Hideto Ogata
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— Hideto Ogata (Godzilla, King of the Monsters!) |
Hideto Ogata (尾形秀人 Ogata Hideto) is one of the main characters in the 1954 Toho film Godzilla.
An employee of Southern Seas Salvage in Tokyo, Ogata was one of the first to respond to the sudden sinking of the freighter Eiko Maru. He accompanied the following scientific expedition to Odo Island which first witnessed Godzilla come ashore. After Godzilla devastated Tokyo, Ogata and Emiko Yamane convinced Daisuke Serizawa to use his invention, the Oxygen Destroyer, against the monster. Ogata accompanied Serizawa in a diving mission to the bottom of Tokyo Bay, where the latter detonated the Oxygen Destroyer. While Ogata was safely reeled back to the surface, Serizawa severed his own line and ensured that he would die along with Godzilla and the secret of his terrible invention.
History
- Godzilla (1954)
- Chibi Godzilla Raids Again (TV 2023-) [episode 19; poster]
Showa era
Godzilla
While at his office at Southern Seas Salvage in Tokyo, Ogata received a phone call informing him that one of his company's ships, the Eiko Maru, had sent a distress signal and disappeared. Ogata informed his girlfriend, Emiko Yamane, that he would have to miss their planned date tonight to meet with the Japan Coast Guard regarding the accident. At the Coast Guard office, Ogata and the others assembled were stunned not only by the ship's unexplained disappearance, but the subsequent loss of the rescue ship Bingo Maru in the same location. They soon learned that a fishing boat from Odo Island had rescued survivors from one of the ships, but it too was lost at sea.
Following a disastrous storm on Odo Island, a scientific expedition was organized to investigate the aftermath under the leadership of Emiko's father, esteemed paleontologist Professor Kyohei Yamane. Ogata accompanied the expedition as a diving expert. When their ship departed from Tokyo, Ogata and Emiko witnessed their friend Daisuke Serizawa see them off from the shore. Ogata later told Emiko that he was surprised to see Serizawa there, and speculated that maybe he knew that they might never return. On Odo Island, Dr. Yamane and his colleagues observed the devastation and were shocked to discover a massive radioactive footprint containing a still-living Trilobite. The expedition members soon witnessed the giant monster Godzilla, who was responsible for both the missing ships and the devastation on the island, appear over a hill. As the crowd ran in terror, Emiko tripped and fell, then turned to see Godzilla roaring at her. Ogata grabbed her and pulled her to safety, as Godzilla walked back into the ocean.
In the aftermath of Godzilla's discovery, Ogata helped the Yamane family accommodate Shinkichi Yamada, a young man from Odo Island whom they had taken in after he was orphaned in Godzilla's attack. Ogata planned to marry Emiko, but was afraid to break this news to Serizawa, who they both knew held an unrequited romantic love for her. Emiko decided to break this news to Serizawa herself while Ogata discussed Shinkichi's education with her father. Later, Ogata got into an argument with Dr. Yamane over the best countermeasures against Godzilla. Dr. Yamane believed that Godzilla should be kept alive and his incredible resistance to radiation should be studied, while Ogata felt that the beast was too dangerous to be allowed to live. This, combined with Emiko's failure to tell Serizawa of their engagement, put a strain on the pair's planned marriage. Ogata witnessed Godzilla's first landing in Tokyo when he destroyed Shinagawa station, as well as his second, longer and more destructive raid on Tokyo.
In the aftermath, Emiko volunteered at an emergency hospital to tend to the wounded. When Ogata visited her, she felt compelled to break a promise she made earlier to Serizawa and told Ogata about his latest invention. She explained that on the day she went to visit Serizawa, he showed her the result of his current research: a deadly chemical weapon he called the Oxygen Destroyer which asphyxiated and liquefied all of the fish in an aquarium. Believing this invention could be used against Godzilla, she decided to reveal its existence to Ogata. The pair visited Serizawa at his laboratory and asked him to use the Oxygen Destroyer against Godzilla. Serizawa refused, terrified of revealing its existence to the world lest it become a weapon of mass destruction far worse than nuclear weapons. Serizawa accidentally injured Ogata in a brief struggle in his laboratory, but he soon apologized and explained his rationale. However, upon witnessing a televised nationwide prayer for peace, Serizawa relented and decided to let his weapon be used. However, he stressed to both Ogata and Emiko that this would be the first and last time he would ever allow the Oxygen Destroyer to be used, and burned all of his research notes.
Ogata accompanied Serizawa, Emiko, Dr. Yamane, and several more scientists, officials, and reporters aboard the ship Shikine as it pinpointed Godzilla's location beneath Tokyo Bay. Serizawa requested a diving suit so that he could detonate the Oxygen Destroyer underwater, but Ogata objected because Serizawa had no diving experience. Serizawa insisted that he alone could ensure the weapon was used properly, so as a compromise both he and Ogata agreed to dive together. Both men suited up and descended underwater, with Serizawa carrying the Oxygen Destroyer. On the sea floor, they saw Godzilla resting nearby. They got as close as they could to the monster, and Serizawa prepared to activate the device. The Shikine began reeling Ogata to the surface as Serizawa detonated the Oxygen Destroyer. As the ocean bubbled violently around Godzilla, Serizawa remarked that the weapon had worked, and wished that both Ogata and Emiko would be happy. Ogata frantically tried to contact Serizawa aboard the ship, and ordered him to be reeled up. Serizawa severed his line with a knife, ensuring that the secret of his dangerous invention would die alongside Godzilla. Ogata held Emiko close as they witnessed Godzilla surface and let out a final defiant roar before sinking to his death in the depths below. Many aboard celebrated the monster's demise, but both Ogata and Emiko sat silently in grief at the loss of their friend. Ogata somberly repeated Serizawa's final wish as Emiko sobbed beside him.
Video games
- CinemaScope Adventure: Godzilla (1984) - NEC PC-8801 and Fujitsu FM-7
Books
- Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again (1955) - Shimamura
- Godzilla (1984) - Kodansha
Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again
In Shigeru Kayama's 1955 novelization of Godzilla, Ogata plays a significantly smaller role than in the film. Most of his role is instead filled by Shinkichi Morita, a composite of Ogata and Shinkichi Yamada. The novel's version of Ogata is the president of Tokyo Bay Salvage and Rescue and is Shinkichi's boss.
Gallery
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