Being two of Japan's biggest pop-cultural exports, it's a small wonder Godzilla and anime haven't been brought together before now.

But better late than ever. Hot off the heels of last year's hit "Shin Godzilla," which reintroduced the Big G after an absence of 12 years (OK, there was a Hollywood film in there somewhere too), Toho has brought us this anime-fied version of everyone's favorite kaijū (monster).

Not unlike "Planet of the Apes," the "Planet of the Monsters" of the title is none other than Earth itself. The sudden appearance of Godzilla and his fellow kaijū at the end of the 20th century, the film's title sequence explains, caused the near-extinction of the human race. Only thanks to the timely appearance of friendly extra-terrestrials called the Exiles were a small number of humans able to escape, taking refuge at an off-world space station.