Diksha Sundriyal
In Takashi Yamazaki’s ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ the audience is transported to post-Second World War Japan, still reeling from the impact of the atom bombs, threatened by a new monster capable of razing cities in one blow. The protagonist of the story is a young kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima, who barely survived the war, only to land himself in the middle of the havoc wreaked by Godzilla. With the creature becoming more powerful with each blow, it becomes clear to the people of Tokyo that he must be stopped once and for all for them to be able to get back to their lives and rebuild the country. But the task is easier said than done, as Godzilla’s DNA makes him impervious to death.
Godzilla’s Cells are Made to Keep Him From Dying
Godzilla is a huge being capable of crushing entire buildings under his feet, but his size also makes him an easier target and much easier to kill. And considering all the things that have been thrown at him, from bullets to nuclear bombs to all sorts of other monsters, Godzilla would have died for sure if it weren’t for a special power within his DNA that makes him seemingly invincible.
Godzilla, like Wolverine from the Marvel Universe, has an exceptional power to heal himself. No matter what is thrown at him, the creature’s cells will regenerate, his wounds will heal, and he will be back on his feet again. Depending on the weapon and the severity of wounds inflicted on him, the time of regeneration might differ, but no matter what it is, Godzilla will always heal and become good as new, ready to tear apart his enemies or squash them under his feet.
It is this special quality that makes Godzilla’s cells so special. Called G-cells, their regenerative power is tempting enough for scientists to get their hands on them, but there is another thing that makes them even more potent. Because Godzilla is radioactive, his cells have a mutative power. This means that they can lead to the creation of mutated beings closer to him in size and power, and this is what scientists exploit in several versions of the story. In ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ special focus is laid on his regenerative ability as the special properties of G-cells pave the path for future possibilities, one of which is hinted at in the final scene when Shikishima discovers that Noriko is alive and recovering from her wounds inflicted by Godzilla’s devastation in Tokyo.
Shikishima’s Attack Fails to Kill Godzilla
Having crossed paths with Godzilla several times, Shikishima knows that it is not easy to kill the creature. No mortal weapon seems to have the ability to do it, and they have tried everything they could. But Godzilla has laid warships to waste and decimated cities with just one blow. How can simple guns and bombs have any impact on him? Shikishima knows this very well, and he also knows that to kill Godzilla, he would need the power of Godzilla.
In the final fight, Godzilla is lured into the sea, where the plan is to trap him with cylinders full of Freon that would take him to the bottom of the ocean, where the pressure of the ocean would kill him. If that didn’t happen, then they would release a buoy that would bring the creature to the surface with such speed that he would be crushed by the pressure. The plan almost works until Godzilla cuts himself free of the buoy and the Freon and is ready to launch his heat wave on the ships to destroy them.
Shikishima knew that the plan would fail, but he also knew that it would anger Godzilla enough to make him use the heat wave. By now, the man also knows that it takes a few seconds for the creator to activate the energy and release it. Having anticipated the events, Shikishima prepared himself to do something that only he could. He was trained as a kamikaze pilot, and while he escaped his duty in the war, he knew that he must go through with it this time or have everyone killed by Godzilla. After Noriko’s death at Ginza, he is motivated to avenge her and the soldiers who had been killed by the creature on Odo Island.
As expected, just as the plan fails and Godzilla comes to the surface, he activates the heat blast. Shikishima, who had been hovering nearby, flies towards his mouth. His plane had been fitted with explosives enough to raze a city, but Shikishima knew that even then, it would not be enough. He would have to time their explosion with Godzilla’s heat wave just before it is released. And so, as soon as he sees the beast’s tail turning blue with energy, he makes his way towards him and reaches just in time to smash the plan into his mouth. As the plane explodes, the path for the heat wave is blocked, and instead of going out, it blows up inside his mouth. While the man-made explosives wouldn’t have had an impact on Godzilla, his own energy causes incredible damage, blowing up his head into pieces and throwing him into the water.
Considering the blow he has been dealt, it seems like Godzilla is done for good, but the last scene of the movie pans toward the pieces of him bubbling up and starting to heal. This confirms that Godzilla isn’t dead yet. It might take him more time to heal because the wounds were exponentially deadlier than what he has previously faced, but he will eventually walk the earth again and wreak havoc.
Read More: Why is the Movie Called Godzilla Minus One, Explained
