The New Anime Godzilla Movie Is Pretty Good

Since 1954, Godzilla has been brought to life by a man in a kaiju suit, animation, computer graphics, motion capture, and now, 3D anime. And you know what? The monster’s latest incarnation ain’t half bad.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

Opening yesterday in Japan, Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters depicts a world invaded by kaiju destroying everything in their wake. After decades of this, in 2048, an intergalactic vessel called the Atratrum begins a 20-year journey, with its human passengers looking for a new planet to settle. They discover their destination isn’t suitable for habitation, and a course is set for Earth, with a new plan to defeat Godzilla, the most powerful kaiju of all.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

Upon returning home, the space travellers learn that while only 20 years have passed during their journey, 20,000 years have passed on Earth. The planet’s environment has changed, but one thing that hasn’t is that Godzilla is still a lethal menace. Now it’s up to them to defeat the monster(s) and reclaim their planet.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

The initial set-up is well done. Life inside the Atratrum spacecraft is vividly portrayed. It’s bleak to the point that basics such as water are rationed. Every article of clothing and all the space suits are soiled, scuffed and scratched. It’s supposed to make the anime look gritty, something not typically shown in space anime, and to a point, it does.

But once I noticed the scratches, I couldn’t stop looking at everyone’s outfit, checking if all the humans wore nicked-up space suits. They all did, making every character seem the same. What, no one was fastidious about that kind of thing? Surely there had to be someone worried about space suit scratches and soiled uniforms.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

That was emblematic of a larger problem: Characterisation. There’s the main protagonist Haruo Sakaki (below), who has a raison d’etre and wants to defeat Godzilla to restore the good of humanity, and then, there’s basically everyone else. Most of the supporting characters aren’t all that interesting (there are exceptions such as the alien Metphies), but these samey souls exist only to push the plot onward.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

The character designs aren’t that great, either. Flat personalities and uninspired designs sure can make these three appear nearly indistinguishable.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

As expected, Gen Urobuchi’s script isn’t sunshine and roses. I mean, this is the guy who wrote Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero. (However, Planet of the Monsters isn’t nearly as depressing as those other two.) Urobuchi’s love of futuristic tech and technospeak are readily apparent.

The dialogue does sound cool, and even as jargon is flying around, the plan that Sakaki hatches stays in focus, thankfully keeping the plot straightforward. That means Planet of the Monsters can move along at quite a brisk clip, sometimes at the expense of developing its characters.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

Planet of the Monsters is only 89 minutes, and that’s a little short even by animated film standards. Just a few more minutes of solid characterisation could have also served as breathers as the plot hurtled toward the inevitable showdown. Perhaps thinking about this movie as a standalone 89 minute feature isn’t fair, but right now, that’s all I have.

Once the film enters the home stretch, the pace becomes relentless. (It also could’ve done with more varied monsters on the planet of the monsters!) The anime version of Godzilla is surprisingly effective and frightening, and while the score vacillates between lacklustre and bombastic, the animation throughout is excellent, and the climatic action set pieces, filled with cool military hardware, are well executed. During the sequences, the camera framing and direction are spot on. However, because supporting characters aren’t that fully fleshed out, if they’re killed fighting Godzilla, for example, the emotional impact is muted.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

It’s like the filmmakers are hurrying to get to the Godzilla confrontation, but also to the next film in this trilogy. In Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, it seems as though the third act is just getting started just as the picture is ending. There’s not enough closure to feel satisfying.

Even with these complaints, the overall experience was good, leaving me hoping that it dovetails nicely with the next entry and addresses these shortcomings. It isn’t a perfect picture, but it was a powerful proof of concept: Godzilla works as an anime. I didn’t even miss the man in the suit.

『GODZILLA 怪獣惑星』（C）2017 TOHO CO.,LTD.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters will be available worldwide on Netflix in 2018.