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Labor: The common name for robots designed for heavy industrial use. The rise of labors sparked a revolution in construction and civil engineering, but labor-related crime skyrocketed as well. To combat this new threat, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police created a patrol labor unit, the Special Vehicles Unit Second Section. This was the origin of Patlabor is a franchise created by a small creative team called Headgear, a group consisting of director Mamoru Oshii, writer Kazunori Itô, mecha designer Yutaka Izubuchi, character designer Akemi Takada, and manga artist Masami Yûki. A six part OVA directed by Oshii (Who had previously worked on the excellent Urusei Yatsura and in 1995 would direct Ghost in the Shell) was released in 1988, followed by a movie and television series in 1989 and a second movie in 1993. A third movie "WXIII" was released in 2002 and a live action series and movies are currently being released/in production. It should be noted that the orginal OVA and movies form one timeline, whereas the TV series (and the OVAs that were released with it on video) form a separate, independant timeline. Regardless, in both timelines the story revolves around the day to day duties of the Special Vehicles Unit Second Section (SV2), Division 2.  In the 1990's two disasters befell Tokyo; a devastating earthquake in 1995, and the world's polar icecaps melted due to global warming, causing oceans to rise and threatening to flood costal cites. In the early 1990's barriers were constructed to stop the sea from taking the land (it is not discussed in specifics in Patlabor on how or if governments tried to stop global warming). Tokyo also developed the "Babylon Project" which was designed to reclaim land and eventually fill Tokyo Bay. The rubble from the earthquake disaster helped to provide the landfill needed for the project. In the real world there are several reclaimed land projects in Tokyo Bay which cover over 249 km², however none are quite as ambitious as the Babylon Project. An "Advanced Robot" project began in the early 1980's, which brought about a development in what was called "Hyper Technology". By the end of the decade the first prototype Labor was born. A great need for this type of equipment was generated for construction work due to the Tokyo earthquake in 1995 and other major projects. This led to the mass production in the mid 1990's of Labors, which are large scale humanoid robots which averaging about eight metres in height. They were used mostly in the construction industry during the late 1990's on large scale construction projects such as the Babylon Project where they made the work a whole lot easier. Various non-construction types were also developed including military versions, undersea and amphibious types. Approximately 45% of Japan's Labors, around 3,600 units, work in or around the Babylon Project. Though the real world still doesn't have any commercial bipedal robots yet (though there have been many advancements over the last ten years), computers and software play a big role in Patlabor, just like the current world today. Tokyo still has it's problems. The major one is the critics of the Babylon Project. A protest movement sprung up against the project and several Militant environmental groups such as the Beach House, Home of the Sea, and the Earth Defence Family constantly use protest and sabotage to try and halt the progress of the project. And with the increase of Labors through out the city, Labor crime rose as well, such as Labor theft, robbery and even driving Labors under the influence and fights amongst construction workers. One of the most surprising and accurate predictions of Patalbor's future world was terrorism (though it was from religious fanatics in our time and not militant environmentalists). But even more surprising was the prediction of computer viruses contained in commercial software products, as seen in the first Patlabor movie. To combat Labor related criminal activities, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (TMPD for short) formed of the Special Vehicles Unit Section 2 (SV2 for short). This section used Patrol Labors (or Patlabors for short) to combat Labor crime. While they have had some success, the problem is that most inside the police force, and the public seem to treat the SV2 as a joke and think they are a money pit. The SV2 hanger is stuck upon on a lot of reclaimed land in the middle of nowhere, and the first division's Labors aren't up to scratch. Division 2 does have better labors, but the personnel isn't what you would call officer material. The higher-up of the TMPD unofficially sometimes consider the SV2 as a dumping ground for problematic officers. Because of this and the nature of their work (Labors can be rather destructive) most of the time disaster and bad press seem to follow the SV2, despite the fact they usually get the job done and take on cases that other sections of the TMPD and even the military find too difficult to handle. The SV2 is made up of two units. Each has two Labors headed by one captain. Both Labors have Forwards (the Labor pilot), a Backup (the person who drives the command car and gives instructions to the pilot), and a Labor Carrier (as it sounds, the person who drives the truck that caries the Ingram Labor). Division 1 is mostly made up of former SWAT team members from TMPD, while the beloved Division 2 is mostly regular officers who have transferred in from other sections, hence the two vastly different ways both divisions go about their work.   Noa Izumi Born in Tomakomai, Hokkaido in 1978, she is the pilot of the first Ingram in Unit 2 (first forward of Division 2). She loves Labors (to the point of obsession) and nicknames her Ingram "Alphonse" after her deceased pet dog and cat. A dedicated police officer, very easy going and cheerful, she never loses her cool. That is unless somebody damages her beloved Alphonse. Character designer Akemi Takada says she named Noa after a sales woman from a securities company who visited her. Noa appears in all the anime versions of Patlabor. She is voiced by Miina Tominaga.  Asuma Shinohara Asuma was born in Maebashi in Gunma Prefecture and is 21 years old at the start of the series. Asuma is the son of the owner of Shinohara Heavy Industries, the makers of the Ingram. So why is he a public servant? Apparently his father forced him into being one. A member of Unit 2, he provides backup for Noa's Ingram and is her partner. He can be quite short tempered and sometimes gives the impression he would rather be somewhere else. Still he is quite a competent police officer. Character designer Akemi Takada says she got the inspiration for the character's name Asuma after seeing the name on a patent card for an old man in a hospital. Asuma appears in all the anime versions of Patlabor. He is voiced by Toshio Furukawa.  Kiichi Gotoh Gotoh is the Captain of Unit 2 and was born in the Taito Ward in Tokyo. Although he may seem very laidback and even apathetic, but is quite a strategist, and knows how to get the best out of his team even if it means tricking them. He has gained the reputation of being very sharp and rumour has it he was purposely sent out to the SV2 so he wouldn't cause any trouble. He still manages to do so anyway. Gotoh has a crush on Shinobu, which is completely unrequited (poor Gotoh...). Gotoh is a heavy smoker, has athlete's foot and can often be seen wearing traditional Japanese wooden sandals around the office. Character designer Akemi Takada based Gotoh's appearance on Japanese actor Tatsuya Nakagai's physical appearance in the Akira Kurosawa film "High and Low". Gotoh appears in all versions of the anime. He is voiced by Ryunosuke Ohbayashi.  Isao Ota Ota is the 2nd forward of Division 2. He was born in Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture and is 26 at the beginning of the series. He is a complete gun maniac and will almost always try to use force over all other options when solving a dispute. Though he is reckless and violent, he is an integral part of the team, and actually manages to end situations quicker than Noa. Kazunori Ito said in an interview that he named the character after a scuba diving instructor he once knew. Ota appears in all versions of the anime. He is voiced by Michihiro Ikemizu.  Kanuka Clancy Kanuka is a Police Officer on loan from the New York Police Department and was born in Oahu, Hawaii. She is 21 at the beginning of the series. She is half Japanese-American, and yes it has been noted by western fans that she is the most Asian looking of the cast. She is a competent officer who does everything by the book and is often disgusted by the tactics used by the SV2. In Division 2 she acts as Ota's backup. Though among the SV2 there is a rumour that the NYPD sent her to them because she was a problem officer. According to her profile in the booklet accompanying the 2004 Japanese Limited Edition movie sets, she is the daughter of a millionaire. It has been said that Kanuka Clancy after novelist Tom Clancy, but in an interview Kazunori Ito said that he took the name Kanuka from the name of a girl in a TV drama he once saw. Kanuka appears in all versions of the anime except the second and third movies. She is voiced by You Inoue.  Shinobu Nagumo Shinobu is the Captain of Division 1 and was born in in Setagaya Ward in Tokyo. She is a professional, competent police officer. Basically the exact opposite of Captain Gotoh. She always keeps her mind on the job and never loses her cool. Often she talks back to her superiors when she disagrees with an order, and this is probably why she remains at the SV2 rather being promoted to another job more worthy of her skills. She is often slightly jealous of Division 2's successes and the equipment they get, but she never really lets on. She appears in all of the anime except the third movie. She is voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara.  Takeo Kumagami Kumagami is Ota's backup. She is Kanuka's replacement after she returns to New York. She was top of her class, and is an exceptional police officer. She was courted by several police agencies, but eventually chose the SV2 because of the challenge. Kumagami seems to be very level headed and nothing seems to faze her, though the antics of her workmates sometimes annoys her. Kumagami has an irrational fear of the supernatural, especially ghosts as her father was interested in the topic and she heard many ghost stories when she was a child. She appears in the TV series and New OVA Series and is voiced by Keiko Yokozawa.  Mikiyasu Shinshi Shinshi is the driver for the second carrier. He was born Fujieda, Shizuoka Prefecture and is 29 at the start of the series. He was originally Ota's backup in the TV series and original OVA series until Kanuka replaced him. He is a quite introverted man, but can become surprisingly violent if provoked enough. He is also the rather henpecked husband of Tamiko, who is rather possessive of him. Shinshi is the only married member of the team. Kazunori Ito said in an interview he named the character after a friend he goes scuba diving with. He appears in all versions of the anime and is played by Issei Futamata.  Hiromi Yamazaki Hiromi is the quite giant amongst the members of the SV2, in fact the tallest member of the team, at two metres tall. He was born on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture and is 23 at the start of the series. Even though he looks rather intimidating, he is quite gentle and hardly ever speaks. He tends the tomatoes in the greenhouse and looks after the henhouse at the SV2 in his spare time. These duties actually provide a substantial amount food for the officers. His main duty in Division 2 is driving the first Labor carrier. Hiromi appears in all versions of the anime. He is voiced by Daisuke Gohri.  Seitaroh Sakaki Sakaki is the head mechanic of the SV2. His training was was in mechanics, and he doesn't really understand the electronics and computers in the Labors. Even though he's only the head mechanic he only seems to order a lot of the other staff around, including members of Division 2, and not do any of the 'grunt' work. A very respected member of the SV2 (though some would say feared rather than respected). Sasaki appears in all versions of the anime except the third movie. He is voiced by Osamu Saka. Shigeo Shiba Shigeo or just plain Shige, is second in command of the mechanics at the SV2. He is a man that is truly dedicated to his work, though sometimes he can go overboard. He is a proud member of the SV2, and makes sure the Labors work perfectly. He will most likely take over from Sakaki when he retires. Shige appears in all version of the anime except the third movie. Shige is voiced by Shigeru Chiba.  AV-98 Ingram The Ingram AV-98 (AV stands for "Advanced Vehicle") was developed specially for the police force to combat Labor crime. It is styled in a way to look menacing. The main unit comes with two weapons; an electric baton (or stun stick, a weapon that can stop Labors with high powered electric currents) which is stored under it's shield in it's left arm, and a 37mm revolver cannon, stored in it's left leg. A 90mm riot gun was also developed by the mechanics at the SV2 for the Ingram. The Second Division of the SV2 use these Labors. Ota's AV-98 (Unit 2) has a customised head which is very different to the standard issue. Unit 3 (the spare Labor) also has a customised head. In "Patlabor 2 the movie", Unit 3 was developed as an experimental anti-electronic warfare Labor by Shinohara Heavy Industries, and it's head is equipped with ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) jamming pod.  Let's discuss Patlabor! Now that Zorak is gone it feels like we might be allowed to actually discuss anime (but with XylowJW and Ralp on the prowl, we'll have to see if that holds).
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Jan 8, 2015 01:57
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Endorph posted:this show looks cool but there's so many variations and spinoffs that i dont know what to watch Start with the original OVA (sometimes called Early Days) and the first 2 movies. Mecha Gojira posted:The Movie 1 or The Movie 2? Patlabor 2, hands down. The first movie is great, but the second movie is Oshii's peak and, in my opinion, the best anime film of all time.
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Jan 8, 2015 02:08
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Jan 8, 2015 02:49
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Yes_Cantaloupe posted:If I want to watch this, have I reasonable sources aside from torrenting? The TV series and first OVA are available on blu-ray in the US. The OVA is on blu-ray in Australia and the series is on DVD.
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Jan 8, 2015 02:51
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Butt Frosted Cake posted:Who the hell are those guys in the op? Here's the real cast 
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Jan 8, 2015 11:10
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AzraelNewtype posted:This imgur gallery is an example of the true sage wisdom of this series and in particular Captain Gotou.
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Jan 10, 2015 16:41
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Oshii and Hayao Miyazaki discussing Patlabor 2 http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/m_oshii_patlabor2.html
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Jan 11, 2015 08:08
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It's happening. http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=16197
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Mar 5, 2015 04:48
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Me, thinking about Patlabor:
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Mar 22, 2015 08:23
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Del Toro spend almost 9 minutes talking about Patlabor which, despite his interest in earlier Oshii works like Urusei Yatsura and Angel's Egg, was introduced to him by James Cameron. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACk_KIsT3Yo
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Apr 29, 2015 11:33
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Sep 9, 2015 11:48
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Nov 16, 2015 09:03
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 12:54 |
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Patlabor's producer has said on his facebook that a new Patlabor project has started, but it doesn't sound like it'll be coming out any time soon. I'm just glad though that there seems to be plenty of people on this forum now who are hype about Patlabor.
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Nov 26, 2016 12:26
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