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 with the Hero’s Journey path because Godzilla shows up multiple times and it isn’t exactly linear. However, I wanted to dive into the specifics of the  “Meeting with the Goddess” and “Temptation” part of the Hero’s Journey and how they are represented in Godzilla Minus One.

“Meeting with the Goddess” is typically a pronounced step in the Hero’s Journey, and in Godzilla Minus One its no different, but how the movie represents this step is very interesting. Just like in the Star Wars movie we watched in class, Leia is a clear female role for the protagonist and it's the same in this Godzilla. After Koichi returns to his ruined home he meets Sumiko, a young woman who has taken in an infant abandoned by the war, she stays with him and helps but not in a way commonly seen in the Hero’s Journey. There are two distinct ways Sumiko represents the goddess, but she is very different from other typically seen goddesses (like Leia), one is she doesn’t receive anything immediate to help him in his journey, and two is that Koichi wants nothing to do with her (not like Luke desperately trying to find Leia after he unintentionally discovers her). These differences offer a unique interpretation of the “Meeting with the Goddess” part of the Hero’s Journey. Sumiko’s role in aiding Koichi starts with her instead leeching off of him and being a nuisance. She invites herself and the young infant, Akiko, into Koichi’s home expecting him to support them financially and they give him nothing in return. One can argue that later on in the movie when Koichi and Sumiko become more friendly Sumiko offers Koichi emotional support and that's how she aids him, but as for any actual guidance through Koichi’s trauma and journey, she offers little to no. However, what connects her to actual goddess aspects of Joseph Campbell’s steps is that she is the only woman besides Koichi’s aunt figure and Akiko that Koichi interacts with. While “Meeting with the Goddess” is conveyed clearly in Godzilla Minus One, the execution is very unique to the movie.

The step “Temptation” in the Hero’s Journey is described as the hero encountering something that may lead them to stray from their quest, and in Godzilla Minus One, Koichi’s temptation sets his journey apart from other interpretations of “Temptation”. In Joseph Campbell’s model, “Temptation” occurs right in the middle of the initiation phase and follows just after “Meeting with the Goddess” and before “Atonement with the Father”. However, in Godzilla Minus One, Koichi’s temptation is present in multiple moments throughout his journey and is represented through his trauma of encountering Godzilla the first time. In the storyline, Koichi is only actually in the presence of Godzilla physically being there three times, not counting the first time. But through his dreams and hallucinations, he sees Godzilla over and over and relives the moment that sparked his journey in the first place. What sets Koichi’s “Temptation” phase different from other Hero’s Journeys is that each time his temptation happens, Koichi is tempted to abandon his quest due to circumstances that are conjured in his own mind. Campbell’s model specifies “Material temptations”- but in Godzilla Minus One, Koichi’s temptations aren’t physically there nor are something material. Even when Koichi encounters the actual Godzilla he doesn’t experience any fear or temptation not to face him or to stray from his goal of eliminating him, Koichi’s temptation to stray from his path only comes from his own mind’s idea to stray from it.

I find the differences between most interpretations of “Temptation,” “Meeting with the Goddess,” and “Godzilla Minus One”. Even though in some cases these steps are vastly different from what's commonly seen, I don’t think it's necessarily a bad thing. The movie’s difference in interpretation makes Koichi’s Hero’s Journey unique and one that lovers of the Hero’s Journey- but craving something a little different- would very much enjoy.

Yamazaki, Takashi, director. Godzilla Minus One. Toho Studios, 2023.

A scene from “Godzilla Minus One.”, Toho Co., Ltd.

Minami Hamabe in Godzilla: Minus One (Courtesy of Toho, via MovieStillsDB)