Godzilla -0.1 Unconventional Hero's Journey
Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0) is a Japanese action movie that follows the template of the hero’s journey through its distinct aspects of the movie that align with the “Meeting with the Goddess” and “Temptation” phases of the journey. The movie takes place just after World War II, and the story follows a Kamikaze pilot, Koichi, who abandoned the war due to a “faulty” airplane. He lands on a repair base on an island where a large monstrous creature attacks, leaving Koichi as the only survivor. Upon returning home Koichi finds his family to have died in the war and his close neighbor shaming him for not carrying out his honor as a Kamikaze pilot. Throughout the movie this monstrous creature, Godzilla, haunts Koichi both in his dreams and in real life, destroying the city as it is recovering from war. In the end, Koichi redeems his honor and puts the nightmare to rest by getting together a squadron and dealing the finishing move on Godzilla. The movie itself can be a bit all over the place ...