Patlabor: The Movie

Japanese animation has become very popular in the past few years. Somehow, it also gained the notoriety for "extreme" sex and violence, though it's a misconception that all Japanese animation is about that. Yet, animation in general is viewed as a kids only fare.

I recommend anyone to watch Patlabor: the movie. It has a very mature storyline. When I mean mature, I meant well-thought out story that can leave you thinking.

In the future, giant industrial utility robots called labors are used throughout Japan. Those in the law enforcement department use labors called Patlabors (patrol labors). Lately, there are reports of labors running amuck on its own. From this point we follow the heroes in a detective like story.

There are no nudity, violence is pretty tame compared to your half-hour dose of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (a series also a byproduct of Japan, I know but I'm not here to discuss my distaste for the Rangers) TV show. What we have is a straight-forward mystery as the story unravels what is going on. It also explores about man and technology and how it's like the Tower of Babel in biblical literature.

The movie is based on the tv show and comic. I only got to see a few episodes of the show. The movie, like the show, do not have the robots dominating the story, thus focusing more on the human characters. Watching the movie, I almost feel like I'm watching a PG/PG-13 live-action movie. Akira and Ghost in the Shell also have a deep story in them, it's not as involving perhaps they were covered so much cinematic effects (and sex and violence?). Patlabor blew me away in that it successfully simply told an honest-to-goodness story without being covered in so much effects.

The verdict: 5 of 5 stars.

It's worth noting before I begin that this was my first encounter with the Patlabor series - I went in knowing nothing of the characters or overall plot of the series. I mention it because, though it posed absolutely no problems for my understanding of the piece, it does relate to the one criticism I have.

Positive things first, though, of which there are many. Most impressive, as with much of Ishii's work, is the scenery. From the highly industrialised city streets to the run-down shacks mastermind Hoba made his homes, each location is fantastically rendered and informs the mood of the piece easily as much as any of the characters. Not that Patlabor - The Movie is really lacking there, though; Both Asuma and Gotoh make for brilliantly likable protagonists, while aforementioned and never-seen villain Hoba is a more than worthy foil. The plot moves along at the right kind of pace - brisk enough to keep the viewer interested, but relaxed enough to allow one to savour the rich atmosphere of the world Ishii creates.

If there's a problem, then, it stems simply from the fact that this is what it is; a spin-off movie which is only part of an ongoing series. As such, and great as the characters may be, there is very little in terms of development - next to none, in fact. Yes, this is an expected and necessary result of the movie's very nature (it can't do anything that's really going to significantly affect the plot line of the series); still, it dulls the impact of an otherwise excellent film. Of course, there may be (and I expect there are) many nuances of dialogue, story etc. that are lost on a viewer with no prior knowledge of the series and perhaps viewing the film in context would provide a more rounded experience. Regardless, as a stand-alone film, it's less involving than it could be.

Despite this minor quibble, though, Patlabor - The Movie is a great introduction to a series I plan to familiarise myself with further in the future.

Isaac Asimov meets Akira in this detective-oriented science-fiction Japanese Manga film. Set in the near-future, Tokyo is undergoing a huge re-development program: old suburbs are being demolished and man-made islands are being constructed in Tokyo Bay. Most of the work is being done by giant man-operated robots called Labors. Labors are prone to go out of control and cause chaos, so units of the Police force have been set up to deal with them. These units, divided into squadrons, also use giant robots to tackle the out-of-control Labors. Asuma Shinohara is a sergeant in Second Squadron, who discovers that the crazy behaviour of the Labors is due to a bug in their operating system which was deliberately put in by Eiichi Hoba, the OS programmer. Hoba has since committed suicide confidant that his plan to destroy Tokyo will take effect...

Patlabor is typical Manga with plenty of action and violence, but also a good deal of appeal and characters. These range from Asuma, quick-tempered and insubordinate, but a good detective; Captain Goto, the quietly manipulative commanding officer; and Officer Noa Izumi, Asuma's long-suffering, child-like colleague-cum-girlfriend, who ultimately saves the day.

I have a small collection of anime which is growing exponentially now, thanks in part to my renewed interest in the genre after viewing this film. What separates this from many anime is its unique use of the Mecha or "Labors" in its plot, instead of just the same robot battle fair that we've all seen. The movie does not center around action but around the actual story and the characters as they work together (and sometimes against each other) to solve the big mystery in time to stop a terrible threat to Tokyo and possibly the entire world. Great film. I am going to buy the second one this week; I hear it is even better.

I was fortunate enough to come across this video early in my exploration of Japanese animation. It was also the first video where I began to take notice of the greatly different pacing that the Japanese have in terms of plot & character developement. This is a story about a scientist that commits suicide after creating a virus that will eventually cause giant robots known as Labors to malfunction and lay waste about them. (Labors are manned, humanoid machines used in heavy lifting, construction and peacekeeping (domestic & military) tasks.) The action is split between the policemen who struggle to contain the destruction as the first infected Labors begin to malfunction and a pair of detectives who painstakingly retrace the dead doctors last steps before his suicide. If you're looking for something to cut your anime teeth on that's not too outlandish.. I highly recommend this video!