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“ | Akitsu: You should have married her before! You knew how she felt! Shikishima: Don't you think I wanted that? |
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~ Shikishima's exchange with his friend Akitsu |
Ensign Koichi Shikishima is the main protagonist of Takashi Yamazaki's 2023 kaiju drama film Godzilla Minus One. He's a deserted japanese air force "kamizake" pilot who was one of the sole survivors of a deadly attack of the monster, Godzilla, in Odo Island during the final days of World War II. Upon returning home, Shikishima rebuilds his life with a woman called Noriko Oishi and their adopted orphan girl, Akiko, but despite this, he's still haunted by the ghosts of his past.
After Godzilla returns, now mutated into a gigantic beast, Shikishima joins a civilian task force known as Operation Wada Tsumi in order to protect his family and home and put an end to the creature once in for all.
He's portrayed by Ryunosuke Kamiki.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Good?[]
- Although he refused to shoot Godzilla during his attack at Odo Island, he states it was because he was afraid that it could potentially anger the creature and put himself and everyone else in needless danger, meaning it wasn't out of cowardice. Regardless, Shikishima still feels incredibly guilty over not having shot Godzilla that day, blaming himself for the deaths of everyone in the base.
- After Noriko hands her baby to him as she ran away from a group of men, Shikishima initially considers abandoning her, but ultimately decides not to, saying it would be cruel to leave her alone in a devastated place like that.
- While his relationship with Noriko started off for pragmatic reasons, with Shikishima begrudgingly accepting them into his shelter, over the course of the following years, he comes to genuinely love and care for both of them.
- He's shown to be a very present and loving father figure to Akiko and always takes care of her whenever Noriko is away.
- He takes a job as a minesweeper gunner (which is said to be very risky and dangerous) in order to provide for his home, showcasing the great lenghts he's willing to go to assure their stability.
- While he's initially aprehensive over Noriko getting a new job, it was only out of a place of concern over Akiko and he decides to support her in her decision after she tells him Sumiko would be taking care of her while they were both away.
- Upon hearing in the radio that Godzilla was attacking Ginza while Noriko had gone to work, Shikishima immediately goes all the way to the region to save Noriko from the kaiju's destruction all by himself, risking his own life in the process.
- After Noriko's apparent death at the hands of Godzilla, Shikishima joins Operation Wada Tsumi in order to avenge her death and kill the kaiju to prevent him from killing even more people.
- While in the operation, Shikishima volunteers to distract Godzilla by flying a fighter plane near him, in order to attract the kaiju into the trap they've built on Sagami Bay, showing his selflessness to a suicidal degree.
- While he writes inflamatory letters to Tachibana's contacts, slandering him and blaming him for the Odo Island massacre, this was only done out pragmatism as it was the only way he saw fit to grab the attention of Tachibana (whose adress wasn't registered in the post office and, thus, was rendered uncontactable) and it's pretty clear that Shikishima did not meant anything he said in those letters.
- In the climatic final battle, Shikishima becomes the one to deliver the final blow to Godzilla, driving his plane, loaded with explosives, directly into the monster's mouth, destroying his head. A stunt that proved to almost be lethal for Shikishima, who ultimately decides to live by using the newly-installed ejection seat (added to the plane by Tachibana), for the sake of Akiko.
- Overall, Shikishima is shown to be a very kind a selfless person who's willing to put his life on the line for the sake of others. Which is further emphasized by his overall dilemma in the movie regarding his job as a Kamizake pilot, given that he feels guilty over not having taken his life for his country during the war.
What Prevents Him From Being Pure Good?[]
- His emotionally unstable and impulsive nature makes him too wrathful and vengeful to be Pure Good, as he occasionally loses control and lashes out on his friends and even Noriko at times. Most notably, in one scene, he grabs Noriko by her arms and gets on top of her during a panic attack caused by a nightmare about Godzilla, causing Noriko to throw him off her (although he does feel bad about it afterwards). He also joins Wada Tsumi primarily motivated by his desire to kill Godzilla, as he states that "his war" wasn't over.
- Although he does love Noriko and Akiko, he's unwilling to see them as his family due to his lack of self-worth caused by his survivor's guilt. In a particular scene, he talks Akiko off after she calls him "daddy", telling her to her face that he isn't her father and shouldn't be seen as such (an attitude which is promptly called out by his friends in the scene). However, this is a very minor prevention as the end of the movie implies he shed these corrupting qualities away and finally began seeing Akiko as a daughter, given how he chose to live for her sake.
Trivia[]
- Shikishima is one of the only three human characters from the Godzilla franchise (alongside Madison Russell and Mark Russell) to be Near Pure Good. He's also currently the only human character from a japanese Toho Godzilla film to be Near Pure Good.
- While he's currently Near Pure Good, there's a chance this might change in the movie's potential sequel.
External Links[]
- Koichi Shikishima on the Heroes Wiki
- Koichi Shikishima on the Wikizilla
- Koichi Shikishima on the Godzilla Wiki
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