Patlabor: The Movie

This movie is widely considered a masterpiece. The story is set in an alternate history where by the late 90's Japan is using large robots called "laborers" in the Military, but also in municipal functions like construction, and especially, the Police.

Something is causing laborers in Japan to go berserk and reject human control, sending them on a rampage. It's up to the people of Special Vehicles Section 2 to discover the cause before it's too late! Some may be disappointed by the fact that the laborers for which the title gets it's name aren't featured in every single scene: this film is not about constant fighting and action, though the action scenes that do exist are very well done and fascinating. Because this is more of a crime/mystery movie instead of hardcore action, people with different tastes may not enjoy it as much.

This was the first anime movie I ever saw and it got me hooked with it's completely original story and lovable characters and robots! Certainly an animation masterpiece!

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.

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 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!

While I was only about 12 when I first saw this movie, I think it is fair to say that I initially enjoyed the ending scenes (aboard the Ark)due to the labour action- and because of this, I wasn't quite as keen on the second one.

It's a film that hits on many levels- younger audiences will enjoy it for the robots, while more mature viewers will become wrapped up in the cunning, socio-political plot with more twists and turns then a labour wiring diagram.

Make of it what you will, everyone will see something differet but either way, its 100 minutes well spent.