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Godzilla
The main monster and antagonist of the movie.
For further information, please see the Godzilla: The Godzillas page.
Kōichi Shikishima
Played by: Ryunosuke Kamiki
The protagonist of Godzilla Minus One. A failed kamikaze pilot who had a brush with Godzilla on Odo Island, Shikishima finds himself in a Japan that is recovering from the end of World War II.- Ace Pilot: Just because some characters demean him for being a coward does NOT mean he’s a lousy pilot in any stretch of the imagination. He is the only character in the movie to successfully get close to Godzilla.
- The Atoner: As the film goes on it becomes painfully apparent that his refusal to return Noriko's feelings or accept Akiko as his daughter is because he feels he doesn't deserve that kind of happiness after his failures both as a kamikaze pilot and when Godzilla attacked Odo island.
- Batman Gambit: In order to draw Sōsaku Tachibana out of hiding to fix the Shinden fighter plane, Kōichi sends him a bunch of letters saying the Odo Island massacre was Tachibana's fault. When an enraged Tachibana attacks him, Kōichi is more relieved his plan worked.
- Cannot Spit It Out: The other characters note that Shikishima and Noriko are clearly in love with each other, but he states he can't bring himself to admit his feelings to her because of his survivor's guilt.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- He is a lot like Yasuaki Shindo from Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah as they are both surviving WWII veterans who saw Godzilla attack and kill solders when it was still a small primitive dinosaur, but they have polar opposite visions of Godzilla. Yasuaki Shindo saw Godzilla kill the enemy solders and sees Godzilla as a savior through out his life. While Kōichi Shikishima saw Godzilla kill his own men and sees Godzilla as a monster that needs to be stopped and tries to live so he can fulfill that promise even if it means getting himself killed.
- Kōichi Shikishima is this to Rando Yaguchi of Shin Godzilla. Whereas Yaguchi was a high-ranking government official, Shikishima is a low/middle-class (currently) ex-pilot turned minesweeper operator. While both characters play a pivotal role in seemingly killing Godzilla, the former achieves this indirectly by coordinating Operation Yashiori, while the latter plays a more direct role by blowing his plane up inside Godzilla to shatter the monster from the inside as part of Operation Wada Tsumi.
- Shikishima also stands opposite of Haruo Sakaki of the Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters animated trilogy. While Sakaki is a sergeant for the last vestiges of humankind, driven by the need for revenge and the belief in the human spirit over Godzilla, Shikishima is a guilt-ridden pilot for a defeated Japanese military. Both outcomes stem from how Godzilla traumatized each character. How their stories end also contrast: whereas Sakaki realizes that his desire for vengeance will inevitably doom humanity, and thus willingly destroys himself and the last weapons of destruction to Godzilla's Atomic Breath; Shikishima pulls a suicide bomb maneuver to destroy Godzilla before it can fire his heat ray, but ejects just before impact because he chose to forgive himself.
- Shikishima also contrasts Mark Russell from Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). Like Mark, Kōichi personally hates Godzilla and wants him dead. Their personal experience with Godzilla turn them into bitter people after losing someone they love. The difference is that Mark is a scientist who eventually realizes that the world needs Godzilla to save the world from its current threat; while Kōichi is a pilot who wants to save people from Godzilla before more of his loved ones are in danger.
- Also to Dr. Daisuke Serizawa of Godzilla (1954). Both WWII veterans, but Serizawa is a scientist while Shikishima is a fighter pilot. Both designed weapons to kill Godzilla, but Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer was an accidental discovery in his attempts to advance human knowledge; Shikishima deliberately requested his fighter be rigged for a kamikaze run. Serizawa chose to sacrifice himself in killing Godzilla so that knowledge of the Oxygen Destroyer would die with him, leaving behind a woman he loved but who loved another man; Shikishima chose not to sacrifice himself in killing Godzilla, at the insistence of the very man he'd gotten help for this from, and was reunited with the woman he loves and who loves him.
- Death Seeker: Kōichi's Survivor's Guilt turns him into this after Noriko seemingly dies during Godzilla's attack on Ginza. He comes to believe that the only way to atone for the casualties on Odo Island is to die fighting Godzilla, before Tachibana snaps him out of it.
- It's Personal: After witnessing the destruction Godzilla causes on land and with Noriko seemingly having died, Koichi decides to finally put an end to Godzilla.
- My Parents Are Dead: When Shikishima arrives back to what's left of his home in Tokyo after the war is over, he asks his neighbour Sumiko if his parents are still alive. She, rather scornfully, tells him they were killed in the firebombing of the city. Later, Shikishima looks over a letter he received from his father urging him to return home alive, heavily implied to be the reason he chickened out from being a kamikaze pilot at the last second.Shikishima: "Come back alive"...?
- Never My Fault: An interesting case where a character exploits this trope rather than play it straight. With Godzilla having just leveled Ginza, a plan drafted up by a coalition of former Japanese Imperial Navy sailors, and an experimental Shinden fighter plane in need of repairs, Shikishima demands that Tachibana be the one to get the fighter flying. However, the engineer was proving difficult to find, so Shikishima hits upon the idea of spamming the area of Tachibana's current posting with hate mail accusing him of being the reason that the Odo Island garrison was destroyed to piss him off enough to come find him. It works like a charm and despite getting his ass kicked, Shikishima successfully talks Tachibana into completing the Shinden.
- Riches to Rags: The novel notes that his house was “large and beautiful”. On top of this, the fact that he’s an ensign at such a young age indicates that he was a high school or university student, both of which were basically elite institutions at the time (while one doesn’t pay to get into them, they required a lot of studying, which not many working class people could afford to do). He’s also by all indications an only child, which was more common for the upper classes. By the time the movie happens though, he’s obviously lost all that.
- She Is Not My Girlfriend: When Shikishima brings his work friends home they assume that Noriko is his wife, which he vehemently denies—saying he has no interest in marrying her. Eavesdropping, Noriko is clearly hurt by this and soon after declares she's relied on Shikishima's kindness long enough and needs to make her own way in the world—leaving him shaken at the thought of her moving out.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: An unusual variant. Shikishima returns from the war haunted by memories that manifest in guilt-tripping night terrors. Rather than being about anything he did in the war, since he decided not to go through with it, Shikishima is instead haunted by his encounter with Godzilla in 1945, who killed almost all of the aircraft mechanics he had befriended on Odo Island, which he blames himself for.
- Survivor's Guilt: Off the charts. Not only for abandoning his duty as a kamikaze pilot, but for surviving Godzilla’s initial attack by not shooting him, and for surviving when Noriko died.
Noriko Ōishi
- "No matter what happens, we have to survive!"
Played by: Minami Hamabe
A young thief who crosses paths with Shikishima in the devastated ruins of Tokyo, with a young infant in her arms.- Ambiguous Situation: The film leaves it unclear what's going on with Noriko at the ending, just that a mysterious black growth is creeping up her neck from beneath her bandages—possibly as a result of her being exposed to Godzilla's cells.
- However, the Japan-exclusive Hello Movie audio commentary confirms it was G-Cells.
- Establishing Character Moment: Shikishima meets her when he hears people yelling for a thief to stop, alerting him to a dirt-encrusted girl with a bundle in her arms. When he half-heartedly tries to stop her, she instead thrusts the bundle into his arms before bolting. She manages to outmaneuver her pursuers and circle back to get the bundle, revealed to have been an orphaned baby she rescued.
- Family of Choice: Becomes part of one with Shikishima and Akiko. Despite the lack of blood relations between them, the trio fit into a family unit so well that when one of Shikishima's colleagues assumes that Noriko is Shikishima's wife, her response that she isn't comes as a great surprise.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She shoves Shikishima into an alleyway just as she’s blown away by the shockwave caused by Godzilla’s heat ray. Thankfully and miraculously, she manages to survive.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: When Shikishima jumps on her in the middle of a PTSD-induced panic attack, Noriko assumes he's trying to rape her and kicks him hard enough to send him sprawling across the room, leaving him curled up in a ball and weeping.
- Tainted Veins: In the ending it's revealed that Noriko survived the destruction and reunites with Shikishima in a hospital...but she has an ominous black growth spreading across her neck.
- Unexplained Recovery: At the film's midpoint, Noriko is swept up in a wave of destruction when Godzilla's heat ray levels a significant chunk of Ginza, flattening entire buildings into a storm of shrapnel. When she's revealed to be alive at the ending, she's shown to be bandaged on her face and arm, but otherwise be in better condition than one would expect for what happened to her.
- What the Hell, Hero?: When she learns that Shikishima has taken a job disarming leftover naval mines, she berates him for trying to get himself killed and makes him promise to come back alive.
Sōsaku Tachibana
Played by: Munetaka Aoki
The head mechanic of the garrison on Odo Island in the final days of World War II.- Due to the Dead: The morning following Godzilla's attack, he takes the time and care to retrieve and line up the mangled bodies of all of his fallen comrades for burial, by himself.
- The Engineer: Was this during the war, and led a detachment of other such engineers. So good are his skills that he can fix up the Shinden.
- Sole Survivor: Together with Shikishima, the only survivor of the Odo Island attack, and the only survivor among the original detachment stationed there. According to the official pamphlet, he’s also the only surviving member of his family.
- They Died Because of You: Blames and hates Shikishima for the death of all the other engineers on Odo Island due to refusing to fire on Godzilla, to the point that he even beats him up when they meet again (though to be fair, he was also slandered by Shikishima). He gets over it in the climax, and even encourages Shikishima to live so he can reunite with his family.
Dr. Kenji Noda
Played by: Hidetaka Yoshioka
A scientist who used to develop weapons for the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II; now he works as a minesweeper helping dispose of explosives left behind from the war.- The Atoner: He deeply regrets his involvement in weapons R&D for the Imperial Japanese Navy, which is why he dedicates his genius intellect to working as a mere minesweeper.
- Einstein Hair: Sports long, grey hair and is The Smart Guy of the crew of the Shinseimaru.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He selected the "specially designed" minesweeper boats for their advantage over magnetically-triggered mines, and later is called upon to devise a method of defeating Godzilla.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a scathing one just before the climax that doubles as a Rousing Speech, calling out Imperial Japan's wasteful treatment of human life during the war.
Seiji Akitsu
Played by:Kuranosuke Sasaki
Captain of the Shinsei Maru.- The Captain: Captain of the minesweeping vessel Shinsei Maru.
- Large Ham: Boisterous, super informal, and loud-voiced. His presence is as large as his height.
- The Nicknamer: Akitsu affectionately gives everyone on his crew a simple nickname that's easy to remember, especially in high-stress situations. Except for Shikishima.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Constantly giving out criticisms about the Imperial Japanese Government, and also the current post-war Japanese government.
- Gives a rather scathing one to Shikashima about his regrets over Noriko, pointing out he knew exactly how she felt and still didn't marry her.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He's not stupid enough to be the bait for Godzilla. The second he realizes the power of the kaiju when it destroys their partner ship, he immediately realizes his ship and crew are no where near equipped to handle the situation and orders a tactical retreat.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: While not having the same level of PTSD and survivor's guilt as Shikashima, Akitsu is still dealing with a lot from being in the war. He mainly deals with it by calling out the Imperial and post-war Japanese government out for their constant need for secrecy.
- War Is Hell: "Not having seen war...it is something to be proud of."
Shirō Mizushima
Played by: Yuki Yamada
A young man who is the third member of the crew. He has never experienced the battlefield, and as such has a rather naive outlook on life.- The Cavalry: In the climax, he leads a fleet of citizens' tugboats to help pull Godzilla to the surface.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Having grown up on propaganda, he thinks that if he went to war he would have kicked all sorts of ass. Instead of rotting away in the jungle somewhere, as was the fate of most soldiers.
Sumiko Ōta
Played by: Sakura Ando
Shikishima's neighbor, and one of the only survivors of their entire neighborhood following the firebombing of Tokyo.- Honorary Aunt: Becomes one to Akiko, even though she is of no direct blood relation to Shikishima.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Lost all of her children during the War, and is understandably upset when Shikishima returns home alive from the frontlines.
- They Died Because of You: Lashes out at Shikishima upon his return from the War, blaming him and others like him for failing to prevent the devastation that American bombers have wrought upon Japan.
