‘Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters’ Trailer: Netflix Enters the Anime Game

 

In a world where Godzilla has dominated our pop culture conversation for more than 50 years, it’s a shock that this will be the first time it’s been made into an anime.

The Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters CG-anime hybrid is the byproduct of Netflix, Toho Animation, and Polygon Pictures — part of a new era for both the kaiju monster himself and the world of anime. The reptilian giant was borne from the Japanese movie industry in the 1950s, making his way across the Pacific to the U.S. and back multiple times in live-action. Now, he’s back in Japan in his first anime iteration.

Watch the Godzilla Planet of the Monsters Trailer

The Japanese-language trailer released by the Toho Animation YouTube channel features more monster action than the first cryptic trailer that premiered two months ago. Here we see a futuristic vision of an Earth ravaged by Godzilla, as humankind struggles for survival, building giant mecha robots (not unlike those in Pacific Rim) and pterodactyl-like mech machines to fight the kaiju. But Godzilla is not without his own defenses — Godzilla has the power to shoot deadly blue lasers out his mouth, in addition to being a giant lizard.

And because this is an anime film, we can’t have all this action without it being set to a cursory J-pop song (“White Out” by Xai).

Netflix has been making moves in the Japanese anime industry lately, which has disrupted the notoriously low-wage business. Godzilla is part of a slate of 12 original anime series that the streaming giant plans to release over the year, original and outsourced content included. The experimentation in the heavily CG-ified anime style of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters is the first sign of this anime industry shift — because of the fast turnaround of the industry, animators usually put out shoddy work. While the heavy CG in Godzilla is a little jarring (and could use with a few tune-ups itself), this is a promising new direction for an industry that has suffered from bad press due to its treatment of animators and their budgets.

Here’s the synopsis for Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters:

Since it was first released as a feature film in 1954, “Godzilla” has become a colossal cultural icon loved by millions around the world. The 2016 release of “SHIN GODZILLA”, directed by Hideaki Anno, reinvigorated the franchise with a novel and realistic depiction of the iconic monster story, earning 82.5 million US dollars at the box-office and capturing the imagination of new and old fans alike. Now in 2017, GODZILLA evolves in an unexpected direction as a feature-length animated film.

The animated movie takes the franchise into uncharted territory — a harsh world of the future in which Godzilla has dominated the Earth for the past 20,000 years, and a fateful final confrontation with mankind looms. Prepare for the earth-shattering roar of a brand new GODZILLA, unlike anything heard or seen before.

Godzilla: Plant of the Monsters is written by Gen Urobuchi and Sadayuki Murai, and directed by K?bun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters will be released on Netflix sometime in 2018, after its Japanese theatrical run begins on November 17, 2017.

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