Godzilla: Minus One was released on December 1, 2023, and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. The main character Koichi Shikishima is played by Ryûnosuke Kamiki while his partner Noriko Oishi is played by Minami Hamabe. The movie made around $96 million at the box office with a budget under $15 million.
Godzilla: Minus One takes place right after the second world war ended. The story follows Koichi Shikishim, a failed kamikaze pilot, as he struggles through life after seeing Godzilla on an island. He eventually finds a girl with a baby and decides to take them in and within a couple of years he starts a family with them. However, Godzilla continues to attack and eventually, his partner is caught in the blast and seemingly dies. He and a group of survivors from the war make a plan after the attacks to put a stop to Godzilla. During this final plan, Koichi decides he needs to make up for all the lives he could’ve saved and goes to the skies once more for battle.
Overall, Godzilla Minus One was well-received with many loving it around the world despite the movie being in Japanese. Many voices say that it’s the first Godzilla movie that cares about its human characters and doesn’t focus on big monster fights. It received a 98% on both the Tomatometer and audience score making it the first Godzilla movie in a while to receive a high score. The only other Godzilla movie close to that score is Godzilla Vs Kong in 2021. The love for the movie can be seen in the reviews for the movie as well. One reviewer said it’s rare to see a kaiju movie care so much about people below the monsters, they gave the movie a 4.5/5. Another said the ending showed how strong the human spirit can be, they gave the movie a perfect 5/5. I would give this movie a 5/5 as well. This movie set a new standard for what I should be expecting in Godzilla movies. It has been such a long time since the human characters were expanded on and given an actual conflict in any monster movie. Pacific Rim in 2013 was the last time human characters were allowed to shine in monster movies, however, they weren’t the main focus of that movie. In Godzilla: Minus One it is very obvious that the human characters are the focus. I would highly recommend the movie to anyone, just be aware it’s a Japanese movie.
