over Tokyo and Dr Kawanaka recognises it as the cause of the ISS’s destruction. “That is Great Space Monster Darkmatton!” he declares. Military action proves futile. The doctor develops the ultimate weapon [see below] — the end result of his previous own research — uses it to confront the monster. The future of humanity hangs in the balance!

At this point, "Great Space Monster Darkmatton" is entirely in Japanese, but Miyawaki is presently working on an international version, with English subtitles for consumption by western viewers.

Thanks to Miyawaki, and our very own Avery Guerra, we have a plethora of media for "Great Space Monster Darkmatton", including the entire short, in three parts, a trailer, production stills and concept artwork!