Godzilla Minus One Ending Explained: Does Godzilla die in the film?

Summary:

• Godzilla Minus One ends with Godzilla being killed by explosives. His head is destroyed and his body disintegrates into the sea.
• Shikishima gets a happy ending as he finds out Noriko is alive and reunites with Akiko and Noriko.
• The last scene in Godzilla Minus One hints at Godzilla’s regenerative abilities and suggests the monster might return.

Godzilla Minus One ends on a tragic yet satisfying note but keeps a few things open to interpretation. The film has received rave reviews, all of which particularly talk about the film’s brilliantly executed climax scene.

If you plan to watch it soon, I suggest you return to this article after watching the film, as I’m sure you’ll have the same questions as I did. If you’ve already seen the film, you’re at the right place to get all your questions answered. Spoilers ahead!

Godzilla Minus One ends on a satisfying note, with the apparent death of the deadly monster. Shikishima gets a well-deserved happy ending, but the final moments of the film hint that Godzilla is not gone and will return.

Here’s a complete breakdown of the ending of Godzilla Minus One and what it means for the film.

1. How was Godzilla defeated in ‘Godzilla Minus One’?

Godzilla is killed in Godzilla Minus One using explosive bombs that are dropped in his mouth. The explosion overpowers his atomic breath, and his body disintegrates into the sea. His head bursts into pieces due to the explosion.

Shikishima and his colleague Kenji Noda, a former scientist and weapons expert, come up with a plan to defeat Godzilla. Their plan involves trapping Godzilla in the bay near Tokyo and exploding the multiple Freon tanks around him.

The idea is that the Freon tanks will make the water bubble up and force the monster to sink faster into the sea. The high pressure at the bottom of the sea should crush him to death.

Shikishima and Noda also devise an alternative if the plan fails. They plan to use air balloons to quickly lift Godzilla to the surface, leading him to die due to the sudden drastic change in pressure.

The plan almost works out, but Godzilla bursts the balloons while they are picking him up to the surface. Shikishima and his team quickly use tugboats and ships to keep pushing him up. When Godzilla finally reaches the surface, he is still alive, although quite hurt.

Thankfully, when Godzilla opens his mouth to fire off once again, Shikishima drops some extra bombs in his mouth via his plane. The explosion ultimately kills Godzilla in the end.

2. Does Godzilla die in ‘Godzilla Minus One’?

The version of Godzilla in Godzilla Minus One dies in the end as his body disintegrates into several pieces. But the film’s final moments show a part of Godzilla’s flesh bubbling, hinting at the monster’s regenerative abilities. So, the battle against Godzilla is not over yet, as he can be regenerated, at least to an extent.

Throughout the film, Godzilla shows great regenerative abilities. Therefore, even after he dies, it is not impossible to recreate or rebuild the creature through a part of his flesh. The final moments of the film hint at the monster’s return, as we see a small part of Godzilla’s flesh bubbling as it dissolves into the sea.

The final moments hint that although one version of Godzilla is dead, the threat is far from over. But the film leaves many questions unanswered. We do not find out if it is possible to recreate the animal to its complete form. It’s also unclear whether the new creature would still hold previous memories or be a completely new creature.

3. How is Noriko alive at the end of the film?

Noriko survives Godzilla’s first attack in the film. It is revealed that she’s alive by the end of the film due to the nature of the blast she was a part of. Godzilla’s first attack moved around things but did not burn them down. Noriko survives the attack but is badly hurt due to the radiation.

Throughout the second half of Godzilla Minus One, we believe Noriko is dead, which is what inspires Shikishima to bring an end to Godzilla once and for all. But after Godzilla is killed, Shikishima reunites with his adopted daughter, Akiko, and finds out that Noriko survived the first attack and is in a nearby hospital.

Although Noriko survives the attack, the film hints that she won’t survive long as the camera focuses on Noriko’s black radiation injuries on her neck. Noriko’s condition is indicative of radiation sickness and how atomic energy can leave a permanent impact on its survivors.

Noriko’s fate is a symbol of all the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of whom still suffer from the long-term impacts of atomic radiation injuries. Godzilla’s fire breath in the film is symbolic of a real atomic blast, and Noriko’s condition further proves it.

4. Will there be a sequel to Godzilla: Minus One?

As of now, there is no information about a potential sequel to Godzilla Minus One. However, the final moments of the film hint that the fight against Godzilla is far from over, and he can be regenerated, so there is a lot of scope for a sequel.

Takashi Yamazaki, the writer-director of Godzilla Minus One, previously mentioned that he’s interested in making a sequel. But we’re yet to see if his plans come to fruition. The film debuted with a brilliant Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%, so planning a sequel would be a good idea.

However, we’re unsure if Shikishima would be a part of a potential sequel, as his ending is pretty clear. Shikishima reunites with Noriko and Akiko at the end of the film and wants to start his life afresh by marrying Noriko.

He has already dealt with his innate guilt after killing Godzilla in the film, so it makes sense for him to move on and have a better life. But if Godzilla returns (and he will), it will be hard to imagine the monster without Shikishima fighting him.

5. About Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla Minus One is a Japanese kaiju film directed and written by Takashi Yamazaki. Co-produced by Robot Communications and Toho Studios, it is the 37th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 33rd Godzilla film produced by Toho, the fifth film in the franchise’s Reiwa era and the second live-action film thereof.

The film released theatrically in Japan on November 3, 2023, in celebration of the franchise’s 70th anniversary in 2024, and December 1 in the United States.