Godzilla Minus One: YAMAZAKI Takashi’s entry into the long-running monster franchise benefits from a very focused story, with a single protagonist avoiding any bloat and one that manages to be insightful and heartfelt. The film follows a pilot who survived an early attack by the monster, which was the cause of many regrets and accusations of dereliction. KAMIKI Ryuunosuke plays the pilot charmingly, a man carrying the weight of his self-perceived mistakes on his shoulders; YOSHIOKA Hidetaka, as the engineer who comes up with a plan to defeat the monster, is particularly entertaining. Despite its relatively short runtime (editor MIYAJIMA Ryuuji keeps the action moving nicely), the film still finds time to do some social commentary on post-WWII Japan and display the spirit of the time. Visual effects are very effective, creating a terrifying monster to be contended with. Composer SATOO Naoki contributes with a nice musical score, which is nicely complemented by a few old tracks from the franchise.