The latest Godzilla film won the Oscar for best visual effects at the 96th U.S. Academy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, a first for Japan in the category.

Takashi Yamazaki's "Godzilla Minus One," set in postwar Japan, is the latest installment in the long-running franchise about a fire-breathing, city-stomping fictional monster.

A scene from the film "Godzilla Minus One." (Copyright 2023 Toho Co.)(Kyodo) 

The film follows the story of a Japanese pilot burdened with guilt for surviving a kamikaze mission who joins forces with others to battle Godzilla, the giant reptilian monster that emerges in Tokyo. The city, already devastated by U.S. air raids during the war, faces another threat from the legendary creature.

The Godzilla franchise is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year since the first film was released in 1954, inspired by the U.S. atomic bomb testing in Bikini Atoll.

Yamazaki, 59, has expressed concern that Godzilla's symbolism as a metaphor for nuclear weapons has been forgotten. He hopes the film will serve as a reminder of this important message.

Takashi Yamazaki (R) receives the Best Visual Effects award for "Godzilla Minus One" from Danny DeVito during the Academy Awards on March 10, 2024, in Hollywood, California. (Getty/Kyodo)

 

(From L) Masaki Takahashi, Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya and Tatsuji Nojima, winners of the Best Visual Effects award fro "Godzilla Minus One," pose in the press room during the Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, on March 10, 2024. (Getty/Kyodo)

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