Tokyo, Japan 1994

"So would you say that Godzilla is still a important figure in Japanese culture to this very day?"

The question elicited a small chuckle from Mr. Ogata, who ran his index finger and thumb through his small white mustache. It was strange how much the old man resembled his long deceased father-in-law Professor Yamane. His English was strong, not heavily accented but strangely intoned.

"Please, Gojira, Miss Martin. Your grandfather was a great writer and journalist and a good friend but he was terrible when it came to pronouncing Japanese names." The elderly business tycoon, referred to by many as the Japanese Bill Gates sounded a bit wistful when he referred to the late Steven Martin as his friend and the young woman interviewing him was almost tempted to ask if maybe he was more than just a friend. Emily Martin was well aware of her grandfather’s sexual orientation, the rumors surrounding Mr. Ogata and anyone who was well aware of their shared history could put two and two together. It wasn’t that hard to figure out.

She didn’t however, saving that particular series of questions for latter in the interview. She still had a lot of ground to cover.

"Godzilla-" Mr. Ogata said, as though tasting the flavor of the word and finding it wanting. "-reminds me of the terrible American film. Please, let us use the proper pronunciation." He was of course referring to the infamous New Line film made to cash in on the recent resurgence in slasher movies as well as reported Godzilla sightings off the coast of Haiti. It famously recast Gojira from a mythological dragon monster who spat fire and battled war gods to a bear sized dinosaur-like creature that terrorized people in an apartment building in New York City. It was largely critically panned at the time, for relying on blood and gore as well as blatantly stealing several scenes and concepts from Ridley Scott’s Alien film, including giving Godzilla corrosive blood and a ending in which an infant Godzilla inexplicably burst from the heroine’s stomach as a set up for the sequel, which thankfully never saw the light of day.

"Okay then, Gojira it is." Emily said with a smile of her own. Ogata’s office was chilly, winter was quickly coming to Japan and Emily had been surprised to discover a thin coating of frost covering the windows when she awoke that morning. Ogata had not betrayed his embarrassment when he explained that the heating system in his building needed repair. They sat on the coaches in the center of the room, facing each other.