Planet of the Monsters follows young Captain Haruo Sakaki, who lives aboard the Interstellar Emigration Ship Aratrum 22 years after humanity abandoned the Earth to Godzilla. Blaming Godzilla for the deaths of his parents, Haruo drafts up a plan showing how Godzilla could have been defeated years ago. He gets his chance when the Aratrum's Central Committee votes to make a return mission to Earth when their destination of Tau Ceti e proves uninhabitable and Godzilla is found to still be alive on Earth. Haruo's plan is put into action as a brigade is sent to Earth to eliminate Godzilla. However, the soldiers find that 20,000 years have passed and the Earth they left behind has become an alien planet with its ecosystem built around Godzilla. Furthermore, they cannot be sure if the Godzilla they are facing is the same Godzilla which drove them from the planet in the first place.

Planet of the Monsters was followed by GODZILLA: City on the Edge of Battle in 2018.

Description

English synopsis from the film's official website:

“

The final summer of the 20th century... when mankind learns it is no longer the sole ruler of planet Earth.

The planet is beset by the emergence of colossal creatures that roam the earth, and king among them is "Godzilla." For a half a century, these beasts engage in ferocious battle with each other and mankind. But humans, unable to compete, prepare for exile from their home planet. In the year 2048, a select few humans are chosen by the central government's artificial intelligence infrastructure to set out on an interstellar emigration vessel, the Aratrum, on an 11.9-lightyear journey for the planet Tau-e in the Cetus constellation. But when they arrive after 20 years of space travel, the remnants of mankind find the environmental conditions on Tau-e to be much different than expected, and basically uninhabitable by humans.

One youth on board the emigration vessel, Haruo, had seen his parents killed by Godzilla before his eyes when he was only 4 years old. Ever since, he has thought of nothing but returning to Earth to defeat Godzilla. With the doors to emigration now closed, Haruo and other crew spearhead a “return to Earth” decision despite severely attenuated and hazardous conditions on board for such a long trip back.

Somehow, the Aratrum makes the return journey in one piece, but the home they return to has become an alien planet. 20,000 years have elapsed, and a new ecosystem has emerged with Godzilla atop the food chain. Can mankind take back its native planet? Will Haruo get his revenge?

„

English synopsis of the film from Netflix:

“

A desperate group of refugees attempts to recolonize Earth 20,000 years after Godzilla took over. But one young man wants revenge above all else.

„

Plot

At the dawn of the 21st century, the Earth became overrun by terrifying gigantic creatures known as kaiju. Humanity's military might was no match for these beasts, and millions of people perished at their hands. The most infamous among the kaiju was Godzilla, an unstoppable monster that killed everything in his path, be it monster or man. An alien race known as the Exif arrived on the Earth during this time, aiming to convert humanity to its religion in its time of great despair. This was followed by the appearance of the Bilusaludo, a technologically advanced race seeking to immigrate to Earth following the destruction of their home planet. The Bilusaludo promised that if humanity would grant them asylum on the Earth, they would rid the planet of Godzilla. By 2046, the Bilusaludo were close to completing their ultimate anti-Godzilla weapon: Mechagodzilla. However, Godzilla breached the facility in Hamamatsu before Mechagodzilla could be activated, and the Bilusaludo were forced to abandon their creation. This decisive defeat of the United Earth at Godzilla's hands was the final straw, and the planet's central government organized a desperate plan to evacuate 15,000 humans from the planet and search for a new homeworld elsewhere in the universe. 10,000 passengers boarded the Oratio, bound for Kepler-452, while another 5,000 were to board the Aratrum, bound for Tau Ceti-e. As young Haruo Sakaki was being escorted onto the Aratrum by Daichi Tani, he witnessed Godzilla appear over the horizon and obliterate one of the shuttles heading toward the ship with his atomic breath. The shuttle crashed to the ground and destroyed the bus carrying Haruo's parents to the ship. Haruo never forgot what happened to his parents, and developed a burning desire to avenge their deaths and destroy Godzilla.

Approximately 22 years after the Aratrum fled the Earth, it finally reaches the target destination of Tau-e. The ship's passengers have dwindled to 4,000, and resources are becoming extremely scarce. A Landing Ship carrying many elderly passengers, including Daichi Tani, is prepared to descend to the planet's surface to determine if it is inhabitable. Haruo, now a captain aboard the ship, believes that the Central Committee aims to rid the Aratrum of its elderly population and is sending these passengers to their deaths. Taking matters into his own hands, Haruo seals himself with a large amount of explosives inside a Landing Ship and threatens to set them off if the landing mission isn't called off. Haruo is contacted by Daichi Tani, who explains that he and the other passengers volunteered for this mission because they are too old and tired to continue living aboard the Aratrum. In Tani's own words, he would prefer to finally die on land rather than in space. Haruo begs his adoptive grandfather not to go through with the mission, but soldiers breach the Landing Ship and arrest Haruo. Haruo can only watch helplessly from a prison cell as the Landing Ship explodes upon entering Tau-e's atmosphere. Metphies, an Exif archbishop and colonel aboard the ship, enters Haruo's cell and says he has come to hear his confession, but in reality is there to give Haruo classified data regarding Godzilla so he can complete his anti-Godzilla plan. Haruo believes that with the right strategy, humanity could have defeated Godzilla 22 years ago, but instead chose to retreat and leave the planet at his mercy. He aims to prove that Godzilla could be defeated, and anonymously publishes his anti-Godzilla plan aboard the ship. Meanwhile, the Central Committee convenes to discuss measures since Tau-e is confirmed to be uninhabitable. Endurph, the Exif cardinal, says that their computer, the Gematron, calculates that the Aratrum could successfully make the return trip to Earth instantaneously using its hyperdrives. The Committee weighs the possibility of returning to Earth, and rumors of a return to Earth begin spreading across the ship, along with Haruo's anti-Godzilla plan. Metphies visits the cabin of Bilusaludo technical officer Mulu-elu Galu-gu to discuss the proposed return to Earth. Galu-gu says he has read over the latest published version of Haruo's plan, and by the time he accessed it it already had over 400 views. Galu-gu says he finds the plan interesting and admires Haruo's determination, but thinks that even if this strategy had been employed 22 years ago, humanity still would have been unable to defeat Godzilla. He says that in that case, the Exif still would have been unable to conquer the Earth by brainwashing humanity using their religion. Metphies counters and says that had the Bilusaludo successfully completed Mechagodzilla and killed Godzilla with it, they would simply have turned it against humanity next. Both aliens agree that these scenarios are simply a matter of what-ifs from a time long past, and they are in the same situation as humanity now.

Eventually, the Central Committee approves the plan to return to Earth, and activates the Aratrum's hyperdrives. The ship emerges from hyperspace completely intact, and finds itself just outside of Earth's orbit. Reconnaissance Drones are sent into the planet's atmosphere to analyze the environment. The analysis concludes that at least 10,000 years have passed on Earth, and that the environmental conditions have changed considerably. Strange metallic particles float through the atmosphere, and a great deal of fog obscures the drones' vision. One drone detects seismic activity in a forested area of what once was Japan, and manages to capture the unmistakable roar of Godzilla just before going offline. Takeshi J. Hamamoto tries to suggest that the sound was caused by wind or some other natural cause, but Unberto Mori angrily declares that no one could ever forget Godzilla's roar. The Committee convenes to discuss further options since Godzilla is apparently still alive on the planet. Professor Martin Lazzari says that Godzilla may have survived all this time by undergoing periodic cycles of dormancy every few millennia, or that he somehow multiplied and only one individual is left. He also raises the possibility that Godzilla is simply immortal, as his existence already defies every existing law of biology. Metphies tells the Committee that he is prepared to reveal the author of the anti-Godzilla plan under two conditions. One, the Committee must drop all charges for leaking classified information; and two, Captain Haruo Sakaki must be released on bail. The Committee agrees, and Haruo is set free and allowed to propose his plan to the Central Committee. Haruo states that Godzilla's invincibility is derived from his asymmetrically permeable shield, an electromagnetic defense mechanism deployed from his body. He is certain that the shield is produced by a specific organ, and if they pay close attention when Godzilla deploys it, they may be able to pinpoint the organ's location. Haruo notes that the shield produces a noise when it deploys, and that if they can isolate the noise and play it back, they can determine at what exact points the shield collapses and redeploys. When the shield is down, they need to destroy the organ and send an EMP Probe into Godzilla's body before the organ regenerates. This theoretically should cause Godzilla's body to become overloaded with electromagnetic energy and make him explode. Haruo says that he will need at least 600 men to carry out the mission, which the Committee reluctantly grants.

Four companies of soldiers are deployed to the Earth's surface in Landing Ships, under the command of Colonel Eliott Leland. Haruo accompanies the expedition aboard a ship piloted by Leland, Metphies, and Major Rilu-elu Belu-be, still bound in handcuffs. Landing Ships begin dropping Thermo-Pressure Warheads onto the forest below to clear space for the ships to land. Haruo's company, Company A, touches down in a clearing while Companies B, C, and D station themselves near the old Tanzawa Pass to prepare the anti-Godzilla operation. Professor Martin requests permission from Leland to lead a scientific expedition into the forest to study the flora and fauna. Leland grants him a small number of soldiers to accompany him, while Haruo insists on coming as well. Leland agrees, but orders Sergeant Yuko Tani to watch over him. Haruo is shocked that Yuko, whose grandfather Daichi raised them both as children, volunteered for the mission. Yuko explains that she wanted a chance to meet with Haruo in person after her grandfather's death. She says that the Committee claimed it removed all of the explosives that Haruo had threatened to detonate, but that they were all still unaccounted for on the ship. She wonders if the Committee really did plan to reduce its elderly population and placed those explosives on Daichi's Landing Ship to ensure that the expedition would never return. Haruo says he wants to believe that the Committee isn't that corrupt, because he hates himself for not being able to trust his fellow man. He angrily says that Godzilla didn't just rob humanity of their home, but of basic human compassion and decency as well. While exploring the forest, Martin discovers that the plants are almost metallic, and their leaves are as sharp as razors. The team eventually comes upon what appear to be ruined buildings. Yuko is astonished to see a glimpse at humanity's old civilization for the first time in her life. Martin states that the buildings were able to be preserved because lichen used them as a seed bed, and the fungus was fossilized over time. Haruo falls to his knees and begins sobbing, saying that the Earth still remembered humanity after all this time. Meanwhile, a winged reptilian creature emerges from the forest with a soldier in its jaws and attacks Company A's base camp. The creature is joined by several more of its kind, which attack the soldiers. The soldiers open fire with their weapons and use Powered Suits to attack the monsters, but still suffer immense casualties. Martin and his team return to the camp and find the carcass of one of the creatures. Martin cuts off one of its teeth and brings it inside a Landing Ship for analysis. He determines using carbon dating that in reality nearly 20,000 years have passed on Earth. His analysis shows that both the creature and the plants from the forest share many similarities, and contain metallic material. He says that the winged creature in particular shares a large portion of its genome with Godzilla, and could be said to exist in the same family. The metallic particles in the atmosphere that produced the fog, he says, were most likely either pollen or chaff produced by the plants. Over the course of 20,000 years, Godzilla's DNA spread to the flora and fauna of Earth and created a new ecosystem built around his biology. Colonel Leland decides to abandon the mission, as the entire environment of Earth has become hostile and unsuitable for humanity. Haruo is infuriated and angrily pins Leland to a wall, saying that the Earth is still humanity's home. Leland says their best option is to colonize the moon and make occasional trips to Earth to obtain resources. Metphies agrees with Leland's plan, but points out that their Landing Ships were all damaged in the recent attack, and so they can't return to the Aratrum even if they want. Leland formulates a new plan to move through the Tanzawa Pass and join up with Companies B and C, then rendezvous with Company D to refuel and repair their Landing Ships and return to the Aratrum. Metphies says that their course is essentially identical to Haruo's original plan, but Leland makes it clear that they will make no attempt to draw out or engage Godzilla. In his words, this is simply a retreat mission.

Company A begins moving through the Tanzawa Pass, with its Landing Ship barely able to maintain flight. They are joined by Companies B and C as they begin to approach their destination. Aboard one of the ships, Metphies says that Haruo seems to be lost in thought. Haruo asks what the point of coming here was if they were just going to retreat again. Metphies says that neither Haruo nor Leland seem to understand Godzilla's purpose. He says that in the years the Exif have wandered through space, they have witnessed numerous civilizations like humanity meet their end at the hands of creatures similar to what humanity calls "Godzilla." Metphies believes that Godzilla is divine punishment for mankind's arrogance, and will never let them escape. True to Metphies' prediction, Godzilla appears near the pass and begins to approach. Leland orders all units to take evasive action, but Company A's Landing Ship begins to lose control and shows a risk of exploding. Metphies sets Haruo free of his bonds and tells him to do what his soul commands. Haruo boards a Hover Bike aboard the ship while Yuko, Metphies, and Martin evacuate the ship. Haruo takes off just as the ship explodes, and begins firing his Hover Bike's guns at Godzilla. Martin says that the bike can't do enough damage to provoke Godzilla to use his shield, so Haruo flies the bike high into the air and prepares to nose-dive directly into Godzilla. Just before Haruo can crash into Godzilla, a Multipodal Battery piloted by Leland opens fire on Godzilla. Haruo diverts his course and watches as Leland bombards Godzilla with artillery. Godzilla deploys his shield and fires his atomic breath at the Battery, killing Leland. Using data collected from the encounter, Galu-gu is able to pinpoint Godzilla's electromagnetic organ as existing in his dorsal plates. The remaining units assemble in a clearing, while Metphies contacts the Central Committee to inform them of Leland's death. Metphies assumes command of the mission, but tells the Committee that he will need to designate his authority to Haruo. The Committee tells Metphies to do whatever it takes to bring as many people back as possible. Metphies addresses the surviving soldiers and informs them that Haruo is now the commander of the operation. Haruo addresses the crowd next, and says that although their situation is dire, they can be proud as long as they do not yield to Godzilla. All they need to do, he says, is finish this battle, and end Godzilla's reign over the Earth. Haruo's plan is put back into action, with Galu-gu moving the explosive traps deeper into the pass and Belu-be and Adam Bindewald leading a fleet of Hover Bikes to draw Godzilla there. Multipodal Batteries and Powered Suits are put in position just outside the pass, where they will attack Godzilla once the traps are sprung.

Belu-be and Adam lead the Hover Bikes to Godzilla's location and open fire, turning his trajectory toward the Tanzawa Pass. Some of the bikes are destroyed when they accidentally crash, while others are obliterated by Godzilla's atomic breath. A flock of the winged creatures flies out of the forest below and attacks the Hover Bikes, which are able to mostly evade them. Haruo contacts Belu-be and Adam and tells them that they need to draw Godzilla into the pass quickly. Belu-be reports that they have lost 10 bikes already and are running low on gas. Haruo tells Adam to break from the formation and assemble six ace pilots to take command of Landing Ships. The ships will fly in front of Godzilla and drop Thermo-Pressure Warheads, creating a path to lead him into the valley more quickly. He says that if the pilots know their ship is being targeted by Godzilla, to eject immediately. Galu-gu remarks that if the ships are destroyed, they will be stranded and have no way to get home. Haruo simply replies that they are already home. Adam complies and assembles six pilots, then takes command of one of the ships. The ships fly in front of Godzilla and drop the thermobaric bombs, which draw Godzilla into the valley. Adam notices Godzilla target his ship and ejects just as the ship is destroyed by Godzilla's atomic breath. Once Godzilla enters the target point, the explosive charges planted by Galu-gu's team are detonated, and the slopes surrounding the pass collapse onto Godzilla, burying him up to his chest in rubble. The Multipodal Batteries all begin opening fire on Godzilla, causing him to deploy his shield. The soldiers successfully isolate the noise generated by Godzilla's electromagnetic organ and play it back, allowing them to determine exactly when it will collapse. The Batteries open fire on Godzilla's back once the shield goes down, and destroy the organ. However, Godzilla's tissue regenerates in a matter of seconds, and the shield is restored. Haruo takes command of a Powered Suit and jumps onto Godzilla's back. He tells the artillery to open fire when the shield goes down, even though he could be hit by the attack as well. Galu-gu obliges, and the Batteries open fire on Godzilla's back again as soon as the shield collapses. The organ is destroyed again, and this time Haruo jams an EMP Probe into Godzilla's back. More Powered Suits follow, and numerous EMP Probes are sent into Godzilla's body. Godzilla begins breaking free of the rubble and forces several of the Powered Suits off of him. As the electromagnetic energy runs wild inside of Godzilla's body, he turns to Haruo and prepares to fire his atomic breath. Haruo exclaims that he has killed Godzilla, just as Godzilla completely explodes.

In the aftermath of the battle, Haruo and his allies stare at the remnants of Godzilla. Belu-be and Galu-gu remark that this creature truly was an unnatural monster. Professor Martin tells Haruo that in his opinion, the Godzilla they just killed probably isn't the same Godzilla that drove humanity from Earth in 2048. Haruo says that this Godzilla possessed the exact same appearance and abilities they had on record, but Martin says that is exactly why he thinks it is a different individual. Life is characterized by change and evolution, he says, and it is extremely unusual for a creature to remain completely unchanged for 20,000 years, especially one like Godzilla which has the ability to individually evolve. Martin proposes that this Godzilla was an offshoot of the original that inherited his form and abilities, and that for all they know there could still be more Godzillas in the world. Haruo is confident that they are prepared to confront more Godzillas if need be, because they just proved that Godzilla can be killed. Martin says he admires Haruo's confidence, but would prefer to never experience such a harrowing battle again. Suddenly, a powerful tremor causes the ground around them to shake. One soldier uses a computer to detect the source of the tremor, but the result tells him that it is within two kilometers. The computer detects a signal larger and stronger than Godzilla, as well as plasma energy. At that moment, a nearby mountain explodes, and the familiar dorsal plates of Godzilla emerge from the smoke. The computer detects that the creature is over 300 meters tall and 100,000 metric tons in weight. Haruo asks how this can be a living creature, but Martin says this makes perfect sense if Godzilla was able to continue to grow and evolve uninterrupted for 20,000 years. Haruo gives the order for as many people as possible to retreat, and numerous soldiers board Hover Bikes and Landing Ships. Metphies watches Godzilla from a nearby hill, and remarks that the "King of Destruction" has finally shown himself once again as Godzilla lets out a deafening roar. As the ships begin to fly away, Godzilla produces a super oscillatory wave from his mouth, which completely destroys the ships. As more soldiers try to evacuate on Hover Bikes, Haruo enters a Multipodal Battery and plans to distract Godzilla while the survivors escape. Godzilla watches the humans escaping, and turns slightly before whipping his tail through the air, producing a powerful shockwave that seemingly destroys all of the humans' forces in a fiery explosion. Haruo watches helplessly from the wreckage of the Multipodal Battery as Godzilla looms in the distance, and weakly vows that he will kill him.

Sometime later, Haruo awakens in an unfamiliar shack, and sees a masked native woman near him. The woman turns to see Haruo has awakened, and removes her mask.

Marketing

On August 18, 2016, less than a month after the release of the film Shin Godzilla, it was announced that an anime Godzilla film is currently in the works for a 2017 theatrical premiere. On October 30, 2016, the film's co-director Hiroyuki Seshita posted on Twitter that the voice recording sessions for the film had been completed, and now it was entirely in the hands of the animators.

Concept art showing machines and armored humanoids moving through a forest, as well as the interior of a spaceship, appeared on the film's official Twitter account on January 19, February 24, and March 5. January 19 also saw the reveal of the film's lead voice actors: Yuki Kaji, Takahiro Sakurai, Tomokazu Sugita, Junichi Suwabe, Kana Hanazawa, and Mamoru Miyano. An event for the film will take place on March 26 at the AnimeJapan 2017 convention, with all six actors in attendance.

On March 13, 2017, Netflix announced through its @NetflixJP Twitter account that it had secured the worldwide distribution rights to the film. On March 24, the film's official website revealed the film's full title, GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, as well as a new visual and poster for the film. In addition, the film's official story and release date, November 2017, were revealed.

Godzilla's design was first revealed on June 12, 2017, in the form of a new poster.

The film's first teaser trailer was released on July 6, 2017, with a full trailer and a new poster following on August 15. On August 14, Toho announced five additional cast members for the film: Daisuke Ono, Kenta Miyake, Kenyu Horiuchi, Kazuya Nakai, and Kazuhiro Yamaji.

On August 18, Toho and Polygon revealed the full design of the film's version of Godzilla on the film's official Twitter account @GODZILLA_ANIME, through pictures of a two meter-tall statue.

On October 1, Toho announced that an official prequel novel to the film, GODZILLA: Monster Apocalypse, would be released on October 25.

On October 3, Natalie reported that the film's theme song, "WHITE OUT," would be performed by singer XAI, winner of Toho's Cinderella competition in 2016. Takayuki Hattori was announced as the film's composer on October 12. The second trailer was released on October 24. The music video for "WHITE OUT" was uploaded onto Toho Animation's official YouTube channel on November 6.

Staff

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Directed by Kobun Shizuno, Hiroyuki Seshita
Assistant director Hiroyuki Morita
Unit director Tadahiro "Tady" Yoshihara
Story and screenplay by Gen Urobuchi
Series composition by Gen Urobuchi, Sadayuki Murai
Associate writer Tetsuya Yamada
Executive producer Keiji Ota
Co-executive producer Yoshihiro Furusawa
Produced by Takashi Yoshizawa
Line producer Yoshiyuki Koie
Sound director Satoshi Motoyama
Music by Takayuki Hattori
Theme song "WHITE OUT"
- Performed by XAI
- Written by Sachiko Aoyama
- Composed and arranged by Masayuki Nakano
Edited by Aya Hida
Character designer Yusuke Kozaki
Production design by Naoya Tanaka, Ferdinando Patulli
CG character designer Yuki Moriyama
Sculpting supervisor Mitsunori Kataama
CG directors Masayuki Uemoto, Susumu Sugai
CG supervisor Masaki Taga
Animation director Hiroshi Shimada
Art director Yukihiro Shibutani
Color design by Hironori Noji

English dub

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Directed by Laura Post, Shannon Wilson
Production Manager Mary Kay De Guzman
ADR Engineers Ally Hustings, Tony McVann, Erik Karsen Puhm
Dubbing Studio Post Haste Digital

German dub (Netflix)

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio CSC-Studio
Dialogue Director Arlette Stanschus
Dialogue Writer Andreas Barz
Production Manager Jenny Buch
Sound Manager Johannes Marguere
Editor Norman Nodop

German dub (video)

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio Think Global Media
Dialogue Director Gordon Rijnders

Spanish dub

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio Dubbing House México
Producer Cristina Flores
Casting Director Arturo Cataño
Production Assistant Karina Turcio
Dialogue Director Arturo Cataño
Translator Kora Studio-México
Production Manager José Luis Arias
Sound Supervisor Guillermo López
Sound Mixer Iván Chorné
Dialogue Operator Chachú Gilabert
Dialogue Editor Daniel Macías

European Spanish dub

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio International Dubbing Group
Casting Director Rafa Ordoñez Arrieta
Production Manager Lola Diaz Pastrana
Sound Supervisor Javier Fernández
Re-recording Mixer Ricardo Suarez
Recording Engineer Antonio Castillejo López
Dialogue Editor Javier Fernández

French dub

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio Lylo Media Group
Production Manager Mélanie Gabant
Casting / Art Director Laurence Stévenne
Translation Justine Rouzé
Sound Mixing Engineer Jean-Michel Beranger
Sound Recording Engineer Denis Portal

Italian dub

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

Dubbing Studio Arte e Comunicazione International SRLS
Dubbing Director Gigi Rosa
Translation Gigi Rosa
Sound director Valerio De Grandis
Sound Mixing Michele Conti
Synchronization Valerio De Grandis