"Washizu samurai: I have fought in many battles and have seen blood, yet this stain horrifies me. Because this is the blood of a dog, the blood of a despised traitor. He was a coward too. Cried for mercy after his revolt was over."

"Washizu soldier: A message from Lady Asaji! "If arrows cannot open the gates, then a corpse will.""

"If you would shed blood, then let it run as a river."

"If you would make a mountain of the dead, pile it so it reaches the sky."

"If you choose ambition, lord, then choose it honestly, with cruelty."

"You humans! Never will I comprehend you. You are afraid of your desires - you try to hide them."

"[singing] Men are vain and death is long, And pride dies first within the grave, For hair and nails are growing still, When face and fame are gone, Nothing in this world will save, Or measure up man's actions here, Nor in the next - for there is none, This life must end in fear, Only evil may maintain, An afterlife for those who will, Who love this world - who have no son, To whom ambition calls, Even so - this false fame falls, Death will reign - man dies in vain."

"What warrior would not want to be lord of a mighty castle?"

"Listen, even the crow is saying: The throne is yours."

"I did not stain my hands with blood to forward Yoshiteru, Miki's son."

"Without ambition, man is not man."

"Admirable, my Lord. You, who would soon rule the world, allow a ghost to frighten you."

"[glances up from his drink and suddenly pales as he sees the ghost of Miki] There he is again! If you hate me, why not draw your sword? [He charges, swiping again and again with his sword]"

"How is this possible? Weren't you a kamikaze pilot? You have the nerve to show your face? You're a disgrace! Look at what happened because of cowards like you! If you'd only done your job, my children wouldn't have died."

"I'm someone... who wasn't supposed to live."

"[after Noriko's funeral, to the pictures] You can't forgive me. Is that it? It's my fault... for thinking I could dream again."

"My war isn't over yet."

"[referring to Akiko] I want to protect her future. I will stop Godzilla no matter what."

"I forbid you to die!"

"Is that... Godzilla?"

"Is your war finally over?"

"[to Shikishima] Live."

"Come to think of it this country has treated life far too cheaply. Poorly armored tanks. Poor supply chains resulting in half of all deaths from starvation and disease. Fighter planes built without ejection seats and finally, kamikaze and suicide attacks. That's why this time I'd take pride in a citizen led effort that sacrifices no lives at all! This next battle is not one waged to the death, but a battle to live for the future."

"This country never changes. Perhaps it can't."

"To have never gone to war is something to be proud of."

"Godzilla looks really ticked off."

"[after seeing the size and strength of Godzilla] Okay, never mind."

"[leading the tugboat armada] The useless to the rescue!"

"Unnamed mechanic: [to Shikishima, privately] I'm on your side. We need more people like you. Why obey an order to 'die honorably' when the outcome is already clear?"

"Moustached man: Why are we always the ones drawing the short straw? We got enough of that in the war."

"Ryunosuke Kamiki - Kōichi Shikishima"

"Minami Hamabe - Noriko Ōishi"

"Yuki Yamada - Shirō Mizushima"

"Munetaka Aoki - Sōsaku Tachibana"

"Hidetaka Yoshioka - Kenji Noda"

"Sakura Ando - Sumiko Ōta, Shikishima's neighbor"

"Kuranosuke Sasaki - Yōji Akitsu, captain of the Shinsei Maru"

"Sae Nagatani - Akiko, Ōishi and Shikishima's adopted daughter"

"Mio Tanaka - Tatsuo Hotta, captain of the destroyer Yukikaze"

"Goro Tanaka: Ken is a tormented man. It is Eiko, of course, but it is also Japan. Ken is a relic, a leftover of another age, of another country."