The Scariest Thing About Godzilla Minus One is the Ending

Godzilla Minus One ended in a cryptic cliffhanger. While the movie can remain as is, it's interesting to theorize what the result of Noriko's neck is and the obvious poisoning she's suffered from despite surviving.

Magnified XY - Farrell Wooten
Superior - Silver Maple
Bitterness - Max Anson

Outro Music - Nothing by Damtaro

#godzillaminusone

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[spiderleenie]

I'm thinking more that the thing on Noriko's neck might indicate that she survived BECAUSE of the radiation and that she has Godzilla's ability to regenerate.

Also, I liked the "happy" ending. I felt that it was more than earned. The shock of finding out that she survived plus the amazing acting from the people who played Koichi and Sumiko upon hearing the news just really sold it for me. I sobbed in the movie theater.

Putting the audience through terror and heartbreak, and then ending things on as happy of a note as possible just feels right to me. The themes of the movie made it work, too.

[elijahbaker]

The ending got me shook because the fact that Godzilla literally survived being turned to ash and still managed to heal is just so terrifyingly insane.

[todd-bomb]

When I saw Noriko get blown away, I was 100% certain she was dead. There should have been no way to survive that blast. But the moment we took a brief pause in the final climatic fight to see the neighbor receive a telegram, I knew she was alive. And let's take a brief moment to realize Noriko had time to throw Koji and herself into that alley, not just shove him in. Her death was an intentional sacrifice to raise the stakes and pull the audience in deeper into Koji and his pain.

[skizzler]

Bro i shed some tears at the end fr when he reunited w shawty

[ViciousTheThird]

The theory that Noriko is going to be the modern Miki Saegusa is FANTASTIC. I really hope she can regenerate and has and has the same telepathic link to Godzilla. Noriko being able to communicate and influence Godzilla is going to be wild!

[alexisislas-gonzalez]

You know despite being the most terrifying version of the character. This is not the first time Godzilla being reduce to single organ of his body to only regenerate later. That was in 2001

[Flash-FireCC]

This movie is breaking records left and right, and our hearts 😢. Biggest domestic box office for a foreign film in two decades, both critics and audiences giving over a 95% rating, and it's earned more than double it's budget. I hope this film stays in theaters longer and word of mouth continues to spread because this is what we've always dreamt of for a Godzilla film.

Also my reaction to learning much later that she's infected 1:02

[MaskedRiderChris]

I hope they make a sequel and go into what happened with Noriko with the weird black mark on her neck. I liked how it ended with she and Koichi being reunited because it felt right and natural to let it happen. Me, I want to go see "Minus One" again ASAP and experience it all over again. (P.S. Sue me, but Minami Hamabe, Noriko's actress, is not only a capable actress, she is also GORGEOUS)

[PrinceofTheMonsters]

The movie was AMAZING
It really told the story of being at absolute zero then just having the entire weight of the world crash down on you immediately after. The feeling of hopelessness in the face of destruction and how war haunts and effects everyone whether they were a part of it or not. And really made a point of living for the future and setting up a proper world for those to follow.

Godzilla was absolutely horrifying and amazing. Every time he was on screen he had PRESENCE. Godzilla was a monster in every sense of the word, but you could tell he was just a bit more, mentally. He clearly had moments of curiosity, anger, vengeance, and retribution. But they didn't humanize him in any way while doing so.

The atomic breath was fucking beautiful and the destruction was unlike anything ANY other atomic breath has done.Usually it's like a destructive beam or a slicing lazer.This time it was like Godzilla just shot an atomic ray for just a second and when it hit it was like another atom bomb went off.

I enjoyed the human characters, watching them struggle with and amongst each other, growing together and it felt natural and like a long standing friendship despite the movie not being very long. The MCs relationship with Godzilla is amazing and tragic, but I won't say more so you can see for yourself.

the ending was amazing and made me tear up and excited for the future of Toho Godzilla

[ghiajohnson]

I’m so glad you mentioned the neck situation! Nobody was talking about this little detail!

[adamdowns]

Am I the only person that thought the thing on the neck looked like a moth? Godzilla was oddly draw repeatedly to Tokyo even when he was caused pain from like the ships and tanks. Like there is another being there that draws him there.

[Zeus-txrh]

Watched a second time yesterday, and yeah that thing on her neck crawls up her neck and pulses, definitely not just radiation poisoning.

[Kenrox]

I think that Koichi is on borrowed time as well. The black rain that fell on him after Godzilla's attack on Ginza was created long lasting damage to the survivors.

[tjjordan]

The happy ending was actually very well earned, and a rather great example of subversion done right (take notes, Mr. Johnson).

Throughout the film, everything is very heavy, dark, and depressing. Our main character suffers from survivor's guilt and struggles to put the pieces of his life back together. And it's not just him, it's everyone. All of Japan is trying to either resume or restart their lives in a post-WWII world, having suffered huge losses because of a war that their own government started. While things do start to look up for everyone as time goes on, there's always that looming darkness of the past, which is why Godzilla was shown at the beginning of the movie, as he represents that darkness hanging over them.

Then, once he shows up, everything crumbles and the very people who were forced to fight a war that some never wanted, are now forced to fight a new enemy without the help of anyone else but themselves. They 'need' a win, for once in their lives, especially one that allows them to return to their lives and rebuild. But it's also more than that. This is a story about redemption and finding the will to just live. To have our main character die would defeat that arc of him learning to forgive himself and truly want to live.

As for the extra-end moment, it makes sense that Godzilla would eventually return as he represents that while humanity can beat back the darkness (say war, in this case), it will always return.

[michaelfields]

This is the second foreign film to put me to tears with the other being Life is Beautiful. I never thought id say this of a Godzilla film but its one of those films where you discover lost filmmaking and you walk out feeling as though you saw a film. It sounds weird to say but sadly everyone who read that will understand. This should sweep the Oscars and make a billion dollars. It deserves all of it.

[BruGaleen]

It's an interesting idea to move Godzilla from a sci-fi/action/kaiju franchise into a more "horror" franchise. Being that Godzilla has been so many different things throughout the years, I'd be SO down for this to happen. I don't know if Toho would be brave enough to do this, but it would be such a radical departure from the norm if they did, and I think most of the fandom would really enjoy it. :)

[nattonow]

I don't think the ending is specifically sequel bait although I do want a sequel


If anything I think the black thing on norikos neck was symbolic to how radiation would affect the Japanese in the years to come, and how even tho they are having that sweet happy moment of reunion, that sickness will eventually claim her

And same for that piece of godzilla flesh regenerating, it could be symbolic to how the threat of nuclear war always comes back, I mean they do mention the US and soviet tension, which leads to the cold war

[Sephiroth]

I never really show my emotions and or have any most of the time but the scene where godzilla shot his atomic breath and roared, it caused me genuine fear and sadness and I actually cried a little in the theater. Something that has never happened to me at all because all of the films that i watch of godzilla usually protray him as a good guy despite ignoring his true nature and what he was ment to be. This movie revisited that concept and thats why i will forever cherish it.

[troygoom]

Bruh that ending is one of the bend endings for a movie I’ve seen. The fact that we got to see everything they actually planned! I was so happy. There are too many times where there are plans and elaborate talk in movies that’s no payed off or that we don’t get to see. When they went from dunking him, to reeling him up, to kamakazi-ing him! I was like… wow. You really just spoiled the hell outta me by letting me see ALL OF IT. Like what!? I was already full on the fact they showed his radiation beam in multiple ways and even one of those ways was anime level animated. But they just wouldn’t stop giving me everything I wanted. Such an amazing movie man.

[monsunoguy]

The [REDACTED] on [REDACTED] neck at the end seemed very similar to the ending for Shin Godzilla to me, at least in concept. Hope it goes somewhere, I even have a small theory of how the next movie can explore those possibilities.