Godzilla vs. Destoroyah a.k.a Godzilla vs. Destroyer (1995-Film)

## ***Godzilla vs. Destoroyah***

***Godzilla vs. Destoroyah*** (ゴジラvsデストロイア, *Gojira tai Destoroyah*, also known as ***Godzilla vs. Destroyer***) is a 1995 Japanese *kaiju* film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Kazuki Ōmori, and produced by Shōgo Tomiyama. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 22nd installment in the *Godzilla* franchise, and is the seventh and final film in the franchise's Heisei period. The film features the fictional monster characters Godzilla, Godzilla Junior, and Destoroyah, and stars Takuro Tatsumi, Yōko Ishino, Yasufumi Hayashi, Sayaka Osawa, Megumi Odaka, Masahiro Takashima, Momoko Kochi, and Akira Nakao, alongside Kenpachiro Satsuma as Godzilla, Hurricane Ryu as Godzilla Junior, and both Ryo Hariya and Eiichi Yanagida as Destoroyah.

In the film, Godzilla's heart, which acts as a nuclear reactor, is nearing a nuclear meltdown which threatens the Earth. Meanwhile, a colony of mutated creatures known as Destoroyah emerge from the ocean, changing form and terrorizing Japan, forcing the Japanese Self-Defense Forces to devise a plan to eliminate both threats.

*Godzilla vs. Destoroyah* received global publicity following an announcement by Toho that the film would feature the death of Godzilla. It was the final film to be scored by composer Akira Ifukube before his death in 2006. The film was released theatrically in Japan on December 9, 1995, and received a direct-to-video release in the United States in 1999 by Columbia TriStar Home Video. It was the last *Godzilla* film to be produced by any studio until the 1998 film *Godzilla*, and was the last *Godzilla* film to be produced by Toho until the 1999 film *Godzilla 2000*.

## Plot

In 1996, following the death of SpaceGodzilla, Miki Saegusa of the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center (UNGCC) travels to Birth Island to check on Godzilla and his adopted son Little Godzilla, only to find the entire island destroyed and both monsters missing. Not long afterwards, Godzilla reappears in Hong Kong, his body covered in glowing lava-like rashes. The JSDF hires college student Kenkichi Yamane, the grandson of Dr. Kyohei Yamane, to work at the center in an attempt to unravel the mystery of Godzilla's condition. Yamane suspects that Godzilla's heart, which acts as a nuclear reactor, is undergoing a nuclear meltdown as a result of Godzilla absorbing the energy released from a uranium deposit on Birth Island that had been triggered by a volcanic eruption. Yamane theorizes that when Godzilla's temperature reaches 1,200 °C, he will explode with a force approximately "1,000 times greater than all nuclear weapons put together, a burst of power unseen since time began," which will be hot enough to ignite Earth's atmosphere and reduce the planet's surface to ash.

The JSDF deploys a flying combat vehicle outfitted with anti-nuclear cold weapons, the Super X III, in an effort to reverse Godzilla's self-destruction; while Godzilla’s meltdown is not stopped, it is halted long enough to temporarily render him unconscious. Meanwhile, scientists discover that Dr. Serizawa's Oxygen Destroyer, which was used against the original Godzilla in 1954, has awoken and mutated a colony of Precambrian organisms lying dormant in Tokyo Bay. The creatures combine into several man-sized crab-like creatures and begin wreaking havoc after killing all the fish in an aquarium. After several deadly skirmishes with the JSDF, the creatures, dubbed "Destoroyah", merge into a single Aggregate form, which then transforms again into its Flying form and leaves the scene.

Meanwhile, Godzilla awakens from his encounter with the Super X III only instead of exploding, his condition has worsened to the point that he will suffer a bodily meltdown which could potentially destroy the planet through a China syndrome-like incident. Miki locates Little Godzilla - now named Godzilla Junior - who has grown significantly as a result of the destruction of Birth Island and resembles his father very closely. Miki is instructed to telepathically lure Godzilla Junior to Tokyo, hoping that Godzilla will follow and be killed by Destoroyah. Junior arrives and battles Destoroyah's Aggregate, which severely injures Junior by sending micro oxygen into his wound, and Flying form, who is seemingly defeated after being blown into an electrical plant. Godzilla arrives at Haneda Airport and reunites with his son, only for the electrical plant Destoroyah was defeated at to suddenly explode, revealing Destoroyah’s final, Perfect form, which was created after the aggregate absorbed Junior's DNA during the previous fight. Before Godzilla can fight Destoroyah, Destoroyah kills Junior by dropping him from a great height onto Ariake Coliseum and blasting him with his Micro-Oxygen beam leaving Miki and Godzilla devastated over Junior's death. After being dragged away from the location of his son by Destoroyah, Godzilla manages to subdue his adversary for just long enough to reach the airport for a second time. Godzilla mournfully approaches the body of Junior.

Godzilla tries to revive Godzilla Junior. His radiation briefly succeeds in bringing Junior back to life, but only for a few seconds, and Junior dies again, this time at Godzilla's feet. Enraged and bereaved, Godzilla's meltdown begins to accelerate, but Destoroyah returns, brutally attacking Godzilla. In the ensuing battle, which rages across the airport and neighbouring areas of Tokyo, Godzilla's meltdown grants him access to an extremely powerful version of his Spiral Heat Ray, the Infinite Heat Ray. Destoroyah is severely wounded by Godzilla after he fires the beam through his shoulder and head frill. Realizing the odds are against him, Destoroyah tries to retreat, but the JSDF shreds Destoroyah's wings after firing on him with a set of freezer tanks. Destoroyah plummets to the superheated ground, and is killed instantly, dissipating into a white mist.

Godzilla, having avenged his son, slowly begins to die from the meltdown, but the JSDF is able to minimize the damage with the freeze weapons. While successful in preventing Earth's destruction, the JSDF is unable to prevent the massive nuclear fallout from rendering Tokyo uninhabitable while Miki tearfully says goodbye to Godzilla. Suddenly, the radiation levels plummet and a familiar roar is heard. Godzilla Junior, having absorbed the energy from the original Godzilla's death, has not only revived but grown into the new Godzilla. The film ends with a montage of the original Godzilla's rampage on Japan in 1954.