Giga Shark (2018)

''This article is about the 2018 film. For other films titled Giga Shark, see Giga Shark (disambiguation).''

Giga Shark is a 2018 Yamataian Kaiju film directed by Shinji Anno. The film is a reboot of Touhou's Giga Shark franchise and is the 7th film in the Giga Shark franchise. The film stars Shinji Shimada, Izumi Sato, Hiroki Takenouchi and Norio Wakamoto. Rapper Nuclear Missile Isao also has a cameo, and his song Hunger is featured over the credits.

Synopsis
In the Tartaric Ocean, Dr. Seiji Sanada leads a multinational NGO in carrying out research on the effects of global warming on the Tartaric ice pack. Sanada's understudy, Mariko Kobayashi, pilots a mini submarine to collect ice samples from the underside of the ice pack. On the underside of the ice, Mariko discovers a large hole in the bottom of the ice pack, and decides to ascend into it to explore. The upside-down chasm ends abruptly, though the Yeongseonin mission specialist, Choi, determines that the wall of the chasm is actually thin, with a pocket on the other side. Attempting to use the submarine's powerful sonar to examine the other pocket, they discover that the pocket is filled with dozens of moving contacts, as well as a massive shape that Mariko dismisses as probably a loose piece of ice. Suddenly, giant squids burst through holes in the ice wall, attracted to the sonar. A squid manages to grab onto the submarine. Suddenly, the massive shape bears down on the submarine, smashing through the wall. It is undoubtedly a shark, but one that is as big as a ship, an it instantly eats the squid holding the submarine. Sanada orders Mariko to escape the place immediately.

Returning to the research ship, Sanada examines the images and video brought back by the crew. The team's biologist, Shirakawan scientist Nishibeta, determines that the shark is a prehistoric specimen of a Megalodon, and must have been frozen in the ice alongside the squids which is subsists on, only having recently been thawed out. The team had inadvertently released it by attracting the squids to the other side of the ice wall, but with global warming the wall would eventually have broken anyway. Nishibeta explains that the deadly chain of events had all been due to the food chain, with the squids chasing the submarine due to perceiving it as a whale, and the shark chasing after the squids. The team's Zusian microbiology expert, Helmut Schmidt, cynically says that they should leave the area as soon as possible lest the shark eat them. Sanada agrees and says that it is out of their control now, and they will return to Yamatai.

That night, Mariko and Choi are sharing a tender moment on the rear deck of the ship when they see the huge dorsal fin of the shark bearing down on the ship, at least 10 metres high. Horrified, Choi realises that the ship is also emanating active sonar pulses as part of their secondary mission, to track local whale pods. At the last moment, they shut down the sonar and the shark seems to lose interest, diving out of sight. Using passive sonar, the shark is detected moving southwards. Sanada has a sudden realisation that this means the shark is headed towards Yamatai.

At a Yamataian natural gas drilling rig, the graveyard shift is getting prepared for work when suddenly the rig is struck by a large impact. Bursting out of the crew quarters, one of the workers is just in time to see the dorsal fin of the shark submerge into the water. Before he can dwell on this, the rig begins to shake violently as it starts to collapse.

The next morning, the science team hears about the gas rig collapse and the subsequent rescue operation carried out by the Yamatai Imperial Navy, which was carrying out joint exercises with HECO navies in the area. Concerned over the safety of the public, Sanada decides to go public with the information about the shark despite Schmidt's reservations that they will be blamed for the release of the shark. In a video conference with his friend, the marine biologist Dr. Serizawa in the National University of Yamatai, Sanada briefs him about the giant shark. Serizawa brings their findings to the Prime Minister's office. During this time, three fishing boats have already disappeared. With the information Serizawa brings and the eyewitness account from the gas rig worker, the cabinet hesitantly accepts the outlandish story of the giant shark, and the Agricultural Minister gives the shark the Giga Shark moniker.

The cabinet splits into two camps, one supporting the Agricultural Minister in attempting to preserve the shark, and one supporting the Defence Minister in destroying the shark before it becomes a greater threat. The Prime Minister eventually agrees to destroy the shark, which has since disappeared. In the Tartaric, the Imperial Navy vessels on exercise are directed to hunt down the shark, while attack submarines are deployed to comb the deep ocean.

After days of being unable to find the shark, it suddenly resurfaces when it attacks one of the Navy's submarines deep underwater, placing it dangerously close to major shipping lanes. The Navy rushes to attack the shark. Attempts to torpedo the shark with air-dropped torpedoes and ASROCs fail as the shark is too manoeuvrable. It then surfaces and bears down on one of the destroyers, dodging cannon fire and surviving numerous hits from the CIWS to attack the ship, biting down on the helicopter deck and causing a near-capsize. The shark then disappears again.

Sanada's team is called in by the government to develop a method of attracting and destroying the Giga Shark with minimal risk to human life. Combining their own research with the Navy's data of the recent attack, Sanada's team realises that they can use the food chain theory to attract the shark. They have to create an irresistible bait for the Giga Shark, trap it in a place it cannot escape from, and then the Navy can bomb it without the danger of it escaping. It is considered unfeasible to capture giant squids to lure the Giga Shark, and its location is also completely unknown whenever it dives away.

A solution is found when the city of Aichi suddenly receives a tsunami warning, which is a false alarm. Sanada's sister who lives in Aichi, tells him about it, causing him to realise that the shark can be tracked by the tsunami warning sensor nets around Yamatai. The military decides that Naho Bay in Shiba will be the location of the attack, with the Army deploying anti-ship weapons and the Air Force prepared to drop high-explosive bombs into the bay. Naho City is to be evacuated. The problem about creating a powerful enough shark bait remains. When Mariko and Choi retire to their hotel room and have sex, Mariko has a breakthrough and realises that they can attract the shark through the use of pheromones instead of food. Working with Dr. Serizawa, they create an immensely potent shark pheromone that even attracts the sharks within the university's tank while they are in a different room.

With some more preparation, the operation is launched. A large trawler net filled with squids and is treated with the pheromones, then towed by a Navy destroyer to the area where the shark is currently lurking. Once the shark is verified to be following the bait, submarines ahead of the destroyer also use active sonar to further attract the shark in the correct direction. Overnight, the shark is lured into Naho Bay, and the destroyer releases the bait to float in the middle of the bay and leaves. At daybreak, the shark fully emerges from the water and consumes the bait with a single bite. The operation immediately commences, with the submarines firing torpedoes into the bay while the Army begins saturating the area with artillery fire. The Air Force also drops several high-explosive bombs and anti-ship missiles onto the shark. Finally, the shark's corpse floats to the surface. As the Prime Minister's office celebrates, Serizawa cryptically questions Sanada if this is really the end of what nature has in store for the human race. Mariko and Choi have a candlelight dinner on Naho Bay, looking out at the middle of the bay where military helicopters prepare to airlift the massive corpse.

In a post-credits scene, a glacier collapses in the Tartaric. A giant dorsal fin briefly emerges and then sinks again.

Cast

 * Shinji Shimada as Dr. Seiji Sanada
 * Izumi Sato as Mariko Kobayashi
 * Hiroki Takenouchi as Prime Minister Yaguchi
 * Norio Wakamoto as Marshal-Admiral Hiroki Anno
 * Nuclear Missile Isao as Gas rig worker
 * Kiichi Hosokawa as Ishiro Serizawa
 * Shirakawan guy as Toshi Nishibeta
 * Yeongseonin guy as Choi Gwi-hwa
 * Zusian guy as Helmut Schmidt