KIDOU KEISATSU PATLABOR

KIDOU KEISATSU PATLABOR

I haven’t seen a Patlabor thread on GFF since coming here. There has most likely been a discussion thread regarding this anime prior to my time coming to GFF (November 2004), but seeing as one does not currently exist, it warrants a dedicated thread to this spectacular action/comedy/police-story like series penned by Masami Yuuki for the original idea. So far the only other member I know who does share a profound interest in this series is Qwarky, but I'm probably bound to find a few other fans of this 80's mecha/drama/police anime here on GFF.

Patlabor has had an interesting release history in terms of the anime. The first animated work was the 7 part OVA series (Released 25 April 1988 - 25 June 1989))which was an accumulation of separate screen writings. This was originally planned as a 6 part series, however the 7th, Go North, SV2! was planned as a promotion to the first Patlabor movie. From what I know so far, there are only two volumes of the Manga done by Viz Comics for the US Audience, while the Japanese version has 22 books, which were redone in 2000, compressing it to 11 volumes. Credits especially go to Mamoru Oshii as director for the animated works, which formed the animation team HEADGEAR.

Episode Listing for 7 part OVA
1 Second Unit, Move Out!

2 Longshot

3 The 450 Million-Year-Old Trap

4 The Tragedy of L

5 The SV2's Longest Day (Part 1)

6 The SV2's Longest Day (Part 2)

7 Go North, SV2!

There have been currently three movies released, Patlabor 1 (1989), Patlabor 2 (1992), and Patlabor: Wasted XIII (2002). Patlabor 2 is probably my most favorite animated film of the early nineties all time. It is a brilliantly directed film with one of the most fluently animated mechanical combat sequences and truly is a film to behold. It’s almost pretty much at a level of a Tom Clancy military thriller.

As well, a forty-seven TV series was produced and aired from 1989 to 1990 as well as a follow up 16 episode series to wrap things up to a close. Interestingly though, the events of the TV series and OVA series/movies almost take place without much mention of each other, much akin to the Ghost in the Shell movies and the Stand Alone Complex TV series.

Story

Patlabor is an anime based during the turn of the 21st century in Japan, incorporating robots, called labors, into everyday life, just like automobiles. Along with the rise in this technology, crimes involving these labors have increased dramatically, therefore requiring the need of a special police force to control and combat labor crime. This task force was known as Special Vehicles Department or SV. For the Tokyo region, there are two main SV groups aptly named 1 and 2. This series focuses mostly, if not all the time, on the adventures of the SV2. As the story progresses, the SV2 comes across a company that plans to build an ultimate fighting labor known as the Phantom, and later to that the infamous Griffin.

Cast of Characters

Taken From Wikipedia:

(Note: I will hopefully get around to posting thumbnails of the character portraits to aid in identifying the cast)

• Captain Kiichi Goto, Section 2 Division 2: the crafty master of the whisper campaign. Leads SV.2 with the appearance of a "hands-off" approach, but is very involved. Is generally a nice, though distant person.

• Captain Shinobu Nagumo, Section 2 Division 1: leader of SV.1. Highly regarded by her superiors and her officers, Nagumo is a very by-the-book style of captain. Despite her by the book mentality, she is always there to lend a hand when SV.2 gets in over their heads.

• Mechanics Section Chief Seitaroh Sakaki, Section 2: Leader of the labor mechanics that service SV.2. Gruff and loud, Sakaki doesn't like it when SV.2 brings back their labors in less than perfect condition. Threatens to throw all his mechanics into the sea when they don't perform up to his expectations.

• Lieutenant Kanuka Clancy, NYPD: a temporary member of SV.2 on assignment from the NYPD. Sent to observe a labor unit with the purpose of helping build one for New York City. Very good at what she does, from the usual police work to piloting a labor. Was supposed to be the pilot of the second labor in SV.2, but declined in favor of Ohta, since she'd have more time to observe when not piloting (and you don't give the job of keeping Ohta in line to an idiot.) Is generally cold and somewhat distant to the members of SV.2, but has a soft spot for Noa, who she wants to become a better pilot, and for her grandmother who lives in Hawaii. Kanuka was born in Hawaii but apparently moved to New York later on. When she travels back to New York, she stops in Hawaii to see her grandmother.

• Sergeant Takeo Kumagami, Division 2 Team 2: Replaced Clancy when she returned to New York.

• Chief Shigeo Shige, Section 2: second in command to Sakaki, and eventually replaces him when he retires. A total gearhead, he loves his job, probably a little too much.

• Hiromi Yamazaki, Division 2 Team 1: The giant from Okinawa. Wanted to join his father as a fisherman, but got too seasick. Joined the police force and eventually made it over to SV.2. Too large to fit in a labor's cockpit, he is the driver for the carrier for Noa and Shinohara. When not on duty he tends to SV.2's vegetable garden.

• Noa Izumi, Division 2 Team 1: the bubbly, perky, red-headed labor otaku. The main character of the show, Noa is usually the one at the center of the action. Loves her labor which she named "Alphonse". When growing up she named also her pets, a dog and a then a cat, Alphonse. Brash and impulsive, though not as crazy as Ohta is, Noa is one of the better pilots in SV.2: only Clancy is better than her. Has a natural affinity to her labor, and gets 110% out of it, much to her partner's amazement.

• Asuma Shinohara, Division 2 Team 1: son of the head of Shinohara Heavy Industries, the company that makes 90% of the labors in the world. After a falling out with his father, Asuma joined the police force and requested to work with the labor units. Smart and honest, Asuma is a very good officer, though he's often used by Goto as a lackey. Is Noa and Hiromi's forward, or commanding officer when in the field.

• Isao Ohta, Division 2 Team 2: the psychotic gun-nut piloting unit 2. In spite of his loud and obnoxious personality, Ohta's a stand up guy and a good cop, he just likes guns a bit too much.

• Mikiyasu Shinshi, Division 2 Team 1: the lone married man of SV.2. Very devoted to his wife, tends to snap when people make fun of that fact or her, leading him into rages that scare even Ohta. Drives the unit 2 labor carrier.

• Sergeant Gomioka Tsutomu, Division 1 Team 2: one of the labor pilots for SV.1, much like his commanding officer, he's very by the book. A good labor pilot, though Noa is better under stress.

• Detective Matsui, Tokyo Metropolitan Police: Has the mutual respect of Goto. Helps Goto with the down on the ground detective leg-work sometimes.

• Bud Renard, a 15 year old boy from India who likes computer game. He pilots the J9 Giffon labor, and regards Izumi Noa as his true opponent.

• Richard Wong/Utsumi, SHAFT Enterprises: Geeky, intelligent but scheming head of one of SHAFT's experimental divisions. (Note: "Shaft" also has the variant spelling of "Schaft")

• Kurosaki: Richard Wong's right-hand man.


Music

Background music is primarily done by the talented Kenji Kawai; perhaps his best work is the music for the Patlabor 2 movie. You may visit his official site here.

OP Theme(s) (TV series)

“そのままの君でいて (Sono mama no Kimi de Ite)" by Yuko Nitou (eps 1-34)
"コンディション・グリーン～緊急発進～ (Condition Green ~Kinkyou Hasshin~)" by Hiroko Kasahara (eps 35-47)

Ending Themes:


"ミッドナイト ブルー (Midnight Blue)" by KISS ME QUICK (eps 1-34)
"パラダイスの確率 (Paradise no Kakuritsu)" by JA JA (eps 35-47)

Related Links (will be updated)

Schaft Enterprises is an excellent English site regarding the anime/manga/characters/miscellaneous parts of the series.

Wikipedia’s entry

Torrents

Even though this is quite an old anime, there are some torrents kicking around, but barely have any fast connections or seeds. This is for the 47 episode TV series.

www.isohunt.com  “Patlabor” for search field  Patlabor TV series (approx 8 GB and 47 files)

Apologies for not being able to get a URL link (how do I do that? ;_; )


A note on the proper pronunciation of “Patlabor”:

Originally Posted by Schaft Enterprises

By the way, the correct pronunciation of Patlabor is PAT-LABOUR, as in Patrol Labor. It is not pronounced PAT-LA-BORE as most people tend to say it.

This post’s acknowledgements go to Mr. Whitley for his exceptional fan site posted above in the “Shaft Enterprises” website, as this is where I got a majority of the information presented.

What is expected in this thread

DO:

• Post and discuss your favorite characters, labors, story elements and plot outlines, as well as plot questions regarding the series. Be sure to include spoilers where appropriate. Please do not put one line posts, but back up with logical or supportive reasons. Posts that do not follow this convention will be promptly deleted.
• You may post *some* pictures of your Patlabor model kit /toy collection as I do have the MASTER GRADE 1/35 kits from Bandai waiting to be built. They will most likely go here. However, please do add description to the pictures that you are posting ala “Show and Tell” style, or else stand alone picture posts will be considered spam.


DO NOT:



• Spam with useless requests for torrent links. I have already given you a guide above. Requests such as this belong in the video requests page.
• Post absolute fugly fan art. God, nothing irks me more than seeing one VERY badly drawn Alphonse. My eyes want to die.
• Anything else you want to add, Bigblah?

__________________________________________________ ________

FIRST QUESTION

Here's my first question regarding the opening of the first movie and the middle part of the second movie. In the opening scene of the first movie, we see a group of three or so attack helicopters trying to stop a HAL-10X Labor rampaging through the forest. In the second movie, I believe we see the same model helicopter, code named "GONG ONE", assaulting the Tokyo downtown core, knocking out various telecommunication satelites, dishes, and the like. My question is does anyone know if this helicopter is in existence in reality? It looks like a cross between a Russian Hind, Apache AH-64, and a AH-1W Super Cobra Attack Helicopter. It's probably one of my favorite animated attack choppers seen so far.





Jam it back in, in the dark.

I have only seen the three movies, and a few episodes of the TV series on one of the cable channels broadcasting it currently. That said, thanks for posting the info, the movies mostly had me scratching my head. Really ought to see more of it...

Don't know if you want to discuss the music, but love what I have heard of it thus far. Should be ripping quite a lot of it soon, if you guys want them in lossless.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I do have the Patlabor 2 Movie OST as well as Kawai's "2002 , but I'm looking for the 1st movie's OST. And please do discuss the music. Kenji Kawai SHINES in Patlabor 2's theme and ending music.

I started the series with the 2 movies (haven't seen Wasted XIII yet), but those movies mmediately hooked me, despite being several steps higher in complexity and drama than the TV series. I didn't get to see the TV series nor the OVAs until much later. I finished the 47 episode series just winter 2005 and the OVAs some time prior too. Man I wish I saved my journal entry about the Patlabor OST before the crash, that was admiration. ;_;...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Spatula

I do have the Patlabor 2 Movie OST as well as Kawai's "2002 , but I'm looking for the 1st movie's OST. And please do discuss the music. Kenji Kawai SHINES in Patlabor 2's theme and ending music.

How's the 2002 version in comparison to the original version? Always wondered if it was worth picking up...

Anyway, I have the movie OST if you want a copy. Will be ripping it once the other 5 volumes of the OVA/TV music arrive. Also, I have a bootleg containing the vocals. Once I figure out which of the official CDs have what's on it I'll most likely buy that as well.

As for Kenji Kawai's music, it always seems sort of strange to me. As much as I love it, I never did get fully into them. Looking forward to hearing his work from the TV and OVA series, since the films have more of a darkness to them than what I have seen of the others. Great orchestration and instrumentation regardless.

How ya doing, buddy?

I remember reading a Patlabor comic book a loooong time ago, and I was really interested in it. But with all of the movies and everything, I'm confused as to the actual progression of the series. Inform me?

http://search.deepdiscountdvd.com/se...ore&method=and

That's what I mean -- I've got no idea what the actual progression of the series is!

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's copy pasta time. Care of Shaft Enterprises.

But before that, what do you mean by the actual progression?
If you want to follow the OVA/Movie outline. Follow this pattern:

1) 7 OVAs
2) Patlabor 1
3) Patlabor 2
4) Patlabor 3

If you want to follow the TV series, it's:

1) TV series of 47 episodes
2) New TV series of 16 episodes

There is a mini Patlabor special aptly named "Mini-Pato" released around 2002, I think, which is just more/less a fan special featuring cardboard cutouts of the popular characters participating in one of Captain Gotoh's funny explaination exercises.

Again, this is somewhat like how the Ghost in th Shell universe is seperated. There's the movies, then there's the Stand Alone Complex.

Sabby, the 2002 version is just a mixture of some extended tracks for the main theme and Shinobu's theme "With Love" of the Patlabor 2 soundtrack. They aren't that great if you want to pay for them. I personally think the original sound track was much better. Kawai does have quite a talent for having a multi-faucet mood of music. In other words, he can create jovial type music when the characters are having a good time, or ominous type music with Patlabor 2's Wyvern/Outbreak.

EDIT: South,

From the description of the DVD's:

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=CPM002344 = 7 part OVA (It's saying it's in English, if so, avoid like the plague. I listened to the English dubs before and they are HORRIBLE!)

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=CPM002272 = First part of the 47 episodes (looks like there's 10 DVDs in total and this set has 4 of the first ones, again in English so pray they have Japanese dialogue)

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=CPM052488 = This looks like the 16 episode NEW TV series part.


http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=RYK004054 = This is definitely the 1st movie, try to get the 2nd movie as well. This is the MANGA Entertainment release that has Japanese dub and Eng sub in it since I own both the 1st and 2nd movies from MANGA.

DISCLAIMER: please note that I'm going off of what the Box info and websites states and matching them best to my ability. Buy at your own discretion. Or you could just torrent it and wait like 4 weeks for it to finish like I did.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

The first Patlabor film is probably the 2nd anime movie I've ever seen (after Akira) and at the time (12yrs), I found it to be dull with too little action. Now, years later, I think it's a great movie once you get used to Mamoru Oshii's directing.
The 2nd was less enjoyable to me, maybe because of the slower pacing, or maybe because I couldn't understand it due to the bad dubtitles being used. I should probably see it again just in case.

The manga is something I'm eager to try. It is translated here in French but it's hard to come by here because of the low-profile nature of Patlabor and they are expensive to get. Maybe someday...

Originally Posted by Spatula

DISCLAIMER: please note that I'm going off of what the Box info and websites states and matching them best to my ability. Buy at your own discretion. Or you could just torrent it and wait like 4 weeks for it to finish like I did.

Or just read the reviews at AnimeOnDvd.com But I think it's safe to say that the original Japanese tracks are all there.

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Originally Posted by Spatula

http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=RYK004054 = This is definitely the 1st movie, try to get the 2nd movie as well. This is the MANGA Entertainment release that has Japanese dub and Eng sub in it since I own both the 1st and 2nd movies from MANGA.

Whatever you do, don't get the Manga Entertainment versions of the two movies. They have non-anamorphic, blurry, washed-out, completely worthless transfers and don't have the 5.1 renewal audio. Bandai Visual USA will be releasing both films (1st this month, 2nd in July) with remastered video and the 5.1 and I would strongly suggest you get those versions instead.

I watched them many years ago but didn't find them that enthralling much thanks to this fact. Some time ago I took a chance and got the remastered/5.1 Taiwanese R3 DVDs for them and was completely floored. The animation, art and attention to detail is simply stunning. Needless to say they are both now two of my favourite films regardless of genre. I would also strongly recommend (actually I would almost consider it a prerequisite if you want to get anything out of them) that you watch the original 7-part OVA first, to get a feel for it and get to know all the characters and settings. They are called 'The Movie' after all.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I was wondering if WXIII was going to be the last incarnation of Patlabor, even though it was a detective story at that.

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I did get the Manga release of the movies and didn't really complain too much. I might get the re-released ones coming this April though.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

A Patlabor thread! By jove, I don't think I've ever seen a Patlabor thread here before during the years I've spent here.

A fantastic series, one of the most rewarding shows out there, and Patlabor 2 is arguably the greatest animated film ever made. Kazunori Itoh's script is filled with depth and detail, being timely even today.

The relation between the OVA and TV series isn't quite like Spatula described, the TV series was more of an elaboration on the original story. The OVA was meant to stay just that, but because the series became so popular, the TV series was made, essentially a retelling and following the same plotline as the manga. The OVA, TV series and manga each show a different version of how Noa joins the team, you basically need to go through each and kinda mesh them together in your head into a single history =x
If you have to go with a single story, I'd probably go with the manga's beginning, because I like the idea of Noa meeting Asuma during the exams, and it explains Asuma's position in the team better.

While Masami Yuki is definitely one of the creators, saying the series was originally penned by him is a bit incorrect. The whole series was a joint creation between Studio Headgear (Mamoru Oshii, Kazunori Ito, Yutaka Izubuchi, Kazuchika Kise, Akemi Takada, Hiromasa Ogura and Kenji Kawai) with Yuki creating and designing the characters. He made the manga alongside the rest of the series, and the anime is not an "adaptation" of the manga in that sense.

Call me biased, but I wouldn't bother with WXIII if I can help it. It's much better to start with the original OVA, follow that with the TV series and somewhere along there watch the first movie. Patlabor 2 is considered the conclusion of the story, so I guess if you wanted a timeline, it'd be

Original OVA series
TV Series (at least the first two boxes)
Patlabor - The Movie
(third box of the TV Series)
The New Files OVA series
Patlabor 2 - The Movie

With WXIII being a bit of a side story. It's based on one particular chapter of the manga, Wasted XIII (Thirteen), but because the movie hardly features the SV-2 (and is neither written by Itoh nor directed by Oshii), and is pretty different from the manga version in focus, I don't even consider it part of the timeline. It's an interesting film, and Kawai's music is great, but it's definitely not essential in the same sense that the TV series and first two movies are.

Man, what I wouldn't do for a new TV series, in collaboration with Production I.G. with Oshii back at the helm, writing with Itoh ;_; Or someone scanlating the rest of the manga for that matter. I thank Central Park Media daily for coming through and releasing all of the Patlabor series, instead of quitting midway.

Anyone beginning to watch the series, the OVA is near parody of cop shows, with the TV series getting some more serious tones especially in a few certain story arcs (though still remaining mostly humorous), while the movies are much darker, serious and somber in tone.

Also Spat, why the hell are you still searching for the first movie's OST? Didn't I already send it? Or was that the second film only? =/
Incidentally, another huge GFF Patlabor fan would be Duo Maxwell.


EDIT:
Goto is naturally the best character in the world. Ever since the Mount Fuji comment in the manga I've loved him for his always enigmatic outer shell and the way he's such a fine balance of amazingly intelligent, always likeable and sometimes goofy (all part of the act).

Also, I own the Manga Entertainment releases of the DVDs and have no complaints, but if better quality versions are released, I'll definitely lap them up. Just as long as they're not dubtitle centric or something similarly stupid. Extras are nice and all, but I don't really care what the localization team have to say about the project =/

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Spatula

I did get the Manga release of the movies and didn't really complain too much. I might get the re-released ones coming this April though.

I'm a videophile so it might have something to do with that. (Now I just hope that all the OVAs and TV series would get remastered, that would be a dream come true.) Either way, there is really no reason to get the Manga versions when the re-releases are just around the corner.

As for WXIII being the last, I almost think so, considering what a near-fiasco it turned out to be. Production dragged out, it took years longer than expected before it was finished and despite that the end result was not all that great. Don't get me wrong, I very much like detective stories and it's an enjoyable one; animation is superb too. But I think generally it was just a bit too detached from what people knew as 'Patlabor' and after this slight failure it's questionable whether they'll ever dare try to resurrect the franchise again. In the end though, it was all worth it just for MiniPato.

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You only sent me the second OST, Qwarky, and I didn't ask for the first movie OST. Thank you very much. I knew it'd only be a matter of time until Q would pop his head over to say hi.

I though the OVA and the TV series were seperate universes? In the OVA, Noa Izumi reports for duty by riding her moped like a bat outta hell infront of her future team mates. In the TV series, she was a traffiic cop (pretty cute outfit, but quite ditzy) that applied for the aptitude test to the SV2.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I mostly disliked the thought that WXIII turned into the first introduction to Patlabor for newcomers because it was more easily available for download than the TV series (before the CPM releases, of course).

Then again, I started with the first movie (subbed, VHS) and considering the movie makes no introductions about the characters, expecting you to already know who's who, it's amazing I kept up with it and loved it so much. It's still my personal favorite anime film, even if Patlabor 2 is admittedly. "better".

EDIT:
Well, as far I understood, the TV series is supposed to be a retelling, but since the set up is so different, I guess they'd have to be seen as separate universes. I've already meshed all of them in my head to form a single coherent universe, you see ;_;

Also, in the manga she has to take entry exams of sorts, where she first meets Asuma. The scene where everyone else is feeling completely ill and throwing up from the training simulator while Asuma sits unfazed, annoyedly exclaiming "That thing's defective!" is priceless and worth reading the manga alone. It also brilliantly gives you an immediate idea of how Asuma is and acts.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I've not seen WXIII yet, but here's a few notes of the production process taken from Schaft Enterprises:

Quote:

WXIII Patlabor the movie 3


Released 30 March 2002, Runtime: 102 mins

Staff

Director: Fumihiko Takayama
Screenplay: Tori-Miki
Original Story: Masami Yuuki
Character Designs: Hiroki Takagi
Mechanical Designs: Hajime Katoki, Shoji Kawamori, and Yutaka Izubuchi
Music: Kenji Kawai
Production Supervisor: Yutaka Izubuchi
Production: Madhouse

It is the year 2000. A fishing boat out in Tokyo Bay sees a plane flying over head. It seems to be in trouble and the contents of the plane are spilling out the side. Very large fish and various other sea creatures fall from the sky, some hitting the fishing boat causing it to rock violently. The plane crashes into the ocean.

Spoiler:

Two months later Detectives Takashi Kusumi, who is temporarily using a crutch after an accident, and his younger partner Schinichiro Hata, are called in on a labor accident in the harbour. A number of labors have been attacked and their pilots killed. This is the fourth case. On his way back to the car, Hata notices a young woman having trouble with her car and offers her a lift. He drives her to the university and carries her large heavy suitcase to the door. She thanks him for his help.

At police headquarters, Kusumi goes over the current labor case they are working on. Four labors have been damaged, and several have been killed or hurt. All have been Schaft labors. Were they accidents, terrorist attacks or something else? Hata suggests they should probably liaise with the SV2. Upon investigating labor operations in the harbour they soon discover there are giant Goby in the bay. Could they be the cause for this? They ask a local fisherman about them. He points out where they can be found. It's in the same spot where the attacks have taken place. In fact the attacks started 10 days after a cargo plane crashed in the bay. Is something from the plane is causing this? It all seem too good to be true. The detectives decide to check out the plane wreck. One of the recovered containers has been ripped open. It's from a company called Hermes Enterprises.

Meanwhile another labor has been attacked. This time it is an undersea unmanned labor, a Hishii labor, not a Schaft labor. The video from the labor's camera shows a flipper. The SV2 are also on the case, and Asuma and Noa come to talk to the labor operators as well. Kusumi and Hata investigate Hermes Enterprises and discover they are a dummy corporation.

After Kusumi discovers a lighter in Hata's car, Hata realises it belongs to the woman he gave a lift to. He decides to return it to her. She tells him her name is Saeko Misaki, and she works as a professor at the university. The two start talking and end up seeing each other regularly. After finishing a date with Hata one night, Misaki takes her large suitcase out to one of the piers in Tokyo Bay...

Hata has sourced some TV news footage of the plane crash. On the tape, there is a US military boat recovering the plane, and US military personnel on board the boat. A lip reader tells them that one of the men says in English, "Check", "Capsule", and "Baker's Dozen". She can't make out the whole conversation.

In a the car park of club that night, a young couple discover two people dead in their blood splattered vehicle. Hata and Kusumi are being driven to across town in a police car by a pair of officers. The officers receive a call to investigate a power outage at the Babylon Sector Storage Facility. They are unable to get in contact with any of the staff there, and the officers can see that none of the lights are on the facility. The officers and Hata and Kusumi enter the building and investigate. Nobody seems to be inside. The power returns, and a bizarre monster appears and starts to attack the staff and police officers. Some are killed, but Hata and Kusumi barely escape. The monster falls into the cowling of a labor and into the bay and disappears under the water.

The media are onto the story the next day, but the police manage to keep any references about the monster out of the news. The police have obtained some genetic material from the creature, and Hata escorts one of the team from forensics to the Toto Medical Lab to have the tissue analysed. While waiting in the foyer, he meets Saeko Misaki, and discovers she works there. She invites him into her office for a coffee and is surprised to learn he is a police officer. After seeing a photograph in her office, she tells Hata that she had a husband and daughter, but both had died. Later that day her boss Toshiro Kurusu, head of the Toto Medical Labs, shows her the sample the police had brought. She looks at a section of the tissue under the microscope and smiles to herself.

Kusumi meets Captain Gotoh to exchange information. They discover that the cargo plane that had crashed had previously stopped over at the Marshall Islands where US Military Facilities are located. On one of the islands is a laboratory. Goto has discovered that all the labors were in fact Schaft models. The Hishii labor uses a Schaft superconductor motor. They still can't figure out why the couple were attacked outside the night club.

Meanwhile another smaller monster is discovered in laboratory. It kills most of staff and the police eventually catch it in a ventilation shaft. Analysis of this creature and the previous tissue sample show that it is a fusion of cancer and Nishiwaki cells. It is a creature created by humans. Nishiwaka was discovered by Professor Nishiwaki from comet embedded in the Antarctic in 1984. Nishiwaka cells reproduce at an amazing speed.

At the Toto Medical Lab, the director Toshiro Kurusu talks to Misaki. He knows she has let one of their creatures out. The lab is creating creatures for a secret military project, and the test subjects should die in an controlled laboratory environment. Kurusu is very angry with Misaki as she has crossed one of these creatures with cancer cells. It is growing at an alarming rate. They must kill this creature before it does any harm, and they know that it won't be long before the police follow the trail to the labs. Eventually the lab make a virus that will kill the creature and give it to the military, who are going to take on the job of killing it.

Although Hata and Kusumi have made a breakthrough by tracing Hermes Enterprises back to Toto and discovered they were also the source of the monster, they are told to stop investigating Toto Medical Labs. The police and the military have hatched a plan to capture the monster inside a disused stadium and shoot the monster with a bullet that will release a virus into it's body and destroy it. Only problem is that the creature is inside a labor cowling, so the Second Unit of the SV2 is called in to help.

Meanwhile Kusumi discovers that Hata is seeing a woman from the Toto Medical Labs, one of his suspects, Saeko Misaki. Hata doesn't want to believe she could be involved in this, and sets out to prove him wrong. Unfortunately at every turn he takes, it seems that Kusumi was right. In fact she's in deeper than they ever suspected. Hata desperately tries to find her to ask her why she has done the things she did, but can not find her where ever he looks.

The time soon comes to commence the operation. Kusumi discovers the missing pieces involving the labors and the couple that were attacked, information that will give them the edge over the monster. However the military have a secret agenda, and will do anything to achieve their goal.

This film is a very untypical Patlabor film. First up it's more of a side story. The SV2 are hardly seen in the film (their total contribution takes up less than 15 mins). The two detectives and Saeko Misaki are the main characters and the focus of the story. Also the labor action is mostly left to the last 15 minutes of the movie, and hardly any labors are seen during the film. It's basically a detective mystery with a monster film sub-plot. Most of the monster sub-plot seems very similar to the 1989 film "Godzilla Vs Biollante", which also involved a scientist using cancer cells from his dead daughter crossing them with a rose to create a monster. Being that it is set in 2000, the film takes place two years before the events of "Patlabor 2 the movie", and strangely two years before the film's actual release date in Japan.

The film's story is based upon the Patlabor manga story "Waste Product 13" (sometimes known as "Wasted 13"), which is complied in volumes 7 to 10 of the Japanese graphic novels. Unlike the film, this part of the manga was heavily based around the Special Vehicles Unit 2, Schaft and the Griffin. The detectives, Shinichiro Hata and Takeshi Kusumi do not appear in the manga at all. The members and staff of the Toto Medical Laboratories, Saeko Misaki, Toshiro Kurusu (the director), and Shizuo Miyanomori (the male research scientist) all have major roles in manga. The ending is also quite different when compared to the film.

This movie is probably the most delayed production in anime history. Many fans thought it would never be made. Work began on this film in 1994. At this stage it was to become a direct to video animation (Original Video Animation or OVA). In this early stage it was decided that it would not be called Patlabor as it was a 'side story' and didn't involve the SV2. As production progressed it was changed to a movie format and the Patlabor title was re-instated. The film was finally announced as "in production" to the public in October 1997. It was due for release in 1998, but the studio Triangle Staff who was meant to animate the film went bankrupt before production could start. Animation duties were eventually given to Studio Madhouse who finally began production on the film in 2000.

The Pilot Film from 1997 mirrors almost all the scenes from the film so closely, it almost looks like they used the same animation from the film. This suggests that not much was changed to the script between 1997 and when to went into it's production nearly three years later.

FELIPE NO

There's a comparison of the old Manga disc and the remaster of the first movie on this site. It's quite a difference if you ask me, especially when you scale the pictures to full screen. The comparison is between the R1 and R2, and I can't guarantee that the new DVD release will look quite that good as it hasn't been released yet, but that's the master they're basing it on so it's very much likely.

Both films will also get released in drool-worthy 10,000 unit limited editions which will feature a box, an extras disc, a 300-page book with the full, translated storyboards and another translated 180-page book with essays, interviews, art galleries etc. The downside is that the price is a massive $89.99 each (so around $60-$70 online.)



BTW, does anyone happen to have the Japanese version of the manga and could tell me if there is any significant amount furigana in it? I'd really like to read it but since Viz dropped it a long time ago and there are no scanlations from what I can tell, I don't really have any other options. Unfortunately my kanji skills are almost equal to zero so if there's no furigana I'm screwed.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I will most likely get the regular versions, as I've already blew off over $300 some on the Master Grade Kits alone. Usually I'm not a special edition whore but seeing Patlabor 2 remastered is a must before I die. God only to find the time to spend it on these Bandai kits.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Pyocola

Both films will also get released in drool-worthy 10,000 unit limited editions which will feature a box, an extras disc, a 300-page book with the full, translated storyboards and another translated 180-page book with essays, interviews, art galleries etc. The downside is that the price is a massive $89.99 each (so around $60-$70 online.)

I.. I need this. I need this so bad. I generally like collector's editions of anime, but almost never buy them because they're hardly ever available here, and if they are, they're ridiculously overpriced. And usually anime DVD "extras" aren't really all that informative or interesting, I've no attachment to figurines or anything like that.

This however.. Man, either hopefully I'll win the lottery, or I'll pine for a loan from my family, because I need this so bad ;_;

Me not getting a copy would be like Megalith never getting a copy of Halo.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Spatula, your comments on MiniPato?

In my opinion it was a good way to draw in some crouds to WXIII, I wonder why Production IG felt like it was something they had to do.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Me in opening post

There is a mini Patlabor special aptly named "Mini-Pato" released around 2002, I think, which is just more/less a fan special featuring cardboard cutouts of the popular characters participating in one of Captain Gotoh's funny explaination exercises.

Basically if you are a hardcore Patlabor fan like Q and me, you should check this out but I wouldn't recommend buying it. MiniPato was also made into a PSP game where I *think* you help Captain Goto sort out mysteries and things. Check it out at Playasia.com.

MiniPato, the "anime", is made up of 3 episodes where the first is Goto talking about the mechanics of the Ingram and the 38 mm revolver. It's quite interesting stuff as goto explains the logic of how the weapon systems came to be.

The second episode is Shige talking about the mechanices of the Ingram and how it compares to (I swear this is the funniest part) other mecha series including Gundams, Macross (I think), Gunbuster...and the whole lot.

The third episode is probably the least interesting as Shinobu talks about her sex life with Goto. Haha just kidding. She does talk about Goto but about his secret business of selling hata. It was just a weird way to end MiniPato in my opinion.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It's like one big inside joke for fans of the series and wouldn't be a very effective introduction to the show.

I also like how if I order the Limited Edition from Amazon.com, and it gets stuck in customs here (which is more than probably), I'd end up paying closer to €65 (around $78) for it. Damnit, I need a collaborator in this ;_;

I was speaking idiomatically.

Import fees are terribly expensive in Canada even. Model kits and the like are about $10 for every $50. But books and electronic multimedia are prohibitively expensive. Sorry Q, I'm saving up for a new TV. ;_;

(Hey, at least you don't get ripped off like the FFVII Advent Children set. God, $500 for that. Sorry no.)

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Qwarky

I also like how if I order the Limited Edition from Amazon.com, and it gets stuck in customs here (which is more than probably), I'd end up paying closer to €65 (around $78) for it. Damnit, I need a collaborator in this ;_;

Getting hit by customs sucks allright, and is basically the reason I haven't pre-ordered this yet. But $78? Pfffft, that's nothing. I'd end up paying $62.99 + $6.98 shipping + 3.5% duty + 25% VAT + $10 (fee you have to pay for the pleasure of getting to pay all the other fees) = $100.50.

FELIPE NO

I'm in luck apparently, a friend of my aunt lives in Albany and another friend is going to visit her at the end of this month, so I might be able to order the pack from amazon and she can pick it up and bring it home when she returns, hopefully without alerting customs. And if they do want to take toll for it, she can claim it's worth $40, in which case they won't touch it.

What I'll do when the second movie is release, I have no idea, though ;_;


EDIT:

Originally Posted by Pyocola

Getting hit by customs sucks allright, and is basically the reason I haven't pre-ordered this yet. But $78? Pfffft, that's nothing. I'd end up paying $62.99 + $6.98 shipping + 3.5% duty + 25% VAT + $10 (fee you have to pay for the pleasure of getting to pay all the other fees) = $100.50.

Oh true, I hadn't even calculated shipping into that. Adding international shipping and how much that affects customs and taxes, that's probably a good €15 more ._.

How ya doing, buddy?

Qwarky, how close does the manga follow the OVA/TV Series arc in English? If it is somewhat parallel then I might not be interested, but I'm starting to want to see how Noa and Asuma came to be in the manga. Similarly to you, I started off with the movies (dubbed and VHS which was taped off of a Space Channel special) and had no clue what was going on. This was in about 2000 where anime wasn't quite mainstream where I lived and only the Asians were into it from Hong Kong and the like. Basically most of the anime I watched I rented from Blockbuster and ANYTHING would be fine, English dubs were not a problem at this time. After watching the first movie, this was the first time I heard the Asahi no Naka theme and immediately fell in love with it, watching the ending credits roll over and over again JUST to listen to that theme, no matter how old the VHS tape was. Good old days...LOL

This was about the heyday of Napster and I quickly snatched up the Patlabor movie OST (which I lost on my old computer and never got it again, thus far), but I listened to the "Asahi no Naka" mp3 I believe over 20 times in one sitting, loving the blast of the trumpets and orchestra and everything in me just melted. I also did get the Patlabor 2 OST (again, lost in my old computer because the harddrive was retarded, but Q sent it to me) and immediately the Main Theme, Outbreak/Wyvern, and last but definately not least, Hallucination. All these tracks were done by Kenji Kawai.

After watching the first movie, I somehow wanted to learn more about the cast and went onto the Internet and sought after the TV series. On of my friends already had some of the TV episodes on CD and 7 part OVA on VHS. Boom, I was a fan. Man...oh man... now I realized how much I loved this series in such a short period of time. I'm guessing Q has seen this quite a while ago before I did though. Q, you're my hero.

Jam it back in, in the dark.