Kenji Noda
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Come to think of it... this country has treated life far too cheaply. Poorly armored tanks, poor supply chains resulting in half of all deaths from starvation and disease, fighter planes built without ejection seats, and finally, kamikaze and suicide attacks. That's why this time... I'd take pride in a citizen led effort... that sacrifices no lives at all! This next battle... is not one waged to the death... but a battle to live for the future.
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— Noda's speech in the emergency meeting room after Godzilla was detected (Godzilla Minus One) |
Kenji Noda (野田 健治 Noda Kenji) is a supporting character and former naval technical officer who played a major role in the defeat of Godzilla in the 2023 Toho Godzilla film Godzilla Minus One.
Description
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A man involved in the development of weapons at a naval arsenal during wartime.
(戦時中、海軍工廠で兵器の開発に携わっていた人物。[1]) |
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— Noda's character description from the official Godzilla Minus One Twitter account |
History
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Reiwa era
Godzilla Minus One
In March 1946, Koichi Shikishima secured a job aboard the Shinseimaru and arrived at the dock. After Akitsu greeted Shikishima, Noda explained to the pilot that the U.S. and Imperial navies laid 60,000 mines around Japan, with the worst being the American magnetic mines. Any boat made of metal would set those mines off, hence the Shinseimaru's wooden hull. Noda then introduced himself, Akitsu and Mizushima. They headed out to sea and Akitsu explained the process of minesweeping to the new crewman. Noda was impressed when Shikishima quickly proved himself a skilled marksman by taking over from Akitsu and successfully detonating a mine. Over the next year, the crew of the Shinseimaru and Kaishinmaru continued disposing of sea mines. Noda took a photo of Shikishima and Mizushima together on one occasion.
Noda and the crew of the Shinseimaru visited Shikishima for dinner one night. When Noda snapped a picture of Noriko Oishi with his camera, Akitsu jokingly told him to not covet her. The men assumed her to be Shikishima's wife and were startled to learn that she was not. Once Shikishima told them his living arrangement, Noda called it a beautiful story. When Akiko, Shikishima and Oishi's adopted daughter, called Shikishima her father, he told her not to call him that, to their alarm. After Akitsu encouraged him to accept that he had found a family, he angrily refused.
In May 1947, the Shinseimaru and Kaishinmaru were deployed near the Ogasawara Islands, where they found a capsized American Liberty ship. Noda explained that the two boats were tasked with delaying Godzilla's advance towards Japan until the cruiser Takao could arrive from Singapore, having been returned to Japan to respond to the crisis. He further explained that the United States wouldn't provide further help, as they feared increasing tensions with the Soviet Union. Their orders suggested they use the mines that they recovered as weapons and forbade them from telling anyone else about the mission.
Later, after they'd collected two mines, Noda gave Shikishima a cup of coffee and they commiserated about the war. Noda said that whenever he thought about the war, he had trouble sleeping. As dozens of deep-sea fish surfaced around the Shinseimaru, Shikishima rang the bell of the minesweeper, warning of Godzilla's imminent approach. They urged Akitsu to flee, but he was determined to face the monster, not wanting to see Tokyo destroyed again. Suddenly, Godzilla grabbed the Kaishinmaru from below and dragged it beneath the waves. Akitsu changed his decision immediately and pushed the engine throttle forward, but the engine gave out. Noda started repairing it as Godzilla swam towards them. Noda yelled to full throttle, and the minesweeper began moving at last. Godzilla followed after them, unfazed by the first mine they detonated against his dorsal fins and their machine gun. While Godzilla continued chasing the boat, Noda decided to try detonating a mine inside his mouth, and together he and Mizushima dropped the second mine into the water. When the detonator switch failed to work, Shikishima exploded the mine with the machine gun. Godzilla regenerated his injury and rose out of the water, but before Godzilla could destroy the boat, the guns of the Takao fired on him and momentarily incapacitated him. Godzilla turned his attention toward the Takao, destroying the heavy cruiser with his atomic breath as the Shinseimaru's crew watched helplessly.
Noda and the minesweeper crew waited with Shikishima in a Yokosuka hospital until he woke up. Akitsu told Shikishima they were airlifted there and that the Kaishinmaru and Takao didn't make it. Shikishima protested they must warn everyone, but Noda told Shikishima the government wasn't telling the public to prevent mayhem and confusion, with Akitsu remarking on Japan's specialty in information control.
Following a memorial service for Noriko after Godzilla's rampage in Ginza, Noda informed Shikishima that a group of private citizens was formulating a long-shot plan to destroy Godzilla. His crewmates were surprised when Noda was the one who went up on stage to explain the plan at the private citizens meeting. Noda's microphone rang loudly before he introduced himself as the drafter of the plan and recalled his experience of witnessing Godzilla take direct gunfire from the Takao, but quickly heal himself. He then revealed a wood model of Godzilla, weighted just enough to float in a tank of seawater. He asked the citizens what would happen if the model was enveloped in Freon gas bubbles. After one citizen answered it would stay afloat, Noda released the gas valve into the tank. The model was surrounded in bubbles and sank to the bottom, surprising the attendees. Noda explained that the bubbles prevented the model from contacting the seawater, with the idea of sinking Godzilla using that method. The scientists closed the blinds of the meeting room and projected a map of Sagami Bay behind the naval engineer, with the idea of sinking Godzilla 1,500 meters to crush him. Noda revealed the plan name as Operation Wada Tsumi. When Akitsu questioned if Godzilla could survive the pressure change, Noda elaborated that even ocean-born creatures wouldn't survive it. After Shikishima asked if the plan would work, Noda responded that with an unprecedented situation like that, it was uncertain. Shikishima stood up to leave but Noda pleaded for the pilot to listen. Shikishima sat back down, and Noda explained that they would use two ships to circle Godzilla with a wire of Freon canisters before rupturing them, sinking the monster 1,500 meters into Sagami Bay to induce barotrauma. When Shikishima asked if the plan would fail, Noda assured there was a Plan B. He instructed everyone to look into the courtyard, where Toyo Balloon employees inflated a giant balloon. Akio Itagaki of Toyo Balloon explained they would inflate the balloons around Godzilla to bring him up to the surface, inducing massive decompression. Tatsuo Hotta told the men that they weren't being forced to participate and would allow them to leave if they wished; while some did leave, most stayed.
The crew of the Shinseimaru went out for drinks, where Noda voiced the belief that Godzilla would return to Japan in as soon as 10 days, since he now considered Tokyo part of his territory. To lure the monster to the trap point, Noda planned to use acoustic minesweepers to play recordings of Godzilla's roar. Mizushima suggested using the destroyers to pull Godzilla to the surface instead of balloons, but Noda dismissed him, explaining the monster was too heavy. He admitted that his plan could fail in many ways but challenged them to come up with a better one. Shikishima finally spoke up, offering to help lure Godzilla if Noda could procure a fighter plane.
Noda soon invited Shikishima to a hanger where the nimble Local Fighter Shinden sat. Developed at the end of the war as an anti-bomber fighter, only a few prototypes saw use, as Japan surrendered before the Allies could invade the mainland. Years in storage had left the plane inoperable; Shikishima recommended Sosaku Tachibana to repair it. Noda questioned why he needed Tachibana specifically, and Shikishima insisted they must need him. When Tachibana and the other mechanics gathered to begin work on the fighter the next day, Noda wished them luck before departing.
At the dock where the former Japanese warships were being prepared for the operation, Akitsu and Mizushima met up with Noda, with Akitsu telling him to cheer up. Noda expressed concern about his plan failing without a miracle, but the captain reassured him they were going to make a difference. When Godzilla was located by radiation-detecting buoys, Noda and the other private citizens held a meeting where the former naval technician commented on Japan's treatment of soldiers during the war. He ordered everyone to spend the night with their families. Mizushima was excited to participate, but Noda and Akitsu told him he wasn't coming. When Mizushima urged his crewmates to take him with them, Akitsu told him that never having gone to war is a badge of pride.
The morning of the operation, the private citizens began boarding the stationed ships, with Noda and Akitsu aboard Yukikaze. Noda asked if Mizushima took their advice, and Akitsu answered it was the best for him. Godzilla arrived faster than anticipated, with Akitsu saying the plan was ruined. Noda told him and the private citizens to set sail anyway, with the task of bringing Godzilla into position now entirely up to Shikishima.
Godzilla was lured out to sea and expended his atomic breath on the two unmanned destroyers that sailed toward the monster, causing one of Yukikaze's crew members to urge Noda to abort. Noda reassured that Godzilla was unable to use it again while he regenerated from his self-inflicted wounds, allowing them to go through with the plan. Noda yelled at Captain Hotta to give the order, and the operation commenced. After Yukikaze and Hibiki encircled Godzilla, Hotta was worried when Godzilla noticed their ship, but Noda assured it was okay. As Godzilla prepared to fire his heat ray again, the cable went tense, and Noda yelled to rupture the canisters. Akitsu activated the switch, forcibly pulling him underwater. Noda was elated as Godzilla sank down the trench. Upon surpassing the target depth, Godzilla froze in place and stopped charging his ray, but remained alive. The balloons were inflated by Noda to draw the monster to the surface. Unfortunately, they were torn through by Godzilla, and the destroyers tried pulling him the rest of the way themselves. As Noda predicted, the monster's weight was too great, and Yukikaze's crane collapsed. His plan seemed hopeless until a fleet of tugboats, led by Mizushima, arrived to help the destroyers. Upon the monster surfacing, Noda and the others accepted their fate as an enraged Godzilla coursed with power and prepared to unleash his atomic breath. Shikishima interceded, flying the Shinden toward Godzilla as Noda and Akitsu shouted for him to stop. The plane exploded in Godzilla's mouth as Shikishima ejected. Noda spotted his parachute, overjoyed that he survived.
Noda and the private citizens saluted Godzilla as his body crumbled into the ocean. He and the rest of the crew accompanied Shikishima to the dock.
Books
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Gallery
Godzilla Minus One
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Noda speaking at the private citizens meeting -
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Noda points at the wooden Godzilla model -
"What happens if we pipe in freon gas, enveloping it in bubbles?" -
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Noda releases the gas valve to envelope the model in freon bubbles, causing it to sink -
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A map of Sagami Bay projects behind Noda -
"At over 1,500 meters in depth, the Sagami Trench is the deepest place in nearby waters." -
"The plan is to strap freon cylinders to Godzilla and let them foam." -
"It"ll sink so rapidly that the pressure will crush it." -
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"We'll kill it with the power of the sea." -
"Shikishima, please hear me out." -
"Two ships will corral Godzilla and wrap it in cable." -
"The cable will have multiple freon gas cylinders attached to it." -
"The gas will be released as it's being tied." -
"And Godzilla will take a rapid plunge of 1,500 meters." -
"There is a Plan B." -
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Noda and the other private citizens listen to Hotta -
Mizushima and Akitsu with Noda at the dock -
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"That's it." -
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"Keep going! Dive!" -
Noda and Akitsu accepting their fate -
Noda accompanying the crew at the dock
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color
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Noda yells as Godzilla sinks
References
This is a list of references for Kenji Noda. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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