How Godzilla: Minus One Encapsulates Perseverance

October 25th, 1944, marked the first organized kamikaze attack that took place during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The success of the kamikaze tactic (a suicide attack that involves a pilot flying their aircraft directly into enemy ships) was exaggerated greatly through Japanese military propaganda, as it was rooted in the Japanese ideals of honor, sacrifice, and religion. Therefore, in post-war Japan, the kamikaze pilots who returned alive were perceived by citizens as cowards who failed to serve their nation and were viewed as physical representations of Japan’s defeat.

Fear is a prominent motif that drives the plot of Godzilla: Minus One. Kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima lands his plane on Odo Island due to “faulty mechanisms.” However, the lead mechanic on site, Tachibana, sees through Kōichi’s lies and concludes that he is faking the need for repairs to escape battle. Later that night, Godzilla attacks the garrison, and Kōichi panics, failing to fire the guns from his plane to protect the defenseless mechanics. His inaction leads to the deaths of all the mechanics, with Tachibana being the lone survivor, mourning the loss of his crew while furiously cursing at Kōichi for being a coward. After returning home and finding out his parents were killed in the bombing of Tokyo, Kōichi’s survivor’s guilt is amplified by his neighbor blaming his inaction as a kamikaze pilot as part of the reason the bombing happened in the first place.

Despite this, he begins supporting Noriko, a woman who also lost her family in Tokyo, and a baby that she saved. All previous Godzilla movies, including the original, place the monster at the focal point of the story, with the humans serving as the B plot. With Godzilla: Minus One, I love that the film serves as a character study of a Japanese soldier living in post-WWII Japan. Over the years, he slowly overcomes his survivor’s guilt and finds purpose in life through being their caretaker and getting a job as a minesweeper to eradicate remaining mines in Japanese waters. In addition, the natural chemistry between him and Noriko is undeniable and begins to hint at the possibility of a relationship. However, Kōichi encounters Godzilla while minesweeping, and shortly after, it attacks Tokyo’s Ginza district, where Noriko works. Kōichi rushes into the city to find her and is able to reunite with her when Godzilla unleashes a violent atomic blast. *Spoilers ahead*

Noriko sacrifices herself to save Kōichi by pushing him down an alleyway following the blast, leaving him the lone survivor of an attack once more.

It was at this point in the movie that I assumed the only natural conclusion of Kōichi’s character arc was for him to sacrifice himself to kill Godzilla. In spite of how depressing the film is, it was beautiful watching glimpses of him rediscovering joy with her and their rescued child, implementing her masterfully into his character arc, and providing him a way out of his old life. I didn’t even consider the possibility of her death, making the shot where he kneels and mourns her death while the ash falls out of the sky from Godzilla’s atomic blast that much more impactful. 

Kōichi and his minesweeper crew develop a plan to take down Godzilla in the ocean, involving Kōichi flying a plane into Godzilla as a last resort. After leaving the child in the care of his neighbor, he seeks help from Tachibana to repair a broken kamikaze plane; he agrees, knowing that Kōichi would be sacrificing himself to atone for his cowardice on Odo Island. Kōichi’s crew cares for him very deeply and does not want him to sacrifice himself, but during the climax of the film, their main plan fails, leaving the kamikaze attack as the necessary finishing move before Godzilla launches atomic blasts at the minesweeper crew. Kōichi flies his plane into Godzilla to defeat it, and the crew is surprised and overjoyed to see him safely eject from the plane, as it was a model that does not normally have one. It is then revealed that Tachibana secretly implemented the ejection seat and encouraged Kōichi to let go of his guilt and continue living the same way Tachibana was able to forgive Kōichi after all these years. 

From the original Japanese 1954 film Gojira, where Godzilla acts as an allegory for nuclear devastation following the atomic bombs, to the latest American renditions that represent it as a symbol of nature’s vengeance against environmental destruction, Godzilla has taken many forms over the years. In Godzilla: Minus One, the monster is a physical manifestation of Kōichi’s fear and survivor’s guilt. Fear drove him to land his plane to avoid battle, and failing to shoot at Godzilla led to the death of the mechanics, leaving the monster alive to haunt him years later. Noriko got the job in Ginza because of Kōichi in the first place. With the hopes of being able to take care of herself and the child, she got the impression that they were a burden on him. But unbeknownst to her, Kōichi’s emotional trauma and shame prevented him from fully accepting a new life and marrying her. Despite the loss of Noriko, Kōichi perseveres, and he and his crewmates vow to take down Godzilla once and for all.

The film drives the themes of perseverance home with a happy twist ending. Not only was Kōichi able to live in the end, but he is also rewarded with the news that Noriko survived the attack. On her hospital bed, she asks, “Can this war of yours finally be done?” Through his sobs, he nods and opens the door to a second chance at life with a family.